Today is the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. The colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York harbor was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886 as a gift to America from … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway, located on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, must be a pretty amazing place. In July of 2010, we reviewed Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard, which was about building a schooner … Continue reading
The City of Adelaide, built in 1864, is the oldest composite clipper ship in the world and is currently sitting on a slipway in Scotland waiting to be brought home to its namesake city. The plan is for a steel cradle to … Continue reading
Who needs a haunted house if you can have a haunted ship? Around this time of year, historic and modern ships suddenly become haunted and ghostly. (To be fair, some are reported to be haunted all year round.) Here is … Continue reading
Last September we posted about The Great Brigantine Race of 2011 off Newport Beach, CA, between two identical 90′ brigantines, the Irving Johnson and the Exy Johnson . Launched in 2002, they are part of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s “TopSail Youth Program,” a sail training … Continue reading
The Dutch submarine Hr Ms KXVI was part of an Allied fleet attempting to stop the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine on the day after Christmas, 1941. Since then the wreck of … Continue reading
Sail the Morgan 2014 is hosting a week-long celebration of the arrival of the last American wooden whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan, in Mystic, Connecticut. The celebration running from “October 28 to November 5 will feature a restaurant week, shopping … Continue reading
Over the next several weeks, we will be reviewing a series of books about what life was like in Nelson’s navy. The first is Jack Tar: Life in Nelson’s Navy by Roy & Leslie Adkins, subtitled “the extraordinary lives of ordinary seamen … Continue reading
Herman Melville’s Moby Dick was not a commercial success when published in 1851. Nevertheless, the story of the great white whale remains powerful and timeless, for good or ill. Last December, we posted about the straight to DVD movie, 2010: Moby Dick, a “re-imagined” telling … Continue reading
We have posted previously about the world’s fasted sailboat, the hydrofoil trimaran, Hydroptère, which in November 2009, sailed for one nautical mile at speed of 50.17 knots in Hyères, France. He also has achieved a sustained speed of 52.86 knots … Continue reading
I was surprised to read that archaeologists had recently discovered only the second Roman port in Britain. Prior to the discovery in excavations near the Roman fortress of Caerleon, just north of Newport, south Wales, the only other Roman port known to have … Continue reading
Thanks to Maritime Great Britain for reminding us that today is indeed Trafalgar Day, commemorating Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets and his tragic death at the Battle of Trafalgar on this day in 1805. They also reminded us that on this day in … Continue reading
Where did our oceans come from? Why is over 70% the earth’s surface covered by water? The answer may be in the dirty celestial snow balls we call comets. Scientists believe that the earth was originally dry and hot. Comets … Continue reading
Some traditions should be honored. I would certainly include rum drinking in that list. Tomorrow the Schooner Fame of Salem, Massachusetts is hosting a Rum and Revolution Cruise, departing from Pickering Wharf Marina, in Salem at 4:00 PM. After all, “rum and sailors … Continue reading
I have kayaked with killer whales. It was many years ago and the memories are still vivid. I can only imagine how awe inspiring it must be to kayak next to a blue whale, the largest creature ever to live on the … Continue reading