This seems appropriate for an overcast Sunday in late November – a lovely drone video from a few years ago of the restored steel-hulled three-masted bark Glenlee on the River Clyde. Built name in 1896, the Glenlee sailed for 23 … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that 32 percent of all maritime cocaine smuggled between Latin America and the United States arrives in narco-submarines. Narco-subs come in many shapes and sizes. Most are not submarines at all, but rather … Continue reading
Arthur E. Imperatore Sr., an entrepreneur who built a successful New York City commuter ferry system, died Nov. 18 at the age of 95. Imperatore founded NY Waterway in 1986 in Weehawken, NJ with a single route across the Hudson … Continue reading
We have been remiss in not posting about “Coffee with the Captain,” the wonderful Facebook video blog hosted by the highly respected schooner skipper Captain Jan Miles of the Pride of Baltimore II. The series began last April and is … Continue reading
I am tempted to begin by saying that I watched the movie “Fisherman’s Friends,” so that you don’t have to. Perhaps a better introduction would be to paraphrase Abe Lincon. “If this is the sort of movie you, you may … Continue reading
Would you volunteer to go on a cruise ship again? Apparently, tens of thousands are eager to do so. One of the first trial cruises in the Caribbean did not go well. The Center for Disease Control (CDCC) lifted its … Continue reading
If you are fond of obscure and slightly absurd history, the Pig War of 1859 is the war for you. It involved a territorial dispute between the United States and Great Britain over the San Juan Islands of the Pacific … Continue reading
Spain’s new S-80 submarines, under construction, will be able to operate at depths of at least 350 meters. If one gets into trouble, however, the Spanish Navy’s only ship set up for rescue and recovery can only hold its position … Continue reading
Tristan Da Cuhna is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. The government of the island is now creating the fourth largest completely protected marine area in the world and the largest in the Atlantic. Fishing and … Continue reading
The 2020-2021 Vendee Globe Race set off last Sunday from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. The 24,000 nautical miles race, sailed every four years, is billed as the world’s greatest singlehanded, non-stop, yacht race. Notwithstanding the impact of the global pandemic, this … Continue reading
We recently posted about Constitution Grove, a 50,000-acre private forest maintained by the US Navy, in part to provide white oak trees used in maintaining the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat. The forest is part of … Continue reading
In the US, today is Veteran’s Day, when we honor those who have served in the military. It coincides with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day, … Continue reading
Two recent firsts in the US Navy. Congratulations to Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber who has been awarded the position of brigade commander next semester at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Brigade commander is the highest leadership position within the … Continue reading
Ocean sunfish are weird. One scientist who specializes in the fish described them as “looking like a mistake.” They are the heaviest bony fish in the ocean, weighing between 545–2,205 lb. They look like a flattened silver disk. In English, … Continue reading
The Royal Navy Admiral Collingwood would famously slip a handful of acorns into his pockets before taking a walk in the woods near his home. He would press an acorn into the soil whenever he saw a good place for … Continue reading
It is often referred to as the Caspian Sea Monster. To my eye, it looks more like a spacecraft from a sci-fi movie than a creature of cryptozoology. It is, in fact, a huge vessel, part plane, and part ship, … Continue reading
Recently, two kayakers off California inadvertently got between a lunge feeding humpback whale and its lunch. Videos of the encounter show the whale surfacing between the yellow kayak, almost appearing to swallow the kayakers and their boat. Fortunately, neither the … Continue reading
In July 2017, we posted about the calving of a massive iceberg from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice-shelf. The iceberg, which would be designated as A68a, is the world’s biggest iceberg, weighing roughly one trillion tons and measuring 4,200 sq km, … Continue reading
New York Yacht Club American Magic, the U.S. Challenger for the 36th America’s Cup, completed their first week of training on the brand-new AC75 racing yacht Patriot. PATRIOT: PEDAL DOWN – America’s Cup AC75 … Continue reading
A commuter train car careened off the end of elevated train tracks yesterday near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It was saved from plunging more than 30 feet to the ground when it landed on the sculpture of a whale’s tail. … Continue reading