In honor of the 250th anniversary of the launching of HMS Victory, here is a rolling broadside, fired by none other than HMS Victory. The ship is beginning a £50million restoration project in an attempt to preserve Nelson’s flagship for future generations. For … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Iran is reporting that it has released the container ship Maersk Tigris. The ship had been seized on April 28th as it transited the Strait of Hormuz. Neither Maersk Line, which is the ship’s charterer, nor Rickmers Shipmanagement, which manages the … Continue reading
I am very pleased to have been interviewed by George Jepson in the May/June issue of the McBooks Press‘ newsletter “Quarterdeck.” If you haven’t run across “Quarterdeck” you should take a look. (A subscription is free.) This issue includes my … Continue reading
Does Iran have any conceivable case for seizing the Maersk Tigris? The short answer is “no.” The slightly longer answer might be “absolutely not” or “under no circumstances.” Iran is claiming a decade old cargo dispute as the basis for … Continue reading
Sailors stand on the flight deck of the HMS Lancaster, known as the “Queen’s Frigate,” in a special congratulatory message to Prince George, passing on the news that he now has a sister. … Continue reading
A week ago, tragedy struck at the Dauphin Island Regatta on Mobile Bay, when a powerful squall packing winds of almost 70 knots struck the assembled fleet. Six sailors were lost. The bodies of five sailors have been found. The … Continue reading
On April 20th, the 105′ trimaran Lending Club 2 sailed from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda in an amazing 23 hours, 9 minutes and 52 seconds, beating the previous record by a 15 hours. Lending Club 2 sailed the 635-nautical mile passage at an average … Continue reading
Once again, May 2nd is International Scurvy Awareness Day! The festivities appear to be sponsored by a group calling itself Lime Strong. I am not sure whether this is an individual or a marketing arm for lime growers. Nevertheless, there … Continue reading
I am very excited about Linda Collison‘s new book, Water Ghosts. Coming soon from Old Salt Press. A teenaged boy on a summer adventure sailing aboard a traditional Chinese junk, believes the ship to be controlled by ghosts from the … Continue reading
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
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