The first images of the design of the royal barge that will carry the Queen of England down the Thames during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year have been published. With no disrespect implied to the Queen, I am a … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
For over 200 years, gundalows – sail and oar powered cargo barges – moved on the winds and tides of the rivers and estuaries along the New England coast. Yesterday, the brand new gundalow, Piscataqua, splashed into the the Piscataqua River … Continue reading
After being gutted by fire in 2007, the 1869 composite tea clipper Cutty Sark has been undergoing a methodical reconstruction. She reached a milestone recently when her foremast was restepped in the ship. The main and mizzen masts are expected to be … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the New York Police Department Harbor Unit’s use of ROVs to maintain security in the harbot. We had missed an amusing post by Portside New York‘s Carolina Salguero on NPYD security training on the MARY A. WHALEN. From her post: … Continue reading
New York harbor was the sight of the first use of a submersible in combat. On September 6, 1776, Eza Lee in command of the Turtle, a one man submersible designed by David Bushnell, attempted and failed to sink Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship HMS Eagle. Today, modern … Continue reading
HMS Ocean, a Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, had planned for a seven week deployment but was diverted to Libya and ended up being away for 225 days with 176 at sea. When they received word that they would be back in … Continue reading
Within hours of the tsunami that struck northern Japan last March, the internet was abuzz with the somewhat bizarre suggestion that the earthquake and wave which followed might be some sort of cosmic retribution for Japanese whaling. Regardless of what one thinks of that suggestion, … Continue reading
Last April, Commander Etta Jones was relieved of duty as captain of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce. The Ponce‘s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Kurt Boenisch, was also relieved. A Navy report examining allegations made against Commander Jones substantiated … Continue reading
Last Sunday we posted about the CBC program,Land and Sea, which was broadcasting a half hour documentary on traditional schooners in Nova Scotia. It is now available to watch on-line. The documentary tells the story of four different schooner owners … Continue reading
Several years ago I took a sail on the AJ Meerwald in New York harbor. While on the sail I saw the schooner Pioneer, owned and operated by the South Street Seaport Museum, also sailing in the harbor. Despite having … Continue reading
We seem to need to put a face to our enemies. On the cover of Time Magazine of December 22, 1941, the face of the enemy was Admiral Yamamoto, labeled as “Japan’s Aggressor.” The image of the admiral is a … Continue reading
It was inevitable. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will observe the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941. It will be the Association’s last observance. The group has too few remaining members to carry on and will disband on … Continue reading
Seventeen teams from around the world have set off rowing from Spain’s San Sebastian de la Gomera in the Canary Islands in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in what is billed as the “World’s Roughest Rowing Race.” The teams will … Continue reading
I was struck by the juxtaposition. Laura Dekker, the Dutch 16 year old who is sailing around the world alone, arrived in Cape Town at roughly the same times as the mega-racers of the Volvo Ocean Race. Well, she arrived … Continue reading
Perhaps Miami Beach is feeling a certain solidarity with Koblentz, Germany. Today an M57 US Navy training mine washed up on Miami Beach. Fortunately the mine was inert and did not contain explosive. Yesterday, bomb disposal experts successfully defused two … Continue reading