Today, Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II christened the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. As the ceremony was held in Rosyth, Scotland, the queen christened the ship with a bottle of whiskey from the Bowmore Distillery, rather than the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
The composite clipper, City of Adelaide, built in 1864, is the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship. Between 1864 and 1887 the ship made 23 voyages from London and Plymouth to Adelaide, South Australia. Approximately a quarter of a million Australians … Continue reading
Last December, we congratulated Admiral Michelle Howard on her nomination to serve as Vice Chief for Naval Operations. The nomination was confirmed and yesterday she was promoted to the number two position in the US Navy. She will be the first woman … Continue reading
The owners of the product tanker Arsenal lost contact with the ship while she was underway in the South China Sea near the Anambas Archipelago, Indonesia. Fearing that the ship might have been hijacked by pirates, they contacted the Indonesian … Continue reading
We posted earlier today about the USS Slater’s dazzle camouflage paint. Dazzle, sometimes referred to as razzle dazzle, is a very different approach to camouflage. Where most camouflage attempts to hide an object or person, dazzle camouflage on ships uses … Continue reading
In April we posted about the drydocking of USS Slater, the last World War II destroyer escort still afloat in the United States, at Caddell Dry Dock in Staten Island. Yesterday, her repairs completed, newly cleaned, and painted, she returned to her … Continue reading
I have recently discovered that mermaids are indeed real, well, after a fashion, though not in the sense suggested by cheesy fake documentaries shown on the Discovery Channel. There is a small cadre of women who perform as mermaids … Continue reading
Well before the billionaire’s AC72 catamarans were rising up on foils to race in the America’s Cup, nimble Moth dinghies were flying on hydrofoils around the buoys. I will admit to being fascinated by the foiling Moths, although they appear … Continue reading
Migaloo, the white humpback whale has been spotted making his way up Australia’s Queensland’s coast on his annual migration to warmer waters. Migaloo was first seen in 1991 and is believed to be around 28 years old and is one of a … Continue reading
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of whales off New York harbor. In 2011, researchers from Cornell recorded the sounds of fin whale, blue whale, humpback whale, minke whale, sei whale, and the North … Continue reading
In 2010, we posted about a shipwreck in the Baltic, off the Åland Islands of Sweden, in which 30 bottles of champagne and 5 bottles of beer were found intact in the wreckage. In 2011, two bottles of the champagne were … Continue reading
In January 1841, the Hillman Brothers shipyard on the Acushnet River in New Bedford, MA delivered a new whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan. Yesterday, the Charles W. Morgan, the only surviving wooden whaling ship, sailed back into New Bedford, where she was built more than 170 … Continue reading
Today, June 25th, is the IMO sponsored International Day of the Seafarer. This celebration is intended to increase the awareness of the indispensable services rendered to all of us by the 1.5 million seafarers who deliver more than 12 billion tonnes of … Continue reading
Great video of climbing to the royal yard on the Charles W. Morgan. Atop the world on the Charles W. Morgan … Continue reading
If you are having a lousy Monday, here is a reminder that things could always be worse. Below is a video of $24 million yacht, 102′ long, M/V Polar Bear, which caught fire last Thursday in Chula Vista, near San Diego, … Continue reading
Yesterday, a group of admirers gathered in Bow, England to celebrate the life and work of Cecily Fox Smith. She was a Victorian poet best remembered for her poems about ships and sailors in the last days of the age of … Continue reading
What is the best way to celebrate sailing? My first response is to say, go sailing. Sailing, seems to me, to be its own celebration. There is that moment when everything falls into balance — when the force of the … Continue reading
I wish that I had been sent to a summer camp aboard a historic schooner when I was a kid. Growing up in Texas, I remember summer camps notable for scrub mesquite trees, cactus and snakes, only some of which were … Continue reading
I will admit that it was news to me that the Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge hosted by New York Outrigger is the largest outrigger regatta on the East Coast. Over 400 athletes from around the world are participating. According to … Continue reading
Last month we posted that the Sailing School Vessel Spirit of South Carolina was finally going to auction. For the last several years, the schooner been owned by TD Bank. Yesterday, the 140′ wooden schooner was sold at auction for $440,000 to … Continue reading