Last week we posted that the Working Harbor Committee is sponsoring the showing of a wonderful documentary on the MV Liemba, an ex-German warship, a minor movie star, and also, at one hundred years old, the world’s oldest passenger ferry in service. The documentary … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Surf photographer Ray Collins recently released a series of amazing photographs of ocean waves. Below is a short video of of the photographs and how he captured the amazing shots. … Continue reading
Here is a reminder just how difficult it is to fund, build, operate and maintain historic or replica ships. Those who do so successfully, deserve more credit than they receive. The Irish Examiner recently described how the replica “famine ship” Jeanie Johnson has … Continue reading
In August we posted about Rocking the Boat, an after-school program in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, a borough of New York City, which has been teaching neighborhood kids to build wooden boats for the last 15 years. Urban Boatbuilders … Continue reading
If you happen to be near New York City next Tuesday night, March 31st, be sure to stop by the Community Church to “take an epic journey down the longest lake in the world on Africa’s last surviving steamship…. the … Continue reading
In January 2011, we posted about Mark and Scott Kelly, two “starship sailors” — identical twin brothers who both graduated from merchant marine academies and went on to be astronauts in the US space program. Now, Scott Kelly is about … Continue reading
We posted recently that Jacques Cousteau’s famous research vessel, Calypso, might be in danger of being sold or scrapped. The Calypso, however, may have a savior in Prince Albert II of Monaco. After a long legal battle, a French court ordered Francine Cousteau, … Continue reading
Maneuvering a square-rigged ship can be a highly choreographed performance requiring both skill and timing. Here is a well done video of the 1883 built Star of India tacking and wearing. Star of India tacking and wearing … Continue reading
Happy first day of Spring! The arrival of the vernal equinox happens to coincide with a solar eclipse, as well as with a “supermoon,” and here on the west bank of the Hudson River, a snowstorm designated “Winter Storm Ultima.” … Continue reading
Since 2008, the 1927 built sternwheel steamboat Delta Queen has been tied to a dock in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving as a hotel. Now, with luck and a considerable investment, the old steamboat may be returning to the rivers to carry passengers once … Continue reading
A trailer of Sailing A Sinking Sea, a feature length film by Olivia Wyatt which recently premiered at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. It explores the lives of the Moken people, a small group of seafarers have kept their nomadic culture … Continue reading
When Alaric Bond wrote of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic in his novel, The Torrid Zone, set during the Napoleanic wars, it was one of the most remote islands in the world. A recent rescue of … Continue reading
The Howard Hughes Corporation, a real-estate firm based in Dallas, TX, is proposing a $1.5 billion redevelopment of the historic South Street Seaport in New York City. Their plan includes destroying several historic buildings and erecting a controversial 494-foot residential tower … Continue reading
How did a crew of highly skilled professionals, sailing the $6 million Team Vestas Wind in the current Volvo Ocean Race, succeed in hitting the Cargados Carajos shoals, in the Indian Ocean off Mauritius at 16 knots on the night … Continue reading
Last Friday, the US District Court in San Francisco issued a warrant to seize Oracle Team USA’s prototype America’s Cup foiling multihull sail boat, in response to a lien filed by New Zealand sailor Joe Spooner, whose contract was terminated in … Continue reading
Back in 2010, archaeologists found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution in a shipwreck on the Baltic seabed. Remarkably, when a bottle of champagne was opened it was found to be drinkable. At the time, some commented … Continue reading
In 2007, Captain John L. Yates of the fishing vessel, Miss Katie, was caught with 72 undersized red grouper. After being ordered to bring the fish ashore by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officer, Captain Yates dumped the fish back into the … Continue reading
How do whales sleep? And do they dream? Many years ago on a kayaking trip on Blackfish Sound off Vancouver Island, our group of paddlers came across a pod of “sleeping” orcas. The pod was swimming very slowly, each orca swimming … Continue reading
After eight years of searching, a team lead by Microsoft founder and billionaire, Paul Allen, has discovered the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi, over 70 years after she was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The wreck was … Continue reading
Laser scanning has been used to create a 3D map of HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship in his victory at Trafalgar. Using 850 separate scans, scientists have collected 90 billion measurements on the 230 foot long ship at her drydock in … Continue reading