Terrible news from Phildelphia. Philadelphia maritime museum says it can’t afford to care for historic USS Olympia A Philadelphia maritime museum says it can no longer afford to care for a historic ship that served in the Spanish-American War. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
The windjammers liked the higher latitudes where the winds are stronger. This solar craft will try to still as close to the equator as possible to maximize the sunshine. The catamaran reminds me of something out of Star Trek, perhaps a Romulan transport ship. Sailing Around The World … Continue reading
After rosy announcements about the restoration of the Cutty Sark an article in the Telegraph has a very different view of the ongoing project. Cutty Sark restoration turning into a fiasco The restoration of the Cutty Sark is turning into … Continue reading
Heinz Stahlschmidt, a renegade former member of Germany’s World War Two navy, who thwarted plans to wreck the French port of Bordeaux by retreating Nazi forces, has died at the age of 91, officials said. Thanks to Andy Hall at … Continue reading
SeaWorld tragedy — a reminder of why orcas should swim free? For wildlife conservationists, the tragic death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau is a sobering reminder of why creatures as large and majestic as killer whales simply should not live in … Continue reading
Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, have never been known to kill a human in the wild. The same is not true of orcas in captivity. Today Tilikum, a 12,300 pound bull orca, the largest whale in captivity, attacked and drowned a female … Continue reading
Last March we posted Plastiki – Boat made of plastic bottles to make ocean voyage about a project in which David de Rothschild intended to build and sail a catamaran made of around 12,000 recycled soda bottles across the Pacific. Almost … Continue reading
USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild’s Annual Model Ship Show – Models in the Spotlight – Running through March 20th. Admission to the Museum and the exhibit are free; donations are welcome. A total of 75 different ships created by modelers … Continue reading
BC apparently has posted an interesting videocast on the composite clipper City of Adelaide. I write apparently because it is available only in Britain and being on the other side of the pond I can only take the word of … Continue reading
The historic riverboat, Becky Thatcher, a 220-foot, 74-year-old stern-wheeler sank in the Ohio River off Neville Island near Pittburgh, apparently due to the weight of a record snowfall which also collapsed the top two decks. Historic riverboat sinks in Ohio River … Continue reading
A very disturbing article in this months Scientific American suggesting that criminal groups have been scuttling ships containing chemical and pharmaceutical waste, effectively using the Mediterranean as a toxic dump site. Thanks to Steve Phelps for pointing it out. Poisoned Shipments: Are Strange, Illicit Sinkings Making … Continue reading
There are twelve tall ships scheduled to participate in Green Bay, Wisconsin’s Tall Ship festival this August, though at this point, only six names have been announced. These are the HMS Bounty, the schooners Roseway, Amistad, the Pride of Baltimore II, the Unicorn … Continue reading
Captain William Curry of the SV Concordia is reporting that the school ship was struck by a microburst, also referred to a white squall, which knocked down the 188′ three masted schooner, rolling the ship 90 degrees. She sank in … Continue reading
An intriguing if slightly disturbing article and photo from the LA Times: Fear the blobfish As scary as the jumping Asian carp may be, there’s something even scarier – the blobfish. As you can see from the accompanying photograph, the … Continue reading
The Cutty Sark will be restored and ready for new visitors in time for the 2012 Olympics. The ship was nearly destroyed by fire in 2007. The other, albeit just barely, surviving composite clipper ship, the City of Adelaide, which has … Continue reading
The West Island College “Class Afloat” school ship Concordia, en route between Recife, Brazil and Montevideo, Uruguay, is reported to have sunk last night off the coast of Brazil. All 64 passengers and crew were reported safe after being rescued by the Brazilian Navy and Air Force. … Continue reading
Nuclear power as a propulsion system for merchant ships was the future that never arrived. The Otto Hahn was the second of only four nuclear powered commercial cargo ships ever built. The first was the NS Savannah, which operated between 1962 … Continue reading
Old Navy ship set to depart Va. ‘Ghost Fleet’ The federal Maritime Administration is scheduled to tow another ship from Virginia’s so-called “Ghost Fleet.” A former Navy submarine rescue ship called Kittiwake is set to become the 85th ship to … Continue reading
Containership operations has always been like riding a roller coaster, with many highs and lows and unexpected twists and turns. One sign of this is the fluctuating speeds of container ships over the years, going from slow to fast to … Continue reading
Does politics make for strange shipmates? NATO allies worry about France’s decision to sell big warships to Russia CHAMPAGNE and other French products may soon face declining sales in Tallinn, Tbilisi and places in between. The possible sale by France … Continue reading