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 … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Recently, the BBC published an article titled WW1: The indestructible warship. The article refers to the Graf Goetzen. Calling her the “indestructible warship” seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. As warships go, she was not very impressive and … Continue reading
Thanks to Richard Pekelney for passing along the link to a wonderful panoramic and audio tour of the USS Pampanito, a World War II Balao class Fleet submarine museum and memorial that is open for visitors daily at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. … Continue reading
In September, the wreck of one of the two ships in Franklin’s lost expedition of 1845 was located near the the Victoria Strait in Canada. As both ships in the expedition were similar sized bomb vessels, modified for exploration, it was initially unclear whether … Continue reading
Just over 100 years ago, the World War I hospital ship, SS Rohilla, ran aground in a gale less than a mile off the North Yorkshire coast, near Whitby, with the loss of 85 crew and passengers. SS Rohilla had left Scotland on 30 October … Continue reading
Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by its inhabitants, famous for its massive stone statues, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. It is almost 2,000 nautical miles from the coast of South America and over 1,000 nautical miles … Continue reading
On Trafalgar Day, the anniversary of Admiral Horatio Nelson‘s victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar, a ballad describing the battle, “On board a Man o’ War,” sung by Ian Page. Feel free to grab a mug of porter, … Continue reading
The quote by Brendan Foley of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was pure marketing genius. He said that the Antikythera wreck is “the Titanic of the ancient world.” The Titanic is, after all, the rock star of ship wrecks. No doubt what Foley … Continue reading
Happy 239th birthday to the United States Navy! On Friday, October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress voted to fit out two armed sailing vessels to cruise to attempt to seize arms and stores from Royal Navy transports. The rebel forces were … Continue reading
Just over 60 yeas ago, on September 30, 1954, USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear powered submarine was commissioned in New London, Connecticut. Following commissioning she continued trials and testing, until she put to sea for the first time on January … Continue reading
Last May we posted that marine archaeologist Barry Clifford had announced that he believed that he had located the wreck of Christopher Columbus’ ship Santa Maria which ran aground and sank on Christmas Day 1492 off Haiti near Cap-Haitien. UNESCO has now … Continue reading
Another interesting video by Mystic Seaport Museum. Lighting The Way For Ships: Learning about Lighthouses at Mystic Seaport … Continue reading
A waka, a 600 year voyaging canoe, was recently found on the New Zealand’s South Island’s West Coast. The results of a study by University of Auckland researchers appeared recently in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The waka, … Continue reading
In September, we posted about the discovery of one of two missing ships from the Franklin Expedition of 1845. The two missing ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were both originally built as bomb ships. As bomb ships they were … Continue reading
The schooner yacht Wanderer was built in 1857 for Colonel John D. Johnson, a New Orleans sugar baron. At just over 100 feet long, she was luxurious, sleek and extremely fast, reportedly capable of sailing at 20 knots. The Wanderer is … Continue reading
Seventy five years ago this month, the Donaldson Line passenger liner SS Athenia became the first British ship to be sunk by a German U-boat in World War II. The 13,465 gross ton liner sailed from Glasgow bound Montreal. On September 3, 1939, only … Continue reading
The passenger steamer SS Columbia is heading toward New York! The goal is to restore the historic steamer, built in 1902, and to put her in service on the Hudson River. SS Columbia is the oldest surviving passenger steamship in … Continue reading
On this the official “Talk Like A Pirate Day,” all I can say is, “No, thank you. I would rather not.” The problem is that there are still real pirates plying their trade around the globe, abusing and and too often … Continue reading
Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. recently wrapped up recovery efforts on the wreck of the SS Central America for the year. In last five months, they have recovered more than 15,500 gold and silver coins, 45 gold bars and hundreds of nuggets, … Continue reading
After close to two decades of construction, the frigate Hermione is finally under sail. In 1997, a group of historical and tall ship enthusiasts formed the Association Hermione-La Fayette and set about building a replica of the French frigate, Hermione, which carried Gilbert … Continue reading