Updates on three previous posts: On Monday, Able Seaman Ryan Donovan was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to murdering a senior officer on board the HMS Astute last April. Submariner’s grudge turned proud day into tragedy British tourist Judith Tebbutt, … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
For something so relatively new, we take the internet very much for granted. The first graphical web browser is less than 20 years old. Nevertheless, the internet seems ubiquitous in most of our lives. But on a world that is over 70% ocean, how … Continue reading
Fifteen years ago, a group of sea shanty enthusiasts got together for an old fashioned shanty sing. Their first meeting was, fittingly enough on the windjammer Peking at South Street Seaport. For many years they met monthly at the Seaman’s Church … Continue reading
The folks at Jack Tar Magazine are sponsoring a writing contest, “The New Conrads” Storytelling Challenge, with some serious prize money attached. Whether you enter or not, it is an interesting exercise to consider what the world of shipping would look like in a … Continue reading
I have really enjoyed Linda Collison‘s two books in her Patricia MacPherson nautical adventure series. (See our reviews of Star-Crossed and Surgeon’s Mate.) She is also an excellent interviewer. Here she interviews another favorite nautical writer and frequent contributor to this blog, Alaric Bond. (See also Linda’s … Continue reading
Last Wednesday, we posted Not Your Father’s America’s Cup – Plymouth Capsize Club. This video is about “your father’s America’s Cup.” The yacht is Stars and Stripes/ US34, captained by Dennis Connor in the America’s Cup. The contrast between the … Continue reading
If you think that you are having a bad Monday morning, consider the plight of the master of the container ship MSC Luciana. The ship was bound from Antwerp to Felixstowe when it ran aground on a sand bar in the Westerschelde, … Continue reading
There aren’t many publishers with a special interest in nautical fiction. Tom Grundner, the owner of Fireship Press, who died suddenly on September 11th, was one. I never had the chance to meet him in person, but I genuinely liked the man I knew only through … Continue reading
Earlier this week the 45,000 DWT tanker, Mattheos I, with a crew of 23, was hijacked off Benin in the Gulf of Guinea. According to the IMB Piracy Center, this year there have been 19 pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea … Continue reading
Today is “International Talk Like A Pirate Day.” Many use it as an excuse to dress up in bad costumes and shout “Aaargh, Matie” and “Shiver me Timbers,” in some sort of odd homage to Johnny Depp and the Disney … Continue reading
Talk about match racing! This Sunday off Newport Beach, CA, two identical brigantines, the Irving Johnson and the Exy Johnson, will race. They will be manned by crews from rival local clubs, the Bahia Corinthian and Balboa Yacht clubs, under the supervision … Continue reading
Today the Google “doodle,” the image that appears above the Google search box, was an orange. Why an orange? If you clicked on the doodle it took you to a search for Albert Szent-Györgyi, the Hungarian physiologist who is credited with discovering … Continue reading
Frankly, the A.J. Meerwald , the Kalmar Nyckel, and the Gazela deserve far better. The A.J. Meerwald, the “Official Tall Ship of the state of New Jersey,” is a 1928 built Delaware Bay oyster schooner. The Kalmar Nyckel , the Delaware’s “Official Tall Ship,” … Continue reading
Remarkable footage of blue whales from MSNBC. Thanks to Thomas Armstrong for pointing it out on Facebook. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy … Continue reading
A fast burning fire in the engine room of the Norwegian cruise ship, MS Nordlys, killed two crew members and injured nine others. The more than 200 passengers aboard the ship were safely evacuated to the town of Aalesund, 230 miles (375 kilometers) northwest of … Continue reading
There have been a book, two movies and one pop song entitled, “Sink the Bismark.” That is what came to mind when I heard that the Torbay Council’s Harbour Committee is recommending that they sink the Ark Royal. The … Continue reading
The old days before Facebook or even the internet, the America’s Cup races were sailed on stately 12 meters in the light air of summer off Newport, Rhode Island. The most exciting thing I ever saw a twelve meter do … Continue reading
If you are in the vicinity tomorrow evening be sure to stop by the historic buoy tender LILAC at the Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 at North Moore Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, where Carolina Salguero & Jessica DuLong will speak on the Mariners’ Response … Continue reading
The folks at the Pint Jockeys blog have suggested a great way to support the repairs to the 1877 Barque Elissa, which is believed to have been a victim of stray current electrolytic corrosion resulting from underwater electrical cable damage after Hurricane Ike. … Continue reading
British tourists, David and Judith Tebbutt, arrived at Kiwayu Safari Village, an exclusive Kenyan resort, at 4PM, Saturday. Between midnight and 4AM, a gang of armed men arrived by speedboat and stormed their beachfront villa. David Tebbutt, 58, was killed and his wife … Continue reading