For hundreds of years, coastal schooners carried cargoes up and down the hundred harbored coast of Maine. By the early part of the last century, the schooners were being replaced by trucks and trains. In 1936 Captain Frank Swift started buying laid up … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
As the sands of Fire Island are swallowing Le Papillon, Cyclone Yasi has uncovered a mysterious shipwreck on an island off the Queensland coast. Cyclone Winds Unbury Island’s 130-Year-Old Shipwreck The huge cyclone’s intense winds blew away sand on one … Continue reading
If Detroit was and is the “motor city,” then perhaps Bivalve, New Jersey was the Oyster Capital of the World. By the late 1880s, 90 railcars full of oysters were shipped from Bivalve every week. Oysters were once the largest … Continue reading
It is not champagne, but whiskey bottles which are still appearing from the sands where the sailing ship Stuart wrecked 110 years ago on Easter Sunday off the Llyn peninsula of Northern Wales. Whisky bottles still being washed up on … Continue reading
Jim Luce recently wrote an article in the Huffington Post titled, Khubilai Khan’s Lost Fleet Found in Japan. The title makes it sound like a new discovery. Not so much. The site of the “lost fleet” was discovered … Continue reading
Douglas Faulkner, who died recently, had a varied and highly accomplished career as a naval and marine architect. He was involved in the design and testing of the first British nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought. He was later an assistant professor at the Royal Naval College, … Continue reading
Not quite three weeks ago the 50′ steel pinky schooner Le Papillon came ashore on Fire Island, a barrier island off Long Island, northeast of the entrance to New York harbor. Will van Dorp at the Tugster blog has taken some amazing … Continue reading
Great news. The Sloop Providence, replica of the American Revolutionary sloop of the same name is sailing again after being laid up for 3 1/2 years. She was purchased last year from the City of Providence by boat builder … Continue reading
Sixty years ago today, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Affray sailed on a simulated war mission called “Exercise Spring Train” and never returned. Despite an extensive search by 24 ships from four nations, the sunken submarine was not found until June 14, 1951. … Continue reading
Ninety nine years ago today, the RMS Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic with the loss of 1,517 passengers and crew. The sinking of the Titanic had a major impact on ship operations. The first International … Continue reading
On April 14, 1945, the German submarine U-1206, on its first war patrol, had its mission go down the toilet. U-1206 “was one of the late war boats fitted with the new deepwater high-pressure toilets which allowed them to be … Continue reading
One hundred and eleven years ago today the US Navy accepted its first successful submarine, the USS Holland. The previous November, in New York harbor, the Holland passed the Navy’s tests. She ran for one mile underwater, surfaced, fired a torpedo then … Continue reading
Fire Island is a thirty mile long barrier island on the south shore of Long Island, east of the entrance of New York harbor. Last week, Le Papillon, a 50′ steel pinky schooner, went ashore on the beach on Fire … Continue reading
The fascinating story of the last running World War II motor torpedo boat, the PT 658, an historic relic rescued, rebuilt and restored by a group of gray-haired ex-PT boaters. Save the PT Boat PT Boat 658 [iframe: title=”YouTube video player” width=”425″ height=”349″ … Continue reading
On April 2, 1801 at a key moment at the Battle of Copenhagen, Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in overall command of the British forces, sent a signal to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson to withdraw. Nelson is said to have lifted his telescope to his blind eye … Continue reading