In Good as Gold, a new book by Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the most senior surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals a long hidden family secret. She claims that an error in steering on the bridge of the Titanic led to the collision … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Argosy Cruises has announced that the 86 year old ferry, MV Kirkland, which was severely damaged by fire at the end of last month, will not be rebuilt. The 1924 wooden-hulled car ferry served passengers all over the Pacific Northwest. The … Continue reading
It looks like the guided missile frigate HMAS Adelaide will indeed be scuttled off Avoca Beach, north of Sydney in New South Wales, to create an artificial diving site. Last March we posted about a court case brought by environmentalists which prevented the planned scuttling … Continue reading
Definitely worth 27 seconds of your time. Nudibranch A bit racier – a look at nudibrach sex. Fun fact – Having both male and female sex organs increases the chances of finding a mate. Sounds reasonable. … Continue reading
For sailors who still watch the skies, Jupiter will be passing the earth on Monday at its closest approach since 1963. The planet will not appear as big or as bright again until 2022. Jupiter making closest approach in nearly … Continue reading
We have previously posted about efforts to permanently moor the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Portland, Maine. The Navy is is considering proposals from Portland and Rhode Island. Many in Portland are not happy at the prospect … Continue reading
Dodge Morgan, Who Sailed Around World, Dies at 78 Dodge Morgan, the first American to sail solo nonstop around the world, a feat in which he cut the previous record time nearly in half, died Tuesday in Boston. He was … Continue reading
gCaptain is one of my favorite blogs. It has a done a great job of covering the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Now gCaptain’s John Konrad has written a book, Fire on the Horizon – The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, … Continue reading
Lanier W. Phillips, comedian Bill Cosby and former Washington Redskins star and the Dallas Cowboys’ first starting quarterback, Eddie LeBaron, were honored Wednesday with the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Lone Sailor award. I, of course, know Bill Cosby and as a … Continue reading
I am not a big gamer but Salvo! does look like fun. It is also on sale for the rest of the month. There is even a free demo. Salvo! on Sale in September Salvo! is a turn based wargame … Continue reading
As cruise ships grow ever larger safety professionals have questioned whether passengers will be able to get to the life boats in time in case of an emergency. (See Captain D. Peter Boucher’s BIGGER IS BETTER – NOT on his Nautical Log blog for … Continue reading
On an exhilarating manta ray night dive off Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in August, a manta ray steals a cameraman’s rig. Thanks to Bill Nyden for pointing this out. Manta Ray Absconds With $5,000 Camera The once-in-a-lifetime encounter between an underwater cameraman and a larceny-minded manta ray … Continue reading
“Lord Nelson’s love of bling may be the reason he was shot dead at the Battle of Trafalgar, a medal expert claimed yesterday.” Whether or not Nelson’s fondness for wearing his medals made him an easier target at Trafalgar, one of those … Continue reading
As reported in Sail Magazine, the next America’s Cup will be sailed in 2013 in 72′ catamarans with wing sails. America’s Cup in Cats! According to officials, the new AC72 class will regularly attain speeds of 30 knots, “excite fans” as they … Continue reading
There was an amusing bit of bantering and ballyhooing about ship jargon in the New York Times yesterday. In an article about the remains of ship found in the excavation near the new World Trade Center (see our previous posts here) … Continue reading
Last week we posted about Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) installation of offshore buoys off the coast of Oregon to capture and convert wave energy into electricity. It appears that they will also be playing a key role in the world’s largest wave energy … Continue reading
On July 7th, we posted about a collision between a barge towed by the tug Caribbean Sea and a disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia. Two of the 35 passengers on the duck … Continue reading
Jiaolong, 蛟龙, in Chinese folklore, is a shape-shifting water dragon. For several months this summer the Chinese government has been quietly testing a new submersible, named Jiaolong, designed to dive to 7,000 meters. If successful, it will be the deepest diving submersible in the world, diving … Continue reading
Early last month we posted about an ice island four times the size of Manhattan, a 100-square-mile block of ice 600 feet thick , that broke off from the Petermann glacier in Greenland. In a case of an irresistible force meeting … Continue reading
More details on the capture of the M/V Magellan Star. The crew and the ship management company kept their heads and their sense of humor when the ship was boarded by Somali pirates on Wednesday. When the pirates boarded the ship, … Continue reading