Beyond the Breakers

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ!

**this is a short preview of a much longer bonus episode we did on Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, available for $3 and $5 patrons** 

Religious symbolism plays a major role in the works of Sergei Eisenstein, so we found ourselves discussing it quite a bit during our episode on Battleship Potemkin. For Easter, we've cut those sections of the episode together in one concentrated mini-episode. 

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This week we discuss the loss of the USS Turner, a Gleaves-class destroyer that sank off of New York City in January 1944. 

**Jump to around 13:30 to get right into the action**

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Sources: 

"Gleaves class destroyers (1940)." https://naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/gleaves-class-destroyers.php

Naczi, Robert F. "Special: Tragedy Strikes in New York Harbor." U.S. Naval Institute, December 1995, https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1995/december/special-tragedy-strikes-new-york-harbor

Verga, Christopher. "Sinking of the U.S.S. Turner: Tragedy, Heroism, and Mystery." Fire Island News, 26 Dec 2024. https://www.fireislandnews.com/history/sinking-of-the-u-s-s-turner-tragedy-heroism-and-mystery/#:~:text=Huus%20rapidly%20mobilized%20his%20crew,survivors%20before%20additional%20help%20arrived

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In this episode we go deep into the history books to discuss the deadliest maritime disaster we've covered up to this point. 

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Thank you to our lovely advertisers!

Kelly (Radway's Medicated Soap) 

Nick (Sulfur Bitters) 

Jas (Dr. Keeler's Celebrated Family Medicines [various]) 

Kaylee (Father Koening's Nerve Tonic) 

Sharp (Allan's Lung Balsam) 

Taylor (Hood's Sarsaparilla) 

Katie (Dr. Butts' Marriage Guide) 

Sources: 

Elendil the Tall. Akallabêth. Barahir Books, 3321 SA.

Tolkien, J.R.R.The Fall of Númenor. Edited by Brian Sibley, William Morrow, 2024. 

Tolkien, J.R.R. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Mariner Books, 1980. 

Tyler, J.E.A. The Complete Tolkien Companion. Thomas Dunne Books, 1976.

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Here is a short clip from our most recent 2nd Mate Tier bonus episode: 'The Ignoble Means by Which That Wealth Was Accumulated' - The Slaving Brig Henriqueta and the Illicit Slave Trade to Brazil 

*(the full episode is about 1:18:00 in length) 

If you enjoy the show, there is much more of it for you to check out on Patreon - join as an Able Seaperson ($3) for an extra bonus episode each month or as a 2nd Mate ($5) for two bonus episodes. 

Joining as a patron also gets you (slightly) earlier access to main episodes, and the occasional 'deleted scene' that doesn't appear in the main version of an episode

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This week we have the story of the jackup rig Kolskaya, lost in the Sea of Okhotsk in December 2011. 

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Sources: 

"Буровая платформа Кольская - трагедия и надежда." www.kolskaya.com

"How do jackup rigs work?" https://www.rigzone.com/training/insight?insight_id=339&c_id=24

История крушения Кольской нефтяной платформы. Обо всем из жизни, 27 Dec 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzv_O3ZIU8Q

Kostanov, Yuri. “Платформа 'Кольская': кто и когда ответит за это трагедию?” Морские вести России (Maritime News of Russia). 12 Apr 2015. https://morvesti.ru/themes/1693/53317/

Nordlander, David J. “Origins of a Gulag Capital: Magadan and Stalinist Control in the Early 1930s.” Slavic Review, vol. 57, no. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 791 - 812. 

Sandberg, Finn Harald. "Kolskaya - an outsider with a tragic fate." Valhall: Industrial Heritage. https://valhall.industriminne.no/en/kolskaya-an-outsider-with-a-tragic-fate/

Shturma, Yana. “‘Она вся была как груда льда’ - 10 лет трагедии на нефтяной платформе Кольская.” Gazeta, 18 Dec 2021. https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2021/12/18/14323573.shtml

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This week we are discussing a smashingly successful air attack conducted by the Empire of Japan in December 1941 (but not that one).

