Category Archives: High Seas

While most Pacific islands haveescaped the worst of COVID-19, a cornerstone of their economies, tourism, has taken a big hit. By June 2020, visitor arrivals in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu had completely ceased, as borders were closed and even internal travelrestricted. In Fiji, where tourism generated about 40% of GDP before the pandemic, theeconomy contracted by 19%in 2020.

One economic alternative lies just offshore. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) is a deep-sea trench spanning 4.5 million square kilometres in the central Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. On its seabed are potato-sized rocks called polymetallic nodules which containnickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. These formed over centuries through the accumulation of iron and manganese around debris such as shells or sharks teeth.

There are estimated to be around21 billion tonnesof manganese nodules in this trench alone, and demand for these metals islikely to skyrocketas the world ramps up the development of batteries for electric vehicles and renewable power grids.

While much of the CCZ lies beneath the high seas where no single state has control, its adjacent to the exclusive economic zones of several Pacific island states, including the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga. Lacking the means to search for the metals themselves, these states havesponsored mining companiesto take out licences with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is responsible for sustainably managing the seabed in international waters. This would allow these companies to explore the seabed and determine how viable mining is likely to be, and its potential environmental impact.

To date, ISA hasapproved 19 exploration contracts, 17 of which are in the CCZ. A Canadian company,The Metals Company(formerly DeepGreen Metals) hascontractswith Tonga, Nauru and Kiribati.

With so little known about the biodiversity of this largely unexplored part of the ocean, its difficult to accurately predict how deep-sea mining willaffectspecies here. Environmental organisations and scientists havearguedfora moratoriumon mining until more extensive research can be done.

Some Pacific islanders, including The Alliance of Solwara Warriors, representing indigenous communities in the Bismark and Solomon Seas of Papua New Guinea,have protestedthe lack of information given to local communities about thepotential impact of mining. In April 2021, Pacific civil society groups wrote to the British governmentseeking support for a moratorium. Meanwhile, a former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, has described deep-sea mining as inevitable and urged businesses to figure out how to do it safely.

But time is running out. Seven exploratory licences aredue to expire in 2021, making it imperative that either a moratorium is adopted internationally, or the ISA adopts a legal framework for determining the conditions under which extractive mining can take place.

Work towards this framework has been ongoing since 2014. Despite this, the 168 nations of the ISA assembly have yet to agree a code for regulating extractive mining contracts. The ISAs ambition to reach an agreement in 2020 was derailed by the pandemic, and its unclear whether meetings will go ahead in 2021. Its likely that exploratory contracts will expire in the meantime, increasing pressure on the ISA from mining companies and those states sponsoring them togrant exploitation licences. Exploratory licences are regulated by the ISA. Without an agreed code, extractive ones are not.

Even if a consensus were reached, enforcing environmental safeguards would be difficult. Pinpointing responsibility for the source of any pollution or environmental damage is tricky when mining takes place in such deep water. There are also few, if any, physical boundaries between one mining area and another. The effects of mining on different ecosystems and habitats might take time to manifest.

International consensus on a moratorium is unlikely too. Mining companies have ploughed a lot of money into developing technology for operating at these depths. They will want to see a return on that, and so will their investors. States which have sponsored mining contracts including some Pacific islands will want to reap the royalties they have beenpromised.

Pacific island states find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. They are among the countries most vulnerable to climate change and so support strong action. But unless alternatives are found, the developed worlds green transition will probably accelerate demand for metals resting peacefully in the deepest parts of the ocean surrounding these islands. It will be the people here who will bear the costs of deep-sea mining undertaken without sufficient caution, not the drivers of electric cars in the global north.

This article by Sue Farran, Reader of Law, Newcastle University,is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.

Go here to read the rest:

With deep-sea mining, the Pacific Islands are caught between money and the environment - The Next Web

USA TODAY Network| NorthJersey.com

Editor's note: In honor of Independence Day this year, we mark 245 years since the United States parted with Great Britain we present the nation's founding document, the Declaration of Independence.

Last year, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude and the failures of the Trump administration, we shared our view that the United States has not always lived up to the Declaration's creed. Further, we believe the national conversation on racial equity and justice must force the nation to finally and truly embrace the notions of universal liberty and equality.

American can and must ensure that all its people, created equal, can embrace their inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

John Hancock

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

Matthew Thornton

Originally posted here:

The United States at 245 years: Celebrating the Declaration of Independence - NorthJersey.com

ReviewsMusic, comedy ... and murder?

The show: "A Gentlemans Guide to Love and Murder," book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman, music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, and based on a novel by Roy Horniman; presented by College Light Opera Company

What it's about: Could there be a more unlikely place for a hilarious musical comedy to start than the jail cell of a condemned murderer? But thats where we first meet Monty Navarro (Ian C. Weber) as he pens a memoir chronicling his crusade to gain his rightful place as head of the noble DYsquith clan. He set out to eliminate the eight family members ahead of him in the line of succession. At the root of his murderous mayhem is his bid to win the heart and hand of the lovely Sibella (Emily Holguin), hence the title.

Highlight of the show: Hands down, its Jeffrey Laughruns portrayals of all eight of the ill-fated DYsquiths. (Honestly, I lost count of how many personas he had actually donned, so was glad to find the number in a show synopsis.) The characters ranged from a pretentious fop with animal skins around his neck, to a bumbling bishop, to a silent movie star. Each of Laughruns comedic characterizations is bang-on.

