Booze, Balconies and Falling Overboard from Cruise Ships

Sarah Kirby went on a five night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Destiny to celebrate her 30th birthday in October of 2012.  Partying with friends, she became very intoxicated.  Just after midnight, she went back to her stateroom and stepped out on … Continue reading

Mock Iranian Carrier Claimed to Be Set for Movie About Downing of Iran Air Flight 655

Lights, camera, mock aircraft carrier.  We posted the other day about a strange mock Nimitz aircraft carrier apparently under construction in an Iranian shipyard.  The Iranian-owned Al-Alam News Network is reporting that the mock-up is being built for a film … Continue reading

Mapping 1,200 Years of Scottish Shipwrecks

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) has published a remarkable and potentially dangerous interactive map of 1,200 years of shipwrecks in Scottish waters. The map is part of an effort to enhance the maritime record … Continue reading

LCS USS Coronado Stops for Passing Whales

Last Sunday was the second of two weekends of the Dana Point Festival of Whales, which celebrates the annual migration of gray whales which passes the coastal California community. Captain Todd Mansur of Dana Wharf  Whale Watching was following two gray whales, … Continue reading

Russia Scuttles Destroyer Ochakov, Blocking Ukrainian Navy Ships in Donuzlav Lake, Western Crimea

Ochakov, a Russian Kara-class cruiser, was decommissioned in 2011 and had been scheduled to be scrapped.  Instead, the Russian Navy scuttled the ship late Wednesday in the navigation channel in the approach to Donuzlav Lake, in Novoozerne, in the Western Crimea. … Continue reading

Update: Ukrainian Flagship Hetman Sahaidachny Sighted Off Crete, Defection Reports Denied

Update:  Reports of the defection of the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny are being denied by the Ukrainian military.  The ship is reported to have be sighted in port in Crete still flying the Ukrainian flag. There are reports that the Ukraine’s Navy flagship, the frigate … Continue reading

Two Officers Die, Seven Sailors Injured in Fire on Indian Submarine Sindhuratna

Two Indian naval officers, Lieutenant Commander Kapish Muwal and Lieutenant Manoranjan Kumar, died in a fire on the submarine INS Sindhuratna.  Seven sailors were evacuated suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire broke out around 40 nautical miles off Mumbai early … Continue reading

Video for a Monday Morning — Extreme Sailing “Prepare to Repel Boarders!”

Sometimes, Monday morning can feel like a train-wreck, or perhaps a boat-wreck. Here in the Extreme Sailing Series 2014 – Singapore, the Aberdeed boat ends up literally on top of the Groupma boat.  Perhaps “prepare to repel boarders!” should be … Continue reading