Remembering Robert Smalls – Former Slave, Pilot of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & US Congressman

Posted on by February 7, 2026
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Robert Smalls is an American hero, well worth celebrating every day of the year, not only during Black History Month. An updated repost in honor of the remarkable story of Robert Smalls.

On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, led eight fellow slaves in an audacious flight to freedom. They seized the CSS Planter, steamed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor, and turned it over to the Union naval blockade.  Smalls would go on to become the first black captain of a U.S. Navy vessel, a South Carolina State Legislator, a Major General in the South Carolina Militia, a five-term U.S. Congressman, and a U.S. Collector of Customs.

Harper’s Weekly of June 14, 1862, recounts the escape:
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Celebrating Black History Month — Part 1: Harriet Tubman & the Great Combahee Ferry Raid

Posted on by February 8, 2026
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Updated: Several blog readers pointed out that in focusing on the history of  Harriet Tubman and her leadership in the Great Combahee Ferry Raid, I failed to mention the bridge over the Combahee River named in her honor. (Thanks, Doug and Boca Jim.)

I started to correct this oversight, and it quickly became obvious that I had also left out a large part of Tubman’s legacy. Just as she continues to be an icon and a role model for all Americans committed to freedom and justice, she is also still under attack by white supremacists. I have decided to break the post into two sections — the history of the famous raid and Tubman’s legacy and continued challenges of combating bigotry in this troubled nation. As is so often the case with any good story, both posts involve ships.

Part 1: Harriet Tubman & the Great Combahee Ferry Raid

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Candela P-12 Flying Above the Waves: the Fastest Electric Passenger Ferry in the World

Posted on by February 5, 2026
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For several years now, we have followed the all-electric hydrofoil runabouts designed and built by Candela. Now the Swedish boat builder and engineering design firm has moved beyond runabouts to delivering the P -12, the world’s first serial-production electric hydrofoiling passenger ferry which appears to be on the brink of revolutionizing urban ferry services around the world.

Recently, a Candela P-12, a 30-passenger ferry, completed what the company says is the longest electric sea journey ever made by an electric passenger vessel. The 160-nautical-mile voyage saw the ferry travel from Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast to Oslo, Norway, over the course of three days.

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When New York Harbor Froze

Posted on by February 4, 2026
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Strolling on the East River, 1867

As we posted recently, the Coast Guard has been busy breaking ice in New York Harbor. The current forecasts suggest that the frigid weather is likely to continue for several more weeks, so the ice breaking is also expected to persist. Nevertheless, it has been far worse in the past. Even the recent past. In 2015, ferry traffic was interrupted by heavy ice in New York’s East River, and sections of the Hudson River partially froze over. And that is nothing compared to conditions in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

When the Harbor Froze

Despite tidal currents that can run up to four knots, New York’s East River froze solid at least eight times between 1780 and 1888. The East River isn’t actually a river. It is a tidal strait connecting Upper New York Bay to Long Island Sound. Nevertheless, it froze often enough so that after the particularly hard winter of 1866-1867, there was a public outcry that led ultimately to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

People continued to walk across the frozen East River even after the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. In the hard winter of 1888, the New York Times reported: The ice was fully six inches thick and covered with two inches of hard snow” and “was solid from shore to shore.” That day, New Yorkers tested the strength of the ice and “paid a boy his two-cent fee for the use of his ladder” to get on the ice on the Brooklyn side… when they reached Manhattan, they found a young employee of the fish market with a thriving side business, charging 5 cents to use the ladder he secured to help people up to land. Continue reading →

Icebreaking in New York Harbor

Posted on by February 4, 2026
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Tthe USCGC Polar Star has been icebreaking in the Southern Ocean summer in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2026, including rescuing a cruise ship stuck in pack ice. Meanwhile, in the winter Northern hemisphere, US Coast Guard icebreaking tugs have been hard at work breaking ice in harbors along the East Coast, including New York Harbor.

