Earlier this month, we posted how the North Carolina legislature is considering legislating limits to sea level projections, even though recent studies suggest that sea levels are rising faster on the US East Coast than they are in the rest of the world. That hasn’t … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The 72 foot long catamarans that will be competing for the America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013 are both breathtakingly beautiful and slightly terrifying. Powered by a towering wing sail and well capable of sailing at the twice the speed of the … Continue reading
Last April we posted about Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer’s plans to build a 21st-century replica of the Titanic. I am not sure how I feel about naming new vessels after maritime tragedies. On the other hand, the Titanic may … Continue reading
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s 5th Annual Chesapeake Folk Festival, this Saturday, July 28th, in St. Michaels, MD, celebrates the Bay’s people, arts, work, and bounty offers a full stage of live music all day long, regional foods, hands-on activities with … Continue reading
Two recent reports look at the actions and inaction of BP and its contractor Transocean before the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the consequences of the resulting spill on the environment. The explosion on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 and … Continue reading
The fire on the containership MSC Flaminia, abandoned in the mid-Atlantic after a fire and explosion on July 15th, is reported now to be under control. The ship is under by the Smit salvage tug Fairmount Expedition at five knots and is roughly … Continue reading
We apologize to industrial vacuum cleaners. (They may not be the national security threat we once thought.) In a previous post we repeated a statement by the Federal investigators that the fire on the nuclear submarine USS Miami, undergoing repairs in … Continue reading
Drivers on the Courtney Campbell Causeway began calling the authorities to report manatees in trouble. There appeared to be around ten manatees on a sandbar not far from the causeway that connects Tampa and Clearwater, Florida. Drivers stopped their cars and pulled over to get a better … Continue reading
This seems like a suitable video for a Monday morning. Tres Hombres is a Dutch 32 meter cargo-carrying brigantine, meant to serve as an ambassador to a new fleet of sustainable hybrid sailing vessels. The video below is beautifully shot … Continue reading
A very interesting interview with Captain Denise Meagher and Dawn Santamaria of the schooner Unicorn and the Sisters under Sail Program at this weekend’s Halifax Tall Ships Festival. Interview: All-female crew on tall ship … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
At the end of May, we posted about the “unfortunate economics of tall ships.” All ships, sailing ships included and perhaps, especially, are devilishly expensive to maintain and run, and income is tough to come by, especially in these difficult economic times. One … Continue reading
The Smit 16,320-hp ocean going tug Fairmount Expedition has reportedly been successful in controlling the spread of the fire on the MSC Flaminia, the 6,732 TEU container ship which was abandoned in middle of the North Atlantic last Sunday after suffering a … Continue reading
The 86′ schooner Larinda sank in Halifax harbor during Hurricane Juan on September 29, 2003. She was raised from the harbor bottom and following a nine year restoration has returned to Halifax for this year’s Tall Ship Festival. The design and construction of the … Continue reading
We recently posted in response to a video, “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?.” It recounted how three men named Hugh Williams were each the only survivors of shipwrecks in the treacherousness Menai Straits off North Wales. More remarkably, two of the Hugh Williams escaped from shipwrecks on … Continue reading
Last September we posted about the sinking of a ferry off Zanzibarwith the loss of 200 passengers. Yesterday, another ferry sank off the Zanzibar coast. Thirty eight are confirmed dead with another 100 missing. Zanzibar police spokesman Mohamed Mhina said, “Search operations continue but … Continue reading
Last September we posted that Odyssey Marine Exploration had located the wreck of the S.S. Gairsoppa, which was torpedoed in February of 1941 by a German U-boat. When she sank, the ship was loaded with 240 tonnes of silver believed … Continue reading
On Sunday we posted about an explosion and fire aboard the container ship MSC Flaminia in the North Atlantic about a thousand miles west of Cornwall. The first officer died from burns received in the fire and one crew member is missing. … Continue reading
Correction: Based on local news reports, we originally posted that water pressure from the steamer Portland‘s paddle-wheel damaged the Royaliste. We were incorrect. The Portland clearly backed into the ketch, which was tied up alongside the dock. See the video below, which shows the impact. … Continue reading
When Korea announced plans, earlier this month, to resume whaling for “scientific purposes” it was hit by a tsunami of protests from environmental groups and nations around the world. France, the United States, Australia and New Zealand in particular spoke … Continue reading