Endangered Species – Watermen of the Chesapeake

The Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA has a new exhibition: Endangered Species – Watermen of the Chesapeake,  featuring extraordinary B & W portraits of watermen who work the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.   For those of us not … Continue reading

Ocean garbage patches are not growing, so where is all that plastic going?

We have previously posted about the plastic “garbage patches” in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans – great current vortexes where floating plastic trash has accumulated.   As reported in Scientific American scientists studying the garbage patches have noticed that despite … Continue reading

Passengers Should Embark and Disembark by the Gangway Only

Passengers should embark and disembark by the gangway only. Three stories, two of them tragic, of unusual arrivals and departures from cruise ships last week. On the Holland America  cruise ship,  Prinsendam, passengers were shocked when  a powered hang glider made a crash landing on … Continue reading

MV Lugela Hijacked then Freed off Somalia after Crew Retreats to Engine Room

Well planned passive resistance proved to be an effective tactic for the crew of the MV Lugela this weekend.  Earlier this month we posted about the hijacking and subsequent recapture of the M/V Magellan Star from Somali pirates by US Marine commandos, after … Continue reading

Last Minute Bids on the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light

In September 2009, the United States General Services Administration put the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, on Lake Erie, up for public auction via an online auction. The minimum bid is $10,000 with incremental bids of $5,000 required.  The bidding was … Continue reading

On World Maritime Day: Year of the Seafarer – Demands for Action to End Piracy

Every year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) observes World Maritime Day during the last week of September. The IMO headquarters is celebrating today, Thursday, September 24th, though in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Vancouver, Canada, they will be celebrating the event on … Continue reading

The Man Who Fell to Shore – What Reid Stowe Found Waiting for Him When He Returned From 1,151 Days on the Open Sea

We have posted about Reid Stowe’s remarkable non-stop voyage of over 1100 days at sea.   Now that Reid has been home for several months, Adam Sternbergh writing in the New Yorker magazine has written a portrait of Reid’s voyage … Continue reading

Did a Steering Error Sink the Titanic?

In Good as Gold, a new book by Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the most senior surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals a long hidden family secret. She claims that an error in steering on the bridge of the Titanic led to the collision … Continue reading

Fire Damaged Ferry, 86-year-old M/V Kirkland, Won’t be Rebuilt

Argosy Cruises has announced that the 86 year old ferry, MV Kirkland, which was severely damaged by fire at the end of last month, will not be rebuilt.  The 1924 wooden-hulled car ferry served passengers all over the Pacific Northwest. The … Continue reading