Retiree Edd Hale writes in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about surrendering his status as an armchair sailor to sail the Great Lakes in the Brig Niagara, a replica of the Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry‘s flagship on which he won the Battle of Lake Erie, one … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Two men and a woman brought pizza and beer aboard the 82′ sailing yacht Darlin in the Sausalito Yacht Harbor late Sunday or early Monday and proceeded to take the boat to sea, only to run aground in shallow water near Pacifica State … Continue reading
There are two wonderful newsletters for keeping up with what is going on in the world of nautical fiction – Astrodene’s Nautical Fiction Log Book, sponsored by David Haye’s Historic Naval Fiction website and Quarterdeck sponsored by McBooks Press. The March edition of … Continue reading
The US Coast Guard has identified Guillermo Gonzales Losada, 49, as the man found dead in a debris field of parts of a boat, ten life jackets, flares and an oily sheen in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, off the coast of Florida, about … Continue reading
A new report, published in the journal Marine Policy, assesses the the impact of commercial fishing on sharks and estimates that around 100 million sharks are being killed each year. The rate is higher than sustainable for most shark species and is … Continue reading
The brig 132′ Eye of the Wind has had a long and varied career. Built in 1911, by C Lühring of Brake, Germany, as a topsail schooner named Friedrich, she was initially put into the hides trade with South America. Later she would … Continue reading
HMS Ambush, the second of the Astute Class of Royal Navy attack submarines, has officially joined its fleet on the Clyde.. The £1.6bn nuclear-powered 7,400-tonne vessel has been undergoing sea trials since arriving at its home port at Faslane in September … Continue reading
I don’t watch a lot of television, though it seems every time that I turn the set on I see another commercial touting how wonderful things are on the Gulf of Mexico. The sun is shining, the beaches are beautiful, … Continue reading
Three quick updates on recent posts – the salvage of the USS Guardian is finally underway, Shell Oil has cancelled plans for Alaskan arctic drilling for 2013 due to rig problems; and the Emma Mærsk has arrived at a shipyard for repairs after engine … Continue reading
No discussion of the Titanic II is complete without a mention of the lifeboats. The lack of adequate lifeboats on the original Titanic was a major contributor to the deaths of over 1,500 passengers. Unfortunately, as reported in the press, … Continue reading
How should we think about the RMS Titanic? Was the ship, which sank with a loss of over 1,500, a major maritime tragedy? Or was it just the backdrop for a historical drama about wealth and class conflict – a sort of Downton Abbey on the North Atlantic? … Continue reading
Late Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the anti-whaling extremists and reality TV show stars, the Sea Shepherds, are indeed pirates. In his ruling, Judge Alex Kozinski wrote: ” When you ram ships, hurl glass containers of acid, drag … Continue reading
Seymour Hamilton recently sat down for a trans-Atlantic interview with Alaric Bond. They discussed Bond’s Fighting Sail series of novels, in particular, and about writing nautical fiction, in general. It was a fascinating conversation. Seymour Hamilton is the author of the nautical fantasy … Continue reading
It is generally considered rude to look under a lady’s skirt, though when the lady is a ship in a drydock, it is usually OK. The three masted steel clipper Stad Amsterdam was built in 2000 and now after 13 … Continue reading
In the construction of replica sailing ships, the 18th century is reasonably well represented. The 17th also has not been left out. Replicas of Columbus’ ships have ensured that 15th century replicas still sail. Recently two replica ships from the 16th … Continue reading