Messages

1

Help and Advice / Stack insignia website

« on: December 19, 2021, 11:53:11 PM »

Some years back, I started a website devoted to a long-standing interest of mine, namely stack insignia.

Other things intervened in my life and I let the site go dormant. However I've been considering reviving it, but before I spend a lot of time on it I'd like your reaction to it.

If you go to http://www.capeirish.com/stax/, you'll come to a very plain directory page (I haven't gotten around to a 'welcome' page yet). Click on a folder, then open the HTML file.

The HTML is a table consisting of six columns:
[1] name of owner or operator associated with the insignia
[2] domicile of same
[3] name of vessel linked to a photo
[4] IMO number
[5] source / date of photo
[6] additional details, e.g. principal's website, link to closeup of insignia, etc.

The website requires no logins; there are no ads or cookies.

Please have a look when you can and let me know what you think. My continued efforts on
this project will depend on the feedback I get from interested parties.

Please email me with any questions, comments, suggestions, etc.

Thanks and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe 2022!

Bill Black
[email protected]

2

Help and Advice / Private Craft in the Cape Cod Canal 2016

« on: July 12, 2017, 04:19:13 AM »

I have created a website of photos of private craft in the Cape Cod Canal during 2016.

URL is www.capeirish.com/canalpix/private_craft/2016_album. No logins, ads, etc.

Everything on the site is copyrighted so please email me at [email protected] for usage permission.

Enjoy!

Bill Black


_{Admin Note - 2 August 2017 - All caps removed - Cody}

3

Shipping News and information / Re: Ship Pilots Is A Very Skilled / Dangerous Job

« on: April 28, 2016, 03:36:34 AM »

A number of years ago I wrote a song called "The Chesapeake Pilot". It contains the phrase "I've worked this bay for thirty years - I can sail it in my sleep." Some years later I got an email from a lady who thanked me for writing the song about her father, who had spent his working life as a Chesapeake pilot. She was very perplexed - as was I - when it developed that I didn't know her father. "But you included his favorite phrase - about sailing the bay for thirty years." I couldn't answer her. Her dad's name was Captain Lynn Deibert, a Federal pilot who lost his life falling from the top rung of a pilot ladder off Cape Henry in February 2007. His body, as far as I know, was never recovered. Every time I sing the song I dedicate to the memory of a brave man I never knew. (The song is at www.capeirish.com/bbsongs/ches_pilot/ches_pilot.mp3)

4

Help and Advice / Re: Pop up / advert problems

« on: January 28, 2016, 05:59:40 AM »

It's now 0600z on 28 January and the problem continues. Might be nice if we knew what's going on and what might be happening to fix it. I don't mind having the ads to help support the site but this is ridiculous. (Running Firefox on Mac 10.10.3).

5

Site related news, functions and modules / Re: Removal of owner/manager information from photos

« on: January 24, 2016, 03:38:46 PM »

Would it be possible to put a link to Equasis (or similar) somewhere on that page?

I guess an alternative would be to have members with access to the owner/operator information add it as a comment, but that seems cumbersome. . .

6

Site related news, functions and modules / Removal of owner/manager information from photos

« on: January 24, 2016, 07:35:06 AM »

Is there any reason the owner/manager details have been removed from the "additional information" section of the ship photos? Have they been relocated somewhere else on the site? Thanks =

7

Help and Advice / MY PHOTOS pages

« on: August 25, 2015, 08:29:49 PM »

Is there a way to sort the vessel photo entries alphabetically? The originals on my hard drive are sorted that way and I find it confusing not to have the same system on this site.
Thanks
Bill Black

8

Site related news, functions and modules / Re: Starbucks video

« on: May 17, 2015, 07:39:12 PM »

Thanks - as I said, I normally don't have problems with the ads but this one was really intrusive.

9

Site related news, functions and modules / Starbucks video

« on: May 16, 2015, 04:56:07 AM »

Is anyone else experiencing problems with the Starbucks video taking over the page? Can't do anything else while it's running and there doesn't seem to be any way of getting rid of it (although refreshing the page seems to work).

I appreciate that having ads is a necessary part of maintaining a free-to-users website but this seems to be a little over the top. (I run Firefox on Mac Yosemite.) I don't have a problem with the product, just the way the video freezes the rest of the page.

10

Shipping News and information / Re: New stack insignia for Associated Maritime (HK)

« on: April 15, 2015, 01:10:43 PM »

Hi Phil

Sounds like a reasonable solution to the mystery. I'll be interested to see if China VLCC is allowed to have its own website or if it will be buried somewhere among the 239 other shipowning entities.

Sorry to see CY Tung go. We handled a few AMCL ships when I was in the agency business and it was a first-class operation.

BB

11

Shipping News and information / Re: Updates on vessel changes and services to New Zealand in 2015

« on: April 15, 2015, 04:51:24 AM »

Thanks!

By the way - do any of you NZ types know Nigel Kirby? My wife and I were in NZ at the time he was married (1973) and we attended the ceremony - in Dunedin if I remember correctly. Long time and I was curious to know if he's still around.

BB

12

Shipping News and information / Re: Updates on vessel changes and services to New Zealand in 2015

« on: April 15, 2015, 04:00:36 AM »

Would anyone be kind enough to identify the Spirit of Canterbury's stack insignia for me? Photo shows what looks like a silver or white seagull in flight on a black basic.
Thanks!

13

Shipping News and information / New stack insignia for Associated Maritime (HK)

« on: April 14, 2015, 05:47:24 PM »

Recent photos of "New Peace" and "New Wisdom" seem to indicate that the venerable yellow star has disappeared from AMCL's vessels. Apparently it's been replaced by a device that seems to be a yellow letter V inside a thinner white C.

I know that Vale and China Merchants Energy - parent co. of Hong Kong Ming Wah, who now seem to be calling the shots at AMCL - have joined forces (or are about to) in a contract of affreightment for iron ore, but this deal seems a prospective one involving mainly bulkers. Additionally the V on the new insignia isn't quite the same as the V on Vale's website (I don't have a good closeup however).

All typically mysterious - can anyone out there shed light on this?

Many thanks
Bill Black

14

Shipping News and information / Re: Carla Maersk collision in Houston

« on: March 12, 2015, 01:47:32 PM »

Maybe somebody better start asking the Houston pilots some pointed questions!

15

Help and Advice / Re: Cropping stack insignia from the "original" versions

« on: December 18, 2014, 05:16:30 PM »

Many thanks to the members who took the time to help with this. The problem seems to be that there's no way to download either of the magnified "full screen" or "original" versions as stand-alone JPEGS - they remain as HTML, and as a result none of the editing tools which could be used for cropping the individual stacks/funnels will work.

Do the larger-scale JPEGs exist somewhere separately, or do the site administrators use software to create them?

There's a lot about this whole topic that I'm still learning but again thanks for the suggestions (and the patience).