Even though it was expected, it still comes as a shock. Yesterday, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division filed a public notification that the historic windjammer, Falls of Clyde, is being offered for sale by auction. Those who … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Did you, by any chance, lose a USB memory stick while kayaking sometime before November 2017, near Oreti Beach in Invercargill, a city on the southern tip of New Zealand’s southern island? If you did, the memory stick has been … Continue reading
Recently, the media has somewhat breathlessly reported that the usually slow drift of the magnetic north pole has sped up dramatically. My favorite headline is from NPR which reads, “As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model.” … Continue reading
According to a saying often attributed to Mark Twain, “History may not repeat itself. But it often rhymes.” This came to mind recently when posting about the sad state of the windjammer Falls of Clyde, which recently nearly sank at the … Continue reading
For the first time in 150 years, baby giant tortoises have been born on the Galapagos island of Pinzón. Biologists reported that they had observed ten tiny, newly hatched saddleback tortoises on the island early last month. They commented that … Continue reading
We are a few days late in wishing the iconic cartoon character, Popeye the sailorman, a happy birthday. (Frankly, I am not sure how one sends birthday wishes to a cartoon character, in any case.) Popeye first appeared on January … Continue reading
We recently posted an incomplete list of some of the great things that the US Coast Guard was doing while not getting paid during the government shutdown. One of the missions was the resupply of the US McMurdo Station in … Continue reading
More bad news for the Falls of Clyde. The 1878 built windjammer, the last surviving iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged ship, recently came close to sinking at the dock in Honolulu, Hawaii. On Thursday, the ship began taking on water by the … Continue reading
For the “blue water” Navy veterans suffering from the effects of Agent Orange from their service in Vietnam, a federal appeals court in Washington has done what the politicians have refused to do. As reported by the Washington Post: The U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue reading
Last April, we posted about a planned expedition to the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea on the icebreaking polar-supply and research-vessel SA Agulhas II. The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 is now underway, and scientists have spent the past two weeks investigating the Larsen C … Continue reading
After 221 days alone at sea, 73-year-old French sailor, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, returned to where he started, Les Sables d’Olonne, France, winning the Golden Globe Race. He crossed the finish line at 0900 local time this morning aboard his Rustler 36, Matmut. The … Continue reading
The El Dorado, a 157 foot-long, 300-ton, casino boat broke free from her moorings when Hurricane Ivan ripped through Panama City, FL in 2004. She ran aground in Southport, FL. where she sat for several years. A new owner was in … Continue reading
No doubt about it. Winter is with us with a vengeance. On Friday rising waters and ice jams on the Hudson River between Albany and Troy, New York tore eight vessels from their moorings. Five barges, one tugboat, a “dock system” and a … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the replica of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour which will be circumnavigating Australia to commemorate the 250th-anniversary of Cook’s arrival. Some critics have noted that Captain Cook did not actually sail around Australia. Coincidentally and almost simultaneously, archaeologists in London … Continue reading
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia, HMS Endeavour, a replica of Cook’s ship, will circumnavigate the continent. Prime minister Scott Morrison has announced the Australian government will be providing 6.7 million Australian dollars (£3.72 million) … Continue reading