After struggling to raise funds to pay for pilotage fees, the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre has ended its voyage in the Great Lakes at Green Bay, WI. Plans to go on to Duluth, Minnesota have been abandoned. A … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Last February we posted “Will the SS United States Sail Again? Crystal Cruises Tosses a Life Line.” Crystal Cruises had signed an option to purchase the ship and was undertaking a feasibility study to determine whether the ship could be economically … Continue reading
A blue hole in the South China Sea, called variously, Dragon Hole, Longdong and the Eye of the South China Sea, is reported to be the deepest blue hole in the world. At 987 feet (300.89 meters) deep, the Dragon Hole is … Continue reading
The Green Bay Tall Ship Festival kicks off this Friday, August 5th, at noon and runs through Sunday, August 7th. It features nine tall ships, including the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. There had been some question as to … Continue reading
After decades of absence, whales are returning to the waters around New York City. Competing whale watching cruises depart New York docks in the warmer months to see humpback, fin whales and dolphins, often within site of the city skyline. … Continue reading
The Lilac Preservation Project is hosting “LILAC: Flower of the Delaware, A Coast Guard Day Presentation” on Thursday, August 4th, at 6:00 PM on the historic lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25, the foot of West Street and N. Moore … Continue reading
The replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre successfully crossed the Atlantic and made it to the the Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago 2016 festival, which took place this weekend, despite challenges associated with paying Great lakes pilotage fees. Building a replica … Continue reading
At around 2 a.m. on the Sunday morning of July 30, 1916, one hundred years ago today, explosions on Black Tom Island rocked New York harbor. The blasts lit the night sky and shook the earth with the force of … Continue reading
On July 25, 1956, the Italian Line passenger liner Andrea Doria was approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, bound for New York City, when she collided with the eastbound MS Stockholm of the Swedish American Line and sank. Now 60 … Continue reading
Several years ago, we posted about the Oru, the origami kayak. Now, two Belgian designers, Otto Van de Steene and Thomas Weyn, have developed ONAK, an origami full-sized canoe with urban paddlers in mind. The canoe is made of a custom-made … Continue reading
Congratulations to the officers, crew and the shore staff of the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry. The 200′ long tall ship recently completed the necessary drills and inspections required by the US Coast Guard in order for the ship to qualify as a … Continue reading
The Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago 2016 festival begins tomorrow, July 27th, and runs for five days through the 31st, at Chicago’s Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. One of the participating ships was expected to be the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. Earlier … Continue reading
Four hundred and seventy one years after it sank in the Solent in 1545, King Henry VIII’s flag ship, Mary Rose, is now, once again, accessible to the viewing public at the Mary Rose Museum in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, … Continue reading
Yesterday, one hundred and thirty four year after his death, a headstone was unveiled at the grave of John Willis Griffiths, a gifted American naval architect who is often referred to as the “Father of the Clipper Ship.” Although Griffiths … Continue reading
Only slightly nautical but a lot of fun, nevertheless. Giant Octopus Kite … Continue reading
Last October, we took a five day cruise on the Amazon from Iquitos, Peru. It was a fascinating trip. Iquitos is 2,000 nautical miles up the Amazon and yet is a deep water port with a controlling draft of around … Continue reading
Last week, we posted about the upcoming scuttling of the Luck Lady, ex-Newtown Creek, later this month as an artificial reef off Pompano Beach, FL. Recently, about fifty miles to the north of Pompano, the cargo ship Ana Cecilia was sunk about 1.25 … Continue reading
In June, we posted about the upcoming unveiling of a headstone for the brilliant, but largely forgotten, American naval architect John Willis Griffiths. This Saturday, July 23rd, the National Maritime Historical Society will unveil the headstone at Griffiths’ previously unmarked … Continue reading
I am currently in the Northern Neck of of Virginia, where I will soon sit down with a boatyard to hear the latest estimated launch date for my Albin Nimbus 42, Arcturus. As I left the boat with the yard … Continue reading
An area off the Fourni archepelago, a group of 13 islands between the islands of Samos and Icaria in Greece, is known as a graveyard of ships. In June, underwater archaeologists discovered 23 ship wrecks during a survey period of … Continue reading