A windfall, a sudden and unexpected occurrence of good fortune, literally refers to fruit or timber knocked down by the wind. Here is an intriguing story of a literal windfall from the Maritime Texas blog. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
A beautifully shot and edited short video. Jon Kane’s comments: I did this film for my friend Buck McAllister who’s family owns McAllister Towing tug boat company. I shot the film with one camera, in real time, during the towing … Continue reading
A short video of sailing on the schooner A.J. Meerwald in New York harbor. The A. J. Meerwald is a Delaware Bay oyster schooner launched in 1928. Sailing on the Schooner A.J. Meerwald in New York Harbour … Continue reading
I am not even quite sure what a “Ferrython” is, but this seemed like an appropriate image for a Friday afternoon. From the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Flickr photostream as spotted on the Sea Fever blog. … Continue reading
Falls of Clyde is the only surviving iron-hulled four-masted full rigged ship and the only surviving sail-driven oil tanker in the world. She was launched in 1878 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, for the Fall Line . The ship was towed to Hawaii … Continue reading
This afternoon, at the 21st Annual Indie and Small Press Book Fair, I had the pleasure of meeting Thad Koza, a wonderful photographer of tall ships. I bought a copy of his Tall Ships 2009 Calendar and plan on buying his book, Tall … Continue reading
Tattoos have become very popular of late. Tattoo Facts & Statistics notes that “thirty-six percent of those ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have at least one tattoo, according to a fall 2006 … Continue reading
There seems to be a significant number of tall ships for sale these days. Not sure whether that is good or bad news. One especially notable example is the Grand Turk, now offered for sale for £2,800,000. Thanks to Alaric for … Continue reading
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater from Rick Spilman on Vimeo. The Clearwater is a Hudson River sloop modeled after the distinctive trading sloops that sailed up and down the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Clearwater was conceived by … Continue reading
An update on the MV Faina – still being held hostage by Somali pirates. Somali pirates hold whip hand in standoff And a comment by my 12 year old son, Ted. He suggested that he would like to learn some … Continue reading
There are two Maine “Windjammers” currently for sale. This may not be terribly useful information for those of us feeling more than usually penurious in the current economic downturn. Nevertheless there are moments when the idea of chucking it all and making … Continue reading
As this is a nautical blog, I do feel compelled to at least tip our hat to Andrew Sullivan’s recent article “Why I Blog“, in this month’s Atlantic Monthly . (I do recommend Sullivan’s political blog for the Atlantic – The Daily Dish.) I … Continue reading
I was recently published in The Huffington Post. An excerpt: “The Golden Age of Piracy” or Long John Silver in a Tank This morning I was struck by the odd juxtaposition of an announcement for a festival and a … Continue reading
The real life pirate saga, which began Thursday night when Somali pirates seized the Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with a cargo of ammunition, grenade launchers and 33 refurbished Russian T-72 battle tanks, has turned into a stand-off between the pirates holding the crew hostage … Continue reading
ELISSA is a three-masted, iron-hulled sailing barque built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland by Alexander Hall & Company. Under various names, rigs and owners she had a 90 year carreer carrying cargo. She was purchased by the Galveston Historical Foundation 1975. She … Continue reading
Archival Post: For the most recent news on HMS Pickle click here. HMS PICKLE is For Sale! OK, not the original HMS Pickle but a replica built in 1995. For only £350,000.00 (US$626,640) you too could own a replica of the historic … Continue reading
If by good fortune you missed the “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”, just as well. If you managed to pass the day without a single “Aargh” or “Shiver Me Timbers” congratulations. I have a rather good sense of humor … Continue reading