Category Archives: High Seas

Sea of Thieves Season Four is due to arrive next week, Rare has confirmed, delivering the next major update for its multiplayer pirate odyssey, the details of which are rather thin on the ground at present.

If you head on over to the official Sea of Thieves Twitter account, you can attempt to make sense of some of the hints that Rare has been dropping, one of which implies that Gems might be getting the chop. The Trading Companies thank you for your efforts, but their interest in Gems has diminished... one tweet teases alongside a map.

New underwater locations to explore and a new Plunder Pass are likely, as well as a bunch of fresh booty to be plundered. Season Four will be the first major update for Sea of Thieves since its Pirates of the Caribbean A Pirates Life' update in June, and you can take a wee glimpse at what's in store in the trailer below.

Sea of Thieves Season Four will be setting sail on 23rd September for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Landlubbers.

Continued here:

Sea of Thieves Season Four Takes to the High Seas From Next Week - XboxAchievements

PARIS At least nine people have been swept out to sea and drowned off the southern coast of France after high seas stirred up by strong winds created dangerous swells that caught the swimmers by surprise.

This toll is tragic, Eric Brocardi, a spokesman for the French National Federation of Firefighters, told the radio station Franceinfo on Thursday. Mr. Brocardi said that the local authorities had expected rough seas, prompting advisories against or even banning swimming at certain beaches.

Unfortunately, some people defied the ban, he said.

Officials said that the deaths, all on Wednesday, reflected the dangers of the Mediterranean Sea, considered to be generally calm but whose underwater currents can be treacherous.

Every year, hundreds of migrants drown trying to make the journey across the sea from Africa to Europe. In 2019, nearly 1,300 people died trying to make the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The deaths of the swimmers on Wednesday, according to French officials, also highlighted the shortcomings in communicating the risks of swimming, especially when no lifeguards are on duty.

All but one of the people who drowned were in their 60s and 70s, according to local French news reports. They died while swimming at various beaches in the regions of Aude, Bouches-du-Rhne and Hrault, which are all administrative divisions in southern France and include big cities such as Marseille and Montpellier.

A video attached to a message posted on Twitter on Wednesday by firefighters from Hrault, where five people were reported dead, showed deceptively small rollers crashing into the shoreline.

Choppy seas are making water activities dangerous, the message read. Avoid swimming.

The areas of Aude and Bouches-du-Rhne had been placed on a yellow storm alert and Hrault on orange alert on Wednesday, while the red flag was raised on several beaches, meaning that swimming was forbidden.

I cant understand how people could get into the water when the seas were rough, Jordan Dartier, the mayor of Vias, a city in Hrault where one person drowned, told the French broadcaster LCI. Its a dramatic day for our region.

Several rescue officials have suggested that the warm weather had tempted people to swim and that the waves, while not looking dangerous, concealed perilous underwater currents.

The water is warm, you think you are going to have fun, and quickly you are pulled toward the open sea and toward the bottom, and you get exhausted trying to come back. This is what causes the drowning, Aurlien Manenc, chief of the firefighting department in Hrault, told the broadcaster TF1.

Some officials also said that a lack of lifeguards after the end of the summer vacation season had raised the risk for swimmers. Despite being relatively late in the year, many people have flocked to beaches in southern France this September, attracted by the unusually warm weather.

We will have to ask ourselves the question of the monitoring of our beaches: Should it continue in September? Patrick Vignal, a lawmaker representing the Hrault region, told the channel BFMTV.

Mr. Vignal also questioned whether would-be swimmers had received sufficient warning from the local authorities.

According to the health authorities in France, 250 fatal drownings were reported from June to August this year, a 5 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2018, the last time the figures were collected.

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At Least 9 Drown Swimming Off the Coast of Southern France - The New York Times

Neil Russo| Special to the Weymouth News

Pop: Put the kettle on, mom;coconut cake.Snaidsaw a late-night movie and some PacificIslanders were gathering coconuts as a part of the plot, and he convinced Eb to bake a coconut cake. Our good fortune. Let's indulge.

