ON THURSDAY NIGHT, New Year’s Eve, a reported 1 billion people worldwide watched the dropping of the Waterford Crystal Ball in New York City’s Times Square.
An additional 1 million people and their closest friends joined them in Lower Manhattan during the last minute of the year.
This spectacle began in 1907.
The practice of dropping a ball to signal the passage of time dates back to 1833, when the first time a ball was installed on top of England’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England.
This ball dropped at 1 o’clock every afternoon to allow the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers.
At one time, there were about 150 time balls around the world, but today, only a few remain.
There is one in the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D.C., that descends from a flagpole at noon each day.
The USNO serves as the official source of time for the U.S. Department of Defense and a standard of time for the entire U.S.
Marine manufacturings
Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, yacht-repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles, has Sea Bear in the Commander Building.
She is a 126-foot Christensen luxury yacht that was brought to Platypus Marine from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
I understand the vessel will receive a new set of generators and the stabilizers will be refurbished.
Sea Bear was recently purchased, and the new owner no doubt has a laundry list of items to be done by the specialists at Platypus to personalize the vessel, including renaming the vessel Afterglow.
Platypus also has Nanea in the Commander Building.
She is a 73-foot custom-built Striker Sportfisher.
I understand personnel will sandblast the hull below the waterline and apply a new coat of paint, the teak decking will be repaired as needed and the wheelhouse is being reconfigured to allow more convenient access to the engineering space.
Harbor happenings
On Monday, Tesoro Petroleum provided bunkers to Silver Ginny, a 600-foot petroleum-products carrier that is flagged in the Marshall Islands.
On Wednesday, Tesoro bunkered Shanghai Dawn, an 800-foot Panamanian-flagged crude-oil tanker.
On Friday, Tesoro refueled Puffin, a 656-foot bulk cargo ship that is flagged in Jamaica.
_________
David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. News announcements about boating groups, including yacht clubs and squadrons, are welcome as well.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
