Four Americans on the S/V Quest were seized by pirates this afternoon 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. Jean and Scott Adam, owners of the S/V Quest, have been sailing around the world … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Last week the Danish warship Esbern Snare captured a hijacked fishing vessel and freed two Yemeni hostages. In addition to 16 pirates aboard the ship, the Danes found rocket launchers, assault rifles, ammunition, large quantities of fuel and two skiffs. … Continue reading
According to a study published in the February issue of BioScience, 85% percent of the world’s native oyster reefs have been destroyed. Oyster Apocalypse? Truth About Bivalve Obliteration Three-quarters of the wild oysters left in the world, the study says, now … Continue reading
Last November we posted about a plan by Finnish authorities to allow one or several modern breweries to replicate the recipe of beer found in a Baltic Sea shipwreck dated between 1800 to 1830. In addition to cases of champagne, the … Continue reading
Last week we posted about the approval granted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to allow Bruce Power to ship 1,600 tonnes of radioactive waste, in the form of 16 decommissioned nuclear reactors, across the Great Lakes, though the St. … Continue reading
Update: The Seaport Museum “temporarily” laid-off another twelve staff members on Monday afternoon. More bad news from the South Street Seaport. Last week the Seaport Museum laid off the captain of the schooner Pioneer, as well a marine educator … Continue reading
The tank barge Waldhof which capsized a month ago in the Rhine River near Lorelei Rock was finally raised today after its cargo of sulfuric acid was allowed to slowly drain off. Two sailors where lost in the capsize. One of … Continue reading
Happy Valentines Day! Yesterday, the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine held a sailor’s valentine workshop. (See our previous post.) Sailors’ valentines were traditionally octagonal wooden boxes with a glass front, with intricate symmetrical designs inside, often made of shells … Continue reading
One of the wonderful and maddening things about the internet is that we all make so many virtual acquaintances; many who become good friends, and yet who we have met only through the ether of web pages and email. It was, … Continue reading
Last November, we posted about the sale by tender, through an internet site, of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The highest bidder was a Turkish scrapper. HMS Invincible sold to Turkish ship recyclers Leyal Ship Recycling, which is based near Izmir, … Continue reading
In response to our post, Sail this summer on the Picton Castle, Greg Winter commented, “Or try the same in the beautiful South Pacific, on the brigantine Soren Larsen. Sails out of Auckland New Zealand to the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, … Continue reading
The wreck of the whale ship Two Brothers, which sank 188 years ago on French Frigate Shoals, 600 miles northwest of Honolulu, was recently located by divers. The captain of the whale ship was George Pollard Jr., whose previous ship, … Continue reading
Record crowds, possibly exceeding 100,000, are expected at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival which begins today and runs through Monday at Hobart’s historic Sullivan’s Cove docks. The four-day festival which brings together the biggest collection of wooden boats in … Continue reading
Rear Admiral Peter Branson, who died recently at age 86, had an illustrious career in the Royal Navy. His career almost ended before it began. Branson was twice torpedoed while he was still under training, on one occasion surviving five days adrift in … Continue reading
The Carnival Splendor, which was crippled by an engine room fire on November 8th, leaving it drifting for days off the coast of Mexico with nearly 4,500 crew members and passengers aboard, is expected to sail from San Francisco on Friday … Continue reading
Ocean rowing has got to be one of the most physically demanding of all sports. In addition to the physical labor of fighting the wind and seas, salt water sores and chafing are reported to be a big problem. … Continue reading
On Monday, the six British rowers of Team Hallin have set a new world record for rowing the Atlantic Ocean. The five men and one woman landed in Barbados after completing the 3,000 mile course from Tenerife in 31days and 23hours … Continue reading
Salvors are now reported to be beginning a slow release of sulphuric acid from the capsized tank barge, Waldhof, which capsized in the Rhine on January 13th near the infamous Lorelei Rock, in hope of averting a larger uncontrolled acid spill on … Continue reading
Yesterday, the Italian-owned Aframax tanker MV Savina Caylyn was hijacked by pirates approximately 670 nautical miles East of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. Today, the Greek-owned VLCC MV Irene SL was hijacked approximately 350 nautical miles South East of … Continue reading
Last Friday, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved a plan for Bruce Power to ship 1,600 tonnes of radioactive waste, in the form of 16 decommissioned nuclear reactors, across the Great Lakes, though the St. Lawrence Seaway and across the Atlantic … Continue reading