Claude Choules, the last surviving combat veteran of World War I celebrated his 110th birthday with family and friends in Perth earlier this month. Though he served in two World Wars, the first in the Royal Navy and the second in … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Last November, we posted about the rebuilding of the last commercial Thames sailing barge, Cambria. The reconstruction is nearing its completion. Tomorrow, Monday 21st March, 2011, the Cambria will be relaunched into Faversham Creek, and move downstream to Iron Wharf … Continue reading
We can only wish them the best of luck and look forward to trying their rum. Rum’s in the family – Ipswich distillery inspired by privateer ancestor It seems Andrew Cabot has inherited not only his name, but some business … Continue reading
The Greek-owned 75,000 tonne bulk carrier, MV Oliva ran aground on March 16th at 04.30, at Spinners Point, on the far north-west promontory of Nightingale Island, a 4 square kilometer island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic. … Continue reading
The US Coast Guard Barque Eagle, built in Hamburg, Germany, in 1936, arrived in Philadelphia on Friday, on the first stop of her 75th anniversary tour. The tall ship Eagle has landed _ in Philadelphia … Continue reading
Tonight the moon will rise larger and brighter than it has in almost twenty years. It will be a super “perigee moon” when the appearance of the full moon coincides with the passing of the moon closest to the earth. Super … Continue reading
This sounds like a wonderful gig for the right artist. Artist required for The Tall Ships Races 2011 onboard Swan In a first for The Tall Ships Races, the former herring drifter Swan will host an artist in residence for the whole … Continue reading
Just reading in Treehugger about Nic Kruger, a furniture designer, in Knysna, South Africa, who runs Shipwreck Furniture, which makes tables, benches and shelves from timber recovered from shipwrecked boats. Very interesting stuff. Not sure that it goes with … Continue reading
The son of a fisherman, who moved on to selling khat, Saeed Yare became a pirate only two years ago and “earned” over $2.4 million in 2010 in ransom of ships and crews. It is estimated that piracy is inflicting a $12-billion toll on … Continue reading
We have been posting a lot about piracy and kidnapping recently. Today is a reminder about how little things change over the centuries. Somewhere around the year 400 AD, a lad of 16, named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped by pirates from his home in Britain … Continue reading
It is being reported that Tom Hanks will play Captain Richard Phillips in a new movie about the attempted hijacking of the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009. The movie, based on Phillip’s book , A Captain’s Duty: … Continue reading
Last week we posted about a Laysan albatross, nicknamed Wisdom, who, at at least 60, is the oldest known wild bird and who also recently became a mother again, delivering a healthy chick. The BBC has now reported that while the tsunami killed … Continue reading
An excellent report by ABC which, among other things, highlights the humanitarian support being provided by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. [iframe: src=”http://widget.newsinc.com/single.htm?WID=2&VID=23365344&freewheel=69016&sitesection=ndnsubss” height=”320″ width=”425″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″]
The German submarine U-106 was believed to have hit a British mine when it sank on October 7, 1917 off the coast of the Netherlands. WWI submarine found off Dutch coast … Continue reading
On April 1st, last year, fittingly enough, April Fool’s Day, a group of Somali pirates in open boats decided to attack the 445-foot guided-missile frigate, USS Nicholas. The outcome was predictable. Five pirates were captured and their boats were sunk. At the … Continue reading