One day after the observance of International Women’s Day, there is still time to remember and honor Admiral Grace Hopper. Grace Hopper was a pioneering computer scientist and a United States Navy Rear Admiral. Hopper received a master’s degree and … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Researchers have photographed a large bioluminescent shark in deep water off New Zealand. The kitefin shark was a known species of ocean predator but was only recently discovered to be able to glow in the darkness of its deep-ocean environment. … Continue reading
David Morris was taking a walk along the coast near Falmouth, Cornwall, in the UK, when he saw what looked to be a large tanker hovering in the air above the horizon. He documented what he witnessed with several photographs. … Continue reading
The 9th sailing of the Vendee Globe Race is over. After 116 days at sea, Ari Huusela sailing Stark has crossed the finish line at Les Sables d’Olonne. While he was the last sailor to complete the race at 25th … Continue reading
Every year, on average, close to 1,000 ships are sold for scrap, or in more current language, to be recycled. Over the past year during the pandemic, there has been a particular surge in the number of older cruise being … Continue reading
A short and lovely video from two years ago about sailing from Milwaukee on the three-masted, wooden schooner Denis Sullivan. Like so many other vessels, the schooner’s 2020 sailing season was canceled due to the pandemic and sadly, her future … Continue reading
A tidal turbine, built and tested in Scotland, has been installed in waters off Naru Island, part of Japan’s Goto Island chain. Simec Atlantis Energy said its pilot turbine had generated 10 megawatt-hours in its first 10 days of operation. … Continue reading
Last Friday, the Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian De Elcano arrived in Guam on its journey to retrace the first circumnavigation of the globe 500 years ago. As reported by Stars and Stripes, the four-masted ship — named for … Continue reading
A start-up company in Maine is testing the feasibility of combatting climate change by growing kelp to capture carbon dioxide. Once the kelp is mature, it will sink to the bottom becoming part of the sediment and trapping the carbon … Continue reading
Hugh Mulzak served as the first Black Liberty ship captain in World War II. When offered the command, he refused to sail with a segregated crew. Born in 1886 on Union Island in Saint Vincent Grenadines, he went to sea … Continue reading
A large iceberg about 490 square miles and about 492 feet thick broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea section of Antarctica yesterday. For comparison purposes, the City of New York is 303 square miles, while Manhattan … Continue reading
A new study has determined that the vast Atlantic Ocean current circulation system, including the Gulf Stream, is at its weakest in a thousand years. The slowing of the current, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), could increase sea levels … Continue reading
From maps to apps to chartplotters, we all rely on GPS these days, sometimes whether we realize it or not. Ethan Siegel recently wrote in Forbes: Unbeknownst to most people, however, the science underlying this technology was primarily developed by … Continue reading
The New York Times reports that a large oil spill from an unknown source has devastated sea life in the Mediterranean and spewed tons of tar across more than 100 miles of coastline from Israel to southern Lebanon in what Israeli … Continue reading
Thomas Slade, a pioneering naval architect and shipwright, died in 1771, 250 years ago today. While he is most famous for the design and construction of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s Victory, his larger contribution to the Royal Navy and even in … Continue reading
This weekend, the Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli decisively won the Prada Cup Final, eliminating INEOS Team UK by 7 races to 1. Luna Rossa is now preparing for the final America’s Cup races against Emirates Team New Zealand … Continue reading
On February 21, 1862, Nathaniel Gordon, captain of the slave ship, Erie, was executed by hanging in New York City. Under the Piracy Law of 1820, slave trading was considered to be an act of piracy punishable by death. He was … Continue reading
My wife and I recently received the second of two shots of Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-through vaccination state set up at the USS Juneau Center, on the site of the old Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Kearny, NJ. … Continue reading
As bitterly cold weather left millions without power in Texas, the extreme cold has also been a disaster for wildlife, including sea turtles. Thousands of green sea turtles in the water of Laguna Madre off Corpus Christi have become stunned … Continue reading
Recently, three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the second outbreak at sea on the ship within a year. In the spring of last year, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt … Continue reading