Six sport divers from a local club were scuba diving in the ancient Roman harbor of Caesarea in Israel, when one of them spotted a small tiny coin, which the diver thought looked like a toy coin from a game of some sort. On … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Sometimes the way the media reports a story about nautical history can be almost as interesting as the story itself. Near the end of last month, archaeologists examining artifacts discovered on the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard’s flag ship, the … Continue reading
A recent article in Atlantic Monthly pointed out that Apple, the technology company, not the fruit, is now, in economic terms, the size of a small country. The world’s largest company with a market capitalization of $700 billion, it is … Continue reading
In the east side of New York harbor, the New York State side, the lowly oyster is a hero. Not only will restored oyster beds help filter and clean the water of the harbor, they could also play a critical … Continue reading
The weather is bitterly cold here on the west bank of the Hudson River, so it seems like as good a time as any to look toward the warmer waters of the Antipodes. A video from the Spirit of Adventure … Continue reading
In 2012, we posted about the collision between the passenger ferry Sea Smooth and the ferry Lamma IV off Hong Kong near Lama Island. The collision killed 39, all passengers on the Lamma IV . The Lamma IV was carrying staff and family members of … Continue reading
It is currently around 18 degrees F on the west bank of the Hudson River, but with the wind chill the figures are somewhere in the negative numbers. It seems appropriate, therefore, to post this wonderful video, shot by an … Continue reading
Happy Valentine’s Day! The day is named for one of several martyrs named Valentine. Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni both have feast days on February 14th. The day is also associated with an old Roman fertility festival Lupercalia. February … Continue reading
Edward Heerema, the president of Swiss-based Allseas Group S.A., had decided to name their newest and largest ship, Pieter Schelte, after his father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, who was an accomplished marine engineer. Unfortunately, that is not the only thing that his … Continue reading
After a 19 month trial, Captain Francesco Schettino has been found guilty of manslaughter associated with the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia in 2012 in which 32 passengers and crew died. Another 150 passengers and crew were injured. … Continue reading
I recently saw an ad titled, “Endeavour Yacht for Sale,” from a high-end yacht broker. It caught my attention because I owned, sailed and lived aboard an Endeavour 32 sloop, a few decades ago. It seemed unlikely, however, that the … Continue reading
Award winning author Joan Druett recently interviewed V.E. Ulett, author of the Blackwell’s Adventure series, on her World of the Written Word blog. Reposted with permission. The author of the rousing historical Blackwell series kindly consented to allow me to … Continue reading
The Hardtackers Shanty Crew put out a fine new promotional video just a week or two before the publication of my new novel, The Shantyman. The events are unrelated but feel fortuitous. See our review of the Hardtacker’s CD, Don’t … Continue reading
In January, we posted about winter crew training classes for volunteer crew on the replica ship Kalmar Nyckel. The classes run for nine Saturdays between January and April. At the time we didn’t ask where or how the training would take place. The … Continue reading
Alaric Bond’s latest novel, The Guinea Boat, is set in the south-east of England during the brief Peace of Amiens of 1803. Two young men, Nat and Alex, meet in the coastal village of Hastings and become friends. Both are outsiders. Nat … Continue reading