In 2011 I finally created a list of the books I had read throughout the year. I was inspired to do this after reading the Louie L’Amour autobiography, Education of a Wandering Man. He kept similar lists, which he published in his book.

I picked up River of Death by Alistair MacLean early in the year. It was so good that I started buying more and ended up reading seven of MacLean’s in 2011. The Game of Thrones HBO series and the upcoming release of Dancing with Dragons inspired me to read George R.R. Martin’s masterpiece series again. It made it easier to pick up the story when reading Dancing with Dragons. Another pleasant surprise this year was the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I am looking forward to the Hunger Games movie which should be out in March 2012. Towards the end of the year a Facebook post and conversation inspired me to read the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout in the order they were published. I always liked Nero Wolfe mysteries.  I have owned and read three or four of the books but did not realize Stout wrote so many. The Wikipedia article informed me that Stout wrote ” 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974.” I’m sure that will take me well into 2012 and maybe 2013 tread them all.

1. Serpent by Clive Cussler
2. River of Death by Alistair MacLean
3. Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson
4. The Jungle by Clive Cussler
5. Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean
6. The Walking Drum (Re-read) by Louie L’amour
7. A Game of Thrones (Re-read) by George R.R. Martin
8. A Clash of Kings (Re-read) by George R.R. Martin
9. A Storm of Swords (Re-read) by George R.R. Martin
10. A Feast for Crows (Re-read) by George R.R. Martin
11. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
12. Smoking Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
13. The Kingdom by Clive Cussler
14. The Eiger Sanction by Alistair MacLean
15. Shibumi (Re-read) by Trevanian
16. Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean
17. The Spy by Clive Cussler
18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
19. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
20. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
21. HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean
22. Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
23. The Race by Clive Cussler
24. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
25. When Eight Bells Toll by Alistair MacLean
26. Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout
27. The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout
28. The Rubber Band (Re-read) by Rex Stout
29. The Red Box by Rex Stout
30. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout
31. Some Buried Caesar & The Golden Spider by Rex Stout
32. Explosive Eighteen by  Janet Evanovich
33. Over my Dead Body by Rex Stout
34. Where There’s a Will by Rex Stout

Just as I was finishing the book When Eight Bells Toll, I found the movie on the Hulu Website. I wondered how well this film was adapted from the book. They did well with the adaption of Where Eagles Dare. They did not do so well with the adaption of The Guns of Navarone  and Force 10 from Navarone.

As stated in Wikipedia, “The story is very close to the novel, and features some of the same witty dialogue – not surprising since MacLean elected to adapt this film himself. Some of the twists in the ending have been changed, however, and an explosive shootout replaces MacLean’s original Agatha Christie-style summation.” Anthony Hopkins did a fantastic job in the role of Philip Calvert. I would recommend both the book and the movie.

I just finished The Race by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott, which I enjoyed very much. One of the reason I enjoy the series is because it takes place in the early 1900′s. This was a time of great change and technological advancement.
As usual, Cussler’s research is excellent and the details about the technology and mechanics make the story interesting and believable. While reading the story I wanted to learn more about early airplane technology. I have been to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where I saw the Early Flight exhibit. I remember seeing the Wright Military Flyer, the Curtiss Headless Pusher and the Bleriot, which were all mentioned in the book. I found an excellent resource about the early airplane engines mentioned in the story at the US Centennial of Flight Commission Website. Their site mentions the Antionette engine used in Josephine’s plane. They have a photo of the rotary air-cooled Gnome engine used in Issac Bell’s plane.

Alistair MacLean has always been one of my favorite authors. Barnes and Noble has been publishing many of his popular novels in ebook (EPUB) format.  There were some books where I had seen the movie adaption but had never read the book. There were other MacLean ebooks I had not read at all yet sounded good.

My first MacLean novel of 2011 was River of Death. This was one I had not read before. The story was excellent and exceeded my expectations.

The next book I read was Ice Station Zebra. This was one where I had seen the movie many times but had not read the book. The book was slightly different from the movie but still a dam good story.

Going on the movie theme the next MacLean novel I selected was Where Eagles Dare. I loved the movie. The movie followed the book very well except for one interesting exception. In the book Lieutenant Schaffer (Played by Eastwood in the movie) would call Major Smith “boss” when speaking to him. Thankfully they changed that for the movie script. I can’t see Schaffer as portrayed by Clint Eastwood calling Major Smith “boss.”

