Contest #453: Gloucester Marine Railways, Rocky Neck, Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA.

Gloucester, on Cape Ann, is the oldest seaport in the United States. The town officially dates to 1623, before both Boston and Salem. Unofficially there is evidence that fishermen from Cornwall and Devon had been using Cape Ann as a rest stop, and place to dry fish, since around 1600. Gloucester was, and to an extent still is, a major fishing port for much of its history. For at least one vision of those that go down to the sea in ships, see the 1937 movie Captains Courageous (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028691/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1) The Gloucester Marine Railways was started in 1855 (http://www.gloucestermarinerailways.com/history.htm) and has remained in business ever since. As long as there are ships on the great waters they will need repair work, and this is where they go.

The schooner Roseway, built in 1925, up for repairs in 2012:

Why it is called a railway:

Working on the brig Beaver, replica of a ship involved in the Boston Tea Party (http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/history-brig-beaver)

Inside a wooden ship:

Stepping the mast onto Roseway after finishing the refitting:

And finally, how a marine railway works:

Those that went down to the sea early for 2 points:

      • Garfield
      • Lighthouse
      • Phil Ower
      • hhgygy
      • Eloy Cano

And those needing a nautical chart, for 1 point:

      • Glenmorren
      • joe9000
      • Max_Power
      • Robin
      • Paul Voestermans
      • Steve J

Well done, all hands!

Contest #452: the Hoba meteorite site near Grootfontein, Namabia

In 1920, a farmer was plowing a field near Grootfontein, Namibia when his plow suddenly screeched to a halt. Curious about what he had run into he dug in the soil to find a large piece of metal. The large metal mass quickly attracted the attention of scientists and others, who identified it as a meteorite and removed the soil around it. Although excavated, the meteorite has not been moved from its location of discovery because of its great weight. However, many pieces have been removed for scientific study and through vandalism.

The farmer had discovered a 66-ton iron meteorite – the largest single meteorite ever found and the largest piece of iron ever found near Earth’s surface. It is tabular in shape and about nine feet long, nine feet wide and about three feet thick. It was given the name “Hoba” because it was discovered on a farm named “Hoba West”.

Hoba is thought to have fallen to Earth about 80,000 years ago. It is composed of about 84% iron, 16% nickel, and trace amounts of cobalt and other metals. An abundance of iron oxides in the soil around the meteorite suggests that it was much larger than 66 tons when it landed and has suffered significant losses from oxidation. It is surprising that this meteorite is not surrounded by a crater. Objects of this size should punch through the atmosphere at a very high rate of speed and hit Earth with enough force to blast a significant crater. No crater is present around the site of the meteorite. This suggests that it fell to earth at a lower rate of speed than expected. Some scientists believe that the flat shape of the object may be responsible for its low velocity at impact.

The Namibian government has declared the meteorite and the site where it rests as a national monument. The site now has a small tourist center and is visited by thousands of people each year.

Found for 2 points:

  • hhgygy
  • Phil Ower
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Joe9000

After the hint for 1:

  • Ann K.
  • Glenmorren

Contest #452 Hint

At the centre of the image is something out of this world, but now can be found in Google Earth.

What is it? You’ll have to dig around to find out, but don’t move anything.

Contest #451: The Ark Encounter, Williamstown, KY, USA.

A “full size” replica of Noah’s Ark underway a couple of ticks southwest of Williamstown, Kentucky. All privately funded by roughly the same folks who brought you the Creation Museum (http://creationmuseum.org/) in Petersburg, Kentucky.

Building materials for the partially framed construction:

Interior under construction:

Mock up of the final project. No word on whether it will actually float:

And a video, dated May 27, 2016.

Those that got on board early, two points:

  • Garfield
  • Glenmorren
  • RicardPG
  • LawnBoy
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower

Those that started heading for the entry ramp when the rain started, one point:

  • mehmet DURMUS
  • hhgygy
  • Junebug
  • Ann K.
  • steven simmons
  • rob de wolff
  • Chris Nason
  • Robin
  • Max_Power
  • Barbie
  • Gillian B
  • Maureen

Well done!