Boothbay is one of my favorite places on the Maine coast. Sadly, I will not be anywhere near by this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I will miss the 39th Fisherman’s Festival. From the Shrimp Princess Pageant on Friday to … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
On April 24, 1906, John Paul Jones was buried for the second time. His first burial, on July 20, 1792, in a graveyard outside the walls of Paris, was attended by a servant and few loyal friends and soldiers. Paul Jones’ longtime friend Gouverneur Morris, American … Continue reading
Since around 1991, whale watchers in Australia have kept an eye out for an all-white humpback whale, which they have named Migaloo. Recently researchers have spotted an all-white male orca whale off the coast of Russia. The whales, which they … Continue reading
Offshore energy, whether oil production or wind, seems to move in the same stages. Early offshore drilling was in shallow water using jack-up rigs sitting on the bottom. Now much of offshore oil production is from floating rigs, drilling in deep water. Likewise, … Continue reading
Earlier today we posted about an article by Andrew Gilligan, the Telegraph‘s London Editor, in which he referred to the Cutty Sark restoration as “a clucking, Grade A, Bernard Matthews-class turkey.” For a more positive perspective on the restoration one could turn to the … Continue reading
After a long commercial career, the 1869 composite clipper ship Cutty Sark became a museum ship in a drydock in Greenwich in 1954. Then in May 21, 2007, a fire broke out that burned a significant portion of the ship. After a 5 … Continue reading
The first headlines read, “Swan Kills Kayaker,” and “Aggressive swan kills kayaker.” Later versions were more moderate – “Swan attack contributed to man’s drowning death” and “Kayaker drowns after coming too close to swan” with “Chicago Kayaker Killed After Swan … Continue reading
There are over five hundred miles of waterfront in New York harbor. The Mary A. Whalen only needs around 200 feet of it to tie up, yet for the last six years, the historic tanker and PortSide New York, the non-profit educational … Continue reading
One of the pleasures of cruising with a family can be leaving children with the shipboard children’s program. On Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 for example, the Cunard website boasts: “Younger members of the family will not want to leave The Play Zone … Continue reading
In February, Costa Lines invited ten companies to bid on salvaging the Costa Concordia (see our previous post.) Today, the salvage contract was awarded to Titan Salvage and Micoperi. Titan Salvage is a unit of Crowley Maritime Corporation and Micoperi is a Italian marine … Continue reading
Here is a cute trailer announcing the reopening of the composite clipper ship Cutty Sark in her drydock in Greenwich, UK. The ship built in 1869, caught fire on May 21, 2007 and has undergone a full restoration. The ship … Continue reading
This sounds like the teaser from a thriller or murder mystery. Unfortunately, it is all too real. Last Thursday, shortly after 7 AM, coworkers found the bodies of US Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Hopkins and retired Boatswain Mate Chief Rich Belisle, working as a civilian contractor, at … Continue reading
The image is wonderful to think about. At the start of the London Olympics, the trireme Olympias, with 170 of Britain’s finest rowers at the oars, was to proceed down the Thames bearing the Olympic flame. But it is not to be. As … Continue reading
Princess Cruises said it deeply regrets that its ship the Star Princess passed by a fishing boat adrift in the Pacific Ocean and failing to rescue the dying men on board. The cruise line is blaming a “breakdown in communication,” claiming … Continue reading
In February, we posted about the rescue of the three fishermen, drifting in the Pacific, by the cruise ship, Seaborne Odyssey. There are now reports of a similar story with a tragically different outcome. Passengers aboard the cruise ship, Star Princess, are claiming that the ship ignored a drifting boat in distress in the Pacific off the Galapagos, leaving … Continue reading