I have the fall 2021 edition of the "Nature Conservancy" magazine, and Eb suggested that we discuss the article:Wild Harvestby Nancy Averett about protecting the oceans.

I think that most people just take the oceans for granted. Fishermen, of course, and ocean vessels work the oceans. Unfortunately, too much pollution is dumped into the oceans such as plastics and refuse. The time is long overdue to protect them.

Less than one-tenth of the oceans are protected from mining, over-fishingand pollution. Healthy oceans are a positive for the planet. Healthy oceans will expand the fish populations, supplying more food for the world.

Jennifer McGowan, a spatial planning technical coordinator for Nature Conservancy, joined an international team of 25 researchers calling for a globally coordinated effort last March to safeguard more of the oceans.

The high seas are a little bit like the wild west,McGowan said.The presence of commercially valuable resources,like tuna or rare minerals,put different areas at risk. Over-fishing, greenhouse gases, and pollution threaten important ecosystems.

Mom: The researchers noted that only 7%of the oceans is protected by a marine protected area of some kind, and only 2.7%are consideredhighly protectedno-take zones.

Some 2,600 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean alongside a massive submerged mountain liesLost City,hundreds of chalky white spires and mounds formed when extremely hot water oozed out of the seafloor and solidified. These towering hydro-thermal vents,one is 200 feet tall,spew hot water into the dark ocean which supports tiny invertebrates, worms, fleas and bigger fauna such as crabs, fish and eels.

The future of this unusual ecosystem, and many other biologically marine areas is uncertain. Lost city is located south of the Azores in the high seas beyond any country's jurisdiction. It has no legal protection, and scientists fear it could be damaged by deep sea mining.

In the North Pacific Ocean, halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and Samoa, Kingman Reef supports about 130 species of stony corals and an array of marine life such as green sea turtles and giant clams.

Millennium Atoll, a remote coral atoll in the southern line islands in the South Pacific, has one of the most well-preserved coral reefs in the world.

As numerous countries pledged to protect at least 30%of their land and water, the researchers concluded that it was possible to safeguard biodiversity and carbon stored in ocean sediment without putting seafood at risk. The study was among the first to estimate the carbon loss from bottom trawling, the practice of dragging large, weighted nets across the ocean floor to catch fish. They estimated that the practice may be releasing as much carbon dioxide annually as global aviation does!

The researchers crunched data to find places where it's possible to safeguard biodiversity and carbon stored in ocean sediment without putting seafood at risk.

Pop:Underwater mountainranges found in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Peru's Nazca Ridge, whose highly protected waters provide feeding grounds for sharks and whales, were considered of safeguarding ocean biodiversity, keep carbon stored in the seafloor and increase fish catch by 8 million metric tons annually with increasing ocean protection up to 30 percent. The increase in fish catch is calledspillover effectby scientists, in which the density of fish in a protected area grows so large that it causes fish to spill over into adjacent areas.

Increasing calls for greater marine protection must be matched with local input and resources to properly manage the areas.Governments are signing on to these really ambitious commitments over the next decade, and there's still a reality that less than 5%of our (already) protected ocean space is effectively managed,saidLizzie McLeod, TNC's global reef systems lead.

A new initiative is Blue Nature Alliance, a consortium of funding groups that includes the Pew Charitable Trusts.

We think Blue Nature Alliance can contribute about 5%to the overall goal of protecting 30%of ocean, said Angelo O'Connor Villagomez,senior officer of marine protection. Half of our effort will go toward creating new areas and half to improving the management of existing areas.

TNC has established the Blue Bonds Conservation program to help buy back an island nation's debt and then restructure it to make payments easier. The restructuring frees up some money that TNC requires be put to protecting their marine waters.

The more protected areas, the more opportunity for spillover to help better feed the worldwith its increasing population.

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MOM AND POP WHITMAN: Wave builds to protect our oceans - Wicked Local

A manically colorful glamour vibrates through Matty Bovans spring 22 collection. No matter that its all built at home: His ingeniously collaged giant crocheted blanket patches, extravagantly pouffed upcycled-fabric ball gowns, and madly unconventional forms of knitting manifestly call to the new youth-wish for ultra-extreme party-dressing.

