On July 10, 1985, agents of the French government planted mines and blew up Greenpeace‘s Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand to prevent the ship to be used to protest a planned French nuclear test in Moruroa. Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Terrible news from the Clipper Round the World Race. On the fourth day of the race, Andrew Ashman, 49, a paramedic from Orpington, Kent was injured and died while reefing the main sail on the racing yacht IchorCoal (CV21), approximately 120 nautical miles off … Continue reading
Last November we posted about the initials trials of Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze-Clark’s new 100’ carbon fiber speed-demon Comanche. Intended to be the fastest monohull in the world, it lived up to that claim during this summer’s Transatlantic Race where Comanche set a new … Continue reading
Paradoxically, the decreasing polar ice cap has increased the need for icebreakers. As the ice diminishes, traffic has increased above the Arctic Circle, making the need for icebreaking to assist in transit or respond to emergencies ever more important. On his … Continue reading
Recently, Travel + Leisure magazine rated Galway, Ireland the world’s friendliest city. I wonder whether it has anything to do with the Galway hookers? But what is a Galway hooker? Is it: A Galway street-walker? A traditional single masted fishing boat? A … Continue reading
In 1869, the Suez Canal changed the world of shipping. By providing steamers a shortcut though the relatively less windy Mediterranean Sea as well as ensuring access to coaling stations, the canal destroyed the millennia long supremacy of sail. Now, the … Continue reading
Recently, it was reported that the Prime Meridian, as marked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, is off by 102 meters, over the length of an American football field. The Prime Meridian is the arbitrary line marking 0 degrees … Continue reading
Today, the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race began from St Katherine’s Docks, London. Twelve teams are competing in the world’s longest ocean race of 40,000 nautical miles. While the captains of the twelve boats are all professionals, the 700 crew members … Continue reading
Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have been forcing upwards of 3,000 migrants a day from their homes. These desperate refugees often seek new lives in Western Europe, traveling by both land and sea. The most dangerous route is across the Mediterranean from … Continue reading
I hate jet-skis. They are noisy, exhaust-spewing and dangerous. I am amazed that more people don’t get killed by running them into other boats or seawalls, or just by falling off. I recently came across a potential alternative to these … Continue reading
In 2014, we posted about a German fisherman who found a 101 year old message in a bottle. It was then the oldest message ever found in a bottle. Now, a bottle containing a message that was tossed overboard between … Continue reading
Something very strange has happened on the Korean peninsula. More than 50 North Korean submarines — about 70% of the country’s known fleet — have reportedly left their bases and disappeared from South Korea’s military radar. They also represent most … Continue reading
In Marvel comics and movies, the mobile headquarters of the fictional intelligence/defense agency S.H.I.E.L.D. is a flying aircraft carrier, referred to as a “Helicarrier.” In the comic books, the flying aircraft carrier first appeared in 1965, which raises the obvious question — … Continue reading
My novel, The Shantyman, begins with a fictionalized Bill Doerflinger recording the tale told by a retired ship’s captain of a shantyman who saved his ship and its crew. The old captain lives close to the sailor’s retirement home, Sailor’s Snug … Continue reading
Navy divers, working with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, are attempting to raise what is left of the 250′ long CSS Georgia, an ironclad warship from the Civil War, in preparation for dredging the Savannah River. The river is … Continue reading
Since May, 30 dead whales have been found along the coast of Alaska. This compares to a total of five dead whales reported for all of last year. According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 11 fin whales, 14 … Continue reading
Spirits of the Passage: Stories of the Transatlantic Slave Trade opened yesterday on board the ex-USCG cutter Lilac at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25. The exhibit explores the transatlantic slave trade through a display of nearly 150 historical objects, many salvaged from sunken … Continue reading
Sail Amsterdam bills itself as the world’s largest nautical festival. Every five years, more than 600 ships navigate along the North Sea Canal before mooring in and around the IJhaven in Amsterdam. The ninth edition of SAIL Amsterdam takes place … Continue reading
Last year, the wreck of a the clipper ship, Noonday, was located just west of San Francisco. There was no great mystery where the ship sank in 1863, as the submerged rock where she struck has been known as Noonday Rock ever since. … Continue reading
In 2005, Ellen MacArthur broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, sailing 27,354 nautical miles in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds at an average speed of of 15.9 knots. Recently she gave a TED talk about the … Continue reading