Fun fact: The uproarious comedy is actually based on the 1907 novel by Roy Horniman, Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal. The "Gentleman's Guide" show was the hit of the 2014 Broadway season, with an impressive 10Tony Award nominations and four wins, including Best Musical.

Worth noting: Sabrina Brush has an unenviablejob as the aged Miss Shingle, the bearer of the news that Monty has noble blood running through his veins. Its never easy for a young person to wear the cloak of advanced age, and Brush does it flawlessly. (All the members of the CLOC company are theater arts students or recent graduates.) Her portrayal brought to mind the quirky Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

One more thing: There is wonderful contrast between the glamorous and detailed Victorian-era costumes and the simple-but-effective set. In one scene, Monty, Sibella and Phoebe (Sophie Thompson) go back and forth through a simple door in an increasingly complex pattern that draws applause.

If you go: 7:30 p.m. through July 10 at Highfield Theatre, 58Highfield Drive, Falmouth, with a live-streaming option for the July 10 show. Tickets and information: http://www.collegelightoperacompany.com/.

Sue Mellen

A whale of a tale

The show: WHAT for Kids! presents The Tale of Ibis, written and directed by Jody O Neil

What its about:A talented young cast uses puppets, cardboard cut-outs, and just a touch of dramatic irony to recreate the inspiring true story of the successful whale-entanglement rescue that played out in Provincetown in 1984.

See it or not:The actors dramatize this harrowing true tale in a fun, accessible way that should appeal to young audiences. Still, the show is a tad short at just under 40 minutes. (Perhaps O'Neil and collaborators could adda scene or extendthe early section in whichthe quirky cast members trade wisecracks before they tell Ibiss story?)

Highlight of the show:Paige O Connors hysterically funny performance in not one, but two roles. As Ibis, the eponymous whale who survives an almost fatal encounter with a fishing net, shes deliciously over the top. As Ocean, the master of ceremonies, she delivers her witty one-liners with aplomb.

Fun fact:The play, originally created for the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, is based on John Himmelmans 1990 childrens book Ibis: A True Whale Story, which retold Ibiss rescue.

Worth noting:Gage Anderson is hilariously clueless as Rafael, an enthusiastic yet hapless Ibis enthusiast. In one especially memorable exchange, Rafael wonders aloud what a Walkman is, and Ocean patiently reminds him that they were all the rage in 1984 when people still used cassette tapes.

One more thing:$2 of each ticket will benefitthe Center for Coastal Studies Entanglement Fund, which was established in response to the effort to free Ibis in 1984.

If you go:7p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through Aug. 12at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, 2357 Route 6; $12; http://www.what.orgor508-349-9428

Paul Babin

The show: The Seussification of Romeo & Juliet, by Peter Bloedel; directed by Karen Hepinstall

What its about: The famous Shakespeare tragedy about lovestruck teens (John OMeara and Alana Hartsgrove) whose future is complicated by their feuding families is told through comedy and Dr. Seuss-like rhymes and cadences. Since this is a lighthearted family show with whimsical costumes and sets, expect some key changes to the classic tale.

See it or not: The hourlong show is cleverly, poetically, sometimes tongue-twistingly written and imaginatively staged and acted as a fun diversion, with wacky touches a balloon duel likely to charm elementary-schoolers and up.

Highlight of the show: Director/actress Hepinstalls vision extends to her designing and constructing the costumes, and the colorful, fanciful, Seuss-inspired wigs and attire immediately create the dont-take-anything-seriously tone. Mark Rodericks bright sets continue that theme.

Fun fact: This Academy of Performing Arts production has been a year in the making, with the set ready since July 2020 for an envisioned online version that got stopped by technical and COVID-19-related complications.

Worth noting: Delightful purple-wigged narrators Emma Taylor and Frankie Schuman keep reminding us that this show is not connected to the real Dr. Seuss, with no official endorsement. But if youve read Seuss, the style will feel familiar.

One more thing: You might need to explain some of Bloedels early-21st-century references and language choices to the younger crowd, with mentions of Seinfeld, a PC computer, the pits, hot mama and the like.

If you go: 7 p.m. July 9-10 and 2 p.m. July 11 at the Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans. Tickets and information: https://www.academyplayhouse.org/

Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll

The show: "Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose," written by Max Bush, based on the stories by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm

What it's about: This slightly updated version of the familiar tale about a sweet and sleepy princess, handsome prince and prickly and perilous spinning wheel is spiced up a bit to suit modern tastes. Theres a pair of bumbling palace guards (Shiloh Pabst and Tess OLeary), a delightfully evil wood sprite Erdu (Gracie OLeary) and just the right touch of drama from the reader/Fairie Queen (Carryl Lynn).

Highlight of the show: Its outside on the companys new outdoor stage. So theres the feeling that the setting a forest glade just continues endlessly. Talk about feeling like youre part of the show! Little ones in the audience might as well be up on the stage with the sweet and winsome princess (Olivia Thompson) and brightly costumed wood sprites.

Fun fact: In this version, Erdu is a stand-in for the villain par excellence Maleficent, who generations of youngsters have loved to hate (and adults have simply loved for her glorious wickedness) in the Disney version of this story.

Worth noting: The fairies' bright, satiny costumes offer a wonderful contrast to the muted tones of the set. And sprite Saru (Trenton Hatch) does some wonderful bits with a bright blue cape, making it look like flowing water.

One more thing: This is the companys 70th summer season, which it is terming its Renaissance Season, in recognition of its return from a period of semi-hibernation during the pandemic. Its so great to see Cape theater waking up and stretching its limbs.

