Rather than pressuring the Japanese to stop whaling, the vigilante violence of the Sea Shepherds made it more difficult for Japanese diplomats to compromise in negotiations to reduce whaling according to documents released by WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks releases documents about anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
This video, which was tweeted about by Sailing Magazine, stunned me. I had never seen an International Moth class boat and had frankly never imagined a hydrofoil boat of this size zipping about like some sort of otherworldly water creature. … Continue reading
The “Support Captain Owen Honors – USS Enterprise” Facebook page has over 11,000 supporters. Admiral John C. Harvey is not one of them. This afternoon, Admiral Harvey relieved Captain Honors of his command. Enterprise captain out; former Ike skipper … Continue reading
As Shakespeare noted, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” That was literally the case when, in early October, Tokelaun teenager Filo Filo, with two of his friends, set off to visit a young lady on the neighboring Fakaofo atoll, some sixty miles … Continue reading
An interesting if odd news item today: Cretan Tools Point To 130,000-Year-Old Sea Travel Archaeologists on the island of Crete have discovered what may be evidence of one of the world’s first sea voyages by human ancestors, the Greek Culture … Continue reading
Today is the first day back to work for many after a bit of time off for the holidays. And how has the New Year begun? More or less the same as the last year which just ended. On … Continue reading
It is difficult to imagine how anyone thought that this was a good idea. The XO (Executive Officer) on the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise made a series of videos to “entertain the crew.” They were a bit on the raunchy side, involving … Continue reading
The 34th America’s Cup races will be sailed in San Francisco bay in 2013. San Francisco beat out Newport and an unnamed Italian port city. This will be the first time that America’s Cup races will be hosted by the city by the … Continue reading
In New York City tonight, just on the other side of the Hudson River from where I am now typing, roughly one million people gather in Times Square to watch a crystal ball being dropped on exactly midnight to celebrate the … Continue reading
Several news agencies are reporting that more than 600 crewmembers are aboard ten vessels trapped in the ice in the Sea of Okhotsk. More than 600 people aboard ice-trapped vessels in Sea of Okhotsk … Continue reading
While I don’t normally associate show tunes from “Guys and Dolls” with foul weather and tug boats, Captain Brucato‘s video does a great job of capturing a tug’s-eye view of the recent blizzard that hit the US East coast the day after Christmas. The Last Blizzard … Continue reading
The 160,000 dwt tanker Aegean Angel was en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Houston, Texas when it encountered heavy weather northeast of Bermuda on Thursday. A large wave is reported to have struck the ship, killing the captain and the … Continue reading
A weird dissonance between two cruise stories struck me recently. On one hand, Carnival Cruise Lines is “the official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Year’s Eve 2011 celebration.” As reported by the the Maritime Executive “the sponsorship includes multiple opportunities to associate the … Continue reading
A lousy time of the year to run aground off Finland. Then again, there aren’t too many good times of the year to run aground. Thanks to Dick Bal for passing the news along. Dutch freighter “Stadiongracht” aground off Rauma … Continue reading
The South Street Seaport Museum in New York City is reported to be attempting to sell off the historic schooner, Lettie G. Howard. The Lettie G. Howard is a wooden Fredonia schooner built in 1893 in Essex, Massachusetts, USA. In past … Continue reading
Forty seven years ago, passengers on the cruise ship Lakonia were promised “a marvelous Christmas cruise to sunny Madeira and the Canary Islands.” The brochure read – “Have your holiday with all risk eliminated. Enjoy a holiday you will remember for … Continue reading
Over one million seafarers keep ships sailing year round. This is a good time to remember the sailors at sea over the holidays. The Sailor’s Society, and other groups like it, do a wonderful job supporting sailors far from home. … Continue reading
Of all the various holiday greeting from shipping ventures this season this has to be my favorite. A Moss Rosenberg design LNG ship transformed to a Christmas ball carrier. From the Maasmond Maritime. … Continue reading
A glimpse at the new Mary Rose museum, hosted by Alan Titchmarch. The museum is intended to open in 2012, the 500th anniversary of the delivery of the Mary Rose. Alan Titchmarsh explores the Mary Rose Museum and encourages fundraising … Continue reading
Sing with me now – “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a Phaeocystis globosa.” OK, it may not be a melodic as “a partridge in a pear tree,” but it may be more interesting. Dr. Richard … Continue reading