I suppose its a reaction against last season, he said on the phone from his studio in York. Last season in Matty-land was a struggle with the sturm and drang of the uncontrollable forces of natureimagery suggesting high seas and shipwrecks. This onewhich hes named Hypercraft started out with a cache of hazy family photographs from the 1970s. Hence his excursion into granny knitting and retro-wallpaper patterns culled from vintage Sanderson upholstery fabrics, David Hicks designs, and carpets reminiscent of The Shining.

Compared to a year ago, he said, the task of getting things outsourced in the U.K. is more difficult than ever for an independent designer (a talent drain of skilled European workers due to Brexit is partly to blame). But nothing daunted, he declares himself quite happy to be self-sufficient: I really pushed myself. Id say 97% of the collection was made in the studio, and Ive worked again with an amazing knitter locally. Theres always a way if youre creative.

As one of the participants in London Fashion Weeks hybridized physical and digital schedule, Bovan is still creating his world long distance via a lookbook and a film. Directed by Ruth Hogben, the videos a surreally flashing mashup of clothes set against blown-up 70s dollhouse interiors, with cuckoo clocks going off and grandfather clocks chiming. Bovan says hes quite happy with experimenting with film, a necessity which he turned into a creative opportunity during the lockdown times. Thats him all over, reallyalways finding ways to make the best of things. Still, theres no doubt that London audiences are dying for the moment he decides to bring all that exuberance back to one of his full-on fashion performances again.

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Matty Bovan Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear Collection - Vogue.com

Every night Guy would fall asleep to the sound of gunfire: warring gangs in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, were fighting pitched battles in the city centre.

By day, the country was roiled by bloody protests against food and fuel shortages. Roadblocks with burning tyres were commonplace, and the police responded with tear gas and billy clubs.

Going outside was scary, said Guy. There was no choice but to get out of Haiti. He started making plans to reach the US and he was far from alone.

Authorities in the Texas town of Del Rio, Texas, declared a local state of emergency on Friday after some 12,000 migrants most from Haiti gathered under and around a bridge on the border with Mexico.

The influx has overwhelmed local officials, presented Joe Biden with a new challenge and cast a spotlight on the growing migration crisis triggered by the multiple and overlapping calamities which have beset Haiti.

For many migrants, crossing the Rio Grande is just the last small step in a circuitous odyssey that stretches across the Caribbean and deep into South America.

Most fly from Haiti to Ecuador, which does not require a visa for Haitian visitors, before either trying to find work in Brazil or Chile, or heading north, crossing the perilous jungles of the Darin Gap and onwards to Central America and Mexico.

At every stage, they are at the mercy of a security forces and organized crime groups which target travelers, and the rickety infrastructure of the people-smuggling business.

Guy was one of thousands of migrants, again mostly Haitians, who recently became stranded in Necocl, a Colombian beach town where local ferries to Panama are unable to meet demand.

Like many others, he had been living in Brazil, where he worked at informal construction jobs. But, with jobs drying up and a perceived welcoming attitude from the Biden administration, he set out northwards.

We follow those that went before us, Guy said, on a recent afternoon. It doesnt matter if its dangerous.

Others chose a more direct, but equally treacherous, journey to the US, chancing their life on the high seas. On Monday, the coast guard intercepted a 35-foot boat carrying 103 people, 18 miles off the coast of Florida. They had been at sea for six days.

There are abundant reasons to flee Haiti. The western hemispheres poorest nation long been dogged by violence, corruption, and poverty was thrown into further instability in July when president Jovenel Mose was assassinated in circumstances that remain mysterious.

Natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change and poor planning, also regularly batter the country. A catastrophic earthquake struck southern Haiti on 7 August, killing at least 2,200 people and leaving more than 30,000 homeless.

