Marc Guillemot, sailing Safran, was a favorite to win the Vendée Globe non-stop round-the-world single-handed yacht race, yet only one day into the race, he was forced to turn back due to a broken keel. Fifty miles into the race, he reported hearing a “loud bang.” Guillemot’s Open … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
So you want to learn to sail a square-rigger? Here is one of the best visual explanations of the basics that I have come across, courtesy of the full-rigged ship Sørlandet. Part 1 looks at the sails & rigging. How to sail a … Continue reading
Her French competitors refer to her as La Petite Anglaise. Tomorrow, when the twenty boats in Vendée Globe non-stop round-the-world single-handed yacht race set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, Samantha Davies will be the only woman in the race. When she sails tomorrow, she will be waving goodbye … Continue reading
The United States Coast Guard Notice to Mariners reads simply – Old Orchard Shoals Light STRUCT DEST. The Old Orchard Shoals Light was built in 1893 in New York’s outer harbor off Staten Island near Great Kills Beach. The 51-foot tall cast … Continue reading
Mitik is the name given to a 234-pound 15-week-old orphaned walrus rescued from the open ocean off Alaska in early October. The walrus calf was transported aboard a FedEx cargo jet, accompanied by a veterinarian and a handler, and delivered to … Continue reading
Spade-toothed beaked whales (Mesoplodon traversii) are so rare that they had never been seen alive. Until recently, the only evidence of their existence were portions of three skulls found in 1872 and in the 1950s in New Zealand and in 1986 … Continue reading
The crew of the HMS Bounty was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America this morning. Note: the video of the ship sailing in high seas was shot when the Bounty sailed from Maine to Puerto Rico in 2010. Unfortunately your browser does … Continue reading
Robin Beth Schaer an American poet and sailor who served as a deckhand aboard the HMS Bounty has a written, Falling Overboard, a beautifully evocative essay which she describes as “My love letter and my farewell for my ship Bounty and her captain, lost in the … Continue reading
There are no real super-heroes, but as far am I am concerned the closest human beings that come to that designation are the search and rescue teams of the United States Coast Guard. From the rescue swimmers, who dive into … Continue reading
In response to our post, Bon Voyage to the Barque Picton Castle – Bound for the South Pacific, Diego commented, “Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,” which is the first line of the chorus of the old sailor’s song, Farewell … Continue reading
The sail training ship, the barque Piction Castle, sailed from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia this morning, bound for Grenada, then through the Panama Canal on a voyage to the South Pacific. To follow the Picton Castle on her voyage click here. The Picton Castle, captained by … Continue reading
Following the tragic sinking of HMS Bounty, both the HMS Bounty organization and the Lynx Educational Foundation have set up relief funds for the crews and families of those lost on the ship. From the Bounty Facebook page: A Relief … Continue reading
The area around the South Street Seaport on the East River in lower Manhattan was particularly hard hit by the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy. The rising water reached the first floor eaves, devastating homes and businesses. The only good news was that the seven historic vessels at … Continue reading
Sadly, the US Coast Guard has suspended the search for Captain Robin Walbridge, who was washed off the HMS Bounty as she sank in high seas on Monday off the coast of North Carolina. Claudene Christian, 42, was also lost overboard. … Continue reading
Last Monday night, the lights went out for over 8 million people in the Northeast and Central United States as Superstorm Sandy sent high winds and a record storm surge ashore. It was the worst storm to hit New York … Continue reading
Nuclear powered ships were the future that never quite arrived. The Russian container ship/LASH carrier Sevmorput is the only remaining nuclear powered merchant ship and it is slated to be scrapped. No future for nuclear-powered container ship … Continue reading
More than six years ago, Steve Jobs commissioned a custom yacht from the Dutch shipbuilder Feadship. Designed by French designer Philippe Starck, the 250-foot yacht, Venus, has been delivered, a year after Job’s death. Jobs told biographer Walter Issacson, “I know that it’s … Continue reading
Dramatic video from the Coast Guard of rescue of members of the crew of the HMS Bounty which sank off the North Carolina coast on Monday. … Continue reading
The freighter Amurskaya, with a crew of of between 8 and 11, and carrying 700 tons of gold ore has been reported missing in stormy seas near the Shantar Islands, in the Sea of Okhotsk, on Russia’s Pacific Coast. The gold ore … Continue reading
UPDATE: Missing crew member, Claudene Christian, 42, was pulled from the water unconscious and later confirmed dead by the Coast Guard. Captain Robin Walbridge is still missing. CBC News is reporting: Claudia McCann, whose husband Robin Walbridge is the captain of the … Continue reading