Yesterday, the MV-Shariatpur-1, a ferry crossing the the Meghna River, just south of the capital, Dhaka, in Bangladesh, collided with a cargo vessel in early morning darkness. The ferry capsized and sank, killing at least 114 of the more than 200 passengers believed to be aboard. … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Not long ago, we posted about the Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon. There are indeed fisherman poets on all coasts and this Thursday, March 15th, the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine is hosting “Voices of the Sea: The Poetry and Song … Continue reading
After 18 months in dry dock and 15,500 volunteer hours of labor, a wholly rebuilt Hōkūle‘a, a Hawaiian voyaging canoe, was launched last week at Sand Island, Oahu, 37 years to the day after she was first launched. Following sea trials and outfitting, she … Continue reading
The Pacific nation of Kiribati is sinking. Or, more accurately, the ocean is rising, which from a practical perspective amounts to the same thing. The nation of 33 tiny atolls and coral islands, scattered across an area of the Pacific Ocean more than … Continue reading
The USS Enterprise has set sail on her final mission. The fifty year old carrier is heading to the Middle East on a seven-month deployment. The “Big E,” as she is called, was the first nuclear powered air craft carrier in … Continue reading
One year ago today, the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck 70 miles offshore, triggering a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland smashing towns, airports and highways across the north-eastern Japanese coast. Over 16,000 people are known … Continue reading
Jack Chippendale, a master wooden boat builder, died on February 24th at the age of 87. Over his seventy year career, he is said to have built more than 4,000 boats, including boats which won 30 world and national sailing … Continue reading
There are no weekends off at sea and this has been a busy Saturday. Off Sicily, the 18,000 DWT Italian tanker Gelso M ran aground in a storm, with reports of engine room flooding. The crew of 19 was evacuated by helicopter without injury. … Continue reading
We posted recently about the “race” to dive to the deepest spot in the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, almost 36,000 feet below the surface. The first and last time that anyone ever ventured to the bottom of the … Continue reading
The USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia were not the first iron-clad war ships, but they were the first to face each other in battle. One hundred and fifty years ago today, the two ironclads met in Hampton Roads, VA and fought each … Continue reading
The Florida Legislature has designated the schooner Western Union as the state’s official flagship. The schooner was built in 1939 and served for 35 years as as a cable vessel for the Western Union Telegraph Company, repairing and maintaining undersea … Continue reading
Pascal Vaudé has won the Bouvet Guyane Solo Atlantic Rowing Race and has set a new record of 37 days, 10 minutes and 26 seconds. This morning Julien Besson crossed the finish line taking second place just in front of Henri-George Hidair, … Continue reading
No need to shorten sail but putting down the GPS and dusting off the sextant might be a good idea as the largest solar storm in five years strikes the earth today. A massive cloud of charged particles moving at 4 … Continue reading
I will admit to not knowing much about Oman. I know that it is a Sultanate. It exports oil. I can find it on the map on the south-east corner of the Arabian peninsula. One thing that I do know … Continue reading
On Monday we posted about Sarah Hebert’s bold attempt to cross the Atlantic by windsurfer. She has been battling 3-to-5 metre swells and constant 25-knot winds. Now, suffering from extreme dizziness, diagnosed to be caused by anemia, she has suspended her attempt but vows to return … Continue reading
From 1655 to 1970, the Royal Navy issued daily rations of rum to their sailors. In the US Navy, alcohol was prohibited in 1913. Now almost 100 years later, the US Navy is going one step farther. Ray Mabus, the Secretary of … Continue reading
We recently posted about Matt Rutherford needing to be resupplied to continue his attempt to sail single-handed entirely around the Americas in the St. Brendan, a 27′ Albin Vega. Last week, Matt rendezvoused with a small boat, two miles off the coast of … Continue reading
The headline writers have been having fun. The Daily Beast headline reads – Moon to Blame for Titanic Sinking? Reuters asks and answers its own question – “What sank the Titanic? Scientists point to the moon.” The Times of India gets alliterative … Continue reading
When the revolutionary ironclad warship USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, NC during the Civil War, in December of 1862, 16 of her crew of 62 were lost. One hundred and forty years later, in August of 2002, when the turret of … Continue reading
Portside New York, based on the historic tanker Mary A. Whalen, has been putting on fantastic educational, cultural and and community programs and events on the Brooklyn waterfront front for the the last six years, without ever having a permanent berth. Now PortSide is … Continue reading