Alaric Bond is a frequent contributor to the Old Salt blog. He is also a wonderful writer. His latest novel True Colours has recently been published. I liked it – a lot. A review: Alaric Bond’s new novel, True Colours, the … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
We are a few days late, but our hearty congratulations to Jessica Watson on her safe arrival back in Sydney harbor last Saturday. … Continue reading
Concrete ships were constructed in both World War I and World War II when steel was in short supply. They were not wildly successful, as they were limited in deadweight and had a tendency to crack. (No concrete ships were built after the end … Continue reading
Will, over at the Tugster blog, is no doubt the preeminent New York harbor ship-spotter. If one is so inclined, it is easy to spent far more time than one might have planned browsing his thousands of photographs – all well organized and accompanied by fascinating commentary. … Continue reading
On Saturday May 24th, the Southstreet Seaport Museum in New York will celebrate the 125th birthdays of two fine ladies, the full rigged ship Wavertree and the schooner Pioneer. Built in 1885 in Southampton, England, the Wavertree was one of … Continue reading
It was a classic contest between David and Goliath. On May 27, 1941, the German battleship Bismark had just sunk the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood. As she was close to escaping into safe waters, she was attacked … Continue reading
The US Navy announced recently that by January 2012 19 women will be assigned to four ballistic missile submarines. The women officers will be facing challenges of logistics, operations and culture. Women submariners: Trailblazers by timing, sub sailors by choice … Continue reading
No, this is not a knot tying contest exactly. No bowlines, or Matthew Walker knots need be produced. This is a contest sponsored by NJWedding.com to win a chance to get married for free aboard New Jersey’s official Tall Ship, … Continue reading
An odd and strangely fascinating video of an octopus killing a shark from NatGeo. It had been presumed that the sharks were the predator inthe octopus shark relationship. Obviously that is not always the case. Octopus Kills Shark … Continue reading
I love when an author shines a new light on history that we all thought we already knew. Joan Druett in her new book Tupaia, Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator, appears to do just that. A sneak peak from Joan … Continue reading
The Russian Cruiser Aurora was launched 110 years ago this month. She is currently a museum ship in St. Petersburg, the city where she was built. The Cruiser “Aurora” The historical ship Aurora has been turned into a museum and is docked … Continue reading
We have already seen the two small ships of the Little Brig Sailing Trust. Now Alaric Bond has passed along an article about Robert Carter of Plymouth and the Smallest Maritime Museum In England, an only 12ft wide x 6ft museum, packed with nautical items. … Continue reading
People are often surprised to hear that Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby Dick, was inspired, at least in part, by the sinking of the whale ship Essex by a sperm whale. By all accounts the sinking of the Essex haunted Melville and unquestionably supplied him with … Continue reading
Thanks to David Hayes of Astrodene’s Historical Naval Fiction for passing along this clip of Navy Days in 1937. HMS Victory, marching bands, period costumes and open air calisthenics. Click on the image to view the video. NAVY WEEK AT PORTSMOUTH . … Continue reading
Two news stories, days apart demonstrate, at least to me, why the current efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia are doomed to fail. We posted previously how the tanker MV Moscow University was recaptured from pirates by … Continue reading