Wednesday, July 29

Summer Sunset at Geneva State Park Marina

The summer weather provides a variety of sunset colors. This sunset was shot after a day of thunderstorms and changing temperatures. Lake Erie provides a lot of wave action when the wind is blowing. Boaters are not afraid to venture out at sunset to enjoy a cool evening ride.
Photographs shot with a Nikon D3 at 200 ISO using a 70mm - 200mm 2.8f lens with a polarizing filter.

Saturday, July 18

USS Cod Submarine

USS Cod (SS/AGSS/IXSS-224) is a Gato-class submarine, the only vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the cod, the well-known food fish of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut on 21 July 1942. She was launched on 21 March 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. G.M. Mahoney), and commissioned on 21 June 1943 with Lieutenant Commander James C. Dempsey (Class of 1931) in command.
World War II First and second patrols Cod arrived in Brisbane, Australia, on 2 October 1943 to prepare for her first war patrol. She sailed from there 20 days later. Penetrating the South China Sea, she contacted few targets, and launched an attack only once, on 29 November, with unobserved results. Returning to Fremantle, Western Australia, to refit from 16 December 1943 to 11 January 1944, Cod put to sea for her second war patrol in the South China Sea, off Java, and off Halmahera. On 16 February, she surfaced to sink a sampan by gunfire, and on 23 February, torpedoed a Japanese merchantman. She sent another to the bottom on 27 February and two days later attacked a third, only to be forced deep by a concentrated depth charging delivered by an alert escort ship.
Third and fourth patrols Refitting at Fremantle again from 13 March – 6 April 1944, Cod sailed to the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea off Luzon for her third war patrol. On 10 May, she daringly attacked a heavily escorted convoy of 32 ships and sank destroyer Karukaya and a cargo ship before the escorts drove her down with depth charges. Returning to Fremantle to replenish 1 June, she cleared 3 July on her fourth war patrol, under the command of Commander James "Caddy" Adkins. She ranged from the coast of Luzon to Java. She sank a merchantman on 3 August, and a landing craft, LSV-129, on 14 August, and, once more successful, returned to Fremantle 25 August. Fifth patrol Cod put to sea on her fifth war patrol 18 September 1944, bound for Philippine waters. She made her first contact, a cargo ship, on 5 October, and sent it to the bottom. Two days later, she inflicted heavy damage on a tanker. Contacting a large convoy on 25 October, Cod launched several attacks without success. With all her torpedoes expended, she continued to shadow the convoy for another day to report its position. In November she took up a lifeguard station off Luzon, ready to rescue carrier pilots carrying out the series of air strikes on Japanese bases which paved the way for the invasion of Leyte later that month. Cod returned to Pearl Harbor on 20 November 1944, and sailed on to a stateside overhaul, returning to Pearl Harbor on 7 March 1945. Sixth and seventh patrols On 24 March she sailed from Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea on her sixth war patrol. Assigned primarily to lifeguard duty, she used her deck gun to sink a tug and its tow on 17 April, rescuing three survivors, and on 24 April launched an attack on a convoy which resulted in the most severe depth charging of her career. The next day, she sent the minesweeper W-41 to the bottom. On 26 April Cod was threatened by a fire in the aft torpedo room, but was saved by the heroism and skill of her men who fought the fire under control and manually launched a torpedo already in its tube before the fire could detonate it. QM2c L.E. Foley and S1c A.G. Johnson were washed overboard while freeing the torpedo room hatch. Foley was recovered the next morning, but Johnson was drowned during the night.[5] After refitting at Guam between 29 May and 26 June 1945, Cod put out for the Gulf of Siam and the coast of Indo-China on her seventh war patrol under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edwin M. Westbrook, Jr. On 9 and 10 July she went to the rescue of a grounded Dutch submarine, O-19, taking its crew on board and destroying the Dutch boat when it could not be gotten off the reef. This was the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history.[citation needed] After returning the Dutch sailors to Subic Bay, between 21 July and 1 August, Cod made 20 gunfire attacks on the junks, motor sampans, and barges which were all that remained to supply the Japanese at Singapore. After inspecting each contact to rescue friendly natives, Cod sank it by gunfire, sending to the bottom a total of 23. On 1 August, an enemy plane strafed Cod, forcing her to dive, leaving one of her boarding parties behind. The men were rescued two days later by Blenny (SS-324). When Cod returned to Fremantle 13 August 1945, the crew of O-19 was waiting throw a party for their rescuers. During that celebration, the two crews learned of the Japanese surrender. To symbolize that happy moment, another symbol was added to Cod’s battle flag: the name O-19 under a martini glass.[6] Cod sailed for home on 31 August. Arriving in New London, on 3 November after a visit to Miami, Florida, Cod sailed to Philadelphia for overhaul, returning to New London where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 22 June 1946. 1951 – 1971 Cod was recommissioned in 1951, under the command of Captain Francis E. Rich, to participate in NATO anti-submarine training exercises. Her Cold War voyages took Cod to St. John's Newfoundland, as well as ports in Cuba and South America. During LANTFLEX '52 fleet exercise, Cod was credited with "sinking" a U.S. aircraft carrier. Cod was decommissioned in 1954 and placed in reserve. In 1959 she was towed through the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway to serve as a naval reserve training vessel in Cleveland, Ohio. The veteran submarine was an instant hit with school children who visited her on field trips. Cod was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS-224), 1 December 1962, and a Miscellaneous Unclassified Submarine (IXSS-224), 30 June 1971. In 1971, no longer useful as a training ship, Cod was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Cod is credited with sinking more than 12 enemy vessels totaling more than 37,000 tons, and damaging another 36,000 tons of enemy shipping. All seven of her war patrols were considered "successful" and Cod was awarded seven battle stars.

