Massive Explosion & Fire Sinks Indian Submarine INS Sindhurakshak at Dock in Mumbai

A massive explosion, followed by a fire, has partially sunk the Indian Navy’s diesel electric submarine INS Sindhurakshak early this morning at the Mumbai naval dockyard. Eighteen officers and sailors were reported to be aboard at the time of the explosion … Continue reading

India Joins the Nuclear Sub Club – INS Arihant, First Indian Built Nuclear Sub Ready for Sea Trials

Until recently only China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia have built and operated nuclear submarines. With the 6,000-ton INS Arihant ready for sea trials, India has joined this elite club.  The submarine will be the first Indian-built nuclear submarine to … Continue reading

The Discovery Channel Makes You Stupid – Sharks, Lies, and Videotape

It is now official. Watching the Discovery Channel makes you stupid, or at the very least, can leave you less informed than when you started watching.  A poll shows that more than 70% of those who watched the Discovery Channel’s fake … Continue reading

Barque Picton Castle to the Rescue but No Luck for Yacht Gobo

An Austrian couple, identified only as Irene and Christian, made a distress call last week, on July 31, from their Jeanneau Sun Legende 41, Gobo, in the South Pacific. The three masted barque Picton Castle, sailing in the Cook Islands, charted a … Continue reading

Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives – Will Discovery Channel Fiction as Fact Come Back to Bite Them?

In June, we posted about two fake documentaries about mermaids, aired by the Animal Planet, which is owned by the Discovery Channel.  Despite being presented as fact, the mermaid documentaries were entirely fictional.  There was a brief disclaimer in the … Continue reading

“Shellshocked: Saving Oysters to Save Ourselves” at the Noble Maritime Collection

This Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 2 PM, the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor will host the Staten Island premiere of the documentary Shellshocked: Saving Oysters to Save Ourselves. Bob Wright and his musical group Harbortown will perform songs from their album … Continue reading

The Tsunami, the Trimaran and Transpac – Lending Club Damaged by Debris

We recently posted about the 83 year old yacht Dorade, which won the 2013 Transpac.  it was not however the first yacht across the finish line.  That honor goes to Lending Club, a racing trimaran; specifically an ORMA (Offshore Racing Multi-hull Association) 60 lengthened to … Continue reading

Dutch Sail Training Ship, Astrid, Lost off Cork, Ireland – Crew of 30 Rescued

The Dutch Sail Training Ship, Astrid, a 136′ (41.65 M) brig, was lost this morning after running aground on rocks on the western mouth of Oysterhaven, on the Cork, Ireland coast, shortly after leaving the anchorage this morning.  Thirty crew … Continue reading

Vintage Yacht Dorade Wins Transpac Again, 77 Years After First Transpac Victory!

Modern sailing racing yachts tend to have plumb bows and broad flat sterns. The Transpacific Yacht Race, a 2,225 nautical miles race from Los Angelos to Honolulu, Hawaii, has been dominated for several decades by these lightweight, high speed, sailing … Continue reading

Odyssey Retrieves Additional 61 Tons of Silver from SS Gairsoppa, Three Miles Deep

Almost exactly a year ago, we posted that Odyssey Marine Exploration had recovered approximately 48 tons of silver  from the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa, a 412-foot British cargo ship which was torpedoed in February of 1941 by a German U-boat.   The wreck … Continue reading

Fighting Whaling in Court and in Port as Iceland Resumes Fin Whale Hunting

After a two year suspension, Iceland has resumed hunting endangered fin whales.  Photographs taken by undercover Greenpeace activists show a harpooned fin whale being cut up for meat, likely to be exported to Japan.  Meanwhile, environmentalists are fighting whaling in … Continue reading