In 2010, a North Carolina state commission report predicted that sea levels on the state’s coast could rise as much as 39 inches by the year 2100, flooding billions of dollars’ worth of real estate and crippling much of the … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Two monster storms are bearing down on vulnerable coastlines on opposite sides of the globe. In the Atlantic, Hurricane Florence, now a Category 2 storm, is sending lashing winds, powerful rains and the threat of major flooding as it approaches the … Continue reading
Two Northern Irish fishermen were fishing for pollan, a whitefish native to Ireland, in Lough Neagh. Instead, fishermen Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle netted the antlers and skull of a Great Elk, a species which disappeared from Ireland 10,500 to 11,000 years … Continue reading
This weekend I enjoyed watching the Great North River Tug Race. Now, a few days later, we have arrived again at the anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. As horrible as that Tuesday morning in September indeed was and as … Continue reading
More than 4,000 people have climbed Mount Everest. More than 600 people have been in outer space. Yet fewer than 100 people have sailed solo non-stop around the world. What does it take to race around the globe alone? Skill, obviously. Physical … Continue reading
A short video of this morning’s 26th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race sponsored by the Working Waterfront Committee. … Continue reading
Alex Storm, a Canadian treasure hunter who discovered two valuable 18th-century shipwrecks off the shores of Nova Scotia, died last month at the age of 80. In 1965, Storm and two associates discovered the wreck of Le Chameau, a French Navy ship … Continue reading
Testing has begun on the recently installed rotor sails on the MV Maersk Pelican. The two large cylinders installed on the deck of the 110,000 DWT Long Range 2 product tanker may not look much like sails but may represent … Continue reading
Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI), the non-profit organization behind Rhode Island’s Official Tall Ship SSVOliver Hazard Perry, has announced a pause in operations to rethink its strategy for the ship’s financial sustainability. The 200-foot three-masted sailing school vessel, which was seven … Continue reading
If you are near New York harbor this Sunday, swing by Manhattan’s Pier 84 (at W. 44th St.) on the Hudson River to catch the 26th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race and Competition, sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee. More than 15 tugboats … Continue reading
A diver repairing Pier 40 on the Hudson River in Manhattan recently pried loose a large oyster. At 8.66 inches long and weighing in at close to two pounds, it is believed to be the largest oyster found in New York Harbor in … Continue reading
Happy Labor Day! While many nations celebrate workers on May 1st or May Day, US and Canada both celebrate workers rights in early September. It seems a good time to look at the nautical origin of the word “strike,” referring … Continue reading
Tomorrow, September 4th, a memorial service honoring the life of Bert Rogers will be held at 2PM on the North lawn at Fort Adams in Newport, RI. Bert Rogers was the long-time Executive Director of Tall Ships America and an … Continue reading
For most of history, the only way to keep ship and boat hulls from fouling with barnacles was to put some sort of material toxic to marine growth on vessel hulls. Copper sheathing was one of the first effective, albeit costly, forms … Continue reading
While many have been focused on the massive die-offs of fish and sea life off the South Florida coastline triggered by a combined outbreak of red tide and blue-green algae, all is not well along the New England coast either. … Continue reading
Another good news-bad news story. The good news is that the fears of radiation spreading across the Pacific from the Fukushima meltdown following the Japanese tsunami of 2011, have been wildly overstated. Yes, trace elements of radiation traceable to Fukushima have been recorded in Pacific … Continue reading
The aircraft carrier USS Midway is about a 1,000′ long, 130′ wide and around 55′ high. It has been a stationary museum ship since 2004. Put plainly, Midway is really, really big and doesn’t move. It should be a fairly easy object to avoid, and yet … Continue reading
The grand matriarch of the Maine Windjammer fleet, the schooner Victory Chimes, will soon have new owners at the helm. Captain Sam Sikkema will be taking over from Captains Kip Files and Paul DeGaeta, who for the last 29 years, have been in command … Continue reading
The ongoing 2018 Golden Globe Race is a 50th-anniversary homage to the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Yacht Race, the first single-handled nonstop around-the-world sailboat race. In the 1968 race, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was the winner and the only contestant to complete the race. Last June, 18 … Continue reading
On the 21st of January, 1973, the island of Heimaey, four nautical miles off the south coast of Iceland, began to tremble. On the 23rd, a large fissure opened up on the eastern side of the island, barely a kilometer away … Continue reading