Wednesday, July 15

Additonal 250th Annivesary Photographs from Ft. Niagara

Living on the Great Lakes

Living on the Great Lakes, provides one with many opportunities to witness and photograph nautical scenes. This photographs were shot this month at Old Fort Niagara, NY and Ashtabula, OH. The sailboats are always a favorite target of mine. I am jealous and wish I had a small sailboat like the kids are sailing. The interesting vessels can be small or large. In Ashtabula an ore carrier prepares to back into the harbor and take on a load. The tugboat is moving large stones on a barge to use for on a breakwater. Many of the days around the Great Lakes are moderate due to the lake water temperature. During the summer the cool water (about 65-70 degrees) helps keep the air cool when a breeze is out of the northwest. During the winter months, the lake water takes time to freeze over and this open warm water produces lake effect snows in the snow belts. Geneva State Park marina is the home to many marine vessels. Ashtabula and Conneaut Harbors dock the larger ore carriers. Lake Ontario off of the New York coastline has clear, greenish blue water. I guess it is due to Niagara Falls and the depth of the lake. Lake Erie I understand is the shallowest of the Great Lakes. In the photograph of the tree sailboats, Toronto, Ontario, Canada can be seen in the far right.

Wednesday, July 8

Fort Niagara Fireworks ... Thumbs up!

I had the pleasure to witness the 4th of July celebration while at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, N.Y.. To tell you the truth my expectations were low when I saw the trailer setting out alone by Lake Ontario. But, it was a beautiful, cool evening with a mild wind from the West-Northwest. The fireworks started at 10:00 pm. Was I shocked how good the performance was executed. I do know yet know the name of the company, but Thumbs Up! It was spectacular. The little town of Youngstown, N.Y. sure knows how to make visitors oohs and aahs. The performance was about 40 minutes and ended with a spectacular volley of fireballs and explosions. Here are just a few of the photographs I shot that evening. All can be seen at http://photo-dad.fokti.com . Other examples of a technically brilliant fireworks display.

Tuesday, July 7

250th Anniversary Fort Niagara Seige French & Indian War 1759

YOUNGSTOWN N.Y. — Grown men played war Friday at Old Fort Niagara. With 30-foot sailing ships anchored in the river, cannon blasts shook the ground and some 2,500 volunteers refought one of the key battles of the French and Indian War. Bill Snow, 60, said he did it for history. “You’re representing an actual time and an actual place,” said Snow, who commanded four French cannons Friday as British ships attacked one of his country’s schooners. “You don’t get this stuff [easily] out of books.” More than 4,000 people descended on Fort Niagara Friday to watch the re-creation of the Battle of Fort Niagara — a skirmish that was a turning point in the prequel to the American Revolution that tipped the scales in the British favor. Friday’s re-enactment was part of a weekend-long event commemorating the battle’s 250th anniversary. “Nations risked lives and treasure for this spot,” said Kathryn Vedder, director of development for the site. “We like to say, ‘If not for this battle, we’d be speaking French.’ ” French pioneers built the citadel on Lake Ontario in 1726 as a turnpike of sorts for the Great Lakes. In effect, whoever controlled Fort Niagara controlled all shipping into the early American heartland, Vedder said. The idea of Friday’s re-enactment was to create a living history of the period and perhaps to escape from the modern world, said David Reed, 61, who came to Fort Niagara from Elma for the weekend. “No cell phones, no newspapers, no TV, no radio,” Reed said. “It’s not like trying to keep up with the Joneses.” Re-enactors Friday made bread by hand in front of their tents and drank water from tin mugs. Organizers were planning to conduct church services this morning, with Catholics in the Frenchheld base and Protestants in the British camp. Some of the participants became so wrapped up in their parts that it became hard to distinguish fantasy from reality. Jay Levenson, 42, spoke in present tense about the battle (which was to be fought on a soccer field) and discussed the role of the Mohicans in colonial society and the plight of America’s first settlers. “A lot that’s taught about Native Americans in public schools is incorrect,” said Levenson, who was dressed in war paint and feathers, referring, briefly, to the 21st Century. “We weren’t all running around scalping people. . . . We were doing this for survival.” For others, attendance at the event meant nothing more than a chance to be outdoors. More than a thousand people gathered around a field outside the fort to watch a pitched battle between French and British infantry. The skirmish seemed like a cross between a performance and a fireworks display; volunteers fired mounds of gunpowder from muskets and cannons, and some even played dead, usually after their muskets broke or a commander tapped them on the shoulder. “Very well performed,” said Elaine Mahoney, 62, who had driven from Tucson, Ariz. “The costumes and the history — [the participants are] so eager.” After the British forces took Fort Niagara, the site changed hands between England and the fledgling United States several times until after the War of 1812. The U.S. Army used the base for training through World War II. Since then, it’s been used solely as an attraction for tourists and re-enactors. But, as Snow pointed out, a cannon blast will always be a cannon blast. “The concussion, the powder, the sound,” Snow said. “You get a rush out of it.” The French surrender at 3 p.m. Sunday.
By Danny Yadron NEWS STAFF REPORTER, The Buffalo News
12# French Cannon Shot Saturday, July 4th.