Chauncy Maples Makes a Million Pounds

In June we posted about the missionary/hospital steamer, the Chauncy Maples.   Launched in 1901, she is the oldest ship in Africa.   She is being restored to return to duty as a traveling clinic on the 560 kilometer long Lake … Continue reading

Stealth Submarines – Concerns in Asia & Flaking Tiles in the US

Aren’t all submarines supposed to be stealthy?  I suppose some are stealthier than others.  The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong is reporting concerns by China’s neighbors that China may have already built a stealth submarine.  On the other side of … Continue reading

Lucky Fluckey

Today is the birthday of Rear Admiral Eugene Bennett Fluckey, known as “Lucky Fluckey,” who died in 2007 at the age of 94.   In addition to having one of the truly great nicknames,  he was one of the greatest submarine skippers of … Continue reading

A Busy October at the Penobscot Marine Museum

The Penobscot Marine Museum, Maine’s oldest maritime museum, is having a busy October, full of events and exhibitions.  This Friday and Saturday,  October 8th and 9th, the museum offers a range of free events as part as part of  Searsport’s annual Fling … Continue reading

Shrinking U.S. Flag Fleet Draws Attention In Congress

A press release by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, strikes me as either sad, funny or perhaps a bit of both.    The press release is titled:  Cummings Continues Investigation Into American … Continue reading

Mogens Frohn Nielsen, Captain of the Schooner Fulton

Sad news from Shipgaz: Fulton captain has passed away Legendary captain Mogens Frohn Nielsen has passed away at the age of 75.  Mogens Frohn Nielsen pioneered the use of sailing ships as floating schools for youngsters with problems. He started … Continue reading

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey, – A Review

Sea monsters exist. They break ships in half and pull them below the waves. Sometimes they swallow them whole. Most who encounter them never return to tell the tale and those few who do, until very recently, were rarely believed. … Continue reading

Do They Serve Canned Meat on the USCGC Harriet Lane?

I will admit to doing a double take when I saw the USCG press release announcing “Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returns home after 9-week patrol.”   I wondered, who would name a ship the Harriet Lane?  For the record, the … Continue reading

1,000 Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals at the National Archives

This week 1,000 Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals were made available to the public at the British National Archives in Kew.   The journals are revealing, if often disturbing by modern standards.   From drunken mutinies to disease outbreaks to … Continue reading