In Port-au-Prince, insecurity reins. Gangs, often with political backing, have launched a campaign of violence, which has been compared to a civil war. Civilians can be caught in the crossfire, robbed in an instant, or kidnapped for ransom. Meanwhile, public services are all but absent. Rubbish is not collected, and thousands of homes have no running water or a latrine.

There is no normal life anymore in Port-au-Prince, said Louis Henry Mars, who runs peacemaking initiatives in the capitals gang-controlled slums. There are 165 gangs in Port-au-Prince and they are better armed than the police, so you cant get rid of them without collateral damage.

Michelle Mittelstadt from the Migration Policy Institute said she thought the impression however mistaken that Joe Bidens administration would treat migrants more kindly than Donald Trump had also played into the surge in arrivals.

You went from a Trump administration that essentially did everything it could across the border to restrict migration, legal or illegal, to an administration that views immigration overall as a net asset, and doesnt view immigrants as a security or economic threat, said Mittelstadt. People are understanding that there may be a window to act here.

But Haitian arrivals hoping for a welcome mat when processed may be in for a rude awakening. The Biden administration has reversed a hold on deportations to Haiti that it put in place following the earthquake. Flights full of migrants began leaving for Port-au-Prince this week, and eight more will reportedly go next week.

Link:

How thousands of Haitian migrants ended up at the Texas border - The Guardian

Amidst a boom of premium cable channels creating series that are entirely their own, Starz has proven that its more than just an HBO wannabe. The network has been the force behind some of the most creative and daring original series of recent years, and has created a handful of shows that are widely regarded as among the best ever made.

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What makes Starzs lineup even more impressive is that the networks best shows span a wide variety of genres. Starz has made some truly hilarious dramas, but theyve also dipped their toes in conventional small scale drama and told a few truly epic stories as well. Theres a little bit of everything on Starz, and thats what makes it so exciting.

There are plenty of great comedy series that everyone has seen, but there are also plenty of hilarious gems that deserve more eyeballs. Party Downis one such gem, and it tells the story of six Hollywood dreamers who are trying to make it big, and who are passing the time until their big break by working for a high-end catering company. The show is frequently hilarious, but Party Downis a dark, cynical show underneath it all. Its about waiting for your life to begin, and coming to the sad realization that the life youve been living may be the only one you get to live.

Creator: John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Paul Rudd, and Dan EtheridgeMain Cast: Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane LynchTotal Episodes: 20IMDb Rating: 8.2

Designed as a prequel to Robert Louis StevensonsTreasure Island, Black Sailstells the story of Captain Flint, a pirate who sails the high seas in the early 1700s, when pirating was at its peak. Flints story is ultimately about protecting his thieving, debauched way of life. That quest takes a more literal form as he attempts to defend New Providence Island, a piece of land thats untamed the way that nothing in the modern world is. Flint is out to prove that the world cant be tamed, and watching him fight that losing battle is one of the shows chief pleasures.

Creator: Jonathan E. SteinbergMain Cast: Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke ArnoldTotal Episodes: 38IMDb Rating: 8.2

Some of the best shows on Starz fly under the radar, andPoweris a great example of that trend. The series stars Omari Hardwick as James Patrick, an entrepreneur whos achieved enormous success through his night club, but who also caters to a drug operation designed to serve only high-status clients. The series chronicles Patricks attempts to move away from the world of crime and into running a legitimate business full-time. As you might expect, though, its not as easy to get out of the game as it may sound.

Creator: Courtney A. KempMain Cast: Omari Hardwick, Lela Loren, Naturi NaughtonTotal Episodes: 63IMDb Rating: 8.1

Outlandermay be the most popular Starz series of all time, and theres good reason for that. In its early seasons, the story follows a love triangle that spans time and space, following a former nurse in the wake of World War II who finds herself transported back in time to the 1700s. Eventually, she finds herself torn between her husband in the 1900s and the man shes married in the 1700s in order to survive.Outlandersprawls outward from there, but its the initial story of love and loss that got viewers hooked, and keeps them coming back for more season after season.

