One recurring comment related to the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the container ship ACX Crystal was that the container ship might not have been able to see the destroyer over the containers stacked on deck. There are photographs … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
In 1867, Royal Navy Captain, and later Admiral, Philip Colomb, worked out a system to send signals by a code of dots and dashed using signal lamps. Since then, navies around the world have used only slightly improved versions of signal lamps … Continue reading
The ship was just a silhouette in the haze as we sailed into New York harbor. We were on the last leg of the delivery of my new/old sailboat Arcturus from southern Virginia to Oyster Bay, Long Island. The ship … Continue reading
The USNS Lewis B. Puller has sailed from Norfolk on its maiden voyage as an expeditionary sea base supporting the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The Puller is the first of two expeditionary sea bases. A sister vessel, the USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams is expected … Continue reading
Since at least the 1960s there have been reports of orcas, also known as killer whales, stealing fish, particularly halibut, caught by fishing boats operating in the Bering Sea. Recently, the problem seems to be getting much worse. The Alaska Dispatch … Continue reading
Along the shore of South Africa, at least four great white sharks have washed ashore with their livers almost surgically removed. Two were also missing their hearts. The culprit appears not to be human. All indications seem to suggest that … Continue reading
In honor of the windjammer Peking, on her way home to Hamburg to be restored and refurbished — here is a fine old sea shanty — “Rolling Home to Dear Old Hamborg.” We can only hope that the 106 year … Continue reading
Last week, Joe Howlett, 59, a Canadian fisherman and a founder of Campobello Whale Rescue, died after rescuing a North Atlantic right whale, which was entangled in fishing nets off the coast of New Brunswick. Howlett was apparently struck by the … Continue reading
On an overcast Friday in New York’s inner harbor, the windjammer Peking, was gently slipped into the flooded well deck of the heavy-lift ship Combi Dock III. Once in position, the heavy-lift’s ballast tanks were pumped out, lifting the historic … Continue reading
Some 400 divers and snorkelers rocked-out to a unique sub-sea concert that promoted reef protection on part of the world’s third-largest living coral barrier reef last Saturday. The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival took place at Looe Key Reef, an … Continue reading
Rip currents can be treacherous. Last Saturday, ten swimmers — six members of a single family, four adults and two boys — and four others, were carried out into the Gulf of Mexico by a rip-current off Panama City Beach in … Continue reading
I heard this morning that the heavy lift ship Combi Dock III has entered New York harbor. (Thanks Daniel Pine for the heads-up.) The ship is reported to be the heavy-lift chartered to carry the windjammer Peking back to her home … Continue reading
For months we have been watching a vast crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice-shelf in the Weddell Sea. Today, a huge block of ice calved from the ice-sheet, forming one of the largest icebergs in recorded history. The new Larsen … Continue reading
In the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Alabama, divers have discovered an underwater forest rising out of the sediment, 60 feet below the surface. Ben Raines — an environmental reporter for the Mobile Press Register, told the Washington … Continue reading
This year’s City of Water Day hosted, by the Waterfront Alliance, will take place Saturday, July 15th, from 10 AM to 4 PM, on Governors Island in New York harbor as well as at neighborhood sites across the harbor. There will … Continue reading
Équihen Plage is a village on the Opal Coast, along the English Channel, in Pas-de-Calais, France. Until the early 20th century, it was a fishing village. Lacking a harbor, the fishing boats would be run aground on each tide and … Continue reading
Originally posted on gCaptain. Reposted with permission. When reporters were recently being given tours of the Royal Navy’s new “supercarrier,” HMS Queen Elizabeth, some were surprized to see a distinctive logo on several computer screens on the bridge and in … Continue reading
In January 2016, we posted about how during a major restoration of the 1908 coal-fired steamer Sabino at the Mystic Seaport Museum, it was determined that the boiler was beyond repair and would need to be replaced. Now with new decking … Continue reading
We posted yesterday about the death of Dutch yacht designer Frans Maas and two of his crew when the fin keel broke off from Capella, a boat he designed and owned. The boat capsized without warning and the three sailors … Continue reading
On July 1, Dutch yacht designer Frans Maas and his friend and crew, Freddy Franssens died when the yacht, Capella, capsized after losing her keel during the Genisol Light Vessel Race off Ostend, Belgium. Crew member Hannes Goegebeur is still missing and … Continue reading