Archives for October 2018

Aboard the ARA Libertad

October 8, 2018 by James Trumm Leave a Comment

This is the ARA (Armada de la República Argentina) Libertad.

a steel-hulled, full-rigged, class “A” sailing ship that serves as a school vessel in the Argentine Navy. One of the largest and fastest tall ships in the world, holder of several speed records, she was designed and built in the 1950s by the Río Santiago Shipyard, Ensenada, Argentina. Her maiden voyage was in 1961, and she continues to be a training ship with yearly instruction trips for the graduating naval cadets as well as a traveling goodwill ambassador, having covered more than 800,000 nautical miles (1,500,000 km) across all seas, visited about 500 ports in more than 60 countries, and trained more than 11,000 navy graduates.

Yesterday she was docked in San Juan harbor. As soon as I saw her I knew I had to go aboard. Lori and I walked up a steep gangplank and were greeted by an officer. “¿Permiso para subir a bordo?” I asked. He looked surprised but pleased. No one else had asked him for permission to come aboard. “¡Por supuesto!” he replied, and we stepped on deck.

One of the stranger facts about this Argentinian vessel is that an engraving of it docked at Archangel appears on Russia’s 500 ruble bill.

The original design of the bill featuring a steamship, but this was rejected by the Central Bank of Russia, which preferred a sailing boat. The artist then substituted a new ship based on the first photograph he found of a large frigate, not knowing he was drawing a ship that had never been to Archangel.

I was disappointed only that we were not allowed to go up to the bridge or enter any of the compartments. But the main deck was enough of a treat.

Filed Under: Puerto Rico, San Juan Tagged With: ARA Libertad, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Tall Ship

New DNA Analysis Cools My Blood

October 6, 2018 by James Trumm Leave a Comment

Last Christmas, my girlfriend gave me an Ancestry DNA test kit. I was delighted. I spit into the tube, sealed it up, and mailed it off.

When the results came in a couple months later, they showed west European and Scandinavian heritage, both of which I expected. But they also suggested that 11% of my DNA came from the Iberian Peninsula and its environs.

I was surprised and oddly pleased. I imagined myself, at least in part, as a hot-blooded Spaniard, a passionate Portuguese, or an enigmatic Corsican. I began drinking Sangria and taking mid-day naps. I indulged in passionate quarrels over women and politics. I took the name Santiago Zorro, a rough Spanish translation of my first and middle names. I cultivated a courtly mien, tilted at windmills, and renewed the lease on my Puerto Rico apartment.

But now half a year later, Ancestry.com has refined its DNA analysis. They notified me of changes to my ethnicity estimate in an email whose subject line read, “Your AncestryDNA results have been updated – See what’s new.”

So I did.

And now my fantasies of being a latter-day Don Quixote have been crushed. I don’t come from Spanish or Portuguese stock as the earlier report stated.

Does this mean that exposure to the Caribbean sun has altered my DNA? No. It merely shows that DNA ancestry analysis is an evolving field. As more and more people submit their DNA samples, the database of DNA grows and enables more accurate, fine-grained analysis.

So from now on I will eat more herring and call myself Jaakko Kettu.

Filed Under: Stuff Tagged With: Ancestry, DNA

The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride on Calle Loíza

October 1, 2018 by James Trumm 3 Comments

One of the joys of living in San Juan is that there is no shortage of scenes. There’s a street art scene, a rat rod scene, a food truck scene, a Jeep scene, a punk scene, a cocktail scene, a surfing scene, a baseball scene — and a motorcycle scene. That last was on full display last Sunday.

I was enjoying Sunday brunch at Tresbé on Calle Loíza when I heard the basso profundo throb of big bikes — a whole lot of them heading east. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. As the first motorcycle came into focus, I immediately knew what I was seeing. It was the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a global event where men (and a few women) get dressed in their dapper finery and ride to raise money for prostate cancer research and other worthy causes.

There was an eclectic mix of motorcycles: Japanese, American, European, Indian, choppers, boulevard cruisers, and cafe racers.

This being the Caribbean, some people took the dress code pretty liberally — or ignored it altogether. But most of the riders at least made the attempt to look both distinguished and gentlemanly.

I especially liked this guy on the chopper and was sorry not to have gotten a better pic of his ride. I haven’t seen pants like those since the Nixon administration!

This was the only sidecar I saw. These two definitely win the prize for cutest couple.

I was surprised that there were so many Royal Enfields in the mix. But maybe I shouldn’t have been. Royal Enfields are as natty and anachronistic as the Distinguished Gentlemen themselves. First manufactured in 1901, they developed a reputation in World War II as being nearly indestructible. “Built like a bullet” was the strange simile that was used to describe them. The company was eventually sold and moved to Chennai, India where it continues as “the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production.” Royal Enfield is surely a niche player in the global motorcycle market. But for whatever reason, they’re popular here in Puerto Rico. There’s even a dealership here in San Juan.