Snailfish, the Deepest-Swimming Fish Ever Recorded on Camera

A team of Australian and Japanese scientists succeeded in capturing on camera the deepest-swimming fish ever recorded. The fish, an unknown snailfish species of the genus Pseudoliparis, was recorded at a depth of 8,336m in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of … Continue reading

Australian Michelle Lee the First Woman to Row the Pacific Ocean Solo, Unassisted & Non-Stop

Australian Michelle Lee has become the first woman to row solo, unassisted, and non-stop across the Pacific Ocean.  On her epic 237-day, 14,000-kilometre journey from Ensenada, Mexico to  Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, Australia, she dodged five hurricanes and … Continue reading

Saildrone Surveyor USV Discovers a 3,300-Foot-Tall Seamount Off California Coast

Two years ago,  we posted about Saildrone‘s new 72’ long Surveyor, which was described as the world’s most advanced uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), equipped for high-resolution mapping of the ocean seafloor. Now, the Saildrone Surveyor has discovered a 3,300-foot-tall sea … Continue reading

Captive Orcas : Kiska Dies & Tokitae May be Returned to the Pacific

News of two captive orcas. In Canada, Kiska, an orca often referred to as “the loneliest whale in the world” has died after spending over four decades in captivity at Marineland, a zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls.  Kiska … Continue reading

Tall Ships St. Pete Festival, March 30 — April 2, 2023

The city of St. Petersburg, FL is hosting Tallships® St.Pete, a four-day maritime festival from March 30 to April 2, 2023.  The city is partnering with Tall Ships America to co-host a fleet of tall ships along the St Petersburg … Continue reading

Who Blew Up the Nord Stream Pipelines — Ukraine, US or Russia?

On September 26, 2022, a series of clandestine bombings resulted in underwater gas leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines. Both pipelines were built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, and are … Continue reading

Hōkūleʻa Prepares For Pacific Circumnavigation Guided by the Stars Winds and & Waves

In June 2016, I had the pleasure of visiting Hōkūleʻa, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe, when she sailed into New York harbor in the third year of an epic voyage. Since her launch in 1975, Hōkūleʻa, had crisscrossed the Pacific … Continue reading

As Repair Costs Soar and Deployment Delayed, What Happened on the HMS Prince of Wales?

Late in August 2022, the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, sailed from Portsmouth, UK bound for training exercises in the United States. She didn’t get very far. Two days after departing, the carrier broke down off … Continue reading

Famous Research Vessel RV Petrel Rolled Off Blocks in Edinburgh Drydock, 35 Injured

Yesterday, the research vessel Petrel rolled off her blocks in a drydock in Edinburgh, Scotland, leaving 35 people injured. BBC reports that twenty-three people were taken to the hospital and 12 were treated at the scene of the incident at … Continue reading

Remembering Susan Ahn Cuddy, First Female Asian American Officer, Gunnery Officer in US Navy

March is Women’s History Month, so it seems appropriate to remember the life and accomplishments of Susan Ahn Cuddy, a Korean American who would serve as the first female Asian-American officer in the US Navy and would also become the … Continue reading

Women’s History Month — Eleanor Creesy, Navigator of the Clipper Ship Flying Cloud

In honor of Women’s History Month, it is worthwhile remembering Eleanor Creesy, the navigator of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, who with her husband, Captain Josiah Creesy, set world sailing records for the fastest passage between New York and San … Continue reading

Sargassum and Icebergs — Threats Warm & Cold

In recent years we have posted about the impact of massive mats of sargassum in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. The brown buoyant seaweed has had a devastating impact on beaches across the east … Continue reading

Women’s History Month — Remembering Winnie Breegle, WWII WAVE and Code Talker

During Women’s History Month, it is a good time to honor Winnie Breegle who served in World War II as a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) cryptographer and a Navajo “Code Talker”, who didn’t happen to be a … Continue reading

Women’s History Month — Remembering Mary Patten, Clipper Ship Captain

During Women’s History Month, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost. The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper ship Neptune’s Car, bound … Continue reading

Update: UN Plans to Salvage Oil from FSO Safer Off Yemen

CNN reports that the United Nations has released a plan to offload 1 million barrels of oil off FSO Safer, a floating oil storage and offloading vessel, that has been moored off the coast of Yemen for more than 30 years. … Continue reading

Remembering the Birkenhead Drill — Women and Children First!

HMS Birkenhead was one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was designed as a steam frigate, but was converted to a troopship before being commissioned in 1851. While transporting troops and a few civilians to … Continue reading

Haulout : Melting Sea Ice Pushes Walruses to the Brink

A lone scientist on the coast of the Siberian Arctic finds that warming seas have taken a toll on the walrus migration, as documented in a film by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev. “Haulout” is nominated for Best Documentary Short … Continue reading

Women’s & Black History Months: Gladys West — Pioneer of GPS Technology

In honor of both Women’s History Month and Black History Month, an updated repost about Gladys West. From maps to apps to chartplotters, we all rely on GPS these days, sometimes whether we realize it or not. Ethan Siegel wrote … Continue reading