The Preussen

This (second picture) was the largest cargo sailing ship ever. It traveled between Germany and Chile. This trip took between 58 and 79 days. So on the fastest trip the Preussen averaged 13.7 kts without a motor. It was launched in 1902 and destroy when it was run into by another ship in 1910.





The colored picture is of the Eugen Maersk. This ship is currently the largest and fastest cargo ship. It is 1300 feet long and can cruise at 26 kts but it never does. Due to fuel costs the ship is restricted to 10kts, considerably slower than the Preussen. Even at this speed the Eugen Maersk uses 150 tons of fuel a day and produces the amount of pollution produced by millions of cars.

So it seems to be time to return to the days of sail.

A mistake for 80 years!

The Flapper Skate was miscategorized over 80 years ago. That has meant that this fish and a similar looking fish have been caught for seafood in the North Sea for many years. Only recently have scientists discovered that there are two distinct species of fish. Unfortunately there are far fewer Flapper Skates than the other type of Skate. This problem was recognized in 2006 but it took a long time to protect the Flapper Skate and now it may be too late. It is considered entirely depleted from its natural ocean area and may become extinct. This is the worlds largest skate and it is hoped that the fish can survive although it will probably never be the common fish it once was.