Flip out over this Fantastic Ship

While this has nothing to do with archaeology, it is just so amazing I had to share (plus, I love all things maritimey)!

FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform) is the US Navy's oldest, and most unusual, research vessel.

Commonly referred to as the FLIP ship, it is actually a 355ft long, spoon-shaped buoy which can be flipped from horizontal to a vertical position by pumping 700t of seawater into the 'handle' end whilst flooding air into the 'cradle', causing it to rise up out of the sea.

Once the 28 minute transformation from horizontal to vertical has taken place, 300m of the buoy are submerged underwater, keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data.

Read more here

New Owner Sought for Historic Warship in Philly

The USS Olympia, a one-of-a-kind steel cruiser from the Spanish-American War, needs $2 million to $5 million in immediate repairs to stabilize it and an additional $10 million to $20 million for dry dock and restoration. The Independence Seaport Museum says it's looking for someone to take ownership of the National Historic Landmark.

The museum posted a transfer application Monday on its website. It's looking for a state, city or charitable organization that will assume ownership of the Olympia. Individuals and for-profit groups are not eligible to apply.

The museum is holding a summit at the end of March for potential buyers, and museum officials are hoping to have the transfer wrapped up by November 2012. They said they cannot afford the repairs and that the Olympia, purportedly the world's oldest steel warship still afloat, will be scrapped or scuttled if a new owner is not found.

The 344-foot-long protected cruiser ideally should have been dry-docked every 20 years for maintenance, but it has not been out of the water since 1945 and its hull has extensive damage at the water line. Its caretakers have said that without major repairs, the Olympia could sink at its moorings on the Delaware River.

Since taking stewardship of the floating museum from a cash-strapped nonprofit in 1996, the Independence Seaport Museum has spent $5.5 million on repairs, inspections and maintenance. About 90,000 people visit the 5,500-ton ship every year.

From Olympia's bridge on May 1, 1898, during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines, Commodore George Dewey uttered the famous command: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." The Spanish fleet was decimated, making Dewey and the Olympia national heroes.

The ship later was active in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean, served as a Naval Academy training vessel, and took part in the 1918 Allied landing at Murmansk during the Russian Civil War.

Its final mission was bringing home the body of World War I's Unknown Soldier from France in 1921.

Source: here

Independence Seaport Museum: http://www.phillyseaport.org

How Columbus sailed the ocean blue

A replica of Christopher Columbus' famous ship will be dropping anchor in Peoria next month.

The Nina has stopped in Chillicothe and Peoria several times in the last 15 years, but this year the wooden, sea-going vessel is back - this time with its sister ship, the Pinta.

The replica ships will dock from July 9 to July 12 at the RiverPlex landing adjacent to the Spirit of Peoria.

"Little children love scrambling around the ships, and school-aged children study Columbus and his ships," said A.J. Sanger, a spokesman for the Columbus Fund. "Older people can appreciate and admire the work that went into building (the ships) ... and think about how small (it was) for men to go to sea in."

The Nina was built completely by hand and without the use of power tools in Bahia, Brazil, in 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus' entry into the new world. Archaeology magazine dubbed it "The most historically correct Columbus replica ever built." The boat is 93 1/2 feet long and about 52 feet tall and was featured in the film "1492."

The Pinta is a larger version of the Nina, which allows it to accommodate more people at one time.

The Pinta's deck length is 20 feet longer at 85 feet, and its sail area, about 3,800 square feet, is more than twice that of the Nina. It holds a 40-foot air conditioned main cabin below deck with seating and is available for private parties and charters.

Both ships are on tour year-round, stopping at ports across the country and offering sailing museums that feature not only Columbus history, but the history of the Caravel, a type of ship used for decades in the Columbus' era to explore the world.

The Nina and Pinta will be coming to Peoria from Hammond, Ind., and going to Burlington, La.

The last time the Nina docked in Peoria in 2007, visitors to the ship numbered between 8,000 and 10,000.

(Story Source)