Below are the 5 most recent journal entries recorded in alphonseoneiljr's InsaneJournal:

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
11:42 am	Bear Your Coast Guard Stripes Coast guard models are excellent examples of model ships. The naval architecture of the coast guard ships are very admirable and make excellent models. No matter your preference for design, coast guard replicas come in them all - from sail boats to battle cruisers. Buying in bulk is a great way to save money with your coast guard purchases. Many model ship retailers offer deals for bulk purchases on coast guard gifts for this reason, and they demand quality in every ship design. One such model is the USCG Eagle - a gorgeously crafted coast guard gift that is a wonderful addition to any collection. The sails are meticulously handcrafted, and emit the feeling of a calm, cool breeze racing through it. The USCG Eagle is fourteen inches of authentic coast guard memorabilia ready for your nautical decor room. If you are planning to buy coast guard gifts then make sure that you pick this model up if you are into the sailing ship design. Support Your Nation With A Coast Guard Gift Wholesale coast guard gifts such as the USCG Patrol Boat are smart purchases. The details of the USCG Patrol Boat are uncanny - such as a cannon and spotlights in the bow of the ship, among other authentic details. This particular ship is a great coast guard gift for children as well. Giving The Gift Of The Coast Guard The USCG Buoy Tender is among the better coast guard gifts and ship models offered at many online retailers. With its contemporary design, the USCG Buoy Tender is different from the USCG Eagle but remains just as authentic. The Buoy Tender doesn't parade itself as a battle ship due to its lack of weaponry. The details of the deck create an atmosphere of authenticity hardly seen in model ships of this price range. The paint job at the front of the USCG Buoy Tender displays the U.S. Coast Guard symbol proudly. Finding The Perfect Coast Guard Gift Each ship is first and foremost designed with quality in mind. Many model ship retailers are taking advantage of 3D modeling technologies to created perfectly scaled architecture. The 3D modeled materials require the skillful hands of a master artisan to put them together. If your prospective model ship retailer creates their ship models in this manner than you can rest assured that your ship models are in good hands. (Comment on this)
Friday, January 21st, 2011
10:40 am	The Glorious Tone Of The Ships Bell The ship bell is a part of the nautical culture that is rooted deeply in tradition. There were many original uses of the ships bell, such as: timekeeping, alarming the crew of danger, warning nearby ships, observing order, and in religious ceremonies. The many uses of the ships bell made it a mainstay among the United States Navy. The first metal ship bells originated in the Bronze Age. China was one of the first countries that learned how to make high quality ship bells from metal. In 1485, the British ship, Grace Dieu, was the first recorded ship to use a ships bell. The ship bells Grace Dieu carried are known as "wache bells". Soon, it became commonplace that the ships bell be used during times of heavy fog to warn other ships of their presence. Notifying other ships in the area of one's presence was easy thanks to the loudness of the ships bell. It eventually became maritime law that all boats have a functioning ships bell at all times. In the Revolutionary War, the American settlers also made use of the ships bell in the same way the English did. In fact, the USS Constitution, the oldest surviving ship in the history of America, had been equipped with a 242 pound ships bell. Furthermore, the ships bell helped the American Navy excel during the War of Independence. The Jamaica Fleet, lost in fog, sounded their ship bells to avoid hitting other ships in the area, but ended up attracting the Americans to their location. The biggest prize catch of the War of Independence took place that day thanks to the Jamaica Fleet's use of the ship bell. The number of prizes and cargo aboard the Jamaica Fleet earned the Americans about one million dollars (adjusted for inflation). Further uses of ship bells were to capture the attention of the crew during an emergency. The ship bell's loud ring swiftly captures the crew's attention. In case of fire, the ships bell was rung for five seconds, as hard and as loud as possible. The following rings informed the crew of the fire's location. If the fire was in the front of the boat, the bell was rung a single time; if the fire was in the center, the bell was rung twice; if the fire was in the rear, the bell was rung three times. The ships bell is still used for timekeeping, sounding alarms, and ceremonies in the modern age. Several historical ship bells are displayed at the Naval Historical Center. The historical significance of the ships bell leads many museums to ask to use them for a display, or to research an old US Navy ships bell. The ship bell's use is profoundly prolific, and it still rings loud and true even to this day. Can you, or would you want to, picture a ship without a sounding ships bell? Because of its history, the ships bell is a nautical decoration that many people collect. You can find many authentic ship bells at online model ship retailers. If you pride yourself a nautical enthusiast, then you should have at least one ship bell in your collection. Ships Bells Make Fantastic Music The Rich Past Of The Ships Bell The Key Is The Ships Bell (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