Creator: Ronald D. MooreMain Cast: Catriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias MenziesTotal Episodes: 67IMDb Rating: 8.4

Americas schools are fundamentally broken, and fixing them isnt as easy as it may seem.America to Meis a stunning indictment of the racial and social inequalities that have infected Americas education system. The docuseries follows a group of Black students at Oak Park and River Forest High School in a suburb of Chicago. The school is high performing, and is thought to be one of the most progressive schools in the nation. In looking at the stories of individual students, though, it becomes clear that the systems around the school reinforce racial hierarchies even as individual teachers try to undo them.

Creator: Steve JamesMain Cast: Tiara Oliphant, Jada Buford, Kendale McCoyTotal Episodes:10IMDb Rating:7.3

Based on the more-than-century old novel of the same name, StarzsHowards Endminiseries is one of the best adaptations that E.M. Foresters novel has ever seen. The series tells a sprawling story over the course of its four episodes, focusing on three families as the world changes at the turn of the 20th century. Kenneth Lonergan, who has also directed acclaimed films like MargaretandManchester by the Sea, adapted the series, and it features plenty of deft, articulate writing that burrows into the core of the novel, and comes up with a few new ideas in the process.

Creator: Kenneth LonerganMain Cast: Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen, Tracey UllmanTotal Episodes: 4IMDb Rating:7.3

Even in an era where theres more TV than ever, you still dont get many shows likeVida.The series follows two Mexican-American siblings who clash in every way possible. One is a party girl, and the other is much more straight-laced, but theyre forced to reunite following their mothers untimely death. From there, the sisters form a new relationship as adults and discover who their mother really was. Its a subtle, moving series that focuses on what its like to live as a Latinx person in 21st-century Los Angeles. It may not have any dragons, but Vidais well worth checking out for its subtle, intricate character work.

Creator: Tanya SarachoMain Cast: Melissa Berrera, Mishel Prada, Ser AnzoateguiTotal Episodes: 22IMDb Rating:7.3

Although it has a dour name,Survivors Remorsehas plenty of comedy to counterbalance its more serious moments. The half-hour comedy follows Cam Calloway (Jessie Usher), a young basketball player who signs a massive contract with a team in Atlanta and suddenly feels burdened with the responsibilities that come with wealth and fame. What makesSurvivors Remorsework is its ability to balance the lighter moments with grounded looks at what fame and stardom actually mean. Money solves plenty of problems, but it doesnt fix everything.

Creator: Mike OMalleyMain Cast: Jessie T. Usher, RonReaco Lee, Erica AshTotal Episodes: 36IMDb Rating:7.0

Based on an epic Neil Gaiman novel of the same name,American Godshad a lot to live up to before the series even premiered. The series has a wildly fantastical premise, which involves a man named Shadow Moon who meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday after being released from prison. Ultimately, Shadow finds himself embroiled in a war between the old gods and the new.American Godsis not a perfect show, but it took enormous swings over the course of its three-season run. Few shows tried to encompass more of what America was, and what it could be.

Creator: Bryan Fuller, Michael GreenMain Cast: Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily BrowningTotal Episodes: 26IMDb Rating:7.7

Anthology dramas have become increasingly popular in an age where shorter series are becoming the norm, andThe Girlfriend Experienceis a great example of how the format can be used. Each season of the show tells a different story, but each one is focused on the lives of sex workers who provide a high-end, girlfriend experience for their clients. The series is incredibly smart about the way patriarchal norms have infected prostitution, and always grants full humanity to the characters who are selling their bodies on screen.

Creator: Lodge Kerrigan and Amy SeimetzMain Cast: Riley Keough, Anna Friel, Julia Goldani TellesTotal Episodes: 37IMDb Rating:7.0

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The 10 Best Shows on Starz To Watch Right Now - The Manual

by Global Solo Challenge 18 Sep 07:21 PDT

Sail crossover is a term used to refer to a boat's combination of sails for all conditions. Each sail has a range of use, beyond which a smaller sail will replace it.

The points where the first sail needs to be replaced for the second indicate sail changes. The crossover diagram shows us the overlap points between the sails and the appropriate moments for sail changes. At the crossover point of the sails we will have situations where two alternative sail combinations are valid. Changes must be made if we expect conditions to vary in favor of one combination or the other.

