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By MITCH TRAPHAGEN
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In spite of centuries of tradition that hold true even today, the seafaring world has always been high tech. Technology has provided a way to compensate for our shortcomings in dealing with the vast power of the oceans.
If you are wearing a wristwatch, you can thank the marine industry and, more specifically, John Harrison, who developed a clock capable of being carried aboard a ship. That development was much more than simply providing a way to know when dinner would be served — it gave mariners the power to know where they were on the sea. By knowing the time, they could determine their longitude.
It was an enormous revelation; and it made for a wonderful book entitled, Longitude: The Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel.
Live Ships Map (www.marinetraffic.com/ais)
Live Ships Map shows AIS information for a plethora of vessels near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The web site is at www.marinetraffic.com/ais.
In the three centuries since Harrison’s discovery, seafaring technology has made quantum leaps. Among the latest advancements is AIS, the Automatic Identification System. AIS is a transmitter that provides information about a ship — its name, size, course and so on. It is now required on all commercial vessels over 300 tons and all passenger ships entering U.S. ports. As a safety measure, many recreational vessels have begun to use it as well.
For a small recreational boat, the advantages of the system are clear. Using AIS, a boat captain can not only identify the ship that is bearing down on them, but can also see its exact heading. With such information collision avoidance is much easier and communication is much clearer. A guy on a small sail or powerboat no longer has to nervously call out on the radio for the “big ship ahead of me”. With AIS you can call the vessel by name.
There is a cool benefit for landlubbers and armchair sailors, too. AIS information is collected by Vessel Traffic Services in ports around the world and that data is available on the web. At least for the moment, it is. The International Marine Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee has come out against publishing such information, claiming that it could be detrimental to the safety and security of ships. Proponents of publishing the information point out that there is little information provided by AIS that someone couldn’t get simply with a pair of binoculars.
There are several web sites that provide AIS information, among the best is the Live Ships Map at www.marinetraffic.com/ais. The Live Ships Map utilizes Google Maps to provide a graphical look at the ships at sea, or in some cases, at anchor or docked. Zoom into Tampa Bay, or any port, and you’ll see more and more ships as the zoom level increases. By simply clicking on a ship, you’ll get its name, course, speed, dimensions, nation of registry and, if available, a photograph or two of the vessel. Live Ships Map color codes the vessels to make it easy to distinguish cargo ships, passenger ships and recreational vessels.
Currently, the map reveals the intense activity around the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Miami appears to be perpetually in motion and the sheer number of vessels in the Port of Norfolk, Virginia, is astounding.
Live Ships Map offers a nice salty feel along with a view of the world few get to see — all from the comfort of your computer. It is easy to use and is a fascinating experience.
For those who prefer to keep their web experience a little less salty, there is Shorpy.com. The web site is named for a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Well, at least he claimed to be a teenager — he looked awfully young to be a coal miner. I’m not certain if his career was his choice or not.
Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine, courtesy of the Shorpy History Photo Archive
A website named for Shorpy Higginbotham (center) provides a virtual window into our past with extremely high resolution photographs of life between 1850 and 1950.
The photos on the web site are large enough to study carefully. Don’t charge in and scroll through them too fast — almost every single photo warrants lingering. Look at the details. Marvel at what was and what we have now. Look down streets, look into the eyes of our forebears, peek into shops and homes. And let your mind wander.
Shorpy Higginbotham had a hard, and quite possibly short, life. Thanks to the web site named in his honor, you can meet him and visit the world in which he lived. It is a trip well worth taking. Visit www.shorpy.com.
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