Bouchard Transportation recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 102-year-old Long Island petroleum barge operator has been struggling over the last several years, involved financial shortfalls and a string of accidents, including a fatal explosion in 2017. Rather than … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Like so many other organizations, the Working Harbor Committee has had to rethink its annual gala, which raises funds for the organization and honors leaders in the Working Waterfront. This year the gala will be virtual on Tuesday, October 20, … Continue reading
On the upcoming 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, the ongoing pandemic has seriously disrupted plans for the commemoration. The replica ship Mayflower II has returned to its homeport in Plymouth, MA, after completing an … Continue reading
An interesting bit of news from the Sea History Today, the National Maritime Historical Society’s newsletter. One of the more popular programs at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum (WMM) in Manitowoc involves arranging for youth groups to spend the night in … Continue reading
Jeanne Baret is believed to be the first woman ever to circumnavigate the globe. Born in 1740 to a poor family in the Burgundy region of France, Baret became skilled in identifying local plants. While in her early 20s, she … Continue reading
Octopuses are often referred to as being akin to space aliens. With three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood, they are so different from us that they could be from another planet. They are also highly intelligent. While other intelligent … Continue reading
Barrons reports that Spanish police seized more than 30 tonnes of hashish, worth an estimated 63 million euros, stashed onboard four sailboats in what is described as its biggest-ever bust of such drugs at sea. The four boats were intercepted … Continue reading
The cruise ship industry effectively shut down in the middle of last March due to outbreaks of the coronavirus on several ships. The Center for Disease Control (C.D.C.) has issued a series of “No-Sail Orders” which have kept the ships … Continue reading
In recent protests in Portland, the white nationalist group Proud Boys assembled on the edge of town in Delta Park, while, close by, Black Lives Matters counter-protestors gathered, on the other side of the highway, in a section of the … Continue reading
The second of two wonderful books recently released by Old Salt Press. Today we are spotlighting Angel’s Share: A Story from the World of The Astreya Trilogy by Seymour Hamilton. About the book: Angel, a very old man who once … Continue reading
There are two wonderful new books from Old Salt Press. Today we spotlight Lone Escort by Alaric Bond, the thirteenth book of his “Fighting Sail” series. About the book: The North Atlantic in spring is a perilous place and, with … Continue reading
Here are two short videos that provide a glimpse at the revolution in cargo shipping in the UK (and the world) over the last half-century. The first video, “Look at Life – Report on a River – The River Thames … Continue reading
The steam collier SS Ayrfield was 61 years old. Formally called the Corrimal, the 1,140-tonne ship, ran coal between Newcastle and Sydney before serving as a transport ship for Australia during World War II. After the war, she operated again … Continue reading
Genetic analysis of modern descendants shows that sailors from the Pacific Islands arrived in the Americas long before Europeans arrived. The question is how long? A recent study suggests Polynesians and Native Americans made contact some 800 years ago, well … Continue reading
Some sailors along Spain’s Galician coast must be saying “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.” There have been reports of up to 30 attacks by orcas directed at sailboats on the northwestern coast of Spain and Portugal. Now, the Spanish … Continue reading