Joan Druett’s The Elephant Voyage is a fascinating historical account of sailors who find themselves castaway on a desolate, wind-swept sub-Antarctic island, while on an ill-fated voyage to hunt elephant seals in the late 19th century. Their rescue and at least partial redemption also … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
In June, the navigation system of the 213′ yacht White Rose was taken over by a team of University of Texas students. Using only a laptop, a small antenna, and a GPS “spoofing” device, the team fed a stronger signal … Continue reading
The Spitbank Fort is a sea fort constructed in 1878 in the Solent near Portsmouth, England. Now the 162 feet in diameter sea-granite fortification which once hosted 12-inch breechloading guns, reopened last year a luxury spa hotel and retreat. Spitbank Fort … Continue reading
A woman scheduled to be married in two weeks was killed on on Friday night around 10PM, when the 21′ long Stingray speedboat she was aboard hit a construction barge anchored off the Tappan Zee bridge in the Hudson River, … Continue reading
This Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 2 PM, the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor will host the Staten Island premiere of the documentary Shellshocked: Saving Oysters to Save Ourselves. Bob Wright and his musical group Harbortown will perform songs from their album … Continue reading
We recently posted about the 83 year old yacht Dorade, which won the 2013 Transpac. it was not however the first yacht across the finish line. That honor goes to Lending Club, a racing trimaran; specifically an ORMA (Offshore Racing Multi-hull Association) 60 lengthened to … Continue reading
The Dutch Sail Training Ship, Astrid, a 136′ (41.65 M) brig, was lost this morning after running aground on rocks on the western mouth of Oysterhaven, on the Cork, Ireland coast, shortly after leaving the anchorage this morning. Thirty crew … Continue reading
Modern sailing racing yachts tend to have plumb bows and broad flat sterns. The Transpacific Yacht Race, a 2,225 nautical miles race from Los Angelos to Honolulu, Hawaii, has been dominated for several decades by these lightweight, high speed, sailing … Continue reading
Almost exactly a year ago, we posted that Odyssey Marine Exploration had recovered approximately 48 tons of silver from the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa, a 412-foot British cargo ship which was torpedoed in February of 1941 by a German U-boat. The wreck … Continue reading
The Synchrolift is a wonderful invention. It is a shiplift and transfer system which according to Rolls Royce, the Synchrolift firm’s owner, is “used to increase efficiency and reduce drying-docking times at many of the world’s leading shipyards.” Mystic Seaport Museum … Continue reading
After a two year suspension, Iceland has resumed hunting endangered fin whales. Photographs taken by undercover Greenpeace activists show a harpooned fin whale being cut up for meat, likely to be exported to Japan. Meanwhile, environmentalists are fighting whaling in … Continue reading
Are Somali pirates and their affiliates using Facebook to organize and support ship hijackings? Experts at the United Nations say that this is the case and complain that Facebook has been ignoring their requests for information on Facebook accounts belonging to … Continue reading
After a five year restoration, the 1841 built whaleship Charles W. Morgan is returning to the water at the Mystic Seaport Museum, tomorrow at 2 PM. The museum has set up a live web cam for those of us who … Continue reading
An Italian court has convicted five people of manslaughter related to the sinking of the cruise ship Costa Concordia in January 2012, which killed 32 passengers and crew. Each of the five agreed to plea bargains and none may serving … Continue reading
In February of 2010, the orca, Tilikum, attacked and drowned senior trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld Orlando. This was the third human death that Tilikum has been involved in, in captivity. Ironically, even though orcas are best know as “killer whales,” there … Continue reading