If you go: 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays through July 16th at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., West Harwich; $25 adults, $15 youth under 21; 508-432-2002 or http://www.capecodtheatrecompany.org

Sue Mellen

The show: The Cake, by Rebekah Brunstetter, directed by David Drake

What its about: This 2019 comedy is about a Bible-quoting North Carolina baker who reconsiders her longtime beliefs and her marriage after the daughter of her deceased best friend requests a cake for her wedding to another woman.

See it or not: The 90-minute script and production explore the ideas of identity and bigotry, and a topical controversy, with sometimes laugh-out-loud humor and touching earnestness.

Highlight of the show: While the relationship between fiancees Jen (Vanessa Rose) and Macy (Jackie Marino-Thomas) provides the plays heart, the marriage exploration between baker Della (Jennifer Cabral) and Tim (Ian Leahy) provides the hilarity in wooing scenes involving butter-cream frosting and mashed potatoes.

Fun fact: Townies Cabral and Leahy are married in real life, and their comfort with each other lends depth and likability to characters whose politics likely differ from many in the audience.

Worth noting: Fred Jodry creates a fun and memorable character only by voice as the flirty yet judgmental host of a reality baking show in Dellas fantasy life.

One more thing: Ellen Rousseaus confection of a set for the outdoor, park-like Playhouse in the Parking Lot (which she also designed) is all bright colors and cartoon-like images, with ingenious beds tucked into drawers that slide out to create non-bakery locations.

If you go: 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through July 22 at Provincetown Theatre, 238 Bradford St.; $40 and $50; 508-487-7487 or https://provincetowntheater.org/

Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll

On the new garden outdoor stage at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is Shipwrecked! An Entertainment The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself), by Donald Margulies. The epic tale was inspired by the true story of adventurous Louis de Rougemont telling Victorian London about his bravery and survival on the high seas with exotic islanders, flying wombats, giant sea turtles and a monstrous man-eating octopus.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays through July 25 in front of the WHAT theater, 2357 Route 6. Admission: $35, $15 students. Tickets and information: https://www.what.org.

Cape Rep Theatre is staying outdoors, too, repurposing the Outdoor Theatre usually used exclusively for family shows into an evening-under-the-stars experience for adults. With what promises to be an intriguing set, the company will present the farce Noises Off, the on- and off-stage antics of a hapless theatre troupe whoever more desperately tries to stage a British romp.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays July 7-Aug. 21 at the theatre, 3299 Main St., Brewster. Tickets: $30. Reservations and information: 508-896-1888, caperep.org.

Cape Cod Theatre Project continues its month of virtual readings of new plays with Tiny Father, about a new father to a months-premature baby and an oversharing NICU nurse by Mike Lew (Teenage Dick), directed by Tony-nominated director, Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Present Laughter and Hand to God).

Guggenheim Fellow Lews slice-of-life comedy about parenthoodis based in part on personal experience, and was originally commissioned as part of Audibles Emerging Playwrights Fund. It will star Andy Lucien (on stage: City of Conversation and The Last Seder; on TV:The Blacklist and Daredevil); and Ali Ahn (Broadways The Heidi Chronicles and off-Broadways Twelfth Night; TV'sRaising Dion, and NeXt.)

Shows are online at 7 p.m. July 8 and 10, with audience talk-backs at the end to help develop the play. Tickets and information: http://capecodtheatreproject.org.

Actors at Chatham Drama Guild are staging Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies, which they'd planned to produce in summer 2020. The plot is about two English actors who learn a wealthy American woman is dying and looking for her lost family members and decide they just might fit the parts.

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays July 8-Aug. 8 (except July 31) and 4 p.m. Sundays at the guild theater, 134 Crowell Road, Chatham. Tickets: $22-$25. Reservations: 508-945-0510,https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ken-ludwigs-leading-ladies-tickets-159495482281.

Marthas Vineyard Playhouse in Vineyard Haven is staging Every Brilliant Thing, written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahue. Scott Barrow stars in the three-decade story of a boy who tries to cure his mothers depression by creating a list of the best things in the world. The playhouse describes the show as a heartbreaking and hilarious immersive theatrical experience that takes us on a life-affirming journey.

Shows are at 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays July 8-18 at Tisbury Amphitheater, Off State Road. Tickets: $20-$25. Reservations and information: 508-696-6300, info@mvplayhouse.org, https://go.evvnt.com/809302-0.

The musical revue Silver Threads is subtitled A Rockin Tribute To Linda Ronstadt, and will be the first indoor show at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theater since the pandemic shutdown. Sonia Schonning, Marcia Wytral and Sara Sneed accompanied by a band led by musical director Robert Wilder will explore the Ronstadt songbook through the decades.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays July 10-Aug. 1 at Cape Cod Theatre Company / Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., West Harwich. Tickets: $15-$30. Reservations and information: 508-432-2002, capecodtheatrecompany.org.

Cotuit Center for the Arts will use its new outdoor stage to present the family-friendly The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, written by playwright Dan Zolidis. The WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company will seekto combine all 209 Grimm stories from famous tales like Snow White to obscure ones like The Devils Grandmother for a fast-paced comedy with lots of audience participation that moves from once upon a time to happily ever after.

Shows are at4 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays and 7:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays July 11-20 at the center, 4404 Route 28. Tickets and information: artsonthecape.org or 508-428-0669.

