At first, it sounded like a tragic story with a very predictable moral. A 46 year old male kayaker capsized, while not wearing a lifejacket, and was believed to have drowned. His 36 year old female paddling partner, who was wearing … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Sailing School Vessel (SSV) Oliver Hazard Perry will be docking at her new permanent berth this Saturday at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI. She is the first ocean-going full-rigged ship built in America in over a century. She will … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the Maersk Tigris, a 5470-TEU container ship, which was detained by boats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Here is what we know so far. 1. Is the Maersk Tigris a “U.S. cargo ship?” No. Initially, Saudi owned Al-Arabiya and several … Continue reading
The Marshall Island flagged container ship Maersk Tigris sailing from the Saudi port of Jeddah, bound for the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali, was intercepted by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. As reported by Bloomberg, the ship was … Continue reading
In a letter about the Fairhope Yacht Club, Commodore Gary Garner describes the local sailing on Mobile Bay in Alabama. He writes: “We are blessed with a moderate climate, steady afternoon sea breezes and fantastic sunsets. Our generally laid back … Continue reading
The America’s Cup soap opera continues, with all the twists and turns one might expect and few that are a complete surprise. As in any soap opera, it has its share of betrayals, broken promises, jilted lovers, illicit liaisons and the … Continue reading
You may recall the Norwegian comedy team Ylvis from their viral hit, “What Does the Fox Say?,” which was viewed more than a half billion times on Youtube. One of their more recent music videos, released in September, is on … Continue reading
Christopher Swain, an environmental activist, spent about an hour swimming in New York’s Gowanus Canal earlier this week on Earth Day. He said he made his swim as a “call for an accelerated cleanup of the Canal.” The Gowanus Canal … Continue reading
Half Moon, a replica of Henry Hudson’s ship, looks very small sitting on the deck of the heavy-lift ship Traveler, which is carrying the ship to its new berth at the Westfries Museum in Hoorn, in the Netherlands. As heavy lift ships go, … Continue reading
The cruise ship Carnival Spirit docked this morning in Sydney Australia after being held offshore for a day due to high winds and seas which closed the port. The ship had been on a 12 day cruise. A serious storm … Continue reading
This beautiful visualization of the winds blowing across the face of the earth and the sea from Windyty seems like an appropriate post for Earth Day. Click and drag the chart around to see the winds on any part of … Continue reading
We recently posted about Gunboat’s new G4 carbon-fiber catamaran which can fly on foils. (It can also capsize dramatically.) As high tech and leading edge as the G4 may be, it is not the first cruising foiling multihull. Forty five … Continue reading
The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean continues to grow more grave. Last week, we posted about the drowning of 400 migrants in an overloaded ship which capsized not long after leaving port in Libya bound for Italy. On Sunday, a larger ship … Continue reading
Within a few hours after the replica French frigate l’Hermione set sail on her maiden voyage to the United States, friends stopped by our house on the west side of the Hudson River for drinks and brought an unexpected gift. … Continue reading
Today the replica frigate l’Hermione will sail from its mooring off the small island of Aix on the west of France, and navigate up the Charente river to the historic naval town of Rochefort, before setting out across the Atlantic to … Continue reading
The Newtown Creek was recently sold at auction. At 324′ long and 49.6′ wide, she is a lovely coastal tanker that traversed New York harbor’s waters for close to a half century. For a vessel of her size and type, I always found … Continue reading
Last May we posted about the donation of the schooner 64’5″ Fiddler’s Dream to the Kitsap Maritime Heritage Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to celebrate the Puget Sound’s maritime heritage through exhibition, education, and helping people of all ages and abilities to … Continue reading
I was invited onto the Mark Forrest Show on BBC radio to discuss the history and importance of sea shanties. A quick five minute interview. To hear more of the program, click here. … Continue reading
An estimated 400 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean when their boat capsized, 24 hours after leaving Libya. Approximately 145 people were rescued. Italian authorities say that around 8,500 migrants had been rescued at sea between Friday and Monday alone. Nearly 3,500 migrants … Continue reading
In December we posted about a new 40′ carbon-fiber racing/cruising catamaran from Gunboat, the G4, that with the optional J foils could fly like an America’s Cup racer. Here now is a video of the G4 being put through the … Continue reading