Laura Dekker, the 15 year old Dutch sailor who is sailing rather leisurely alone around the world on her yacht Guppy, has been by all appearances handling the sailing part of her journey without too much difficulty. If she completes here multi-stop circumnavigation prior … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
“Sailors and Society in Georgian England : The Home of Lord Nelson, Jane Austen & Jack Aubrey” – It sounds a bit like someone’s history thesis but in fact is a ten day luxury tour organized and escorted by British maritime scholar and author of more than thirty books, … Continue reading
The fascinating story of the last running World War II motor torpedo boat, the PT 658, an historic relic rescued, rebuilt and restored by a group of gray-haired ex-PT boaters. Save the PT Boat PT Boat 658 [iframe: title=”YouTube video player” width=”425″ height=”349″ … Continue reading
Fewer than 300 people live on the Tristan da Cuhna island chain, the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, 2,816 kilometres from the nearest land. An estimated 200,000 penguins, however, including roughly half of the world’s endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin, call the … Continue reading
The Ark Royal is for sale, presumably to a scrap yard but “alternatively the vessel may be purchased for re-use/refurbishment for non-warlike purposes.” The main engine, most machinery and all weapons will be removed. She will be available for inspection in early May and all bids … Continue reading
We recently posted about “Women At Sea: Screening, Conversation, Reception,” which was held last Wednesday in Manhattan. The program included a fascinating documentary Shipping Out, the Story of America’s Seafaring Women and a panel discussion with a number of women … Continue reading
Times have been tough for Horizon Lines, the US Jones Act container shipping company that was spun off from Sealand in 2003. In addition to suffering decreased revenues in the general economic downturn, in late February Horizon agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge … Continue reading
Does the wind seem to blowing harder and the waves growing ever higher? Perhaps they are after all. A new study finds that wind speeds and wave heights have been rising significantly over the last two decades. Study finds oceanic … Continue reading
Last summer we posted about a breaching Southern Right whale that landed on a sailboat off South Africa. This week, boaters off the Florida Keys and in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas got surprise visitors. Off the Florida Keys a 200 … Continue reading
Recently we posted about joint-operations by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard which since last Novemeber have succeeded in capturing 120 pirates in the Indian Ocean as well as taking several pirate “mother ships” and freeing the hostage held aboard. On reader commented: Good on … Continue reading
Last week, while searching near the the wreck of Nuestra Senora de Atocha, Bill Burt, a diver for Mel Fisher’s Treasures, found a 17th century gold chain worth $250,000. Deep sea treasure: 17th century gold chain worth $250,000 plucked from … Continue reading
On Sunday the MV Maersk Kensington reported an attempted boarding by pirates while underway off the southern coast of India. The Indian navy ship Suvarna and Coast Guard ship Sangram responded, intercepting the Iranian fishing trawler Morteza which had been hijacked and was … Continue reading
Mystic Seaport is featuring a traveling exhibit from Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum – Skin & Bones, Tattoos in the Life of an American Sailor. The exhibition runs through September 5, 2011. Skin and Bones – Tattoos in the Life of the American … Continue reading
New facial reconstruction technology applied to the skull of one of the members of the ill-fated Franklin expedition may rewrite accepted history. The skeleton long believed to be that of Henry Le Vesconte, a lieutenant aboard HMS Erebus, is now believed to be that of Harry … Continue reading
The 86m fast catamaran ferry, Condor Vitesse, collided with a fishing vessel this morning, seriously injuring a French fisherman. UPDATE: The fisherman injured in the crash subsequently died. French fisherman seriously injured in ferry crash The Condor Vitesse, travelling between St Malo in … Continue reading
The fourth leg of the Velux Five Oceans Singlehanded Round the World Race is underway as the four competitors set off from Punta del Este, Uruguay bound for Charleston, South Carolina. The racers are currently sailing at north at around ten knots … Continue reading
No one needs to be reminded that the sea is a dangerous place, and nowhere more so than where it meets the shore. Sion Milosky, one of the world’s great big wave riders, died last week at 35 while surfing off … Continue reading
Harold ‘Dynamite’ Payson died suddenly of an an aneurysm at his home in Maine on March 23rd. He was 82. His message was simple. As expressed in his books and on his webpage,” Harold H. Payson … known to associates, friends, and his … Continue reading
This is an amazing presentation from a website called “everybody loves cephalopods.” (I know that I do, usually lightly fried.) I have to admit that after watching this excerpt from a 30 minute presentation by Maggie Koerth-Baker that I am indeed fascinated by octopus … Continue reading
The wonderful thing about the US Great Lakes is that being fresh water, the ships on the lakes don’t rust like they do in the saltier oceans. Of course being fresh water, the lakes do freeze close enough to solid … Continue reading