The next MacLean novel I selected was HMS Ulysses. This was his first novel which he published in 1955. It’s an excellent World War II story “based on the ill-fated Convoy PQ-17.”

I just started reading The Guns of Navarone. This is another example where I had seen the movie and had not read the book. I plan to move right onto Force 10 from Navarone for my next book. It will be interesting to compare Force 10 with the movie.

On Saturday, September 3rd Eileen and I went to McKinney Park on Lake Winnipesaukee. This is a popular dive site. Many local dive shops use the place for open water certification classes and check out dives.

The entry is very rocky so we had to be very careful getting in. There were more waves than I was hoping for, mostly from boat traffic. We managed to get our fins on and out into the water between wake waves.

Eileen at McKinney Park

We headed due west into an area of enormous boulders mentioned in Shoredive.com Webpage.

Eileen diving

It was not long before we were seeing lots of Bluegill Sunfish and Small mouth Bass.

Bluegill Sunfish

Small mouth Bass

Small mouth Bass

I counted about half a dozen or so Bass in the area. One of them (pictured above) took an interest in us a actually followed us for a while.

Eileen watching a Bass

Small mouth Bass near a rock pile.

Small mouth Bass near a rock pile.

Small mouth Bass close-up.

In addition to photographs I also got some good video footage which is posted to my YouTube Channel.

On Saturday, August 27th Eileen and I went diving at Fort Stark in Newcastle, New Hampshire. It was our first time at the site so we only got to explore a small portion of the area. Sea life is abundant there so there is a lot to study, video and photograph. I will definitely bring the camera next time!

Below is the species sighting list from the dive.
Algae

• Coral Weed
• Crustose Algae
• Eel Grass
• Green Hair Weed
• Hooked Weed
• Irish Moss
• Knotted Wrack
• Sea Lettuce
• Southern Kelp
• Spiral Rockweed
• Tubed Weeds

Mollusca

• Common Periwinkle
• Flat Slipper Shell
• Ten-Ridged Whelk
• Blue Mussel

Arthropod

• Acadian Hermit Crab
• Green Crab
• Rock Crab

Porifera (Sponges)

• Red Beard Sponge

Chordata (Fish)

• Cunner (We think)
• Grubby

Algae

During the last weekend of July Eileen and I went to Sunken Forest dive site near Odiorne Point in Rye, New Hampshire. Eileen found one of the petrified stumps on Saturday’s dive.

On Sunday I brought the Kodak PlaySport camera. I got both video and stills. However I think I took the camera too deep and the camera died but I saved the video and photographs.

Base Camp at Sunken Forest

It is a shallow dive site that is much easier to do during high tide.It is also the perfect dive training location.

Even though it is shallow it is an interesting dive site because it reminds me of a giant tide pool.

Burrowing Anemone at Sunken Forest Dive Site

Eileen spotted some Burrowing Anemone. I had never seen these before some it was a great find.

Periwinkle climbing a blade of eel grass

This Periwinkle climbing a blade of eel-grass was an unusual scene worthy of a photo.

Coral Weed at Sunken Forest

Upon getting home I compiled a list of marine life we had observed.

• Irish Moss
• Knotted Wrack
• Spiral Rockweed
• Sea Lettuce
• Tubed Weeds
• Coral Weed
• Eel Grass
• Crustose Algae

Cnidarian (Anemone & Coral)

• Burrowing Anemone

Molluscs

• Smooth Periwinkle
• Common Periwinkle
• Blue Mussel

Arthropods

• Green Crab
• Sand Shrimp
• Northern Rock Barnacle
• Rough Barnacle
• Hermit Crab (of some kind)

Eileen and I devoted Thursday of our summer vacation in Ogunquit to walking the Marginal Way.

Marginal Way near Ogunquit beach

The trail starts in the village of Ogunquit and brings you to the shore across the river mouth from Ogunquit Beach. The trail follows the water about a mile and a half to Perkins Cove.

Marginal Way - Little Beach and Lobster Point

The shot above is Little Beach and Lobster Point, where we went snorkeling on Wednesday. (See the video at my YouTube channel) This is a great dive site. I will make it a point to go back there with the scuba tanks.

