The passengers on the NorthLink ferry Hrossey, crossing Pentland Firth, off Scotland, saw a grim sight out the ferry windows — the bow of the cement carrier Cemfjord floating vertically in the water. No distress call was received from the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
The car carrier MV Hoegh Osaka ran aground on Bramble Bank in the Solent around 21:30 GMT on Saturday. The crew of 28 was rescued and there are currently no reports of pollution. The ship was bound for Germany when she … Continue reading
On Friday, New York lost an essential part of its waterfront when Captain John W. Doswell died after a long illness. John was a pioneer in multimedia presentations. He was a writer, designer, producer and programmer. He was also a Navy … Continue reading
While they have no chance of winning, Team Vestas Wind will be returning to the Volvo Ocean Race. The team, sailing a Volvo Ocean 65, suffered a major grounding on the Cargados Carajos archipelago 430 km to the northeast of Mauritius in … Continue reading
The Italian Coast Guard has taken control of Ezadeen, a 240′ long, 50 year old cattle carrier registered in Sierra Leone, with 450 migrants aboard off the southern coast of Italy, near Crotone. The crew of the ship abandoned it … Continue reading
Last night in New York City, up to one million people watched a jeweled ball drop in Time Square at exactly midnight to mark the arrival of the New Year. Over a billion people are believed to have watched the festivities … Continue reading
Straight from rescue operations on the ro/ro ferry Norman Atlantic, the Italian navy and coast guard rushed to intercept the Blue Sky M, a 3,500 DWT Moldavian freighter, which was reported to be carrying 700–1,000 migrants. A distress call had been received … Continue reading
The death toll among passengers and crew from the fire on the Norman Atlantic has risen to ten. One man died when attempting to leave the ship and an additional nine bodies were found aboard. The total death related to … Continue reading
A fascinating look at the cold and challenging job of photographing a walrus underwater by photographer Paul Nicklen. A Close Encounter With a Walrus … Continue reading
As of Monday evening, local time, 478 passengers and crew have been rescued from the burning ro/ro ferry Norman Atlantic, which caught fire Sunday morning around 6 AM in the Adriatic Sea. At least 7 people have died. Many of the passengers … Continue reading
A fire broke out early Sunday on the Italian ro/ro ferry, Norman Atlantic, on route between the Greek port of Patras to Ancona, Italy with 478 passengers and crew aboard. The fire is believed to have broken out on the ro/ro deck. The ship is … Continue reading
While visiting family in Washington DC, we visited the United States Botanic Garden. The Garden has a holiday exhibit that features model trains, specifically, Thomas the Tank Engine, which delighted my 2 year old grand nephew. In addition to the trains … Continue reading
While not a particular believer in ghosts, if the ghost of Alan Villiers is about, I suspect that he must smiling. The arrival of the Mayflower II at Mystic Seaport Museum is the reunion, of sorts, of two ships long … Continue reading
We hope that everyone is having a most merry Christmas. Here is a poem by C. Fox Smith adapted for song by Charlie Ipcar. As we posted last June, Cecily Fox Smith was a Victorian poet best remembered for her poems about … Continue reading
In the end of November, the Team Vestas Wind, racing in the Volvo Ocean Race, ran aground on a reef in the remote Cargados Carajos archipelago about 430 km to the northeast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. There were no injuries and the crew … Continue reading
Recently, History.com featured an article titled “Found: San Francisco’s Deadliest Shipwreck.” They reported that the wreck of the 345-foot Pacific Mail Line passenger steamer SS City of Rio de Janeiro had been found by NOAA researchers using high-definition sonar in 287 feet … Continue reading
For roughly the last ten years, UK Sailmakers of Mandelieu, France has been developing Uni-Titanium sails, in which thin sheets of uni-directional carbon films are laminated into the sail. They are now partnering with the Solar Cloth Company of the UK to develop … Continue reading
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day: Today the solstice occurs at 23:03 Universal Time, the Sun reaching its southernmost declination in planet Earth’s sky. Of course, the December solstice marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer … Continue reading
On this the first day of Winter, as the darkness closes in around us, it seems appropriate to take a few minutes to escape, virtually at least, to shores where it is the first day of Summer. Here is a short … Continue reading
On July 30, 1942, Herbert Claudius in command of the patrol boat PC 566 was escorting passenger ship passenger ship Robert E. Lee in the Gulf of Mexico, southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The German U-boat U-166 … Continue reading