Earlier this year, technicians operating a robotic camera surveying a route for a natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, were surprised to find a 500-year-old shipwreck virtually intact on the seafloor. The ship was found at a depth of … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Sailors have navigated by the stars since the dawn of time. Now, fifty years after Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission, we shouldn’t forget that even the Apollo astronauts relied on sextants to … Continue reading
A world war was raging and German U-boats were sinking merchant ships faster than they could be built, so the United States government decided to build an emergency fleet of standardized ships. The goal was to build the ships quickly … Continue reading
On April 23rd, 1945, the patrol boat USS Eagle 56 was towing targets for US Navy bomber exercises off the coast of Maine. At about noon, there was an explosion around amidships which broke the patrol boat in half. Of … Continue reading
Forty miles south of Washington, D.C., close to Nanjemoy, Maryland is a fleet of ghost ships — the wrecks of hundreds of ships in Mallows Bay, a shallow bay on the Potomac River. It is considered to be the largest … Continue reading
At around 2AM on Monday, OEX, a Santa Cruz 70, owned by John Sangmeister, suffered a catastrophic rudder failure while sailing in the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race. Sangmeister reported that the lower rudder bearing had blown off and the rudder … Continue reading
Last week, US Customs and Border Patrol seized the container ship MSC Gayane, following the seizure of 18,000 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, by Federal agents while at the dock in the Port of Philadelphia in late June. … Continue reading
Here is an amazing short video of the US Coast Guard overtaking and boarding a drug-running submersible. A Coast Guardsman is seen leaping aboard the submersible while underway and forcing the hatch open to apprehend the smugglers. The capture took … Continue reading
The new design for the AC75s is an engineering marvel. Nevertheless, I am having an argument with myself whether they are works of genius or folly. More specifically whether carbon fiber and foils will have any practical application to real-world … Continue reading
Floating mats of Sargassum seaweed in the center of the North Atlantic were first reported by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century. These mats, although abundant, have, until recently, been limited and scattered. In recent years that has changed dramatically. … Continue reading
If you are near New York harbor on Saturday, July 13th, stop by the South Street Seaport, Piers 16 and 17, from 10AM to 4PM, to help celebrate City of Water Day 2019. In its 12th year, City of Water … Continue reading
Recently, we posted about the MSC Gayane, the container ship seized on Monday by US Customs following a $1.3 billion cocaine bust last month in Philadelphia. We said that the ship was not owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) but by … Continue reading
On July 5, in a very close race, the schooner Mary Day won the 43rd Annual Great Schooner Race. Fourteen schooners sailed in Penobscot Bay from Gilkey Harbor in Islesboro to the finish line at the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in the … Continue reading
Yesterday, US Customs seized the 9,962 TEU container ship MSC Gayane. The MSC Gayane was the ship on which 18,000 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, was seized by Federal agents while at the dock in the Port … Continue reading
The financial crisis that threatened to shut down the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) has been averted. The sailing charity says that its emergency fundraising appeal raised more than £1m in five days. The charity had warned that if it did … Continue reading
The yeast from a 220-year-old bottle of beer found in a shipwreck off the coast of Tasmania has been used to brew what is being described as the “world’s oldest surviving beer.” This is similar to the claims made for … Continue reading
Looking for a private island getaway within a reasonable commuting distance of New York City? Columbia (ex-Little Pea) and Pea Island are for sale. The two islands are in the western end of Long Island Sound and 10-minutes by boat … Continue reading
If you are around New York harbor on Sunday, there is a wonderful opportunity to hear and join in singing sea chanteys as they were meant to be sung, onboard a windjammer. The chantey sing will aboard the restored 1885 … Continue reading
Happy 4th of July to all. Here is lightly updated repost appropriate for the day. On July 4th, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. Joseph Hewes was one of the lesser-known signatories … Continue reading
On July 2, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that a fire had broken out on a research submarine killing 14 sailors while the ship was operating in Russia’s territorial waters in the Barents Sea. Russian authorities declined to further identify the … Continue reading