Toward the end of January, Winter Storm Fern swept across North America, extending from northern Mexico and the southern United States to the Northeast and into Canada. The storm brought significant snowfall and high winds. Over a million customers lost power, and approximately 146 people lost their lives in the storm. The weather system moved into the Northeast, where it began to transition into a nor’easter, which battered the region with gusty winds and heavy snow.

In the deep freeze that followed the storm, New York Harbor began to ice up. A mosaic of ice formed and spread quickly across the harbor and the Hudson River, with significant ice packs impacting the waterways north through the Hudson Valley. Shore and drift ice formed throughout the area, with forecasts indicating continued ice growth over the coming days as cold temperatures persist. Continue reading →

50 Year Old USCG Polar Star Rescues Cruise Ship Scenic Eclipse II from Pack Ice in Antarctica

Posted on by February 1, 2026
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Last month, the US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10)  began icebreaking operations in the Southern Ocean in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2026. The deployment also marked the cutter’s 50th year of commissioned service.

This milestone was further commemorated by the Polar Star rescuing the  Australian-owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II, which became trapped in pack ice, eight nautical miles from McMurdo Sound. After receiving a call from the distressed cruise ship shortly before midnighton January 17, the Polar Star broke the ice surrounding the Scenic Eclipse II by encircling it twice before escorting it for four nautical miles until it reached open water.

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Virginia Oliver, Maine’s Indomitable Lobster Lady, Dies at 105

Posted on by January 26, 2026
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Virginia ” Ginny” Oliver has hauled her last lobster pot. Widely known as  Maine’s “Lobster Lady,” she died quietly at age 105. Oliver began lobstering at age 8 alongside her father and older brother and spent over a century hauling traps on Penobscott Bay.

“Ginny” gained national and international attention for continuing to lobster well past her 100th birthday, becoming a symbol of longevity, resilience, and Maine’s working waterfront.

“Sad news from the Midcoast,” the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in a social media post. “Ginny was an amazing ambassador for our industry and exemplified the incredible work ethic that defines our industry and all Mainers! Our thoughts are with her family.”

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Southern England Beaches Battered By Banana Carnage and Massive Chip Wreck

Posted on by January 24, 2026
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On December 6, 2025, beaches in the county of Sussex on the southern coast of England were battered by barrages of bananas. Tons of bananas washed ashore at Selsey, Bognor Regis, and Pagham Harbour in West Sussex. Some also washed further inland, making a slippery mess on coastal roads.

Where did the yellow tide come from? 16 shipping containers fell off the cargo ship Baltic Klipper near the Isle of Wight. Eight of the lost containers were filled with bananas, while others contained plantains and avocados.

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“All Available Boats” — RDML Michael Day’s Radio Call on 9/11

Posted on by January 9, 2026

Last week, Rear Admiral Michael Day retired after more than 40 years of service in the US Coast Guard. Over his career, he served in a range of responsible positions, in locations ranging from the Arctic to Taiwan and throughout the United States. including as Commander of Sector New York from 2015 to 2018.

Michael Day will probably be best remembered for one VHF radio call he made as a Coast Guard lieutenant on September 11th in New York Harbor. From our post on the 2oth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks:

There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment, and against all odds, it makes all the difference. Such was the case on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New York Harbor when LT. Michael Day made the call for “All available boats.”

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Trump Admits His Vanity Fleet Battleship Plan is Just an Epstein File Distraction

Posted on by January 2, 2026


Trump recently announced that the Navy will begin the construction of “two brand new, very large, the largest we’ve ever built battleships.” He claims that the new battleships, which he has named after himself, the Trump Class,  will be “the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built, the largest battleship in the history of the world.” The first ship of the series is to be named USS Defiant.

