As a brief respite from the current madness, here is a mixed-up montage of sailing footage from the Castle Films newsreel named Windjammer Thrills. The newsreel starts with the square-rigged training ship Christian Radich, moves on to fishing schooner races … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
In the United States recently, there has been a lot of attention given to those who hoard toilet paper in preparation for the coronavirus onslaught. As toilet paper is one of the basic necessities of modern life, hoarding seems to … Continue reading
The plan was for the Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) ships Vasco da Gama and Columbus to refuel, reprovision and swap passengers in the port of Phuket, Thailand before returning to their respective homeports to be temporarily laid up. When … Continue reading
The good news is that the Pentagon announced that it is activating the two US Navy hospital ships, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, notionally to provide additional capacity in the developing coronavirus pandemic. The bad news is that it is … Continue reading
More that one hundred Australian doctors and dentists on a medical conference cruise have found themselves stranded onboard the cruise ship Roald Amundsen off Punta Arenas, Chile after the country after the country banned cruise ships from docking in response … Continue reading
The story goes that somewhere around the year 400 AD, a lad of 16, named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped by pirates from his home in what is now Wales and was taken as a slave to Ireland. He was enslaved … Continue reading
While there is an understandable concern for the passengers on cruise ships struck by the coronavirus, the crews are often overlooked. What challenges do they face and what happens to them when the last passengers leave the ships? Nowhere to … Continue reading
After all the stress of the past week, some beauty and tranquility feels appropriate. Here is some absolutely breathtaking drone footage, shot by Ryan Smith, of the Training Ship Kennedy returning to Massachusetts Maritime Academy from Sea Term 2020. A … Continue reading
The press release from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) was clear — the cruise industry is now shut down. No more cruising from the United States. CLIA is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, representing more than 50 … Continue reading
The Russian Navy recently found and raised a Soviet G-5 Type motor torpedo boat sunk in the Siege of Sevastapol during World War II. Approximately 300 G-5s were built, of which 73 were lost during World War II. Despite specific … Continue reading
Viking Cruises announced that it is suspending operations of all ocean and river cruises until May 1. Viking operates over 70 river and cruise vessels, including 16 ocean-going cruise ships. A short time later, Princess Cruises announced that it was … Continue reading
The Strait of Dover, only 18 nautical miles wide between Britain and France, dividing the English Channel from the North Sea, is one of the world’s busiest seaways. While requiring careful navigation today, during World War II it was a … Continue reading
The once-grand passenger liner SS United States may be moving closer to conversion and restoration to a floating hotel, hospitality space, and museum. RXR Realty, a real estate owner, operator, and developer in the New York Tri-State area, has partnered … Continue reading
Will the coronavirus cripple the cruise industry? With 278 ships in service and 19 scheduled to be delivered in 2020, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) values the industry’s global economic output at $150 billion worldwide. The past several weeks … Continue reading
We recently posted about the red giant navigational star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, which was observed to be growing significantly dimmer. Not a little dimmer but about 40% dimmer. Some astronomers speculated that the dimming suggested that the star … Continue reading