Here is a fascinating bit of history from the “History Guy” about when the navies of the Republic of Texas and the Republic of the Yucatan faced off against the most modern warships of their time, the ironclads of the Mexican … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
In the dark and oxygenless waters of the Black Sea two miles below the surface, a team of maritime archaeologists, scientists and surveyors has discovered what it believes to be the world’s oldest intact shipwreck. Carbon dating suggests that the … Continue reading
In 1899, a hurricane carried 15 ships ashore on Dog Island, a barrier island on the northwestern Florida Gulf coast. Recently, Hurricane Micheal unearthed several of the lost ships. The exposed wooden ships now rest in plain view near the west … Continue reading
Here is another old favorite, a companion repost to yesterday’s repost of “The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?” We recently posted in response to a video, “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?.” It recounted how three men named Hugh … Continue reading
I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams. There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence … Continue reading
We are within days of the 250th anniversary of when Captain James Cook set off on an epic circumnavigation, stopping at numerous islands in the Pacific, as well as Australia and New Zealand on the bark HMS Endeavour. Now, the Rhode … Continue reading
Did you know that in the 1960s the US Army converted a World War II Liberty ship to a floating nuclear power plant? Neither did I. And as it is now heading for the scrap yard, will soon be no … Continue reading
This weekend I enjoyed watching the Great North River Tug Race. Now, a few days later, we have arrived again at the anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. As horrible as that Tuesday morning in September indeed was and as … Continue reading
Happy Labor Day! While many nations celebrate workers on May 1st or May Day, US and Canada both celebrate workers rights in early September. It seems a good time to look at the nautical origin of the word “strike,” referring … Continue reading
On Aug. 18, 1943, the destroyer USS Abner Read was on anti-submarine patrol near Kiska Island, in Alaska’s Aleutian chain. The Japanese had just recently evacuated the island but had left behind a minefield. At 1:50 a.m., the destroyer struck … Continue reading
Two hundred and four years ago this week, in a three day battle, the militia at Stonington, CT drove off a four ship Royal Navy flotilla during the War of 1812. Here is lightly edited repost about the battle from July … Continue reading
In 1565, Captain Jean Ribault sailed from France with ships and 800 settlers to resupply and reinforce the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now the state of Florida. The French colony was being threatened by the Spanish … Continue reading
The schooner Amistad is coming to PortSide NewYork, at Pier 11 in the Atlantic Basin, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Amistad will tie up alongside the historic tanker, Mary A. Whalen, and will be available for free public tours on Tuesday, … Continue reading
Salvors have announced the discovery of the wreck of the Russian armored cruiser, Dmitrii Donskoi, which was scuttled in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War following the Battle of Tsushima. The wreck was found in 1,400 feet of water about one … Continue reading
In June, three Spanish divers located the wreck of the German World War II submarine U-966 near the coast of Galicia in north-west Spain. The BBC reports that the submarine’s wreckage is spread widely in a very rocky area where rough weather often makes diving … Continue reading
I recently learned the slungshot, not to be confused with a slingshot. The slungshot is a monkey’s fist’s nasty cousin. As most are probably aware, a monkey’s fist is a knot, shaped like a ball (or a fist), used to provide weight … Continue reading
Forty-eight years ago today, 100,000 people who lined the banks of the River Avon in Bristol as the SS Great Britain returned to her birthplace. In the intervening years, the rusting hulk has been meticulously restored to her former glory and … Continue reading
Most of us think of Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone, as indeed he was. He was also an early pioneer in hydrofoil boats. His hydrofoil, Hydrodome #4, better known as the HD-4, set a world marine speed record … Continue reading
Last year we posted about warships from World War II that had vanished after illegal scrappers literally cut them up and hauled the steel away. Here is a news item on theft on a different scale and with a better outcome. … Continue reading
For several years, we have been following the attempts to raise Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen‘s research ship Maud from where it has been sitting in ice and mud for close to 90 years. To say that the conditions in Cambridge Bay off the Nunavut … Continue reading