Over 400 pilot whales became stranded after they swam into the shallow waters of Golden Bay, near Farewell Spit, at the northernmost tip of the South Island of New Zealand. An estimated 300 of the whales have died, as a small … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Last November, we posted about the wrecks of three Dutch World War IIship wrecks in the Java Sea that have apparently vanished. The three ships; the HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Kortenaer; had been in waters 70 meters … Continue reading
Two fine schooners are looking for crew. The A.J. Meerwald is looking for various crew and staff positions. A.J. Meerwald was built in 1928 as a Delaware Bay oyster schooner and is New Jersey’s official Tall Ship. A.J. Meerwald is operated by the … Continue reading
Is the classic 1927-built stern-wheel steamboat Delta Queen a national treasure or a not safe enough to operate? The ship does not meet current safety standards as established by the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations. A series of rolling two … Continue reading
Given that so much of what is happening in the world today seems like a shipwreck, it seems appropriate to post a very well done short documentary of the wreck of the great four-masted steel barque the Herzogin Cecilie, which … Continue reading
A 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef has been discovered off the mouth of the Amazon River. Stretching for over 600 miles, from French Guiana to Brazil’s Maranhão state, the reef is in water from 160 to over 320 … Continue reading
At one time, 2,000 skipjacks dredged for oysters under sail. Now they number fewer than 40 and less than half are actively fishing. Walter Cronkite hosts this documentary that examines a disappearing way of life for Chesapeake Bay skipjack sailors, … Continue reading
Recently, a 63 year old British tourist died suddenly while snorkelling on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. He is the fifth tourist to die in the last three months. In November, a 60-year-old British man and two French tourists, aged 74 and … Continue reading
I read Dr. Jeffrey Bolster‘s book, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail, not long after it came out a few years ago. It is a fascinating study of the largely untold story of African-American sailors in … Continue reading
For anyone with an interest in shipwrecks, here is a very interesting free online course that marine archaeologist John Broadwater pointed out on Facebook. It has just started but there is still time to sign up. ABOUT THE COURSE People have … Continue reading
Somewhere in the vast North Pacific Ocean, there is a singular whale singing a unique song, which was first recorded in 1989. For close to thirty years, researchers monitoring anti-submarine hydrophone arrays have heard a whale call which is much higher than the calls … Continue reading
Buzzfeed has a quiz for naval history nerds. I got 11 out of 13. The modern naval questions gave me some problems. How well would you do? Click on the link or the image below. Only Total Naval History Nerds … Continue reading
Seventy five years ago today, the USCG Cutter Alexander Hamilton was the first United States Coast Guard ship to be be lost in World War II. The cutter was named after the first Secretary of the Treasury, often referred to as the “Father of the … Continue reading
You may not necessarily know his name, but if you have been reading yachting magazines over the years, his cartoons probably brought a smile to your face. British cartoonist Mike Peyton, who died on January 25th at the age of … Continue reading
In February 2014, the City of Adelaide, the world’s oldest surviving composite clipper ship, returned to her namesake city. Now almost three years later, she still have not quite found a home. The ship is sitting on a deck barge … Continue reading