Yesterday we posted about a proposed wind farm on New York harbor between Jersey City and Bayonne. These will not be the first windmills on the harbor, of course. In 1815 Isaac Edge finished a windmill on the banks of … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Concrete ships were constructed in both World War I and World War II when steel was in short supply. They were not wildly successful, as they were limited in deadweight and had a tendency to crack. (No concrete ships were built after the end … Continue reading
It was a classic contest between David and Goliath. On May 27, 1941, the German battleship Bismark had just sunk the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood. As she was close to escaping into safe waters, she was attacked … Continue reading
The Russian Cruiser Aurora was launched 110 years ago this month. She is currently a museum ship in St. Petersburg, the city where she was built. The Cruiser “Aurora” The historical ship Aurora has been turned into a museum and is docked … Continue reading
People are often surprised to hear that Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby Dick, was inspired, at least in part, by the sinking of the whale ship Essex by a sperm whale. By all accounts the sinking of the Essex haunted Melville and unquestionably supplied him with … Continue reading
Thanks to David Hayes of Astrodene’s Historical Naval Fiction for passing along this clip of Navy Days in 1937. HMS Victory, marching bands, period costumes and open air calisthenics. Click on the image to view the video. NAVY WEEK AT PORTSMOUTH . … Continue reading
A few days ago, we posted about Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, which will be broadcast tomorrow, May 10, at 9PM on most PBS channel in the United States. I had the opportunity to … Continue reading
Ancient treasures set for auction in Indonesia An ancient treasure trove salvaged from a 1,000-year-old shipwreck found by Indonesian fishermen is set to go under the hammer in Jakarta Wednesday with a minimum price of 80 million dollars. Belgian treasure-hunter … Continue reading
This Monday, May 10th, PBS’s American Experience series will broadcast Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World. It looks fascinating. The history of the American whaling industry from its 17th-century origins in drift and shore whaling off … Continue reading
An intriguing item from Jim Klein on the Marine History List. They are now filming the search for the cannons from the Beeswax wreck. From the Beeswax Wreck Project site: One of the most popular mysteries of the Oregon Coast … Continue reading
Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along two articles about historic maritime clocks. The conservators at the Mariner’s Museum have restored the engine room clock from the USS Monitor which sank in 1862. On the other side of the Atlantic, … Continue reading
When the new New York City fireboat 343 arrived in New York harbor yesterday, one of the fleet greeting her was the fireboat John J. Harvey. (Will has some great photos and commentary the tugster blog.) I am struck by … Continue reading
Two hundred and twenty one years ago yesterday, the crew of HMS Bounty staged a mutiny that remains famous to this day. Four sailors are attempting to recreate Captain Bligh’s epic 3,700 nautical mile voyage in a 23 foot long open boat … Continue reading
The last four Victory ships owned by the government are on their way toward the scrapyard. The Maritime Blog recently post somegreat photos of the Pan American Victory, as she transited the Panama Canal not too long ago. She … Continue reading
In 2001, divers located the wreck of a ship off the Florida Keys in 220 feet of water. She had the distinctive ram bow of an early 20th century war ship but lacked guns or other weaponry. She has … Continue reading
One of the Steam Packet Company‘s post war vessels is to be scrapped. The s.s. Manxman, which had her last sailing in the early 80’s, is to be dismantled due to to the extent of damage after years of neglect. … Continue reading
In his poem, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described HMS Somersett on the night of April 18, 1775: Just as the moon rose over the bay, Where swinging wide at her moorings lay The Somerset, British man-of-war; … Continue reading
There is an interesting ongoing conflict over the salvaging of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee which was scuttled in the River Plate in 1939. A Uruguayan businessman has been salving parts of the Graf Spee for the last ten … Continue reading
Dewey on the Olympia at Manila Bay I am not sure if it is irony or merely a confirmation that Faulkner was right – the past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past. Not long after the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia … Continue reading
Centuries-old Baltic shipwrecks found A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been discovered in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany, Swedish experts said Tuesday. The oldest … Continue reading