The world premiere of writer/director Holly Erin McCarthys The Fantastical House of Maya Mouse will set up a summerlong residency at Cape Rep Theatres outdoor stage to tell the story of a mouse who would rather stay home and watch movies than go to the beach. Then she cant turn the movies off when her house is plunged into a cinematic universe, with giant and noisy objects, aliens and other foes to fight.

Shows are at 10 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays July 14-Sept. 2 on the outdoor stage at Cape Rep Theatre, Route 6A, East Brewster. Tickets ($12) and information: 508-896-1888 or http://www.caperep.org. Masks and social distancing will be required.

For the first of two outdoor shows this summer, Cape Playhouse will present "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill," revisiting one of singer Billie Holiday's final performances in 1959 Philadelphia. A dozen musical numbers are combined with reminiscences about Holiday's life.

Shows of the 90-minute musical are 8 p.m. July 14-24 on the grounds of Cape Playhouse, 820 Main St. (Route 6A), Dennis. Tickets ($59) and information: https://www.capeplayhouse.com/lady-day/

See the article here:

14 comedies, musicals, fairy tales and more to watch from Cape Cod & Islands theaters - Cape Cod Times

The birth of our country is traditionally a grand celebration filled with family, friends, BBQs, and community fireworks. It feels quite different this year as we begin to pick our heads up and see the light after a pandemic that rocked our world.

Whether you are enjoying Independence Day in the comfort of your homes and backyards, or taking necessary steps to celebrate away from home,Happy July 4th!

- Your friends at HamletHub

The Declaration of Independence.

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Read more:

Happy 4th of July to all our readers - HamletHub

Louis Armstrong said, If you have to ask what jazz is, youll never know. Duke Ellington said, There are simply two kinds of music: good music and the other kind. Christopher Cross said, If you get caught between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do is fall in love.

What do these pieces of wisdom add up to? Music, like love, doesnt follow rules. Musicians as diverse as Armstrong, Ellington and Cross dont want to be boxed in by genre. They want to write, record and perform and not spend time deciding if they play bebop or hard bop, blues or Southern rock, funk or disco.

But as temperatures heat up and people think of sailing away to find serenity, yacht rock playlists start to float in on the breeze. And that means drawing boundaries with enough latitude that artists dont object to being boxed in andstill foster playlists with a sense of meaning, a sense of continuity and depth. Peaks and valleys must be smartly balanced against the total annihilation of a common aesthetic. (Yes, despite a fascination with sailing and pina coladas, yacht rock can be taken seriously!)

And so, much to Armstrongs chagrin, we have to ask, What is yacht rock? If it seems obvious, take a look at Spotifys recent Yacht Rock playlist. Spotify is a global streaming leader with some 350 million monthly users, an army of music experts and cutting edge artificial intelligence, and yet the company filled its playlist with songs such as Tears for Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Rockwells Somebodys Watching Me, Van Morrisons Brown Eyed Girl and Bruce Hornsbys The Way It Is.

If somebody wants to create and enjoy a stack of songs that runs from tunes by the J. Geils Band, to thePolice, to Bad Company, to Talking Heads (yup, the company has all these artists on its playlist and even included Ray Parker Jr.s Ghostbusters), they should do that with gusto! It sounds like an evening full of classic jams and fun left turns so cheers to the endeavor. But if a major player in the music business wants to do that and call it yacht rock, we need to take a step back and consider what is and isnt yacht.

We know breezes, islands, keys, capes, cool nights, crazy love and reminiscing help define the yacht aesthetic (see works by Seals & Crofts, Jay Fergeson, Bertie Higgins, Rupert Holmes, Paul Davis, Poco, and Little River Band). But lets get beyond the captains caps and map the waters of this perfect-for-summer style.

Watch Bertie Higgins' Video for 'Key Largo'

Before 2005, people generally placed Totos Africa and Holmes Escape (The Pina Colada Song) in the soft rock genre. Maybe if they were getting fancy, theyd call them AM Gold. But in 2005, the online video series Yacht Rock debuted. It fictionalized the careers of soft rock artists of the late 70s and early 80s. The cheeky show capitalized on the building renaissance of artists such as Steely Dan and Michael McDonald, who embraced the silliness of the series.

When it came on I remember watching it pretty avidly, McDonald admitted in 2018. My kids got a huge kick out of it. We would laugh about the characterizations of the people involved. At this point its a genre of its own. Youre either yacht or you're not.

He might be right that youre either yacht or youre not. But calling it a genre doesnt quite work (more on that in a minute).

Listen to the Doobie Brothers' 'Minute By Minute'

By the late 60s, rock n roll had become art. The Beatles started as simple teen heartthrobs covering early rock n roll, but graduated to the supreme weirdness of theWhite Album. Chuck Berry gave birth to the Rolling Stones who gave birth to Led Zeppelin and the gonzo bombast of Babe Im Gonna Leave You. And all sorts of acts went wild from the Grateful Dead, to Pink Floyd, to Frank Zappaand beyond. The sunshine of 70s AM Gold came as a reaction to these wonderful excesses. Singer-songwriters aimed to take rock and pop back to the simple pleasures of tight, light tunes such as Beach Boys classics, Motown hits and Brill Building-crafted songs.

