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SeattlePI.com-- Edward Cook heard about the Alaska Ranger's mayday, knowing his brother was aboard the ship taking water in the icy Bering Sea.  Cook was in the same corner of the Bering Sea on the Alaska Warrior, a sister fishing vessel, which aided in the rescue. The crew worked for hours, pulling survivors huddled in life rafts or scattered in the water to safety.  Upon finding a lifeless body, he knew without having to check that it was his brother Daniel, said Edward Cook's wife, Cindy, who lives in Gold Bar.  "When they got down to the point that they were checking for anyone who hadn't survived, he knew by the shape of his brother's body that it was him," she said.  "He was totally, totally a wreck" when she talked to her husband by phone shortly afterward. "They were as close as you can imagine -- they did the same thing and they loved their family."  Chief engineer Daniel Cook, 58, a San Diego father of three, Harley-Davidson devotee and fisherman who loved nothing more than stocking up at Costco in anticipation of a stint at sea, was among the four victims of the Easter Sunday sinking.  Read More

Wired, February 25 2008-- Ship captains spend their careers trying to avoid a collision or grounding like this. Almost midnight on the North Pacific, about 230 miles south of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. A heavy fog blankets the sea. There's nothing but the wind spinning eddies through the mist.

Out of the darkness, a rumble grows. The water begins to vibrate. Suddenly, the prow of a massive ship splits the fog. Its steel hull rises seven stories above the water and stretches two football fields back into the night. A 15,683-horsepower engine roars through the holds, pushing 55,328 tons of steel. Crisp white capital letters - COUGAR ACE - spell the ship's name above the ocean froth. A deep-sea car transport, its 14 decks are packed with 4,703 new Mazdas bound for North America. Estimated cargo value: $103 million.  Read More

Newport This Week, March 19 2008--  The owners of a 103-year-old sailing yacht that sunk during the Museum of Yachting's Robert Tiedemann Classic Regatta last summer are suing the owners of the 94-foot yacht Sumurun for more than $1 million.  The lawsuit, filed against A. Robert Towbin of New York City and Armin Fischer of Camden, Maine, was submitted to U.S. District Court in Portland March 5 by Jed Pearsall and William Doyle, both of Newport.  The suit stems from a dramatic collision during a July 7 charity race for the Museum of Yachting in which Sumurun struck and sank Msres. Pearsall and Doyle's classic sloop Amorita.  Named by Sail Magazine in January 1994 as one of the "100 Greatest Yachts in America," Amorita met a quick demise in approximately 55 feet of water just south of Beavertail.  Read More

The Engineer, March 25 2008--  According to legend, when the mistral wind screams down the Rhone valley in winter, it turns people mad. Once a source of fear, the elemental force of this torrent of air flowing south to the Mediterranean, will this year be harnessed in an attempt to break the world speed sailing record.  The goal is to smash the 50 knots (58mph) barrier but, like the most famous water speed records, this exploit is not without danger or a touch of madness. One leading vessel preparing for the attempt will literally fly above the waves, risking destruction without warning.  Hydroptere is a 60ft trimaran which, on reaching a speed of about 12 knots, is designed to lift all its hulls out of the water simultaneously to reduce drag; it planes along 5m above the surface on two hydrofoils that extend at an angle down into the water from the outer stabilisers.  Read More

The Fiji Times Online, March 26 2008-- The initial period for yacht stay in Fiji has been extended from three months to nine months after Cabinet yesterday endorsed the Customs Tariff Act (Amendment) Promulgation 2008 to accommodate the extension.Cabinet's decision was based on a submission by the interim Minister for Finance, National Planning, Sugar Industry and Public Utilities (Water and Energy) Mahendra Chaudhry.Mr Chaudhry said whilst the interim Government was of the view that the maintenance of Fiji's borders should remain a priority, it nevertheless recognised the overall benefit and contribution of the yachting industry to the country. "The yachting industry is one of the growing segments of the tourism industry in Fiji and hence support should be given in the promotion and development of this industry," he said.He said the current three month period would be increased to nine months and the extension period maintained at three months. This would mean that the total period allowed for yacht stay would be 12 months. Read More