Alexander Hamilton suggested in The Federalist Papers that “a few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.” When Hamilton became the first Treasury Secretary of the … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
This seems like a good story for a Monday. Forbes reports that Iran accidentally sank its fake aircraft carrier and did so in a very inconvenient place. The “fake carrier” is actually a targeting barge, a scaled-down mockup of a … Continue reading
On March 19, 2020, the Princess Cruise Line ship Ruby Princess arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and disembarked 2,700 passengers. These passengers included those who had been isolated in their cabins with fever. Roughly 2,000 of the passengers … Continue reading
One Marine died and two were critically injured on Thursday off the coast of California when an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit took on water and sank rapidly. Seven Marines and one Navy sailor are … Continue reading
Carnival Fantasy entering in Aliaga to be scrapped In the video, the Carnival Fantasy is being beached at the Aliaga scrapyard in Turkey. Next to it are two other cruise ships, the Sovereign and the Monarch, which had been operated … Continue reading
Ecuador has raised an alarm after a naval patrol sighted a fleet of around 260 Chinese fishing vessels just outside the Galápagos protection zone. Naval patrols had been stepped up to monitor the Chinese ships. Chinese fishing vessels come regularly … Continue reading
Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, from New York City died Monday after being bitten by a great white shark while she was swimming approximately 20 yards off the western shore of Bailey Island, near the city of Portland, according to Maine … Continue reading
As Hong Kong braces for its third wave of coronavirus infections, local authorities are cracking down on allowing crew changes on ships, except for those loading or discharging cargo in the port. The rule change could significantly affect shipping across … Continue reading
Lin and Larry Pardey met in 1965. Lin was 21. Larry was 26. He was a sailor and shipwright and was beginning to build a 24′ engineless Lyle Hess designed cutter, to be named Seraffyn, in which he planned on sailing … Continue reading
The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) has announced that it has been saved from imminent insolvency by a promise of emergency government funding. The museum group includes Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory and HMS Warrior at Portsmouth Historic … Continue reading
Lasy week, we posted that the removal of the capsized car carrier Golden Ray was being delayed by an outbreak of coronavirus in the salvage team on the heavy-lift barge VB-10,000, nicknamed the “Golden Arches.” Now with the onset of the hurricane … Continue reading
Canadian Bert terHart recently completed a 267-day solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world via the five capes on his 43′ sailboat using only traditional celestial navigation. He is the first North American to circle the globe solo and non-stop using … Continue reading
Greyhound, a movie that was written by and stars Tom Hanks, tells the story of a destroyer captain fighting a German U-boat wolf-pack that is attacking a convoy of Allied ships in the North Atlantic. The movie was inspired by … Continue reading
On Monday we posted about the Mayflower II leaving Mystic Seaport for sea trials in New London. Here is wonderful drone footage shot by Ryan Smith of the ship’s departure. Mayflower II departs Mystic Seaport! … Continue reading
In November 2018, a Royal Navy nuclear submarine came within 50-100m of a collision with the Stena Superfast VII ferry near the entrance to Belfast harbor, according to an inquiry by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch. The Guardian reports: … Continue reading
Today, Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth, MA, was towed to New London, CT for two weeks of sea trials and final outfitting before returning to its homeport in Plymouth. In September of … Continue reading
Here is a wonderful short virtual tour from yesterday of New York whale watching from American Princess Cruises. Virtual Whale Watching on today’s trip Posted by American Princess Cruises on Saturday, July 18, 2020 … Continue reading
The removal of the capsized car carrier Golden Ray is being delayed by the coronavirus. We recently posted about the VB-10,000, nicknamed the “Golden Arches,” the largest heavy-lift vessel ever built in the United States, that was getting ready to … Continue reading
At the end of June, we posted that the Maine windjammer passenger fleet faced an uncertain season due to the pandemic. Shortly thereafter, the State of Maine, working with the Maine Windjammer Association and others, agreed on a set of rules … Continue reading
The Netherlands has the largest, still operational, historical sailing fleet in the world, consisting of 400 traditional, authentic sailing vessels. There are real concerns that the historic fleet may be destroyed by the aftermath of COVID-19. With the fleet locked … Continue reading