Women sweep top-sailor honors For the first time, the Navy’s four sailors of the year are women, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced Thursday. Roughead noted the achievement as part of a number of milestones for women in … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
I am not making this up. In the middle of May, a gentleman, whose internet nickname is Aquahound, found a camera in an underwater housing that had washed ashore in Key West. There were still photos and video on the memory card dating back to November of … Continue reading
I am a huge fan of the “sharp-built” privateers that came to be known as Baltimore clippers. They look fast sitting still and under sail, they are nothing less than breathtaking. The Lynx, a replica Baltimore clipper, which was … Continue reading
I’ve just finished reading Julian Stockwin’sInvasion, the tenth of his Kydd series, which features among its cast of characters, Robert Fulton and his Nautilus of 1800. While the Nautilus is often called the first “practical” submarine, it was not the … Continue reading
In response to our post, Tall Ships Hit By Slumping Economy, Will from the Tugster blog and Captain Peter from Nautical Log commented about the potential synergies of tall ships carrying cargo in addition to passengers. Well great minds, and all that. An example of … Continue reading
Not surprising news given the economy but disturbing nevertheless. Flagship might sail elsewhere: Highlander Sea’s future uncertain The tall ship Highlander Sea, a longtime symbol of Port Huron, is not expected to hit the waves this summer. What’s more, its time representing … Continue reading
The English Channel is still the Channel and the 60 or so “little ships” of Dunkirk haven’t gotten any younger. The flotilla of some 60 of the original “little ships” were delayed in their return to Ramsgate after reinacting the crossing to … Continue reading
Hurricane season officially begins today, though Tropical Storm Agatha blew in from the Pacific a day or two early and killed 150 people in Guatemala and opened up a huge sink hole in Guatemala City. Scientists with the National Oceanic … Continue reading
A trivia question – what was the Space Shuttle Atlantis named after? A. The Greek legend of the sunken continent. B. The TV show – Stargate Atlantis. C. Woods Hole’s first research vessel. I will admit that I surprised to learn that it was C. The … Continue reading
Keith Jessop, the salvage diver who recovered the gold from the HMS Edinburgh, died on May 22, 2010, aged 77. Keith Jessop: salvage diver On May 2, 1942, after three days of attacks by German submarines, destroyers and aircraft in … Continue reading
What make this story interesting are not the facts but the reaction to them. A sixty year tradition of Naval Academy plebes climbing a greased obelisk at the end of their first year is coming to an end. So … Continue reading
We haven’t posted about the Deepwater Horizon blow-out and spill. The folks over at the Maritime Texas and the gCaptain blogs have been doing a great job of covering the environmental disaster as it continues to unfold and we have had nothing to … Continue reading
Five alleged pirates went on trial this week in the Netherlands in what is believed to be the first piracy trial in the European Union. The Netherlands has called for an international tribunal for the prosecution of sea pirates, but thus far no EU action … Continue reading
After suffering what was described as “serious rigging failure” in heavy seas off the Florida coast last week, the schooner Amistad has returned to Mystic, CT for repairs. She is expected to “be there for some time.” The Amistad was built at … Continue reading
A wonderful, if odd, account reported by Robert Mackey in the NY Time Lede blog: China Reports Dolphins Foiled Pirate Attack According to a report from China’s official news agency Xinhua, “thousands of dolphins” recently prevented an attack on Chinese … Continue reading
New York’s Fleet Week 2010 is underway. “This is the Super Bowl of Fleet Weeks,” said Michael Salerno, the Navy’s director of Fleet Week, a reference to the many Fleet Weeks that take part around the country, the first of … Continue reading
The teenagers have been getting more press, but Zach, Mike, Jessica and Abby are not the only intrepid solo circumnavigators out there. On Saturday, Commander Dilip Donde sailed into Mumbai, completing the first recorded solo circumnavigation by an Indian. Navy commander … Continue reading
A few days ago we posted about the “Little Ships of Dunkirk” returning to Ramsgate to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the evacuation. This Friday there is what looks to be a very interesting documentary, Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heros, focusing on escape … Continue reading
I am not entirely sure why I find this funny, but I do. Perhaps it is because it seems like it all should be secret. Nevertheless, there appears to be an affinity cruise for everyone so why not a “SpyCruise?” I wonder if a cloak and … Continue reading
HMS Bounty and the Privateer Lynx will be in Portsmouth, NH for the annual Tall Ships Portsmouth Festival on Memorial Day weekend from May 29-31. It sounds like a great event. The local paper reports all the details, which is all well … Continue reading