When the sled dog, Balto, arrived with emergency supplies for the icebound town of Nome in 1926, a statue was erected in his honor in New York City’s Central park. When the Russian ice strengthened tanker Renda, escorted by the USCG’s icebreaker Healy arrive … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Laura Dekker’s sailboat, Guppy, now flies a New Zealand flag from her stern. Laura has struck the Dutch colors as the bureaucrats who tried and initially succeeded in stopping her solo voyage have returned to pester her and her family once more. They … Continue reading
The good news is that the Chilean Navy, assisted by the Japanese merchant ship, White Kingdom, have rescued Thomas Louis Corogin, an 84-year-old American sailor, after his seventh failed attempt to round Cape Horn, single handed. Corogin is now safely ashore after the mast on his Westsail … Continue reading
When I was in high school in Flordia, before I learned the error of my ways and become a sailor, I ran all over Boca Ciega Bay and the around the mouth of Tampa Bay in an outboard motor powered … Continue reading
The Chinese are opening a 148 room luxury hotel in the refurbished Russian aircraft carrier Kiev. Since 2004, the aircraft carrier has been part of what is billed as “the world’s biggest military theme park” in Tianjin, a municipality close to Beijing. The Chinese … Continue reading
British windsurfer, Steve Thorpe, was recently clocked at 50.48 knots, (58 mph or 93.3 km/hr,) sailing his windsurfer in 40 to 80 knots winds, in West Kirby, England. If the GPS readings are confirmed, he may hold the title of the world’s … Continue reading
The Russian tanker Renda and the USCG icebreaking cutter Healy are on a rescue mission to the Alaskan city of Nome. After a major storm prevented a pre-winter fuel delivery by barge, the Russian tanker Renda was chartered to deliver 1.3 … Continue reading
In early October, the MV Rena, a container ship owned by the Greek shipping company Costamare Inc, ran hard aground on the Astrolabe Reef in in the Bay of Plenty off New Zealand’s North Island. When she struck the reef, the Rena was … Continue reading
In early December, on her maiden voyage, the VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier) Vale Beijing suffered structural cracking while loading cargo in northeast Brasil. As reported by Maritime Propulsion , the extent of the damage was significant – the hull plating was found to … Continue reading
Update: Banque Populaire V crossed the line at 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, 53 seconds, beating the previous record by 2 days and 18 hours. An amazing performance by Captain Loick Peyron and his crew. Our heartiest congratulations. The live satellite map shows the … Continue reading
This Saturday night, January7th, the Mystic Seaport will be hosting a “Chantey Blast and Pub Sing” from 1-5 PM in the Frohsinn Hall (aka the German Club), 54 Greenmanville Avenue, in Mystic CT as a fundraiser for the 33rd Annual Mystic Seaport Sea … Continue reading
This morning, when I logged onto my computer, I checked the position of the max-trimaran Banque Populaire V as its screams it way across the North Atlantic at roughly 30 knots, seeking to seize the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation. It … Continue reading
A very interesting, if ambitious, new project. While we often focus on the Georgian Navy, the Royal Navy during the Restoration is fascinating it own right. The Lenox Project hopes to build a replica of the Lenox, a 17th century warship in the restored dockyard at … Continue reading
Given that we live on an ocean planet, it is remarkable how little know of the creatures of the sea. Recently, for example, scientists discovered the first hybrid sharks to be found in Australian waters. Also, teams of American and British researchers have just discovered new … Continue reading
The headline in the Liverpool Daily Post reads, “Places available on first Liverpool transatlantic tall ship voyage for more than 100 years.” Whether this is literally true or not, the trip looks very interesting for a number of reasons. The three-masted barquentine Pelican … Continue reading
It would have been almost funny, if billions of dollars were not at stake. As we posted last June, the Vale Brasil, first of the Valemax class of Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) sailed on its maiden voyage with 391,000 tons of iron … Continue reading
Last week we posted about America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011, a list compiled by Joe Follansbee at the Fyddeye Guides. This sort of list is interesting and useful in that it starts conversations about ships which require attention … Continue reading
For roughly the last fifty years, the US Coast Guard regulations for the loading and stability of passenger vessels has assumed an average weight of 160 pounds per person. Conceding to the reality of a more corpulent population, the regulations were updated last month, increasing the … Continue reading
What better way to start the new year than to look at a project which uses modern technology to recreate virtually a ship from 1606? Dr. Filipe Castro, of the Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University, working with the university’s Visualization … Continue reading
New Year’s Day came a day early this year to Samoa and the Tokelau atolls in the South Pacific, while Friday, December 30th, disappeared entirely. After being east of the International Date Line for almost 120 years, Samoa and the Tokelau atolls decided to move west, … Continue reading