No, not that USS Defiant

Presuming that Trump is not referring to one of two starships named USS Defiant in the Star Trek media franchise, then essentially, none of the claims about the proposed battleships are true. What Trump is trying to accomplish with this grand scheme, beyond wasting taxpayer dollars? Is it just another vanity project onto which he can affix his name? Or does he really believe that building a new class of ships considered obsolete for over 80 years is a good idea?

More distraction than shipbuilding?

Once again, Trump is saying the quiet part out loud. After giving a rambling, word salad of a speech announcing the battleships, Trump answered a reporter’s question about the Epstein files and effectively admitted that the battleship proposal was intended to distract from the deepening Epstein scandal.

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Watching the Ball Drop in Times Square — the Nautical Origins of a New Year’s Tradition

Posted on by December 31, 2025

The USNO Millennium Time Ball

Tonight, roughly a million revelers will watch in person in New York’s Times Square, and over a billion viewers are expected to watch on television or online, as the  New Year’s Eve ball drop rings in 2026 with a dazzling new time ball — the largest in the history of the event that started 118 years ago.  

The Constellation Ball, as it has been named, is the ninth ball to usher in the new year at the famous Midtown Manhattan intersection. It measures 12.5 feet in diameter and weighs just over 12,000 pounds, is bejeweled with 5,280 circular Waterford crystals in three different sizes — 1.5-inch, 3-inch and 4-inch — as well as LED light pucks.

In another first, the dazzling new ball will be lowered twice, to celebrate both the arrival of the new year and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve 2025, the Constellation Ball will drop and then rise back up to be relit in red, white and blue for a second celebration.

The tradition of the ball drop began in 1907 after New York City officials banned New Year’s fireworks over concerns about the celebration setting the city on fire. Instead, they chose a time ball to mark the birth of the new year, But where did the tradition of dropping a ball to mark the time originate?  The practice dates back to 1829 and was a key tool for making it possible for sailors to calculate their position at sea.

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Update: Cruise Ship Coral Adventurer Runs Aground on First Trip Death of Elderly Passenger

Posted on by December 29, 2025

The last time the expedition cruise ship Coral Adventurer was in the news was in October, when the ship sailed from Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, leaving Suzanne Rees, an 80-year-old passenger, behind on the remote island, where she died. A major search operation found her body the following day. An investigation is underway in Ms. Rees’ death.

Now the ship has run aground off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea on its first trip since the death of the elderly passenger. The vessel, which had been carrying 80 passengers and 44 crew when it ran aground, remained on a reef off the coast, about 30km from PNG’s second-largest city, Lae, on Monday. All passengers and crew aboard the cruise ship have been reported safe. All passengers are set to be flown home early.

Sting — Christmas At Sea, Live from Durham Cathedral

Posted on by December 24, 2025

We hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season.  Here is a repost of a beautiful version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Christmas at Sea,” performed by Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting.

Sting – Christmas At Sea (Live from Durham Cathedral)


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Hundreds of Victorian Shoes Mysteriously Wash Ashore on Beach In Wales

Posted on by December 24, 2025

Hundreds of Victorian hobnailed shoes have washed ashore on the UK’s Ogmore By Sea Beach in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. The remarkable trove of footwear was discovered by volunteers from the Beach Academy cleaning up rock pools on the beach last week on December 18.
 
Nearly 450 of the strange boots and shoes have so far been found by members of the  community interest group, who called it an ‘amazing day of discovery’.

So far, where they came from is unclear. The Daily Mail refers to their appearance as a “real shoedunnit!.”

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Radio Broadcasts Reporting Attack on Pearl Harbor 84 Years Ago Today

Posted on by December 7, 2025

An interrupted broadcast of a football game, a newsbreak during a performance by the New York Philharmonic, a weather report followed by an announcement from President Roosevelt that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Reports of attacks on the Philippines. Here is a compilation of news reports from Sunday, December 7th, 1941, eighty-four years ago today.

Pearl Harbor Attacks – As It Happened – Radio Broadcasts