The wider the point of overlap between the sails, the more our sails suit is wide and flexible. If, on the other hand, the overlaps are very limited, it means that when the angle or intensity of the wind varies we are called to frequent sail changes. In fact, as soon as we leave the ideal range of use of a sail, with a limited overlap compared to the next sail, we have to make a sail change.

Using an out-of-range sail is not something to aim for, but there are variable weather situations where reducing the number of sails changes becomes an advantage. In fact, when we have clear all the possible combinations of sails for our boat, we must also have clear the times required for the manoeuvres. Some sail changes may require you to without a headsail until the new sail is hoisted. If our changes become very frequent, we unnecessarily waste time and energy.

The range of use of the sails

By range of use of the sails we mean the minimum and maximum wind and angle for which a sail is efficient. When we are out of these parameters we are called to sail changes. It may not be a question of sail changes but of canvas reductions. The mainsail reefs are the most obvious example, but there are other sails that can be reefed or reduced in area. On the Mini 650, for example, the solent usually has two reefs. Even the large spinnaker can often be reduced to a medium spinnaker thanks to a zip. On the Class40 the staysail may have a reef point.

On cruising boats it is also possible to furl the genoa and use it partially furled. In case performance is not our priority it is a very convenient thing. The sail usually has small circles that indicate three levels of reduction, as for reefs. Some cruise boats, especially in the Mediterranean, do not even have the possibility to hoist a staysail. Worse still, many cruising boats have no realistic way of hoisting a storm jib.

This is really unacceptable, but the problem is that the boats leave yard without the possibility of rigging an internal forestay. Nowadays it is possible to make a textile forestay (Dyneema) that can be put to rest when we do not need to use the staysail. The sail can be left hooked or removed from the deck depending on the navigation. The storm jib can be hoisted immediately above the lowered staysail. This solution is found on racing boats and cruising boats prepared for the high seas.

Continue reading the full article here...

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Global Solo Challenge: Sail changes on an offshore racing boat and the crossover of sails - Sail World

On his first day of classes at the Technical University of Athens School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Themistoklis Sapsis had a very satisfying realization.

I realized that ships and other maritime structures are the only ones that operate at the interface of two different media: air and water, says Sapsis. This property alone creates so many challenges in terms of mathematical and computational modeling. And, of course, these media are not calm at all they are random and often surprisingly unpredictable.

In other words, Sapsis did not have to choose between his two great passions: huge, ocean-going ships and structures on the one hand, and mathematics on the other. Today, Sapsis, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, uses analytical and computational methods to try to predict behavior such as that of ocean waves or instability inside a gas turbine amid uncertain and occasionally extreme dynamics. His goal is to create designs for structures that are robust and safe even in a broad range of conditions. For example, he may study the loads acting on a ship during a storm, or the flow separation and lift reduction around a helicopter rotor blade during a difficult maneuver.

These events are real they often lead to big catastrophes and casualties, Sapsis says. My goal is to predict them and develop algorithms that can simulate them quickly. If we achieve this goal, then we could start talking about optimization and design of these systems with consideration of these extreme, rare, but possibly catastrophic events.

Growing up in Athens, where great seafaring and mathematical traditions date back to ancient times, Sapsis house was full of machine elements, spare engines, and engineering blueprints, the tools of his fathers trade as a superintendent engineer in the maritime industry.

His father traveled internationally to oversee major ship repairs, and Sapsis often went along.

I think what made the biggest impression on me as a child was the size of these vessels and especially the engines. You had to climb five or six flights of stairs to see the whole thing, he recalls.

Also in the Sapsis home were math and engineering books lots of them, he says. His father insisted that he study math closely, at the same time that the young Sapsis was conducting physics experiments in the basement.

This back-and-forth transition between dynamical systems more generally mathematics and naval architecture was frequently on his mind, Sapsis says.

