The Sea Shepherd farce continues. The ex-captain of the Ady Gil cut through anti-boarding nets to board a Japanese whaler and was immediately arrested. In related news, Sea Shepherd crew onboard the Steve Irwin, a vessel named for the television … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Here is an intriguing article suggesting that we humans have been taking to the sea for far longer than had been previously recorded. Recently stone tools have been found on the island of Crete which date back at least 130,000 … Continue reading
An interesting perspective from the The Diplomat Magazine on Chinese naval expansion. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing it along. Why China’s Naval Rise Could Help the World … Continue reading
Bronze Age shipwreck found off Devon coast One of the world’s oldest shipwrecks has been discovered off the coast of Devon after lying on the seabed for almost 3,000 years. The trading vessel was carrying an extremely valuable cargo of … Continue reading
BMW Oracle easily beat Alinghi in their second race, winning the America’s Cup. The US boat won, literally, by a mile. BMW Oracle claim America’s Cup triumph BMW Oracle won the America’s Cup as victory in Sunday’s second race off … Continue reading
As truly awe inspiring as the huge and high tech America’s Cup boats are, we shouldn’t forget that iceboats are the real speed demons on the water (even if it is frozen.) Will at the Tugster blog has some great photos … Continue reading
Over thirty years ago when I was in college studying naval architecture, a classmate of mine got a summer job working as a naval architect for Sun Shipyard helping to design some part of the new deep sea mining ship, … Continue reading
Last October, we wrote about how researchers are using eighteenth century Royal Navy ship logs to study climate change. (See Logbooks may yield climate bounty.) Now, through the wonder of the internet, many of these log books are on-line. The … Continue reading
The BMW Oracle team easily won the first America’s Cup race in Valencia, Spain, winning by fifteen minutes over the defender Alinghi. BMW Oracle win America’s Cup opener … Continue reading
Last Operational World War II Motor Boats Saved For The Nation Two of the last remaining fully operational high-speed World War II motor boats have been saved for the nation today by Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, with the help … Continue reading
The physics here is fascinating. How is it possible that the America’s Cup challenger ”USA” can sail at 22 knots in only two knots of wind? Chuck Lantz of the Enquirer, explains how it is done. America’s Cup boatspeed – Making something out … Continue reading
The Scottish Maritime Museum is in dire financial straits. The City of Adelaide, the oldest (just barely) surviving composite clipper ship in the world, has been rotting on a slipway at Irvine, near Glasgow, for almost a decade because the museum lacked the funds to … Continue reading
This September, we posted about the popular and nearly ubiquitous “duck tours” using refurbished World War II DUKW amphibious trucks, or vehicles inspired by them, to take tourists on tours in cities and resorts around the world. (See From DUKWs … Continue reading
The New York Times Science section has a fascinating slide show discussing the scientific innovations behind the two sailboats competing in the America’s Cup. The science is intriguing but the photos are simply breathtaking. Innovations in America’s Cup Sailing … Continue reading
A follow-up to our previous post – Free Aircraft Carrier – ex USS John F Kennedy. Maine group in running for decommissioned JFK A nonprofit group in Maine says it’s still in the running to bring the decommissioned carrier John F. Kennedy … Continue reading
Abby Sunderland is putting into Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, interrupting her round the world attempt, because of a power problem aboard her yacht, Wild Eyes. The yacht’s solar panels and wind generators were not providing enough power and the yacht … Continue reading
In January we posted about the Jewel of Muscat a replica of a 9th-century sailing ship modelled on a famous Tang Treasure ship. Recently Nova broadcast a documentary on far older ships from the region, Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s ships, dating from 1479 BCE. … Continue reading
Not every historic vessel can be saved and not every historic vessel should be saved. The difficult question is deciding which are worthy of saving before they fall prey to the ravages of time or, in this case, the bureaucracy. A story from today’s Daily … Continue reading
After being under construction for almost a decade, the aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush was accepted by the US Navy following final seatrials last Friday. Northrop Grumman delivers Bush aircraft carrier to Navy … Continue reading
In July of last year, Zac Sunderland, a 17-year-old from Southern California, became the youngest person to sail around the world alone. He held that tile for only about a month as the British 17 year old sailor, Mike … Continue reading