Disastrous news for marine adventurers hoping for jolly boating weather all the way to the North Pole.

http://notrickszone.com/2018/05/19/gore-and-hansen-join-false-prophets-hall-of-fame-as-arctic-ice-volume-now-only-4-below-mean/#sthash.xFbfKc6T.dpbs

"Gore And Hansen Join “False Prophets Hall of Fame” As Arctic Ice Volume Now Only 4% Below Mean!

By P Gosselin on 19. May 2018

Japanese skeptic blogger Kirye posted here at Twitter the latest news on Arctic sea ice volume, which earlier this spring took a sudden and unexpected jump upwards – adding some 2 trillion cubic meters.

What follows is the latest chart from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI): .... "

May 20, 2018 at 10:09 AM | Uibhist a Tuath
Henry The Navgator was probably the most important facilitator of European expansion outside of Europe, and is largely forgotten. He adopted the Lateen sail (probably of Arab origin and NOT Latin as the name implies!) and matched it with ships with better ocean going characteristics. The Lateen sail then evolved into Gaff Rig, with separate jibs and staysails.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Henry_the_Navigator
"At that time, the ships of the Mediterranean were too slow and too heavy to make these voyages. Under his direction, a new and much lighter ship was developed, the caravel, which could sail further and faster,[3] and, above all, was highly maneuverable and could sail much nearer the wind, or "into the wind". This made the caravel largely independent of the prevailing winds. With the caravel, Portuguese mariners explored rivers and shallow waters as well as the open ocean with wide autonomy."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravel

There is no way that Portugal north of Lisbon outshines London or the Rhineland.

May 20, 2018 at 11:05 AM | Supertroll

Perhaps it is to do with wine?

May 20, 2018 at 2:00 AM | clipe
I have never sailed the "Great Lakes", but have worked on a large lake in New Hampshire in the early 1980s. Even then, advance warning of a storm, or conditions likely to generate severe localised thunderstorms etc gave a few days notice to prepare, and NOT be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Mechanical Failure" is the most regularly cited reason for ship and boat rescue. It normally means engine failure, and in rough conditions, especially on yachts that have not been used over winter, blocked fuel filters are a common cause.
Google "Diesel Bug" or try here:
http://www.pbo.co.uk/gear/12-diesel-bug-treatments-tested-43353
Diesel engined generators and vehicles that remain unused are also vulnerable. Also camper vans etc ........

Those wind conditions would make towing, a risky venture for the rescue vessel as well as the stricken yacht. Ropes will snap, assuming the attachment points don't fail, under the extreme snatch/jerk loading that are inevitable in rough water.

Surprising reactions. I think the whole image is fake, and I wonder why? There is no way that Portugal north of Lisbon outshines London or the Rhineland.

May 20, 2018 at 8:53 AM | Supertroll
Went to Portugal (Algarve) about 35 yeas ago and thought then it would be a concrete jungle when finished. I guess it's become that concrete jungle right round the coast, Until the Carnation Revolution in 1974 (action started during Eurovision Song Contest when Portugal's entry started) there was a pretty repressive dictatorship in Portugal for 40 years, Portugal joined the EU in the mid 1980s at which point it started to receive investment in development projects, After 30 years starting from a low point I guess what you're seeing is a result of those changes and investments. I think that the number of tourists visiting Portugal annually is about the same as the population, visitors tend to go to the coast, the islands and Lisbon also indicated by an illuminated coast.

This is all my opinion gleaned from looking at tourist information and watching the Eurovision Song Contest which Portugal won in 2017

When we visited very little was made of Henry The Navigator when we went to Sagres apart from a statue I can't remember much else.