In college, Sapsis ended up taking every math class that was offered. He says he had the good fortune to get in touch early on with the most mathematically inclined professor in the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, who then mentored Sapsis for three years. In his spare time, Sapsis even attended classes in the universitys School of Applied Mathematics.

His undergraduate thesis was on probabilistic description of dynamical systems subjected to random excitations, a topic important to the understanding of the motions of large ships and loads. One of Sapsis most memorable research breakthroughs occurred while he was working on that thesis.

I was given a nice problem by my thesis advisor, Sapsis says. He warned me that most likely I would not be able to get something new, as this was an old problem and many had tried in the past decades without success.

Over the next six months, Sapsis went over every step of the methods that were in the academic literature, again and again, he says, trying to understand why various approaches failed. He started to discern a path toward deriving a new set of equations that could achieve his goal, but there were technical obstacles.

Without a lot of hope, as I knew that his was an old problem, but with a lot of curiosity, I began working on the different steps, Sapsis says. After a few weeks of work, I realized that the steps were complete, and I had a new set of equations!

It was certainly one of my most enthusiastic moments, Sapsis says, when I heard my advisor saying, Yes, this is new and it is important!

Since that early success, the engineering and architecture problems associated with building for the extreme and unpredictable ocean environment have provided Sapsis with plenty of research problems to solve.

Naval architecture is one of the oldest professions, with many open problems remaining and many more new ones coming, he says. The theoretical tools should not be more complex than the problem itself. However, in this case there are some really challenging physical problems that require the development of fundamentally new mathematics and computational methods. I am always trying to begin with the fundamentals and build the right theoretical and computational tools to, hopefully, come closer to the modeling of certain complex phenomena.

Sapsis, who joined the MIT faculty in 2013 and was tenured in 2019, says he loves the energy and pace of the Institute, where there are so many things happening here that you can never feel you have achieved enough but in a healthy way.

I always feel humbled by the amazing achievements of my colleagues and our students and postdocs, he says. It is a place filled with pure passion and talent, blended together for a good cause, to solve the worlds hardest problems.

These days, Sapsis says it is his students who experience the pure excitement of finding solutions to problems in the field.

My students and postdocs are now the ones who have the pleasure to be the first to find out when a new idea works, Sapsis says. I have to admit, however, that I save some problems for myself.

In fact, Sapsis says he relaxes by thinking about a nice problem: a high-risk and low-expectations one. I think of a strategy to go about it but know that most likely it will not work. This is something I dont consider work.

Excerpt from:

Taking on the stormy seas - MIT News

Harbor pilots have one of the highest paid - but simultaneously riskiest - jobs in the transportation industry.

The average harbor pilot at the Port of Los Angeles makes $434,000 a year, but also faces a one in 20 chance of dying on the job, according to a new book out Tuesday from The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims. The book, "Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door - Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy," breaks down the complicated dance that brings a shipment from Asia to US buyers in a matter of days.

Harbor pilots are some of the highest-paid municipal employees and represent a crucial part of a shipment's journey. Any cargo ship looking to come into a port must pay local pilots to safely bring the ship into dock. The role is highly risky as the pilots face dangers of being run over by a massive cargo ship, pitched overboard in rough waters, or slammed between two boats.

"Despite happening a thousand times a day all across the globe, despite myriad safety precautions, if you're a harbor pilot, doing your job can kill you," Mims writes.

The job is also incredibly high stakes and requires hyper-specialized skills. The pilot is responsible for vessels that can weigh over 200,000 tonnes and can be worth over $100 million. A harbor pilot brings a ship in from miles out at sea to within mere inches of its unloading spot alongside the pier.

The harbor pilot first approaches the massive skyscraper-sized cargo ship from a 55-foot long speedboat, according to Mims, who described how LA port harbor pilot Captain John Betz maneuvered the Netherlands, a Chinese-owned ship from Cosco Shipping Lines. From the speedboat, the pilot must climb a rope ladder onto the freighter - often while both boats are pitching in opposite directions. The move represents one of the most dangerous moments during the entire process.