Hippies looking for revolution and Gen X-ers on the hunt for rage, irony and sharp edges bristled at the genuine lyrics of tenderness and heartbreak neatly packaged in finely-crafted Top 40. Where the stars and fans of '60s and 90s rock wanted arty and experimental music, anger and angst, yacht took listeners on a voyage powered by pure earnestness: think of the sincere and intense conviction of Dave Masons We Just Disagree, Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together," and Love is the Answer by England Dan & John Ford Coley.

(Which is why placing the Police or Talking Heads on any yacht mix doesnt work.)

Yacht rock embodies the final charge of unbridled, heartfelt pop.

I think these songs remain so popular because they are unabashedly pop,Nicholas Niespodziani, leader of the hugely successful tribute bandYacht Rock Revue,explains to UCR. Theyre not self conscious. You couldnt write a song like Africa now. What are they even singing about? Who knows? But its fun to sing.

Watch Captain & Tennille's Video for 'Love Will Keep Us Together'

Yacht rock doesnt just have an earnestness to its lyrics, the sax solos come with the same level of sincerity.

If the style was the last gasp of unadulterated pop, it was also the dying breath of jazzs influence on rock. Jazz rock started in the 60s with Zappa, Chicago, Santana and Blood, Sweat & Tears, but slowly simple drums and growling guitars stomped horn lines and rhythmic shifts into the ground. However, yacht rock features echoes of swingin saxophones, big band horns and Miles Davis fusion projects.

Yacht rock is very pop, but legitimate musical talents made those hooks. Chuck Mangione logged time in jazz giant Art Blakeys band then took what he learned and crushed complex harmonic ideas into the pop nugget Feels So Good, which is basically a Latin-bebop-disco-classical suite. (If you dig Feels So Good, dig deeper and groove to smooth jazz mini-symphony Give It All You Got.)

Nearly every classic from the style features either an epic sax solo or dazzling guitar part. For horn glory, go spin Little River Bands Reminiscing, Gino Vannellis I Just Wanna Stop or Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers Just the Two of Us." For six-string wizardry as astounding as anything Jimmy Page came up with (and much more economical), try Atlantic Rhythm Sections So Into You, Pablo Cruises Love Will Find a Way and pretty much every Steely Dan cut.

(Which is why placing Tears for Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Rockwells Somebodys Watching Me on any yacht mix doesnt work).

Watch the Little River Band's Video for 'Reminiscing'

Being a style, a feeling, an aesthetic, a vibe means that yacht rock can pull a song from a wide variety of genres into its orbit. It also means that its not just a catalog of hits from bearded white dudes. Yes, Kenny Loggins, McDonald and both Seals and Crofts helped define yacht rock. But quintessential songs from the style came from the women and artists of color, soul singers, folk heroes and Nashville aces.

For every Loggins' tune in a captains hat, theres a Carly Simon track dressed up as your cruise director.Yes, there's Steely Dan's jazz influence,but alsoCrosby, Stills & Nash's folk legacy (Southern Cross remains definitively of the style). Yacht rock playlists should also be littered with appropriate R&B gems, such as the Raydios You Cant Change That (which features Ray Parker Jr.!), Hall & Oates Sara Smile and Kool & the Gangs Too Hot. Likewise, country acts of the era tried to go Top 40 while attempting to retain some twang and managed to make Love Boat music (see Juice Newtons Angel of the Morning, Eddie Rabbits I Love a Rainy Night, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers Islands in the Stream).

Its hard to tell if the Commodores Sail On is pop or R&B, harder still to know if George Bensons Give Me the Night is pop, R&B or jazz. But they both feel yacht.

(Which is why Santana can do psychedelic Latin music and can do yacht on Hold On, and why the Pointer Sisters can do new wave disco with Neutron Dance and yacht with Slow Hand.")

Spotify was right to think about diversity when making its playlist, though the company got the type of diversity wrong. Yacht has some pretty specific sonic parameters, but has no demographic restrictions when it comes to the kind of artists contributing to the styles catalog. That means when you hit the high seas of yacht, you dont need to be afraid to fight for your favorites to be included, just please dont have one of those favorites be Ghostbusters.

We began talking about drawing boundaries with enough latitude that artists dont object to being boxed in. The wide latitude yacht rock affords matters because music comes to define eras and outlines cultural trends (remember that yacht came in reaction to art rock and that says a lot about the swing from the late '60s to the early '80s). Calling Christopher Cross soft rock might feel right, but it doesn't tell us much about where he was coming from and what he was trying to accomplish. Calling Cross yacht rock, now that we know it's not a pejorative, illuminates his aesthetic.

Cross came out of the Texas rock scene that produced blues aces the Vaughan Brothers and guitar shredder Eric Johnson (who plays on a lot of his albums). He loves Joni Mitchell and that shows in his craft. He's jazzy but not jazz (see those horns and guitar on "Ride Like the Wind") with a vibe that's completely yacht -- developed from the scene that took '60s pop, updated it and sheltered it from the trends of punk, metal, new wave and hip hop.The same can be said forLoggins, McDonald, Simon, Lionel Ritchie and so many others.

Spotify needs to tweak itsalgorithm so it gets this right. Or, better yet, connect with the genre-crossing vibe that makes yacht so unique.

Read the original post:

Yacht Or Not?: Sailing The Seas of Yacht Rock - Ultimate Classic Rock

Young love can blossom anywhere even in shipping it seems but to be parted on the high seas must make any separation even more acute, except if you work for Flex LNG that is.

So when cadet Magda Pieniazek and her own true love Bartozs Cenarski went to sea, both with on different vessels for the John Fredrisken-controlled LNG shipowner they expected to be far apart for several months.