4:42 pm	Digging Through The History Of Model Warships Model warships are often built to commemorate actual ships from history. There have been many great ships of historical significance that are immortalized by model warships. Many of these ship models are based on warships. Many model warships replicate authentic ships such as the HMS Victory. Such a warship as the HMS Victory deserves to be replicated for its significance. The conception of the HMS Victory was a change of pace for the Royal Navy, who usually employed smaller ships. HMS Victory was larger as it was designed to carry around 100 guns, and construction began in 1759. Named after "The Year of Victories", the HMS Victory was commissioned in 1778 under Admiral Keppel's flag. (Find out more about other wooden ship models like this one here. HMS Victory's first major battle took place at the Battle of Ushant on July 23, 1778 against the French. The French fleet did not want to fight, but HMS Victory cut them off from Brest and the battle begun. The confusing battle led to the court-martial of Admiral Keppel. Under Captain Henry Cromwell's command, Victory captured a French convoy with eleven other ships of the same line. While the convoy they were to intercept was protected by twenty-one ships of the line, Admiral Kempenfelt still attacked using the North Atlantic's strong winds to his advantage. The winds disassembled much of the French fleet, and Victory managed to capture the remaining confused fleet. Captain rover Calder and George Grey became the Victory's captains in 1796. Horatio Nelson passed on news to the Victory that he sighted a fleet of unknown numbers, to which Victory then began to sail to intercept. John Jervis bravely fought this fleet of twenty-seven ships of the line. Their resulting victory was a huge boost the morale of the British soldiers and sailors. HMS Victory was deemed unfit for service in 1798, and was retired to Chatham. Although, when the HMS impregnable lost its commission another first rate warship was needed to takes its place. The HMS Victory was ordered into reconstruction which began in 1800 and finished on April 11, 1803. Captain Samuel Sutton became the captain of the newly re-commissioned and reconstructed Victory. Throughout the 19th century, HMS Victory was without a stable captain, and was retired on November 7, 1812. In 1889, HMS Victory was turned into a Signal School, which it would remain to be until the 20th century. Of course after many inactive years, the Victory started to deteriorate. However, a Save the Victory fund was started in 1921 to revitalize the HMS Victory. This eventually got the British government involved to honor the service of HMS Victory. The restoration was completed in 1928, and the occasion was commemorated by King George V. The HMS Victory remains the oldest commissioned warship in the world. She is used as a museum ship, and brings in over a quarter million visitors per year. The UK Defense budget is paying for more work to the HMS Victory which will be ongoing through April 2019. These achievements of the HMS Victory are proof as to why model warships are so well received in the nautical culture. There are a few online nautical decor retailers that have model warships for affordable prices. Learning the history behind the warship is a great way to take advantage of the value of your model warships. Scouting The Unknown With Model Warships Learning Through Model Warships Tracking Our Past Through Model Warships (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
7:22 pm	Antique Diving Helmets Come Alive The safety of professional divers is directly reliant on the type of nautical equipment they use. The dangers that await divers under the sea are enough, so it's good to be able to take some solace in having reliable equipment. For this reason, the professional diving helmet is adaptable for several adverse conditions should they await divers. The diving helmet completely secures the head of the diver, also allowing for broad voice communication with the operation team above water and other divers. For example, if the diver were to be knocked unconscious while underwater, the diving helmet will continue to automatically pump air to the diver until he regains consciousness. This is completely different from standard scuba gear, for instance, which requires the diver to make an effort to hold the breathing tube in his mouth for oxygen to come in. It goes without saying that a scuba diver is more at risk of drowning if they are knocked unconscious. The creation of the diving helmet is attributed to Augustus Siebe, who many consider the father of diving. Siebe was German born, and when living in England during the 19th century he devised the diving helmet. This early diving helmet was equipped with a watertight seal and an air-containing rubber suit. Equipped with a land-to-diver air pump, Siebe's diving helmet and suit became the first working application ever. Siebe's innovation continues to be seen in today's diving suits. The difference between Siebe's invention and other earlier diving suits was the air-tight nature of the helmet. This proved to be a tremendous breakthrough in the capabilities of diving helmets. Siebe's diving helmet and suit would go on to revolutionize 1830s undersea exploration. Alexander McKee started much controversy when he accused Siebe of taking credit for the designs of two brothers, John and Charles Deane. The diving helmet also had many uses outside of the water. The air tight compartment of the diving helmet made it useful in the First World War to protect against mustard gas attacks. Originally deep sea diving helmets were available with two to four bolts. Joe Savoie created what was known as the neck dam in the 1960s. The neck dam paved the way for a new series of lighter weight helmets to come about. These lightweight helmets would go on to become the future of diving helmets. Savoie claimed to only be inspired by improving the safety of divers, and he did not seek a patent for his innovations. The next evolution in diving masks noted to be the full face diving mask. As the name suggested, this covered the entire face of the diver, held in place by adjustable straps. The next invention in the evolution of the diving helmet was the Kirby Morgan Superlite-17 in 1975. This diving helmet was built with fiberglass and fitted with chrome-plated brass. As such, the Kirby Morgan Superlite-17 became the new standard in modern commercial diving operations. The diving helmet endured many long years of innovations in order to become the safest possible experience for divers. The Diving Helmet - A Historic Invention Diving Helmets - The Diver's Best Friend The Diving Helmet - A Historic Invention (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
