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La Vieille
La Vieille ("The Old Lady" or "The Wrass") is a lighthouse in the ''département'' of Finistère at the ''commune'' of Plogoff, on the northwest coast of France. It lies on the rock known as ''Gorlebella'' ( Breton for "farthest rock"), guiding mariners in the strait '' Raz de Sein'', across from the companion lighthouse Tourelle de la Plate—also known as Petite Vieille ("Little Old Woman"). It is among the small class of lighthouses around the coasts of France carrying the moniker "hell", due to a remote position in rough seas. Initial planning talks began as early as 1861, though the construction project was not confirmed until twenty years later. Fierce tides limited the period in which building work could take place to less than half of each year. After five years, construction was complete and its beam first shone in 1887. The light is occulting, with a range of ; a foghorn was installed in the early twentieth century. La Vieille achieved notoriety in the 1920s when two d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raz De Sein
The Raz de Sein is a stretch of water located between the Isle of Sein and the Pointe du Raz in Finistère located in the Brittany region of France. This tidal water is an essential passage for vessels wishing to pass between the Atlantic and the English Channel, because further west at high tide the Isle of Sein and its embankment stretch for more than thirty miles. This is a very dangerous zone for navigation due to the violent sea currents from the tides (up to six knots during the spring tides). The current causes the sea to rise quickly, and it is recommended that heavy vessels should only attempt to cross this strait at still water during calmer conditions. The Raz de Sein is bounded by the La Vieille and Petite Vieille lighthouses and by the shoreline of the île de Sein. Maritime disasters During the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents move both horizontally, on scales that can span entire oceans, as well as vertically, with vertical currents (upwelling and downwelling) playing an important role in the movement of nutrients and gases, such as carbon dioxide, between the surface and the deep ocean. Ocean currents flow for great distances and together they create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of Earth's regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel. For example, warm currents traveling along more temperate coasts increase the te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buoy
A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navigation buoys in the Guadalquivir River in Spain. To the north there are early medieval mentions of the French / Belgian River Meuse, Maas being buoyed. Such early buoys were probably just timber beams or rafts, but in 1358 there is a record of a barrel buoy in the Dutch Maasmond (also known as the Maas Sluis or Maasgat). The simple barrel was difficult to secure to the seabed, and so a conical ''tonne'' was developed. They had a solid plug at the narrow end through which a mooring ring could be attached. By 1790 the older conical tonne was being replaced by a ''nun'' buoy. This had the same conical section below the waterline as the tonne buoy, but at the waterline a barrel shape was used to allow a truncated cone to be above the water. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial, or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship. Nearly all sailing masts are guyed. Until the mid-19th century, all vessels' masts were made of wood formed from a single or several pieces of timber which typically consisted of the trunk of a conifer tree. From the 16th century, vessels were often built of a size requiring masts taller and thicker than from single tree trunks. On these larger vessels, to achieve the required height, the masts were built from up to four sections (also called masts). From lowest to highest, these were called: lower, top, topgallant, and royal masts. Giving the lower section ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flot
{{disambig ...
Flot or FLOT may refer to: * Forward Line of Own Troops, a technical expression for a military front line * '' Flot.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Julius von Flotow (1788–1856), German botanist specialized in lichenology and bryology See also * First law of thermodynamics The first law of thermodynamics is a formulation of the law of conservation of energy in the context of thermodynamic processes. For a thermodynamic process affecting a thermodynamic system without transfer of matter, the law distinguishes two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anchors can either be temporary or permanent. Permanent anchors are used in the creation of a mooring, and are rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain them. Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors, which may be of different designs and weights. A sea anchor is a drag device, not in contact with the seabed, used to minimize drift of a vessel relative to the water. A drogue is a drag device used to slow or help steer a vessel running before a storm in a following or overtaking sea, or when crossing a bar in a breaking sea. Anchoring Anchors achieve holding power either by "hooking" into the seabed, or weight, or a combination of the two. The weight of the anchor chain can be more than that of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pointe Du Raz Vue Trepasses
Pointe technique ( ) is part of classical ballet involving a technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet when wearing pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () when the body is supported in this manner, and a fully extended vertical foot is said to be ''en pointe'' when touching the floor, even when not bearing weight. Pointe technique resulted from a desire for female dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like. Although both men and women are capable of pointe work, it is most often performed by women. Extensive training and practice are required to develop the strength and technique needed for pointe work. Typically, dance teachers consider factors such as age, experience, strength and alignment when deciding whether to allow a dancer to begin pointe work. Technique Pointe technique encompasses both the mechanical and artistic aspects of pointe work. In particular, it is concerned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mooring (watercraft)
A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, Jetty, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''anchor mooring'' fixes a vessel's position relative to a point on the bottom of a waterway without connecting the vessel to shore. As a verb, ''mooring'' refers to the act of attaching a vessel to a mooring. The term likely stems from the Dutch language, Dutch verb ''meren'' (to ''moor''), used in English since the end of the 15th century. Permanent anchor mooring These moorings are used instead of temporary anchors because they have considerably more holding power. They cause lesser damage to the marine environment, and are convenient. Where there is a row of moorings they are termed a tier. They are also occasionally used to hold floating docks in place. There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longboat
A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat carried. In the early period of use, a ship's longboat was often so large that it could not be carried on board, and was instead towed. For instance, a 1618 survey of Royal Navy ship's boats listed a longboat used by the First Rate ''Prince'', a ship whose length of keel was . This could lead to the longboat being lost in adverse weather. By the middle of the 17th century it became increasingly more common to carry the longboat on board, though not universally. In 1697 some British ships chasing a French squadron cut adrift the longboats they were towing in an attempt to increase their speed and engage with the enemy. The longboat was used for transporting heavy weights. The two most important of these were casks of drinking water, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concrete Masonry Unit
A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, or concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the traditional masonry style with layers (or courses) of staggered blocks. Concrete blocks may be produced with hollow centers (cores) to reduce weight, improve insulation and provide an interconnected void into which concrete can be poured to solidify the entire wall after it is built. Concrete blocks are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Naming Those that use cinders (fly ash or bottom ash) as an aggregate material are called ''cinder blocks'' in the United States. They are also known as ''breeze blocks'', a term derived from ''breeze'', referring to the small cinders and cinder-dust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot (unit)
The knot () is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly (approximately or ). The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO). The knot is a non- SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour. Definitions ;1 international knot = :1 nautical mile per hour (by definition), : (exactly), : (approximately), : (approximately), : (approximately) : (approximately). The length of the internationally agreed nautical mile is . The US adopted the international definition in 1954, having previously used the US nautical mile (). The UK adopted the international nautical mile defi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
