I am a big fan of both Margaret Muir and Linda Collison. Both are marvelous writers – skilled story tellers whose writing about the Age of Sail has both an immediacy and an understated authenticity that draws the reader into … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
The American Sail Training Association is “rebranding.” They will now be known as Tall Ships America. Everything else will stay about the same. I have to admit, Tall Ships America does have a nice ring to it while ASTA sounded … Continue reading
The North River Historic Ship Society is hosting a four day Historic Ship Festival on July 28-31 to celebrate the the opening of the first historic ship pier in Hudson River Park in Tribeca, New York. Festival at Pier 25 Features Free Ship Tours, … Continue reading
Congratulations are due to the Port of San Diego on several counts. Their video “Disabled Veterans Compete in VA Summer Sports Clinic on San Diego Bay” has won a Telly Award, competing against 11,000 other applicants. A second congratulation is order for … Continue reading
Last July, a barge pushed by the tug Caribbean Sea struck a disabled tourist “duck boat” at anchor in the Delaware River. Two tourists drowned in the collision. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board said the tug’s mate Matthew Devlin was on his … Continue reading
The timing could not have been worse. In the midst of a blistering heat wave in New York City, what has been described as a “catastrophic fire” at the North River Waste Water Treatment plant yesterday allowed millions of gallons of … Continue reading
Last July, workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship 20 feet below street level. See our previous posts – here and here. Now researchers have been able to identify where … Continue reading
AllOnScale in Rotterdam builds around 1,000 ships a year. The ships are all rather small, however, ranging from around 20 cm to several meters. AllOnScale is a leading ship model maker specializing in the production of small series in scales … Continue reading
Some times all it takes is a photo to demonstrate how much things have changed and what has stayed the same. I recall as a boy watching jack-up rigs being put into operation off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of … Continue reading
What could possibly be a better venue for a sea chantey festival than the deck of a restored 1863-built iron windjammer? The Maritime Museum of San Diego is holding its “Sea Shanty Festival 2011” on the deck of the … Continue reading
Twenty five years ago, the US Navy contracted to build two fleet oilers, the USNS Bejanmin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford. The Navy spent at least $300 million dollars on their construction. Due to shipyard defaults and various … Continue reading
In July 1945, the Dutch submarine O-19 ran hard aground on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea deep in enemy waters. The Gato class submarine USS Cod was sent to rescue the Dutch sub. After two days of attempting to … Continue reading
This is an interesting and perhaps an unintentionally amusing clip of the Celebrity Silhouette leaving the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The shipyard has just enough room to build the ship but not to turn her around, so she … Continue reading
Sony and Intel have partnered to sponsor “Project Shiphunt.” The project sponsored a group of Michigan high school students to discover an historic sunken ship in The Great Lakes using Sony VAIO laptops. So far they have assisted in the … Continue reading
The Pride of Baltimore II, the Brig Niagara, and the privateer Lynx will on hand for the 2011 Duluth Music and Maritime Festival starting on Friday July 15 and running through Monday, July 18. Music, food, and tall ships – it sounds … Continue reading
Anyone who needs to be reminded that New York City is indeed a city of water should find their way down to the harbor’s edge on Saturday. The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is hosting the 2011 the City of Water Day Festival … Continue reading
A few updates of recent posts: Posted July 11th: Death on the Volga – Cruise Vessel Bulgaria Sinks, More than 100 Dead – From CNN: “Four people face criminal charges in connection with the sinking of a Russian ship Sunday in which … Continue reading
In 1936, Frank Swift founded Maine Windjammer Cruises and began chartering or buying old cargo schooners and offering passenger cruises along the Maine Coast. This Friday, the Maine Windjammer Association will hold the 7th Annual Maine Windjammer Parade & Anniversary Party in honor of Swift’s founding … Continue reading
Mystic Seaport is hosting a Tattoos & Tallships Weekend on Saturday, July 16th and Sunday, July 17th. If you have a tattoo and a story to tell about it, be sure to stop by the “Tattoo Tales” booth, where you can … Continue reading
On Sunday, the cruise vessel Bulgaria reportedly sank in approximately 3 minutes on the Volga River near Kazan, Russia. Of the 197 passengers reported to be aboard, more than 100, including many children, are believed to have died. Death on Volga: Sinking Bulgaria cried for … Continue reading