3:19 pm	New Sextants Bring Old World Decor To Your Home John Bird invented the sextant in 1759, changing nautical travel forever. While the sextant played a key role in navigation, there were other devices before it that helped pave the way for newer navigational instruments. This was done by relying on the relative position of the navigator to Polaris and the horizon to find the alturas, or latitude. One of the earliest known methods to deduce the latitude from Polaris while sailing was to use the thumb and one or two finger lengths on an outstretched arm. To make this process more natural, many navigators would employ the use of an arrow at arm's length. Among the earliest nautical devices used was the Kamal, invented by the Arabs. Thanks to the Greeks and Arabs, Europeans were benefitted with great astrological and astronomical advancements. It wasn't until the 10th century that Europe would be introduced to the breakthroughs in Arabic science, such as the astrolabe and the quadrant. After World War II, the C. Plath firm in Germany manufactured the design for the most modern advancements in sextants. Because of these Greek and Arab advancements in astronomy and astrology, we are fortunate to have the navigational tools we do today. The breakthroughs that would come with innovations in technology led to a world of increased connections and stability. While the sextant was a remarkable revolution in navigation in the 18th century, and the astrolabe and quadrant before it, the global positioning system is the new breakthrough of the modern age. While this may be true, there are still many navigators that refuse to part with their sextants. Their criticism of GPS is profound, such as the unreliability in the technology. For example, GPS may lose service in an area where it needs to be used most, batteries may run out, or a satellite may go awry. That is why any navigator worth his or her salt still carries around a trusty sextant, and knowledge of how to navigate without the fancy technology of the modern age. There are several different kinds of sextants for sale, from fully functional sextants to nautical decor sextants. For example, the 3" sextant is among one of the finer miniature brass sextants available online. Because of its small size, these sextants are extremely accurate. However, if you seek a larger sextant for a nautical decoration then you can find 4" sextants for sale. Sextants for sale such as these can come in heavy high quality hardwood cases with nautical designs embedded on the case. It is not unusual for these sextants to come with extra nautical decor, such as a miniature telescope that is capable of producing quality magnified images. What's more, there are other nautical decoration sextants for sale, like brass sextant pen holders. The brass sextant pen holder is great for the classroom and office. The history of the sextant is a remarkable one. That explains why model ship collectors are interested in the many different sextants for sale. The next step in navigation is not known yet, but there is one thing to be certain of - whatever changes come next will certainly shape our world for the better. Find out more about [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a http://www.handcraftednauticaldecor.com">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] John Bird invented the sextant in 1759, changing nautical travel forever. While the sextant played a key role in navigation, there were other devices before it that helped pave the way for newer navigational instruments. This was done by relying on the relative position of the navigator to Polaris and the horizon to find the alturas, or latitude. One of the earliest known methods to deduce the latitude from Polaris while sailing was to use the thumb and one or two finger lengths on an outstretched arm. To make this process more natural, many navigators would employ the use of an arrow at arm's length. Among the earliest nautical devices used was the Kamal, invented by the Arabs. Thanks to the Greeks and Arabs, Europeans were benefitted with great astrological and astronomical advancements. It wasn't until the 10th century that Europe would be introduced to the breakthroughs in Arabic science, such as the astrolabe and the quadrant. After World War II, the C. Plath firm in Germany manufactured the design for the most modern advancements in sextants. <br /><br /> Because of these Greek and Arab advancements in astronomy and astrology, we are fortunate to have the navigational tools we do today. The breakthroughs that would come with innovations in technology led to a world of increased connections and stability. While the sextant was a remarkable revolution in navigation in the 18th century, and the astrolabe and quadrant before it, the global positioning system is the new breakthrough of the modern age. While this may be true, there are still many navigators that refuse to part with their sextants. Their criticism of GPS is profound, such as the unreliability in the technology. For example, GPS may lose service in an area where it needs to be used most, batteries may run out, or a satellite may go awry. That is why any navigator worth his or her salt still carries around a trusty sextant, and knowledge of how to navigate without the fancy technology of the modern age. <br /><br />There are several different kinds of <a href="http://www.handcraftednauticaldecor.com/brass-sextants-nautical-decor.php">sextants for sale</a>, from fully functional sextants to nautical decor sextants. For example, the 3" sextant is among one of the finer miniature brass sextants available online. Because of its small size, these sextants are extremely accurate. However, if you seek a larger sextant for a nautical decoration then you can find 4" sextants for sale. Sextants for sale such as these can come in heavy high quality hardwood cases with nautical designs embedded on the case. It is not unusual for these sextants to come with extra nautical decor, such as a miniature telescope that is capable of producing quality magnified images. What's more, there are other nautical decoration sextants for sale, like brass sextant pen holders. The brass sextant pen holder is great for the classroom and office. <br /><br />The history of the sextant is a remarkable one. That explains why model ship collectors are interested in the many different sextants for sale. The next step in navigation is not known yet, but there is one thing to be certain of - whatever changes come next will certainly shape our world for the better. Find out more about <a href="&lt;a href=" http://www.handcraftednauticaldecor.com"="http://www.handcraftednauticaldecor.com&quot;">nautical home decor</a> here. (Comment on this)