On August 29th, 1776, George Washington faced certain defeat. Howe had been able to flank the Americans in Brooklyn, turning the Battle of Long Island into a rout. Washington was left with the remnants of his army on Brooklyn Heights, with the East River … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Stan Roger‘s classic song begins, “Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage; to find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea.” Stan died in 1983, but his son, Nathan Rogers, also a singer, recently set … Continue reading
Another article about stowaways, though of a completely different sort – zebra mussels on the Brig Niagara. Earlier this month, the Niagara, a historically accurate reconstruction of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s victorious 1813 flagship, visited Isle Royale, an island National Park in northwestern Lake … Continue reading
Great news! The oldest just barely surviving composite clipper ship in the world, the City of Adelaide appears likely to be moved to Australia to its namesake city, Adelaide. The ship, which is currently at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland, has … Continue reading
One of the ways that stowaways can get aboard liner ships these days is to hide in cargo containers. Atlantic Container Lines will be using containers for a related if rather different purpose. The shipping line will soon take delivery … Continue reading
Despite all odds, earlier this month, 492 Tamil refugees arrived in Vancouver in an old and barely seaworthy ship, then named the Sun Sea. The Tamil Ghost ship, as she has been dubbed, had been intermittently tracked by the maritime authorities of various nations as she … Continue reading
Earlier this week we posted about Tall Ships Chicago 2010. Among the roughly 20 tall ships participating is the 118-foot topsail schooner Unicorn whose crew includes six Chicago-area girls from the “Sisters Under Sail” program. “Adventure of a Lifetime” is About … Continue reading
Expedition Titanic has begun to 3D scan and map the entire Titanic debris field using AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles)and to attempt to create an accurate virtual model of the entire ship. We have learned from their Facebook page that the AUV ” Mary Ann … Continue reading
I recently had recommended to me Robert Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a fantasy epic which is almost exclusively set aboard the Imperial Merchant Ship Chathard, a 600 year old sailing ship of immerse proportions and age that sets out on … Continue reading
Once movies were based on great novels. Of course, they usually ruined the story, but at least you could say, “I liked the book better.” Then, seven years ago, Jerry Bruckheimer produced a movie based on a Disney World … Continue reading
Camden, Maine’s Windjammer Festival starts Friday, September 3rd, and runs through Sunday. Camden’s harbor always seemed to me to be a windjammer festival on virtually any summer day so this gathering of the Maine Windjammer fleet and the dockside Maritime Heritage Fair should be quite an … Continue reading
Captain John Moore, submarine captain, developer of covert landings techniques of the Special Boat Service and editor of Janes Fighting Ships, died last month at age 88. Captain John Moore Jane’s Fighting Ships, an annual publication which became the leading authority on … Continue reading
Ninety years on, locations of Royal Navy warships sunk in Russian Revolution are found The wrecks of three British warships sunk more than 90 years ago – seeking to prevent the Bolshevik Revolution from spreading West – have been located … Continue reading
The municipality of Amsterdam has a population of just under 800,000 people. Amsterdam’s population almost doubled this weekend as SAIL 2010 attracted roughly 1.5 million visitors. Some final thoughts on the festival, which ended this morning, by Marijke Peters of Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Bon voyage … Continue reading
Tis the season for tall ships festivals. Tomorrow, Tall Ships Chicago 2010 begins in the Windy City at the Navy Pier. The event runs through August 29th and is described as, “Twenty Ships. Six Days. Once-in-a-Lifetime. ” Tall Ships Chicago 2010 – … Continue reading
In 1819, the SS Savannah was first steamship in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Despite this accomplishment, the Savannah was a commercial failure and was converted back to sail shortly after returning from Europe. It is somehow fitting that … Continue reading
Laura Dekker, the Dutch 14 year old, reportedly set sail on Saturday on her attempt to sail around the world alone, at least according to her manager. Ms. Dekker was originally reported to have departed from Portugal but is now believed to have left via Gibraltar on her 38′ yacht, … Continue reading
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC has been hosting an intriguing exhibit: Lost at Sea – The Ocean in the English Imagination, 1550-1750. Unfortunately the exhibit itself is almost over, running only through September 4th. Nevertheless, for those of us who cannot make it … Continue reading
Recent studies by researchers at Penn State have suggested that Northern Right Whales increase the volumes of their calls to counteract increases in environmental noise, such as propeller noise from ships. This is the first time that an ability to … Continue reading
Interesting news from various sources on the first large tanker to transit Russia’s Northeast Passage through the Arctic. The Barents Observer reports that the “100,000 tons tanker Baltica left Murmansk on Saturday loaded with gas condensate for China. This is … Continue reading