Skywatchers in portions of the Americas, Antarctica, Europe, Africa, and the East Pacific will see a Super Flower Blood Moon total lunar eclipse this Sunday night and into Monday morning, weather permitting. May’s full moon is traditionally called the Flower … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Ship strikes — collisions between ships and large marine life — are a serious threat to whales and other large marine creatures. According to the non-profit Friend of the Sea, ship strikes kill more than 20,000 whales every year. Now, … Continue reading
We recently posted about the dire conditions of Texas and Gulf Coast oyster beds that have been devastated by floods, droughts, and hurricanes. In contrast, here is good news about oyster bed restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. The Virginia Mercury … Continue reading
In early March we posted The Mystery of the Superyacht Scheherazade — Who is the Owner?. The 495′ long superyacht, valued at $700 million, was drydocked undergoing repairs in Marina di Carrara, a small Italian town on the Tuscan coast. … Continue reading
An updated repost appropriate for Mother’s Day. Sailors choose their tattoos for various reasons. Among the most popular sailor tattoos are anchors, hearts, and swallows. Not infrequently, “Mom” also made an appearance as a reminder of loved ones and home. … Continue reading
As brutal combat continues in the eastern part of Ukraine, the war in the Black Sea continues to heat up. Three weeks ago, Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles hit and subsequently sank the guided-missile cruiser and the flagship of the … Continue reading
An intriguing account by the BBC of archeological serendipity that began with a trip to the dentist. The Battle of the Aegates was a naval battle fought on 10 March 241 BC between the fleets of Carthage and Rome during … Continue reading
Is the cruise industry ready to get back to business in the “new normal” of the late pandemic or will cruise ships remain the floating Petri dishes that typified some ships in the early part of the COVID-19 outbreak? Unfortunately, … Continue reading
The cumulative impact of hurricanes, floods, drought, and oil spills has had a devastating impact on Texas oyster beds. Across the Gulf Coast region, an estimated 50-85% of the original oyster reefs have disappeared, according to a report by the … Continue reading
CNN reports that more than 200 sailors have moved off the USS George Washington aircraft carrier after multiple deaths by suicide among the crew, including three in less than one week in April, according to the Navy. The sailors are moving to … Continue reading
In 2019, we posted that US Coast Guard was finally getting an appropriation to build three new heavy polar icebreakers, followed by the construction of three new medium polar icebreakers. The Coast Guard currently has one heavy icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star, which … Continue reading
Satellite photographs show Russia has deployed trained dolphins at the entrance to the key Black Sea port of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet. The dolphins are likely to be trained to intercept Ukrainian divers attempting to sabotage … Continue reading
The sailing cargo ship SV Kwai has been owned by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) since January 2021, as one element of the island archipelago’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This multi-faceted RMI effort … Continue reading
The question is not so much whether the wreck of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour rests at the bottom of the harbor in Newport, RI, but rather which of several wrecks it may be. The Endeavour, renamed Lord Sandwich and outfitted … Continue reading
We recently posted a video about climbing the rig on the Götheborg of Sweden. Here is an interesting application of “high ropes course” techniques and technology to allow the public to safely climb to the maintop and out on a … Continue reading
A week ago last Thursday, the museum ship, the USS The Sullivans in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park began to take on water and partially sank at her berth. Naval Park Director of Museum Collections and Curator Shane … Continue reading
When the burial ship at Sutton Hoo in the UK was uncovered in 1939, the ship itself was missing. The wooden planks and frames of the ship, dating from around 600 AD, had rotted away. Nevertheless, an almost intact impression … Continue reading
My wife and I took an incredible trip to the Galapagos in 2017. An updated repost. We spent a week on Ecoventura‘s 83’ MY Eric and visited six of the more eastern islands of the archipelago. We saw many of … Continue reading
An updated repost. Like so many other species, Galápagos green sea turtles are unique to the archipelago. Here is a short video of snorkeling with Galápagos green sea turtles off Punto Cormorant on Floreana Island in the Galapagos in early November, 2017. … Continue reading
Stuck in Chesapeake Bay mud for more than five weeks, the container ship Ever Forward is finally free. Refloating the 1,100-foot long ship required discharging 500 containers and additional dredging but she was dragged by seven tugs from the mudbank … Continue reading