Summit hits whale [2 threads merged]

[ala-kat]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,209636,00.html

[bepsf]

Didn't this just happen on Jewel of the Seas inaugural transatlantic crossing?

[Knights on the Beach]

Didn't that also happen with a Royal Caribbean ship a year or two ago?

[carnivalkim]

That is so sad:(

[gg3]

That is so sad:(

 

I agree - such a magnificent creature to lose its life like that. :( gg

[seamama1]

That seems really odd. Can't imagine a whale letting himself get run in to. Maybe he was already dead..or very, very sick.

 

In any case, it's a darned shame.....:(

[dkjretired]

That seems really odd. Can't imagine a whale letting himself get run in to. Maybe he was already dead..or very, very sick.

 

In any case, it's a darned shame.....:(

 

Happens all the time, when we were in St. George a few years ago a ship came after it had hit a whale. I believe it was the ship that does the Bermuda run out of Boston.

[jessemon]

Did anyone else hear about the deer being struck by a car in Alabama today? :eek:

Folks...things happen. A whale "maybe" got hit by a ship. "Maybe" it was dead befor that. So let's let NOAA get involved and spend our money to determine this.

Should this be news worthy...yes. (Only for the interesting pics.) Whales die every day. So do deers hit by cars.

Not trying to be harsh but, this is something not to loose sleep over.

JMHO

[ala-kat]

Did anyone else hear about the deer being struck by a car in Alabama today? :eek:

 

I live in Alabama, and if you've not personally hit a deer, you know first hand of at least one person who has. Knock on wood, I only know the ones first hand. The deer population is quite explosive, not up on the whale population.

 

Is this newsworthy? Probably not. Nature happens. Just usually not in this manner.

 

As a side - I've never sailed with X, but do not see how this could be a black mark on them unless they were gunning for said whale.

[jessemon]

I live in Alabama, and if you've not personally hit a deer, you know first hand of at least one person who has. Knock on wood, I only know the ones first hand. The deer population is quite explosive, not up on the whale population.

 

Is this newsworthy? Probably not. Nature happens. Just usually not in this manner.

 

As a side - I've never sailed with X, but do not see how this could be a black mark on them unless they were gunning for said whale.

ala-kat,

Grew up in up state NY. More deer than you can count, use to hunt them.

I hit one once while driving and after hitting it...had to put it out of it's misery.

Unlike the 91,000 ton ship and the whale...it (the deer) made a mess out of my car.

I agree on your side comment....I don't think the crew went out of it's way to impale a whale.

No black mark with me either.

[dkjretired]

Any bets on someone coming home and wanting compensation because the ship hit the whale.

[c-legs]

Any bets on someone coming home and wanting compensation because the ship hit the whale.

:D

Hi,

 

Put me down for a fiver......I'm sure I'll lose as there's probably some environmentalist ''ambulance'' chaser around, sniffing for ''takers''....

 

Sad reflection on where our society is heading, not ??

 

Cheers

CG

;)

[ala-kat]

ala-kat,

Grew up in up state NY. More deer than you can count, use to hunt them.

I hit one once while driving and after hitting it...had to put it out of it's misery.

Unlike the 91,000 ton ship and the whale...it (the deer) made a mess out of my car.

I agree on your side comment....I don't think the crew went out of it's way to impale a whale.

No black mark with me either.

 

was going to say something, and thought better of it (no offense to jessemon).

).

[m steve]

X has determined that the accident constitute "whale watching" and is charging each passenger $10 for the event!:)

[cindy'njohn]

Depression, with it's multitude of causes, affects not only humans. We can only surmise that events in the life of that poor mammal paralleled some of those in our own. Suicide is nearly always a tragic event, but can prove a relief to those troubled with life. Goodbye, dear Whale, we hope you have found peace.

[Drew B]

[quote name='claude g.']:D
Hi,

Put me down for a fiver......I'm sure I'll lose as there's probably some environmentalist ''ambulance'' chaser around, sniffing for ''takers''....

Sad reflection on where our society is heading, not ??

Cheers
CG
;)[/quote]

Well, I'm not the litigious type, but if I had been on that cruise, hitting the whale probably would have ruined my trip, regardless of where blame lies. It CERTAINLY would have upset me more than missed ports or faded upholstery or cracked tiles or jeans in the dining room or a thousand other myriad things that people complain about...

[Sunshine91]

[quote name='m steve']X has determined that the accident constitute "whale watching" and is charging each passenger $10 for the event!:)[/quote]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]I love it![/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]cindy'njohn - [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]Whale "suicide by ship" - now there's an interesting thought.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]Had I seen a whale (or any other lifeform impaled on the bulbous protrusion) I'd have been saddened & perhaps would have even shed a tear. [SIZE=2](I tend to get a little weepy when I see dead pets on the side of the road.)[/SIZE] Would my trip have been ruined? No. I might have had to toast the life of that whale that evening in the bar. :) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[fcorey]

[quote name='Eleris']Maybe it's just me but doesn't anyone else wonder how the ship could not have picked up the whale on radar????? Whether it was dead and floating or just out infront of the Summit who the he$$ was watching the radar and didn't notice a large BLIP on the screen? [/QUOTE]

eleris, thats not how radar works, there are a number of things that determine what you can and cannot see, and how close or far you can see it. Minimum range is determined by pulse width and recovery time. Also, a whale may have been submerged most of the time. Also a 20-30 foot object really wouldnt be a large blip on a screen.
Radar is used for detecting surface objects, sonar is what is used for submerged. We would frequently hear whales out in the Atlantic while I was serving aboard submarines in the Navy. And you can be darned sure they heard us, their biological sonar is probably a lot more accurate than you'd expect.

This poor whale was either already dead, or very sick when it got picked up by that ship. If they could hear an attack submarine, they can certainly hear a very large loud object like a cruise ship and would have moved to avoid it. You'd be amazed at how far away you can hear the screws of a surface ship.

[Tinknock50]

[quote name='ric4003']I would think that the Editor of the Anchorage Daily News would have caught this error on the photo caption:

"A work crew pulls away from a 25- to 30-foot whale impaled on the bow of the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Summit after helping attach a tow line to the carcass Aug. 19, 2006 in Seward."

Carnival Summit??

The thought makes me sick![/quote]

Hey , give the guy a break....he used to work for the New York Times!:)

[icesk8r]

We just got back from our Summit cruise. Our group did not hear a thing about the whale hitting the ship until my mother called and told me she saw something on the news. I asked our waiter and asst waiter about it that night, and they both professed innocence, however, later the waiter confessed that he had heard about it. He said if the captain had to make a decision between the whale and 3,000 passengers and crew, what else could he have done? He also said that no one felt anything, however, I heard from other staff that the ride up to Seward the night before had been very rough, so it is not surprising that apparently no one felt a bump when whale met ship.

And yes, I stayed away from the fish stew on the cruise...:(

[2ladies]

A few years ago, we were on a visit to the Bridge and a whale dove right under the bow - gave me a terrible fright. It was very sudden and was a huge dark shape. The Captain laughed and said they never hit the ship ....... hmmm!! Or the ship never hits the whale!!

But I suppose if it miscalculates the ship could hit it. You would think it would have created a 'drag' which would have been noticed. But then, I am not very nautical!!

Its a shame - but I am from Ft. Lauderdale and am used to the horrible things done to wildlife, by boaters. Manatees have scars all over their bodies!! Time boaters had to get a license!!

Doesn't help this scenario - but hey 'things' happen!!