Jump to around 14:30 to get right to the action

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Sources:

Bell, Christopher M. “The ‘Singapore Strategy’ and the Deterrence of Japan: Winston Churchill, the Admiralty and the Dispatch of Force Z.” The English Historical Review, vol. 116, no. 467, Jun 2001, pp. 604 - 634.

Garzke, William H., Robert O. Dulin, and Kevin V. Denlay. "Death of a Battleship: The Loss of HMS Prince of Wales, December 10, 1941 - A Marine Forensic Analysis of the Sinking." 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20220327195109/https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/hms/prince_of_wales/death-of-a-battleship-2012-update.pdf

Toll, Ian W. Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944 - 1945. Norton, 2020.

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It's all regional rivalries and riverine wrecks this week as we discuss the sidewheel steamer Empire of Troy (1843 - 1853).

*jump to around [13:00] if you want to dive right in to the main part of the episode

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Sources:

Allison, J. Thomas. Hudson River Steamboat Catastrophes: Contests & Collisions. The History Press, 2013. 

Ellis, David Maldwyn. “Albany and Troy - Commercial Rivals.” New York History, vol. 24, no. 4, October 1943, pp. 484 - 511. 

Ellis, David Maldwyn. “Rise of the Empire State, 1790 - 1820.” New York History, vol. 56, no. 1, Jan 1975, pp. 4 - 27. 

Newspapers referenced within episode:

Boston Atlas

Cleveland Daily Herald

New York Daily Tribune

New York Herald

New York Times

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We kick off Season 5 by getting back to the Great Lakes for the story of the SS Francisco Morazan

*Taylor's new mic sounds great but we are still getting Tanner's audio situation resolved

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Sources:

"Francisco Morazan." National Park Service, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/historyculture/shipwreckmorazan.htm

"Personaje Histórico Francisco Morazan." Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/honduras_francisco_morazan/

Warner, Gene L. "The Last Shipwreck." Manitou Islands Archives Newsletter, vol. 1 no. 4, Winter 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727061018/http://www.manitouislandsarchives.org/archives/newsletters/v1n4.pdf

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In this final episode of Season 4, we conclude the tale of the oil tanker SS Torrey Canyon.

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Sources:

Green, Anna and Timothy Cooper. “Community and Exclusion: The Torrey Canyon Disaster of 1967.” The Journal of Social History, vol. 48, no. 4, 2015, pp. 892 - 909. 

Gundlach, Erich. R. “Oil Tanker Disasters.” Environment, vol. 19, no. 9, December 1977, pp. 16 - 27. 

Petrow, Richard. In the Wake of Torrey Canyon: The Great Oil Disaster - Its Causes, Consequences, and Lessons for the Future. David McKay Company, 1968.

• Published in Britain as The Black Tide

Sheail, John. “Torrey Canyon: The Political Dimension.” The Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 485 - 504. 

Uekotter, Frank. The Vortex. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023. 

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In Part II we get into the wreck itself and some of the initial attempts at salvage and containment

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Sources:

Green, Anna and Timothy Cooper. “Community and Exclusion: The Torrey Canyon Disaster of 1967.” The Journal of Social History, vol. 48, no. 4, 2015, pp. 892 - 909. 

Hassler, Bjorn. “Accidental Versus Operational Oil Spills from Shipping in the Baltic Sea: Risk Governance and Management Strategies.” Ambio, vol. 40, 2011, pp. 170 - 178. 

Petrow, Richard. In the Wake of Torrey Canyon: The Great Oil Disaster - Its Causes, Consequences, and Lessons for the Future. David McKay Company, 1968.

• Published in Britain as The Black Tide

Sheail, John. “Torrey Canyon: The Political Dimension.” The Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 485 - 504. 

Uekotter, Frank. The Vortex. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023. 

Support the show