Today the the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance hosted the “City of Water Day” to celebrate New York – New Jersey harbor. Festivities were centered on Governor’s Island and Liberty State Park with activities spread across the waterfront from Edgewater to Brooklyn and Staten Island. In addition to … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
We have been following the construction of the Dragon Harald Fairhair, (or in Norwegian Draken Harald Hårfagre) the largest Viking longship to have been built in modern times. (See our previous post – Building the Viking Longship Dragon Harald Fairhair.) Built of oak, … Continue reading
This story just keeps getting stranger. A year ago last June, the Swedish treasure hunters, Ocean X Team, saw something that they did not understand while doing sonar sweeps of the bottom of the Baltic Sea. There appeared to be a 200′ diameter … Continue reading
In February 2011, we posted that the the SS United States Conservancy had purchased the S.S. United States from Norwegian Cruise Line. The sale was made possible by a $5.8 million gift by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. Since then the Conservancy has raised $5 million of the estimated $25 million needed … Continue reading
Last February, we posted about the modification to the USS Ponce prior to being sent to the Persian Gulf. (See Mine-Detecting Dolphins and USS Ponce, Commando “Mothership” in Persian Gulf?) We included the question mark in the post title because, while … Continue reading
Yesterday, I went on a field trip with the New York Shiplore and Model Club to Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut. (Thanks to Lee Gruzen, Norman Brouwer and Linda Zatkowski for making the arrangements.) Our first stop was Stonington, Connecticut, a … Continue reading
Early airplane wings were built of canvas stretched over a wooden frame, held together with wire rigging. Modern airplane wings are built of aluminum and other metals. The comparison to sails, masts and rigging on ships may not apply directly. Nevertheless, the … Continue reading
Ernest Borgnine has died at the age of 95. He joined the Navy in 1935, straight out of high school and served through World War II, leaving the service with the rank of gunner’s mate 1st class. He became an actor, appearing in over … Continue reading
The City of New York is a city of islands, large and small, floating in a vast harbor and waterway. Only one of the five boroughs is on the mainland and that even borough, the Bronx, is on a peninsula, with water on three sides. … Continue reading
Last Friday, 19 schooners sailed from the starting line near the Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland, Me out into Penobscott, Bay and then into Camden, Me, for the 36th annual Great Windjammer Race. After the breakneck speeds of America’s Cup catamarans, the … Continue reading
After fifteen years of work, the replica of the frigate L’Hermione was launched yesterday into the Charente River in Rochefort, France. The original frigate L’Hermione, on March 21, 1780, carried the the 23 year old Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, to America … Continue reading
To say that this will be a busy weekend on the New England waterfront may be an understatement. Following the 4th of July festivities in Boston, OpSail 2012 CT starts today in New London, CT, with an impressive fleet of ships. Only about 50 … Continue reading
We have blogged too often about the loss of life after overcrowded boats capsized off Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Papau New Guinea. This week was sad reminder that the problem of overloaded boats is not limited to the developing world. On Wednesday evening … Continue reading
The Navy’s Floating Instrument Platform, better known as FLIP, went into service fifty years ago, in 1962. The 355-foot research vessel is capable of operating horizontally as a conventional, if somewhat odd-looking, ship. When on station, however, it “flips” vertically 90 degrees and becomes the … Continue reading
In a previous Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 2009-2013, the U.S. Navy estimated that 150,000 marine mammals could be harmed in sonar training and testing exercises. Now in the EIS for 2014-2018, Navy estimates have soared, suggesting that sonar training and testing might unintentionally harm marine mammals 2.8 … Continue reading
Happy 4th of July! Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in the Continental Congress drank a toast with glasses of Madeira wine. Why Madiera? It … Continue reading
For several years now cruise ships fans have been concerned that the 2008 debt crunch in Dubai would result in the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 being sold for scrap instead of being converted to a luxury hotel, as had been the plan when she … Continue reading
We recently posted about OpSail 2012 and Boston’s weeklong celebration of the USS Constitution and the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides” after British round shot bounced off her oak planks, is the world’s … Continue reading
Extremely disturbing news coming out of Italy regarding the Costa Concordia, which ran aground and sank off the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012 with the deaths of at least 30 passengers. If the reports prove to be true, the ship was sailing with open watertight … Continue reading
About a year ago, we posted Towing Icebergs – an Idea Whose Time is Still Coming?, where we pointed out that the latest proposal to tow icebergs from the Arctic or Antarctic to supply fresh water, was similar to plans that dated … Continue reading