The windjammer Peking has left the South Street Seaport for the last time. Nevertheless, the grand old windjammer has left her mark, both on those who cared for the beautiful, if decrepit, Flying P liner, and also on the street signs … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
We have posted before about the blue moon, which is the name given to the second full moon appearing in any given month. Tonight, September 30th in the Western hemisphere, there will occur the darker version of the blue moon — … Continue reading
On Monday, Nathan Carmen, 22, was rescued 115 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard in the Atlantic Ocean by the Chinese freighter Lucky Orient. He had spent eight days in a life raft after his 32′ center cockpit aluminum boat sank suddenly while … Continue reading
An interesting new project by Sailcargo Inc. to build a 150′ long wooden three-masted topsail cargo schooner in Costa Rica with a cargo deadweight of around 250 tonnes. Click here to learn more. … Continue reading
Over the weekend, protesters, in a flotilla of small boats, including Venetian gondolas, attempted to block the passage of cruise ships, including one owned by Thomson, through the Venice lagoon. The battle between local residents and environmentalists and the cruise industry … Continue reading
On Sunday morning, some time around 3AM, a 32′ powerboat slammed into the rocks at high speed at the Governor’s Cut jetty off South Beach, Miami, FL. The three men aboard, including Miami Marlins ace pitcher Jose Fernandez, 24, were … Continue reading
Yesterday the 1885 windjammer Wavertree returned home to New York’s South Street Seaport after a $13 million, sixteen month restoration in Caddell Drydock in Staten Island. She was escorted home by the 1885 schooner Pioneer, the 1893 schooner Lettie G … Continue reading
Last June we posted about the new airport on St. Helena. The airport was meant to allow commercial airlines to land on St. Helena, bringing tourists and commerce to the beautiful but rocky and remote island in the South Atlantic. The British … Continue reading
Recently, the USS Montgomery, an Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), established a new record. The ship broke down, suffering two unrelated engine failures only three days after being commissioned. The previous record had been set by the USS Milwaukee, a … Continue reading
On the afternoon of December 17th, 1927, the US Navy submarine S-4 was surfacing near Provincetown, MA, when it was run down by US Coast Guard destroyer Pauling, sending the submarine to the bottom. Joseph William’s latest book, “Seventeen Fathoms … Continue reading
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go aboard the 115 foot long Draken Harald Hårfagre, the largest Viking ship built in modern times, currently docked in Manhattan’s North Cove. Here are a few photos of her arrival and at dockside. … Continue reading
Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to spend a little time in the engine room of the Liberty ship, SS John W. Brown. The ship, normally based in Baltimore, was visiting New York and offered a full day “Living History Cruise.” … Continue reading
Some people choose to celebrate today as “Talk Like Pirate Day.” They may walk around with funny hats, eye patches and/or plastic swords saying “Aargh” or “Shiver me timbers” or some other sort of nonsense. I have never quite understood the … Continue reading
In 2009, we posted about how thousands of trees downed by Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX proved to be a literal and figurative windfall for Mystic Seaport in rebuilding the historic whaling ship, Charles W. Morgan. Of the 40,000 trees … Continue reading
Today, the largest Viking longship built in modern times, Draken Harald Hårfagre arrived in new York City and tied up in North Cove. In late April 2016, Draken Harald Hårfagre set out from her home port in Haugesund, Norway on an epic … Continue reading
President Obama has designated 4,913 square miles of ocean, 130 miles off Cape Cod on the southern edge of George’s Bank, as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the nation’s first marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean. Lee … Continue reading
This summer, the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry will sail from its homeport of Newport, RI on a five-week expedition to the Canadian Arctic, becoming the first full-rigged sailing ship to sail in the Northwest Passage in more than a century. The University … Continue reading
On September 28, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into what is now called San Diego Bay on his flagship, San Salvador. San Salvador was the first recorded European vessel to sail along California, and survey its coastline. Now, 472 years later, … Continue reading
In an interesting historical coincidence, just days after the luxury cruise ship, Crystal Serenity, completed a passage through the Canadian Arctic’s Northwest Passage, HMS Terror has been found. HMS Terror is the second of two ships from Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to traverse … Continue reading
If you are around New York harbor this Thursday, September 15th, the Working Harbor Committee is hosting their latest Hidden Harbor Tour : Brooklyn Waterfront –Past & Present. Captain Margaret Flannagan will be the guest speaker in a 2-hour, fully narrated boat tour of … Continue reading