The German Navy sail training ship Gorch Fock is finally back in the water after a lengthy repair/rebuilding, plagued by scandal and extraordinary cost overruns. Delivered in 1958, she is a near-sister vessel of the original ship of the same … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Two offshore wind energy projects off the US Northeast coast have received new approvals from regulators. Vineyard Wind Vineyard Wind, an 800 megawatt (MW) wind farm to be built 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, was advised that … Continue reading
An update to a post from 2017: Norway’s Stad Peninsula divides the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea to the south. The seas, winds, currents, and weather are extremely dangerous for any ship attempting to round the … Continue reading
George Bass died earlier this month at the age of 88. He was an American archaeologist, often referred to as the “father of underwater archeology”. He co-directed the first expedition to entirely excavate an ancient shipwreck at Cape Gelidonya in … Continue reading
The Royal Navy has announced that for the first time in decades, its sailors are learning the art of seafaring on a traditional tall ship. Over four months junior sailors are crewing TS Tenacious – giving them a unique insight … Continue reading
Last November, salvors began cutting up the Golden Ray and predicted that the job would be completed by the New Year. Now, five months later, the job is less than half-finished and the new target for completion looks more like … Continue reading
Team New Zealand has won the America’s Cup again, defeating Luna Rossa, seven races to three, in the waters off Aukland, New Zealand. The victory was the second in a row for a syndicate representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht … Continue reading
While preparing to dredge the shipping channel in the Savannah River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may have found artifacts from HMS Rose, a 20-gun Royal Navy frigate, dating from the American Revolutionary War. Archaeologists with the Corps of … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about Wisdom, an albatross who is at least 70 years old, who recently hatched another chick, making it the oldest breeding bird in recorded history. In a comment on the post, Irwin Bryan pointed out a video … Continue reading
A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, first identified and banded on Midway Atoll in 1956, has hatched a chick at the age of at least 70. Wisdom, who returns each fall to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, outlived most of her mates, … Continue reading
Aleksander Doba died late last month at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of 74. He will be best remembered as an irrepressible, record-setting kayaker who paddled across the Atlantic three times while in his 60s and 70s. … Continue reading
After a tie in the first two America’s Cup races, the defender Team New Zealand and the challenger Luna Rossa finished races 3 and 4 of the best of 13 race series tied again with one win each. Brief highlights … Continue reading
The America’s Cup races in Aukland restart again tomorrow. The defender and challenger will be sailing AC75 class boats — keel-less, flying, foiling wonders of carbon fiber, packed with hydraulics, cutting-edge electronics, and powered by soft wing sails, capable of … Continue reading
On the first day of the final races in Aukland, NZ, of the 36th sailing of the America’s Cup, the defender Emirates Team New Zealand and the challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, each won one race, ending the day in … Continue reading
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
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