When dredging a harbor with as long and rich a history as UK’s Portsmouth, there is literally no telling what you may find. The harbor is now being dredged to deepen and widen a four-mile channel to allow the the navy’s … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Last weekend, we sailed by living history in Oyster Bay. As we were heading toward the gas dock, a beautiful gaff rigged sloop sailed by. It was Christeen, the oldest oyster sloop in the United States. Built in 1883 in Glenwood Landing, … Continue reading
One hundred and one years ago today, on July 27th, 1916, Captain Charles Fryatt was executed by the Imperial German Navy for attempting to ram the German U-boat, U33, with the 1902-built passenger ferry, SS Brussels, owned by the Great Eastern Railway. … Continue reading
Originally posted on gCaptain. Reposted with permission. Christopher Nolan’s movie, Dunkirk, opened Friday to rave reviews. The New York Times calls it “a tour de force …both sweeping and intimate.” The Guardian calls it “utterly immersive” and predicts that the … Continue reading
A post from five years ago, which is still fitting for the day. Happy 4th of July! Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in … Continue reading
Vikings is a History Channel series that follows the exploits of the legendary Viking leader Ragnar Lodbrok. It is basically lots of fun, with swords and axes flying, supported by a fair share of intrigue and drama, the sort of show that … Continue reading
Jacques Cousteau; the co-developer of the Aqua-Lung, as well as an explorer, author, conservationist, and filmmaker; died twenty years ago today. He opened the eye of millions both to the wonders of the world beneath the sea but also the … Continue reading
A fascinating and sobering video about diving on the fleet of ships destroyed by 23 nuclear detonations by the United States between 1946 and 1958 in seven test sites on and near the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in … Continue reading
Researchers are holding a news conference today to announce the discovery of the wreck of the USRC/USCGC McCulloch, a cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and later the US Coast Guard. Delivered in 1897, just before the start of the … Continue reading
In 1614, the Onrust, captained by Dutch merchant explorer Adriaen Block, was the first European vessel to explore the Connecticut River. This summer, a replica of Block’s ship is returning to the river in a collaboration between the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the restoration of the historic schooner Ernestina, ex-Effie M. Morrissey. Here is a documentary, narrated by the polar explorer, Captain Bob Bartlett, describing a voyage to Greenland in the schooner he refers to as his “Little Morrisey.” … Continue reading
The restoration of the historic schooner Ernestina-Morrissey is a quiet success story. The schooner, launched in 1894, is being rebuilt in the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. Arriving at the yard in April 2014, she is expected to be redelivered in 2019. The schooner, the official … Continue reading
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse marking the shoals which have become known as the “graveyard of ships,” is often referred to as Hamilton’s lighthouse. (The current lighthouse is the second built at the site.) The story goes that when the teen-aged Alexander … Continue reading
On Memorial Day, an updated repost from six years ago about the last mission of the USS Olympia in 1921, when she carried an American unknown soldier killed during World War I from a cemetery in France back to the Washington to be in … Continue reading
On May 10th, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tamaroa was sunk approximately 26 miles off shore from Cape May, NJ to help develop an artificial reef. ; Sinking of the USCGC Tamaroa Built in 1943 as USS Zuni, the 205-foot fleet ocean/salvage … Continue reading