After ten sea trials and over 25 years of construction and refitting, China has put its first aircraft carrier into service. Long rumored to be named Shi Lang, the carrier has instead been named Liaoning, after the province where it was rebuilt and refitted. … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The American singer/songwriter, Paul Simon, had a hit in 1975 titled “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Sending an email to your mistress telling her that you are dead is definitely not on the list. Commander Michael P. Ward II was recently relieved of … Continue reading
We have posted about new ventures to return commercial sail to the seas, including the brigantine Tres Hombres and the ketch Irene. We have posted about new designs for large ships from rigid sails to the Dyna-rig, as well as … Continue reading
In our post about the passing of Bill King, we originally referred to him as the last surviving World War II submarine commander. Apparently, that is not the case. We learned from Pat Barnhouse on the MarHist list that “Lieutenant Commander … Continue reading
Bill King, one of the last surviving World War II submarine commanders and a single-handed circumnavigator, died yesterday at his home at Oranmore Castle in County Galway, Ireland. His family issued a statement which reads, “Commander Bill DSO, DSC submariner and … Continue reading
Scientists have said that global climate change will bring us severe and unusual weather. That would be a hard point to argue. Here are two recent, apparently somewhat contradictory or perhaps merely odd, news stories about the sea and the global climate. … Continue reading
The first word one associates with speed under sail is probably not barge. Nevertheless, Thames River barges are no slackers when the wind is blowing. Recently, the folks at Cambria Trust posted a photo of a GPS screen on restored … Continue reading
The story goes that around 1856, a man from Missouri named Thomas built a “windwagon,” a “prairie clipper” to sail the Western plains. Unfortunately, despite sailing around 100 miles down the Santa Fe trail, his “Prairie Clipper Company” was not a … Continue reading
Susan Clark, who died after a short battle with cancer at 48, was a remarkable woman. In high school, she was valedictorian and class president. At Maine Maritime Academy, she was first in her class. She was the first female captain for Exxon and captained … Continue reading
Today is the official “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Time to celebrate murderous thugs and to imitate characters from Disney amusement park rides. Oh goodie. Or maybe not. Today is also an excellent time to consider the very real … Continue reading
It is highly gratifying to have my work reviewed favorably by an author that I admire. Alaric Bond, author of the Fighting Sail Series, is indeed such an author. (See our review of his latest, The Patriot’s Fate, here.) Bond recently reviewed … Continue reading
In 2010, the headline read, Modern cargo ships slow to the speed of the sailing clippers. The article was subtitled, “Container ships are taking longer to cross the oceans than the Cutty Sark did as owners adopt ‘super-slow steaming’ to … Continue reading
Ships have a finite lifespan, usually not more than 20 years, often much less. When a ship reaches the end of its economic life, there needs to be a place to recycle the steel, the other valuable metals and equipment. In a … Continue reading
Not long after the Costa Concordia struck Le Scole Rock off the island of Giglio, Italy at 9:45 pm on January 13, 2012, Captain Francesco Schettino’s voice can be heard on a voice-data recording muttering, “Madonna, what a mess I’ve … Continue reading
Tomorrow, September 15, a Maritime Ghost Conference will be held on the Steam Ferry Berkeley at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The conference is sponsored by the San Diego Ghost and Paranormal Group and is also a fundraiser for the Maritime Museum. In … Continue reading