But the two youngsters, who had met and fallen in love while studying at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Poland, had not banked on the romantic side of Captain Nenad Martinovic the Croatian master of 173,400-cbm Flex Artemis (built 2020) on which Cenarski is serving.

In late June as Flex Artemis paused for a Reunion crew change, while in ballast and heading for West Africa, sistership Flex Constellation (built 2019), with Pieniazek onboard was passing with a cargo bound for China.

Captain Martinovic, made a small and authorised diversion to facilitate an on-the-water, albeit at-a-distance, romantic rendezvous for the two young loves.

There was waving, flag-flying, the sound of the ships sirens and those all-important binoculars as the two vessels passed with the crew assembled on the bridge to witness and celebrate the encounter.

"The crew is proud and additionally motivated, and our young cadets are happy," Captain Martinovic told his local Croatian publication. "The respect expressed in this way by their older colleagues meant a lot to them.

Family, friends and colleagues, both on board and in the office, make us better. This is our way, the Flex LNG way," he said. "We train and educate our crew and future colleagues by our own example.

Read more from the original source:

Flex LNG shows it cares as loveboats bring young hearts closer - TradeWinds

Sometimes my taste in video games can be a bit weird, as I tend to like games with a grind, especially those with satisfying mechanics. Games like Elite Dangerous can have me hauling goods across the galaxy for hundreds of hours, and it's the same with Death Stranding. That's why King of Seas seemed like it would be a good fit for me, but it doesn't have what those other games do: and that's gameplay that feels satisfying.

King of Seas is an action adventure game that is played from an isometric perspective. You take control of a pirate ship as you sail it to perform missions, trade, and fight on the high seas. It reminds me a little bit of Sea of Thieves played from a top down view, especially when it comes to how the sails work. It takes place in a world that isn't quite the age of pirates, but more like a techno-punk version of it with magical elements. The story is told through extremely stylized characters that are only shown during dialogue. You play as Lucky or his sister Maddy, and you're framed for the death of your father. You have to fight, trade, and upgrade your ship while on the quest to get revenge.

While King of Seas has an exciting premise, I'm not too thrilled with how everything feels. My first impression was that the boats felt like radio controlled toys being played with in a pond, but once I got past that feeling I thought I'd start having more fun. I didn't. Everything in King of Seas feels like a slow chore to accomplish. Navigating from port to port is mostly unexciting, with the only hope for excitement coming in the form of combat. While the combat is fun, it's a mixed bag. There are abilities to use that can spice things up, but most of the time combat boils down to circling your enemy while attempting to hit them with your cannons and dodge their cannons. Upgrades never feel substantial, even when you're dishing out for large battleships that are easily outclassed by smaller, more maneuverable ships.

Unfortunately, the other activities in King of the Seas just aren't very interesting. It's possible to make a profit off of trading, but it feels unnecessary. Randomly pirating other ships is fun, but that's just combat. That's really all there is to do in King of the Seas, and unfortunately, it just doesn't feel fun enough to keep my attention to long periods of time.

I played King of Seas on Nintendo Switch, and it doesn't fit that system very well. In docked mode, everything is mostly okay, even if there are performance issues occasionally. The biggest problem is in handheld mode. Most of the game is extremely tiny, and while it's' definitely playable, I found myself bringing my Switch closer to my face to get a better view.

I really wanted to like King of the Seas, but I had a difficult time getting into it. I enjoyed its form of naval battles for only a short while before the game started to feel like a chore. Even its whimsically stylized characters and interesting premise weren't enough to keep me playing.

See more here:

Video Game Review: 'King Of The Seas' Is Not Compelling - Patch.com

Chilliwacks Tristan Davis used to fight battles on the football field with the G.W. Graham Grizzlies.

Now, the 24-year-old is waging war against terrorism on the high seas.

Davis holds the rank of Sailor First Class, serving on the Canadian warship HMCS Calgary, and he recently played a key role in Operation ARTEMIS. The counter-terrorism and maritime security mission took place somewhere in the Middle East and a successful outcome earned Davis and the ships crew a place in the Royal Canadian Navy record book.

Davis is part of a boarding party, a tactical unit made up different specialists using the call sign Alpha Wave.

Operation ARTEMIS saw HMCS Calgary conducting maritime interdiction operations, intercepting suspicious vessels and seizing illicit goods (usually narcotics). Davis functions as Alpha Waves medic, but the entire group is trained in security, conducting vessel searches and handling contraband. Alpha Wave made the 15th seizure for HMCS Calgary on its most recent deployment.

RELATED: G.W. Graham Grizzlies edge Ballenas Whalers for provincial crown

RELATED: Grizzlies make history in Mission with first regular season football game

That number broke the record for the most seizures by any ship in the history of Operation ARTEMIS, and Alpha Wave added seizures 16 and 17 before they were done.

Its great being a part of HMCS Calgarys massive success and its great to be able to go out there and use our training, Davis said. Our work is helping to disrupt the flow of illicit revenue streams to terrorists in the region and its great to be a part of that.

Davis joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2013 partly because he wanted to follow in his father Rodneys footsteps. Rodney served in Afghanistan as a Combat Engineer. Davis joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a steward but really had his eyes set on tactical work. When he joined the crew of HMCS Calgary in 2019, he immediately volunteered for the boarding team.

Before leaving Chilliwack to join the fight against terrorism, Davis was a member of G.W. Grahams 2013 provincial championship football team and he worked at Joint Force Tactical, a tactical kit supply shop at 103-5725 Vedder Road.

