Video shows historic Australian lightship sinking during Queensland floods

New video from the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane shows the historic lightship Carpentaria sinking in her dry dock berth at the museum. Alan Bibby, the museum's operations supervisor, sent us a link to the video, which was apparently taken by a bystander last week and posted to YouTube. The images show water pouring into the dry dock that holds the river frigate HMAS Diamantina and the Carpentaria. The orange-painted lightship lists heavily to port, which allows water to pour in over the side. By the end of the sinking, the vessel is almost completely submerged in the dock.

Flooding has devastated Queensland state, affecting an area the size of France and Germany combined, including the capital of Brisbane. Bibby says museum staff had time to prepare both ships for the deluge before it arrived early last week.  "Diamantina floated clear of her blocks and two small leaks were subsequently detected," Bibby writes in an email to Fyddeye. "One [leak] in the aft ballast tank and one in the stern gland compartment. It appears a pocket of air was trapped in Carpentaria and she has rolled to a 45-degree angle. We don’t intend re-docking Diamantina until we have resolved the recovery method for Carpentaria."

The lightship Carpentaria sinks at the Queensland Maritime Museum. (Can't see the video? Click here.)

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Bibby says the tug Forceful, which is part of the QMM collection, was secured before the worst flooding arrived and is safe. Staff and volunteers had enough advance warning to move most of the museum's ground floor exhibits and office equipment to higher ground. At the peak of the flood, water was 10 centimeters (four inches) deep in the administration building and 30 centimeters deep (one foot) in the workshops. "There has been an extensive deposit of mud everywhere," Bibby says. The clean-up is continuing.

If you'd like to help QMM with clean-up or funds, please contact the museum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 07 3844 5361.

Queensland Maritime Museum staff scrambles to save warship during Australian floods

The devastating floods in Australia have affected every aspect of Australian culture, including the care of its maritime heritage. Petra Sepkow, a computer programmer in Brisbane and a member of the LinkedIn "Traditional Sail Professionals" group, shared a link to an overhead image of HMAS Diamantina, a World War II-era frigate that normally rests in a dry dock at the Queensland Maritime Museum. But the flooding Brisbane River overtopped the gate at the riverfront site, pouring water into the dry dock.

According to the Narooma News, museum staff and volunteers scrambled to tie up the Diamantina before she could float free and damage herself or the dock. Fresh water was also pumped into the ship's ballast tanks to keep her stable.

The image below taken from the Nearmap.com mapping application shows the warship afloat in its normally dry berth. The smaller vessel on the right is a replica of the 17th century Dutch ship of exploration Duyfken.

So far, we've heard no reports of serious damage to the vessels or the museum facilities, although staff told the Narooma News that they have many weeks of clean-up ahead. If you have any news to share about the impact of the Australian floods on artifacts from Australia's maritime history, please post it on the Fyddeye Facebook page.

If you'd like to help QMM with clean-up or funds, please contact the museum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 07 3844 5361.

The origin and history of the chip log and its methodologies

The first mention of the common, hand, ship, or chip log appears in 1534 when it was described in William Bourne’s A Regiment of the Sea. A log line and glass have been tentatively identified among the artifacts recovered from the 1545 wreck of the Mary Rose. For over three centuries, it was the major tool used for dead reckoning and it was an essential element in what was known as the three Ls: lead, log and lookout. (On long voyagers it became “latitude, log and lookout.”)

Bourne believed that the nautical mile measured 5,000 feet and used a 30-second glass. In 1637, Richard Norwood, after measuring a meridian arc between London and New York (for the purpose of accurately measuring the exact dimension of the earth), published in The Seaman’s Practice,* advising seamen to remark their log lines on the basis that the nautical mile was 6,120 feet. The nautical mile is now accepted to be 6,080 feet and the proportion should be 47 feet three inches for a 28-second glass.** Even though Bourne worked on a nautical mile of 5,000 feet, it still gave an accurate measurement for dead reckoning in that if the distance between landfalls was 500 nautical miles and the log gave a speed of five knots, the time taken would be 100 hours. When using Bourne’s log, the distance was unknown or presumed, his log would gave a speed of six knots and the time taken would be still be 100 hours. With various speeds being sailed and logged, for the voyage, a navigator would still have a reasonable estimate of when he could expect make land fall.

In ships of war and East Indiamen, it was usual to stream the log once every hour, and in all other vessels once in two hours, and if, at any time of the watch, the wind has increased or abated in the intervals so as to affect the ship’s velocity, the deck officer generally makes a suitable allowance for it, at the close of watch. However, most navigators used 48 feet, this being eight fathoms and easier to measure, one fathom being the span of man’s arms. It also meant that, when combined with dead reckoning, they would arrive late at their destination. An early arrival could lead to disaster.

Read more: The origin and history of the chip log and its methodologies

Seattle's Farm Boat attracts new audiences to historic ships and programs

I recently visited a unique melding of 21st century trends and early 20th century history, and it’s a lesson for maritime heritage organizations that need new audiences. At Lake Union Park near downtown Seattle, the steamer Virginia V has hosted a weekly floating farmers market this month. Called “Farm Boat,” the market features produce grown in rural areas just outside Seattle, as well as crafts made by local artisans. Customers step aboard the restored 1922 “mosquito fleet” boat and find fresh breads, seasonal crops, and friendly faces on the main deck and the upper deck of the restored 125-foot, 150-ton workboat. And once they've finished shopping, they can take in the other historic vessels at the park, such as the tug Arthur Foss.

Farm Boat is organized by Capt. David Petrich, the descendant of a locally boatbuilding family who knows about the early history of Puget Sound farming. Before the advent of good roads, local farmers delivered their produce to Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market by boat. He’s taken that concept and given it a 21st century spin: Farm Boat is aimed squarely at “local-vores” interested in supporting sustainable agriculture and small manufacturers. And as these moderns shop and spend, they learn something about local maritime history aboard one of Seattle’s most beautiful historic vessels.

Petrich hopes to expand his concept to other Puget Sound cities, perhaps recreating the old waterborne farm-to-market delivery routes of the early 20th century. He’s working on restoring the 1911 halibut schooner Olympic as his primary Farm Boat vessel, but for now, his partnership with the Virginia V lets him experiment with the business model.

Not-for-profit maritime history organizations operating small to medium-sized vessels should pay close attention to Farm Boat. It could provide a pathway to new audiences for educational programs, which is critical in an environment of shrinking resources. Fresh produce and hand-made goods will attract people who wouldn’t normally go out of their way to visit an historic ship. Farmers markets are a long-lasting trend as concerns mount about climate change and food safety. And the connections with advocates of sustainable agriculture open new funding avenues for heritage organizations, in both capital improvements and operating revenue. That’s something all heritage advocates can chew on.

Farm Boat’s last day until spring is Thursday, Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lake Union Park in Seattle.