The government of Australia plans to establish the world’s largest marine reserve in the Coral Sea, covering an area more than one-and-a-half times the size of France. If approved, the Coral Sea reserve, would be approximately 989,842 sq km. While environmentalists have … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The South Street Seaport Museum is reopening on Friday, December 14 with the launch of two new exhibitions – A Fisherman’s Dream: Folk Art by Mario Sanchez and Street Shots/NYC, a presentation of contemporary New York City street photography. They … Continue reading
Last week, we posted about the documentary “Shipbuilding in the Maritimes,” which aired on Sunday on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Land and Sea. For those of us who do not get the programming on television, the CBC is good enough … Continue reading
At around 1 AM on Friday morning, the Cape Apricot, a cape-sized bulk carrier, chartered to K Line, smashed through a coal conveyor serving the largest of two berths at Westshore Terminals in Vancouver, Canada. An undetermined amount of coal … Continue reading
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Arctic Report Card for 2012. Arctic Report Card … Continue reading
In 1969 in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, there was considerable concern for Robin Knox Johnson whose radio had malfunctioned off New Zealand. Four months later, he was able to make contact with a … Continue reading
The transition from warship to artificial reef did not go smoothly for the HMAS Adelaide. Now roughly 100 feet below the surface, the popularity of the reefed ship has created new problems – a dramatic increase in the cases of the … Continue reading
It seems to me that history is all about connections. Lawrence Gooley, writing in the Adirondack Almanack, notes how many ships present at the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, were named in remembrance of those who fought … Continue reading
In December of 1941, Betty McIntosh was a reporter for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. On December 7th, when the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked, she was sent out by her editors to report from a “women’s point of … Continue reading
The CBC’s Land & Sea is without question the favorite television program that I have never watched on television. While I cannot get Canadian broadcasting on my television, Land & Sea fortunately also puts their programming on-line. We have previously … Continue reading
Following the sinking last night of the car carrier Baltic Ace, the bodies of five sailors have been recovered. Six of the crew are missing and presumed dead in the icy waters of the North Sea. The 485-foot long Bahamain-flagged car … Continue reading
The car carrier, Baltic Ace, is reported to have collided with the container ship, Corvus J, this evening in crowded shipping lanes around 60 miles off the coast of Rotterdam. The Baltic Ace is believed to have sunk. Her crew of 24 took to … Continue reading
Joan Druett, award winning maritime historian and novelist, recently reviewed Hell Around the Horn for Historic Naval Fiction. Those Gallant Seamen Get their Story Told at Last Ringing with authenticity, this nail-biter is a tale of battling wind and weather to … Continue reading
The eight day port strike on the West Coast is over, thank goodness. On November 27th, a group of 450 clerks in the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, who had worked without a contract for over two years, walked out. … Continue reading
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea, where at least a half dozen nations are asserting a jumble of overlapping claims of sovereignty, fishing and mineral rights. China is now ramping up their claims by announcing that as of … Continue reading
I have great admiration for those whose successfully navigate the rocks and shoals of the bureaucracy in order to get anything done around New York harbor. A Coast Guard press release brought this to mind. The US Coast Guard is … Continue reading
The news this week from the South Street Seaport Museum was good. The Museum’s Bowne Stationers has reopened its doors after being flooded by Superstorm Sandy. There had been serious concern that the 19th century type and letterpress equipment might be seriously damaged or destroyed by the flood. … Continue reading
Amy Mullen has a done a beautiful job producing a 2013 wall calendar in tribute to HMS Bounty. The photos in the 17″x11″ wall calendar were taken by current or former crew of the ship on her adventures and have the location of the … Continue reading
A song in memory of Claudene Christian, Captain Robin Walbridge, and H.M.S. Bounty with lyrics by Mark Skinner, performed by Mike Whitehead and Tom Harrison. Wreck of the HMS Bounty … Continue reading
About a month ago, we posted about the Fireboat John J. Harvey – 2012 Fall Benefit which was originally scheduled for October 22nd. Superstorm Sandy’s arrival the next day, however made rescheduling necessary. It is on again, this Sunday, December 2nd, and it sounds like a great … Continue reading