"I've been chased up the ladder by the boat," Craig Flinn, another harbor pilot, tells Mims. "The percentage of survival is minimal if you go in the water in heavy seas, even with a life vest," he said.

Once aboard the freighter, Mims explains the pilot is given a sheet detailing every little element of the ship and the obstacles it faces on its course into port. Without touching a single control on the ship, Betz directs every movement of the Netherlands via verbal commands to the crew by using his iPad, a combination of GPS and navigational beacons, the ship's on-board automated system, as well as his own judgement. The pilot also directs the crew operating the tugboats that attach to each side of the ship as it comes into the port.

Once the vessel is close enough, the engine is cut off and the freighter is maneuvered using only its residual momentum and the slow pull of the tugboats.

Mims calls the final steps of turning the hulking ship into its spot on the pier "the equivalent of a stunt driver parallel parking a car in a spot that's just long enough for it, after coming in at high speed, throwing over the wheel, and skidding sideways to within an inch of the curb, tires smoking."

Harbor pilots are more important today than ever before as supply-chain snags foster shipping container shortages and delays. In the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, pilots like Beltz and Flinn face record backlogs of ships. On Monday, the locations had 140 ships in port, including 56 waiting off-shore to dock.

Do you work in shipping or trucking? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email at gkay@insider.com

Read Mims' book to learn more about the intersection between technology and manpower that fuels the global supply chain and brings everyday goods to customers' doors.

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Meet the harbor pilots who make $434,000 a year, face high fatality rates, and are responsible for guiding hul - Business Insider India

File Photo: Taken on April 9, 2021, this figure shows the flags of China and Taiwan next to a military aircraft. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration

September 18, 2021

Taipei (Reuters) -Taiwans Air Force scrambled to warn 10 Chinese aircraft that entered the air defense identification zone on Friday, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said, the island counters threats from China The day after announcing a $ 9 billion increase in military spending.

China claims Taiwan complains about a year or more of repeated missions by the Chinese Air Force in the southwestern part of the air defense identification zone near democratically governed islands, often near the Taiwan-controlled Platas Islands. There is.

According to the Taiwan Province, the latest Chinese mission included six J-16 fighters and two J-11 fighters, as well as one anti-submarine and one reconnaissance aircraft.

Taiwan sent fighters to warn Chinese aircraft, and missile systems were deployed to monitor them, the ministry said.

Chinese fighters flew near Platas, and anti-submarines and reconnaissance aircraft flew into the Bashi Strait, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines, according to a map issued by the ministry.

A spokesman for Chinas Eastern Theater Command said in a statement on Saturday that warships, airborne early warning aircraft, and bombers would patrol and train to improve Chinas joint combat capabilities in the region on Friday. Said it was deployed.

Serious threat

The incident occurred the day after Taiwan proposed raising military spending https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-proposes-extra-87-bln-defence-spending-over-5 -years-2021-09-Including new missiles, it will increase by $ 8.7 billion over the next five years, warning of the urgent need to upgrade weapons in the face of a serious threat from China.

Chinas patrols and training also coincided with the passage by US destroyers in the Taiwan Strait on Friday, which the US Navy called a daily passage through the high seas.

Eastern Theater Command, a statement by overseas Chinese troops in eastern China, said USS Barry was being monitored throughout the course.

Taiwans Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said on Friday that the government must take the threat from China seriously.

The Chinese Communist Party is constantly plotting against us, he said.

Taiwans defense spending is based on national sovereignty, national security, and national security protection. Dont relax. You have to do your best to prevent a war, he said. Added.

The Chinese government criticized Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu this Friday, saying that Taiwan is a sea fortress https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-is-sea. -fortress-against-china-minister-tells-us-audience-2021-09-15 is blocking Chinas expansion into the Pacific Ocean.

The purpose is to deceive public opinion, cooperate with and collude with anti-Chinese foreign powers, Chinas Taiwan Secretariat said in a statement.

(Report by Ben Blanchard, additional report by Ryan Wu in Beijing, edited by Robert Barcel and William Mallard)

China enters Taiwans air defense identification zone the day after the military budget is raised

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