Australian adventurer Don McIntyre and teenage circumnavigator Mike Perham to re-enact Capt William Bligh’s epic mutiny on the Bounty open boat voyage Australian adventurer and solo round the world sailor, Don McIntyre announced today that Mike Perham, the world’s youngest … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2009
Sad news regarding a a remarkable woman and sailor. Amanda Ridgely Lake Amanda Ridgely Lake died in her home in Fairhaven, MA on August 19. Ms. Lake was 44. Ms. Lake was only one of a handful of women to … Continue reading
Last year the National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) published a fascinating booklet, John Stobart and the Ships of South Street, which features the pre-eminent maritime artist’s paintings of ships arriving or departing from New York’s South Street docks. At first the presentation struck me as odd. The … Continue reading
Lee shores were long the bane of sailing ships. They are no better for motor vessels who lose their engines or drag their anchors. Table Bay where the SELI 1 grounded is just such a lee shore and has been a … Continue reading
“Super yachts” rarely impress me. Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich’s megayacht, “Eclipse,” may be the largest private yacht now sailing but it is, to my eye at least, a bit boring. It may be over 550 feet long and cost a … Continue reading
After four voyages the solar panels on the upper of the NYK car carrier Auriga Leader have performed better than was expected but have also demonstrated how far there is to go in harnessing solar power. The ship has generated 32,300 … Continue reading
The Aubrey/Maturin series of novels by Patrick O’Brian introduced the world to, among other things, a range of obscure traditional British cuisine, which notably included suet puddings such as “Floating Island”, the unappetizing “Drowned Baby” and the perennial favorite “Spotted Dick”. This … Continue reading
From Marine Log: A fireboat launched September 11, 2009 at Eastern Shipbuilding, Panama City, Fla. is named the Three Forty Three in honor of the 343 New York City firefighters killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. … Continue reading
I’ve always been struck by the tragedy that those most in need of ferry service are often also most at risk. We have seen recent ferry accidents in the Philippines with the sinking of the Superferry 9 resulting in nine deaths, in … Continue reading
If you can’t get sailors to church, bring the church to the sailors. That was the strategy used in 1844 by the Protestant Church Missionary Society for Seamen, which was renamed the Seamen’s Church Institute. As they celebrate their 175th … Continue reading
Last week was a bad week for bulk carriers. The MV Black Rose, a bulk carrier with a crew of 27 which had loaded 23,847 tons of iron ore, sank near the port of Paradip on the east coast of … Continue reading
We have been following the progress of Beluga Shipping in their attempt to make a commercial transit of the “Northern Sea Route” which is also referred to as the “North East Passage.” See our “Beluga Group attempts the Northern Sea Route” … Continue reading
Today there are 1.6 million or so residents on the island of Manhattan. How things have changed. Four hundred years ago on September 12th, 1609, when Henry Hudson first stepped onto the island, there were roughly 600 Lenape Indians living … Continue reading
Last February, we posted about Dick Dowling and the battle of Sabine Pass. This weekend , September 12th and 13th, during “Dick Dowling Days” there will be re-enactments of the Civil War battle on the Sabine Pass State Historic Battleground … Continue reading
CNN reported that the US Coast Guard had fired shots at a passenger vessel on the Potomac River a short distance from where 9/11 memorial events were taking place at the Pentagon. Later reports say that the incident was in … Continue reading