Marginal Way Lighthouse

People walking the Marginal Way

Ships and boats off of the Marginal Way

More ships and boats off of the Marginal Way

People climbing on the rocks along the Marginal Way

Near Perkins Cove along the Marginal Way

At trail’s end at Perkins Cove we had an excellent lunch at the Oarweed Restaurant before walking back along the trail to Ogunquit village.

We spend part of our summer vacation in Portsmouth and part in Ogunquit, Maine. While in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Monday we took a tour with the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. out to the islands.

M/V Thomas Laighton

Portsmouth, NH waterfront

From the ship you get a nice view of the Bow Street waterfront in Portsmouth with the three Moran tugboats and the waterfront restaurants we had eaten at the night before.

The cruise took us past the navel shipyard, the old Navel and Marine prison and several old forts near the mouth of Portsmouth harbor.

Fort Constitution

Fort Constitution and the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse sit on the south side of the harbor. Fort Constitution has an interesting history. I read in Wikipedia that

“Fort William and Mary was the site of one of the first acts of the American Revolution. On December 14, 1774, colonists arrived at midnight aboard a gundalow (sailing barge), waded ashore and climbed over the fort’s wall. Captain John Cochran and the fort’s five soldiers surrendered, whereupon the rebels loaded onto the boat 100 barrels of gunpowder.”

Whaleback Lighthouse

Whaleback Lighthouse is at the north entrance to Portsmouth harbor is another old lighthouse with a long and rich history.

Appledore Island

The islands are about six miles from the mainland. The first island we approached was Appledore Island with it World War II radar station tower. Appledore is also home to the Shoals Marine Laboratory.

Smuttynose Island

Next was Smuttynose Island which is best know for a famous murder of two women in 1873 and of course Smuttynose Beer. The light brown house is the one on the Shoals Pale Ale beer label and six-pack.

Star Island

Next was Star Island, which is one of the better known island due to the religious conference center.

Star Island

This is the first time I got to see this side of the island. I was curious about the stone obelisk to the right of the church and village. I discovered it is a memorial to Rev. John Tucke who lived on the island from 1732 to 1773.

White Island Lighthouse

Our last destination before heading back was to swing by White Island Lighthouse and Lunging Island.

Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, NH

We got back just in time to slip under Memorial Bridge, which goes up for boat traffic every thirty minutes.

In January of 2011 I adopted some coral as a way to support the Coral Restoration Foundation. When I heard they were having a coral restoration dive on Earth Day (April 22) I quickly signed up. The event was made possible by a partnership between Ecokeys, Rainbow Reef and the Coral Restoration Foundation.

We started out the day at the Rainbow Reef Dive Shop with presentation by Kevin from the Coral Restoration Foundation. I learned more detail about their nursery operation and growing techniques.I also learned about the plight of the long-spined sea urchin and impact their near extinction had on the reef. A mass die-off in 1983 wiped out nearly all long-spined sea urchins in the Caribbean and Florida Keys.

They are experimenting with several different types of growing methods. They have both a “cap and pipe” system and line system.

The PVC pipes and pipe caps can be gently twisted off for manual cleaning with a wire or plastic brush.

They have discovered the line allows the coral clippings and nubs to grow the fastest. After watching Ken work the line I realized it took more diving skill to work on a line system.

I was impressed with the number of fish that had taken up residence in the coral nursery. There was one Triggerfish that got a little aggressive while we were cleaning the coral.

I was happy to see the Coral Restoration Foundation experimenting with growing Brain and Star Coral. It takes a lot longer to grow but its good to know it can be done.

The next dive was at the Wellwood Restoration Site on Molasses Reef. I had been there on Wednesday where I had seen the Black Tip Reef shark.

I was amazed how the juvenile Bluehead Wrasse (the small yellow fish) swarmed around the newly planted coral.

This trip we were just quickly re-planting clippings from other corals in the area. Normally they are placing coral with bases from the nursery onto the reef floor. I noticed several while diving at other sites on Molasses Reef.

They recently started moving the ID tags off to one side since coral several years old have “bushed” out to cover the base tag.

Before my next volunteer opportunity I would like to work on some different clip systems to attach tools to my BC so that I am more efficient.