Rodney, along with mom Candice and siblings Austin and Caitlyn, still live in Chilliwack.

@ProgressSportseric.welsh@theprogress.comLike us on

chilliwackRoyal Canadian Navy

See the original post here:

Chilliwack's Tristan Davis fights terrorism on the high seas in the Middle East Agassiz Harrison Observer - Agassiz Harrison Observer

Forget about Captain Hook, Captain Jack Sparrow, hidden treasures and swashbuckling heroes.

Modern-day pirates are nothing like the romantic depictions we are so used to seeing in films and reading about in story books.

Nowadays pirates carry AK-47 rifles and use speed boats to board gas tankers and ships, sometimes hijacking a vessel to steal cargo or to use crew as ransom.

These pirates are capable of carrying out well-planned and violent attacks, leaving ship crew members injured or, worse still, dead.

One region currently considered a piracy hotspot is the Gulf of Guinea, which accounted for nearly half (43 percent) of all reported piracy incidents in the first three months of 2021, according to global piracy watchdog, ICC International Maritime Bureau, The area also accounted for all 40 incidents of crew kidnaps, as well as the sole crew fatality, during the same period.

Recognising the severity of the situation and the impact this is having on the safety and lives of many seafarers not to mention their families the global shipping community came together in May to initiate the Gulf of Guinea Declaration on the Suppression of Piracy.

By signing up, signatories commit to, among other things, supporting anti-piracy law enforcement as mandated by international law, and efforts by non-regional naval forces to provide a capable incident response capability to complement regional coastal states anti-piracy law enforcement operations.

Stella Maris (formerly known as Apostleship of the Sea), the Catholic Churchs maritime charity, has joined in this call to end the threat of piracy in the region.

The organisation has signed the declaration, demonstrating its commitment to eradicating the scourge of piracy.

Stella Mariss international network director, Fr Bruno Ciceri, who signed the declaration, says: We fully support the efforts by all parties in the fight against piracy. It is unacceptable that seafarers, unsung heroes who keep world trade moving, continue to be subjected to pirate attacks. Aside from disrupting the global economy, the persistent threat of danger and harm puts considerable stress on seafarers and their families.

In 2020, Stella Maris chaplains supported seafarers in three piracy cases, providing vital pastoral care to the crew members affected by the attacks. In one case in Lagos, Nigeria, the charitys chaplains boarded a ship following an attack at sea to meet with the crew members.

The crew had been left extremely traumatised, and the support provided by Stella Maris helped allay their fears and anxieties.

Stella Maris hopes governments and enforcement agencies will be able to find a more permanent and long-term solution to the problem of piracy and bring the perpetrators to justice.

We urge hijacked seafarers and fishers not to lose hope that they will be soon reunited with their loved ones and to remain strong in their faith. Families of the hijacked seafarers and fishers can also contact us for assistance and support.

We encourage the faithful to pray to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, to protect seafarers and fishers from all dangers and to support those who have been, and continue to be, affected by piracy, says Fr Bruno.

As churches prepare to celebrate Sea Sunday on 11 July, a day to remember and thank seafarers and fishers for the vital part they play in bringing us goods and food. Please remember these key workers in prayer and support Stella Mariss Sea Sunday appeal. For more information, and to make a donation, go to http://www.stellamaris.org.uk/donate/

Martin Foley has been Chief Executive of Stella Maris since 2010. Previously he was Chief Executive at Life, a support and advocacy charity. Martin says: I am proud to lead Stella Maris. Its a privilege to work with our port chaplains and ship visitors, here in the UK and overseas. Their inspirational work makes a real differenceto the lives of seafarers, fishers and their families around the world.Formed in October 1920 in Glasgow, Stella Maris was established to support seafarers in need. A century later, the charity is the largest ship visiting network in the world, providing seafarers with practical and pastoral support, information, and a friend in times of need.

See original here:

Piracy on the high seas seafarers need protection and prayer - The Tablet

When full summer arrives and the rainy season is upon us, morning and afternoon thunderstorms always set the stage for stories from the past. One of the most intriguing island legends to haunt Marco Beach captured the searching eyes of Hollywood and one of the most famous families of oceanography. Jacques Cousteau remains as one of the most celebrated maritime explorers ever, and in 2018, his grandson Phillippe Cousteau and wife Ashlan arrived on Marco with veteran producer and director Bob Asher to film and document a Marco mystery that truly could be under the sands of time.

Almost every islander that calls Marco home has heard the tale of an old Spanish treasure ship that remains, to this day, under the sand at the original Marco Beach Hotel. The following is the tale of Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read, and a plausible scenario of what can happen to a lost ship when a modern beach becomes bigger and bigger, year after year.

According to nautical lore and legend, Captain Calico Jack Rackham became a pirate when he assumed command of a sailing ship in 1718. Charles Vane was the original captain but when the cautious commander refused to attack a French ship, Calico Jack ignored the order - he fired his cannons and won the day, and a new pirate captain claimed the quarterdeck and the former Captain Vane was reduced in rank to that of a common seaman.

During the following months, Calico Jack became infamous and known for his flamboyant style as he took women onboard as female pirates. He created his own pirate flag with two crossed swords - instead of crossed bones - but he became most known for his fashion sense as he chose to dress in calico cotton instead of the heavy wool that was so hot and uncomfortable in the tropics.

