Happy 4th of July – A Toast to Madeira, the Wine of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Riots

A post from five years ago, which is still fitting for the day. Happy 4th of July!  Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in … Continue reading

Battleship Texas, Barely Hanging on — Closes, Reopens, & Hunkers Down for Tropical Storm Cindy

We have been following the continued slow disintegration of the historically rich, but budget poor, Battleship Texas for several years now. The over 100 year old battleship is the oldest remaining dreadnought battleship and only one of six surviving ships to have served … Continue reading

The USS Fitzgerald Is At Fault. This Is Why — Commentary by gCaptain’s John Konrad

gCaptain’s Captain John Konrad has a excellent post today that describes in detail why he believes that the destroyerUSS Fitzgerald was at fault in its recent collision with the container ship ACX Crystal.  He suggests a simple rule for avoiding collisions with … Continue reading

Conspiracy Theories Spring Up Around the USS Fitzgerald — ACX Crystal Collision

The one thing we can say for certain is that we do not have all the facts surrounding the collision between the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald  and the Philippine container ship ACX Crystal . The collision nearly sank the destroyer, killed seven … Continue reading

Destroyer USS Fitzgerald Nearly Sank Following Collision — Seven Sailors Died Below Deck

We now know that the USS Fitzgerald came perilously close to sinking  following its collision with the Philippine-flagged container ship ACX Crystal, early Saturday morning off the Japaneses coast near Tokyo.   “Heroic efforts prevented the flooding from catastrophically spreading, which could have … Continue reading

Destroyer USS Fitzgerald Collides with Container Ship — Seven Missing

Seven crew members are reported to be missing after the US guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine flag container ship, ACX Crystal, early Saturday morning. Three others aboard were injured, including the commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, and were evacuated from … Continue reading