The North Devon Women’s Institute branch recently hosted former sea captain Colin Darch, who was to speak on the topic of piracy. A number of women in the organization thought that the captain would speak about historical buccaneering, and so … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
In a recent Working Harbor Committee presentation, “Sailing Ships at Work – Past, Present and Future,” we included the E/S Orcelle, a Wallenius Wilhelmsen concept car carrier design, as an example of an innovative design that featured wing sails, as one … Continue reading
Happy May Day! May 1st is a traditional day of celebration of the coming of spring with May poles and dancing and general carrying on. In Europe it is also a day of solidarity with labor, similar o the US … Continue reading
In 2001, a joint French-English expedition was searching the bottom of Egypt’s Aboukir Bay for the wrecks of French warships sunk in the “Battle of the Nile” in 1798. Instead they re-discovered a lost city. Known as Thonis to the Egyptians and Heracleion to … Continue reading
There were two scientific conferences scheduled recently, both of which would address or were, to one degree or another, inspired by the “aquatic ape hypothesis” of evolution. One conference will feature speakers supporting the hypothesis, while the second will hold it up for satire … Continue reading
Wonderful news! In February 2012, the 1893 built, Freedonia class fishing schooner, Lettie G. Howard was drydocked to repair rot in her keelson. The rot was found to be far more extensive than expected and since then the South Street … Continue reading
The mature female humpback whale that washed ashore dead on Long Beach Island last week was well known to scientists, who have tracked her for thirty seven years. Kimberly Durham, rescue program director of the Riverhead Foundation, described her as a “celebrity in … Continue reading
The Marist College crew team found a seven foot tall head floating in the Hudson River on Friday. Very odd. So far, the head is unclaimed. College crew team pulls giant head out of Hudson River Giant Floating Head Found in … Continue reading
There has been lots of interest in the restoration of surviving World War II PT (Patrol Torpedo) boats. The closest thing to a PT boat in service during the Vietnam War was the PCF, Patrol Craft Fast, better known as the Swift Boat. … Continue reading
Things are getting tense again in the East China Sea, specifically between the Chinese and Japanese. The dispute is over a small group of uninhabited islands that lie between Okinawa and Taiwan and are known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu … Continue reading
Our hearty congratulations to PortSide NewYork, which today was awarded a White House Champions of Change award in recognition for the wonderful work done by the non-profit organization to assist their neighbors in Red Hook, a Brooklyn community absolutely devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The … Continue reading
The roller coasters on the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey have long been a major attraction of the Jersey shore resort town. The latest roller coaster on the pier, the Star Jet (also referred to as the Jet … Continue reading
A few months ago, the Mississippi River was showing the effects of a near record drought. There was talk in December of shutting down barge traffic on key sections of the river due to the low water levels. In January, … Continue reading
Sad news, reported by The Daily Sail: Much loved Swede Magnus Olsson, 64, one of the greatest sportsmen in the world of sailing and one of the coaches and mentors for the Volvo Ocean Race’s Team SCA, has passed away … Continue reading
Last week, high level representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard met with the representatives of the US Navy in their investigation of the grounding of the mine sweeper USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef on January 17, 2013. At roughly the same time, a group … Continue reading
Remind me again why jobs, homes and careers are so important. After watching this video it is awfully easy to question one’s priorities. Here is the Barque Picton Castle sailing out the anchor at Palmerston Island in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Click here to … Continue reading
It is the classic story of young lovers separated by the briny deep, of a young heroine on a storm tossed voyage with unexpected adventure. Oh, yes, and the young heroine is a giraffe. The Aukland Zoo has been trying to setup Nakuru, a fifteen month old Rothschild giraffe, … Continue reading
On Wednesday night, a huge explosion ripped through West, Texas; a small central Texas town, south of Dallas. The fertilizer factory caught fire and exploded, leveling homes and buildings for a five blocks area, killing from 5 – 40 people and injuring … Continue reading
A 23 year old Croatian kite surfer, Matea Medak Rezic, found a letter in a broken bottle on a beach at the mouth of the Neretva River in the southern Adriatic. The letter was brief: “Mary, you really are a great person. … Continue reading
In February, Wolfhound, a 48′ Nautor Swan sailing yacht, was abandoned in a storm just north of Bermuda by her Irish owner, Alan McGettigan, and a crew of three. The sailors were rescued by a passing freighter. The boat was reported to have sunk. Instead, … Continue reading