German maritime archaeologists believe that they have to have found a urinal used by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the wreck of the light-cruiser, Udine, lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Udine was sunk by the British in … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Sad news from the Palmetto State. The South Carolina Maritime Foundation plans to try to sell the schooner Spirit of South Carolina to pay off its mounting debts. The foundation is reported to be being sued by a bank and a … Continue reading
I suppose for those who never got over not getting a jet pack for Christmas as a kid, the Zapata Racing water-jet Flyboard just might be perfect. It appears that if you connect one of these contraptions to a powerful … Continue reading
The Vale Brasil is the largest dry cargo ship in the world with a capacity of over 400,000 DWT. It is the first of the Valemax class of Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC). The Vale Brasil was built with one purpose – to carry iron … Continue reading
The first images of the design of the royal barge that will carry the Queen of England down the Thames during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year have been published. With no disrespect implied to the Queen, I am a … Continue reading
For over 200 years, gundalows – sail and oar powered cargo barges – moved on the winds and tides of the rivers and estuaries along the New England coast. Yesterday, the brand new gundalow, Piscataqua, splashed into the the Piscataqua River … Continue reading
After being gutted by fire in 2007, the 1869 composite tea clipper Cutty Sark has been undergoing a methodical reconstruction. She reached a milestone recently when her foremast was restepped in the ship. The main and mizzen masts are expected to be … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the New York Police Department Harbor Unit’s use of ROVs to maintain security in the harbot. We had missed an amusing post by Portside New York‘s Carolina Salguero on NPYD security training on the MARY A. WHALEN. From her post: … Continue reading
New York harbor was the sight of the first use of a submersible in combat. On September 6, 1776, Eza Lee in command of the Turtle, a one man submersible designed by David Bushnell, attempted and failed to sink Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship HMS Eagle. Today, modern … Continue reading
Last February the crew of the 130′ long by 120′ wide maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V was forced to give up their attempt to the win the Jules Verne trophy for the fastest circumnavigation by sail when the trimaran struck an “unidentified floating object” while … Continue reading
HMS Ocean, a Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, had planned for a seven week deployment but was diverted to Libya and ended up being away for 225 days with 176 at sea. When they received word that they would be back in … Continue reading
Within hours of the tsunami that struck northern Japan last March, the internet was abuzz with the somewhat bizarre suggestion that the earthquake and wave which followed might be some sort of cosmic retribution for Japanese whaling. Regardless of what one thinks of that suggestion, … Continue reading
Last April, Commander Etta Jones was relieved of duty as captain of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce. The Ponce‘s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Kurt Boenisch, was also relieved. A Navy report examining allegations made against Commander Jones substantiated … Continue reading
Last Sunday we posted about the CBC program,Land and Sea, which was broadcasting a half hour documentary on traditional schooners in Nova Scotia. It is now available to watch on-line. The documentary tells the story of four different schooner owners … Continue reading
Several years ago I took a sail on the AJ Meerwald in New York harbor. While on the sail I saw the schooner Pioneer, owned and operated by the South Street Seaport Museum, also sailing in the harbor. Despite having … Continue reading