Calico Jack sailed his pirate ship from the Caribbean to the Carolinas and often raided the Atlantic shores of the Bahamas. He was feared during his career as no smaller ship was safe from his spyglass, and with a hardy and ambitious crew, he soon began to acquire a dastardly reputation and a good deal of wealth. His exploits and adventures forced his ship from the Atlantic Ocean and into the Gulf of Mexico where he soon found a safe haven along the southwest Florida coast and the Ten Thousand Islands. San Marcos and Caxambas were the names inscribed on a stolen Spanish chart warning of dangerous shoals and vengeful Indians, but also promised deep-water channels and springs with drinking water.

During the particularly stormy month of September in 1719, tropical storms and hurricanes ruled the seas. With every week, it seemed, a new tempest arrived out of the south and drove westward into the Gulf of Mexico. Any ship afloat during the squalls of September was busy trying to stay above the waves, and many valuable vessels that would have normally sailed with a defensive escort, were often alone and unprotected.

After a week of weathering storms between towering shell mounds and a vast archipelago of mangrove islands, Jack and his pirates became restless. Locked among the mangroves, the buccaneers on the ship soon became quarrelsome and maddened by the endless mosquitoes that were the plague of the safe harbor. With the wind brisk and offshore, Jacks pirate ship soon weighed anchor, set all sails, and rounded a large headland. In the distance, a spyglass revealed a strange sailing vessel. The unknown ship was larger than was safe for the shallow coastal waters, but it was clear the misplaced vessel had been storm-damaged and was moving forward under jury-rigged sails.

As Jacks crew hoisted the skull and swords and began to attack, a menacing squall darkened the horizon, and the wind whipped the water into dangerous battering waves. Long before Jack and his crew could reach the unknown ship both sailing vessels were battling the storm and were too busy to fight.

As the curving white edge of a large crescent beach appeared closer with every breaking wave, and as the rising wind howled, Jack and his crew watched as the heavy ship ran aground and the largest mast fell from the staggering impact.

Fearing that they too would be lost on the leeward shore, Jack ordered his ship about and once again, the calico pirates headed for the shell mounds, the deep-water channel, and the protection of the mangrove archipelago.

After two full days of storms, the sea became calm and once again, Jack and his crew ventured out beyond the headland to investigate the unknown stranded ship. When Jacks pirates anchored and went ashore, they found the wrecked vessel pushed high and dry upon the beach with not a soul aboard. All three masts were a wreck on the deck and the Spanish hull was almost covered in sand.There were no smaller boats remaining onboard and Jack and his pirates surmised that the Spaniards had taken their longboat and were bound for Havana. What did catch Jacks eye, however, was a single silver peso resting near the steps that led down into the ships hold. After lighting a lantern and going below, stout little kegs were found filled with silver Mexican pesos.

Jack and his pirates were delighted and overjoyed but as Jack explained, they could only take a small amount of the newly found treasure as the silver was too heavy and the storm season was far from over. The Spanish ship, however, was a perfect vault as the entire hull was almost covered by sand and the ship could be easily found again as it was clearly in the center of the large crescent beach. After a few kegs of the silver Mex was shipped aboard to appease the female pirates, Jack ordered the jubilant crew to cover with sand what remained of the stricken vessel so that no one could stumble upon the newly found treasure of the Calico pirates.

During the next year, with the treasure of the Ten Thousand Islands safely hidden away, Jack and the pirates sailed happily south and into the Caribbean. The good times, however, did not last as in October of 1720, a British navy ship led by Captain James Barnett was sent to find Calico Jack and his band of buccaneers and place an end to the pirates with a female crew.

Caught one evening under a full moon and a sea of stars in an anchorage in Jamaica, Captain Barnetts bullyboys boarded the calico pirate ship and found everyone fast asleep with a belly full of rum.

When Jack and his pirates were hauled ashore, the women begged for mercy, as they were heavy with child. Awaiting his fate, Jack was locked in a cell where he could stand on a bench and still see the sea. As he contemplated the gallows against the open water, he decided upon a plan.

The British officials were sticklers for record keeping, and when Jack was taken out of this cell and brought before the magistrate, he began to confess all the names of the ships his pirates had captured and supply the details of the cargos booty.

When it came to the mysterious ship that had wrecked on the broad crescent beach that was still filled with Mexican silver, Jack launched his plan. He asked to speak to the magistrate in private, and bargained that if the women on his ship could be sparred a hanging, and if Jack himself could be freed, he would reveal the exact location of the wrecked and sand-buried ship that lay on the crescent beach in the Ten Thousand Islands

Since the women pirates were soon to be mothers, they were spared the death sentence for piracy, but the British magistrate did not believe Jacks story of the lost treasure of St. Marks and Caxambas. After only one week of captivity, Captain Calico Jack Rackhams pirate career was over as he was hung in Jamaica for piracy on the high seas.

To this day, Captain Calico Jacks treasure remains undiscovered but is believed to hold 300,000 in silver Mexican Pesos.

Please look for the Beach Boy Chronicles next week and the Deltona Treasure Hunters on Marco Beach.

Caribbean Pirate TreasureSeason 1, Episode 1, is the Travel Channel feature of Marco Island and Calico Jack with Phillippe and Ashland Cousteau.

Tom Williams is a Marco Islander. He is the author of two books: Lost and Found and Surrounded by Thunder - The Story of Darrell Loan and the Rocket Men. Both books are available on Kindle and Nook.

Link:

The Sands of Time: Part One | Columnists | coastalbreezenews.com - coastalbreezenews.com