Updated: Sad news. Yesterday afternoon, the crew of the 91-foot tugboat, Steven Scott, called the Coast Guard to report that they hadn’t seen their captain for nearly an hour and believed that he had fallen overboard. This afternoon the US Coast … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
World War II ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. Nevertheless, over 60 years later, the threat from left over munitions continues and may be getting worse. Last November, we posted about bombs along the Rhine, where a drought was revealing un-exploded ordinance in German river banks. Then … Continue reading
This has been a busy day for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. They braved heavy rain and driving winds to name the Gloriana, a new 94-foot ornately carved royal barge, decorated with gold leaf. The Gloriana is … Continue reading
In December, 2008, we posted about “A Junk at Risk.” The Free China, a historic century-old Fujian sailing junk, was on the verge of being scrapped. The junk made international headlines in 1955 when an inexperienced crew of five Chinese … Continue reading
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
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