Late in August 2022, the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, sailed from Portsmouth, UK bound for training exercises in the United States. She didn’t get very far. Two days after departing, the carrier broke down off … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Yesterday, the research vessel Petrel rolled off her blocks in a drydock in Edinburgh, Scotland, leaving 35 people injured. BBC reports that twenty-three people were taken to the hospital and 12 were treated at the scene of the incident at … Continue reading
March is Women’s History Month, so it seems appropriate to remember the life and accomplishments of Susan Ahn Cuddy, a Korean American who would serve as the first female Asian-American officer in the US Navy and would also become the … Continue reading
In honor of Women’s History Month, it is worthwhile remembering Eleanor Creesy, the navigator of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, who with her husband, Captain Josiah Creesy, set world sailing records for the fastest passage between New York and San … Continue reading
In recent years we have posted about the impact of massive mats of sargassum in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. The brown buoyant seaweed has had a devastating impact on beaches across the east … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month, it is a good time to honor Winnie Breegle who served in World War II as a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) cryptographer and a Navajo “Code Talker”, who didn’t happen to be a … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost. The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper ship Neptune’s Car, bound … Continue reading
CNN reports that the United Nations has released a plan to offload 1 million barrels of oil off FSO Safer, a floating oil storage and offloading vessel, that has been moored off the coast of Yemen for more than 30 years. … Continue reading
HMS Birkenhead was one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was designed as a steam frigate, but was converted to a troopship before being commissioned in 1851. While transporting troops and a few civilians to … Continue reading
A lone scientist on the coast of the Siberian Arctic finds that warming seas have taken a toll on the walrus migration, as documented in a film by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev. “Haulout” is nominated for Best Documentary Short … Continue reading
In honor of both Women’s History Month and Black History Month, an updated repost about Gladys West. From maps to apps to chartplotters, we all rely on GPS these days, sometimes whether we realize it or not. Ethan Siegel wrote … Continue reading
We recently posted about Kate Walker, the lighthouse keeper of the Robbins Reef Light in New York harbor for close to 35 years. Kate took over as keeper when her husband died of pneumonia in 1886. Oddly enough, in the … Continue reading
CNN reports that nearly 200 countries have agreed to a legally-binding High Seas Treaty to protect marine life in international waters, which cover around half of the planet’s surface, but have long been essentially lawless. The agreement was signed on … Continue reading
In 1886, lighthouse keeper John Walker’s last words to his wife Kate as he died died from pneumonia, were “Mind the light, Kate.” Kate, then 38 with two teenage children, took his final wish to heart. She minded the light … Continue reading
In honor of both March’s Women’s History Month & February’s Black History Month, an updated repost about the barrier-shattering naval engineer Raye Montague, who died at the age of 83 in 2018. At the age of 7, she was inspired … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month, it is good to remember and to honor Admiral Grace Hopper. Grace Hopper was a pioneering computer scientist and a United States Navy Rear Admiral. Hopper received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from … Continue reading
I was stunned and saddened to read that shanty singer and folklorist Frank Woerner has died. I haven’t seen an obituary yet, but I came across a Facebook post by Alison Kelley who wrote, “It is with great shock and … Continue reading
In 2019, we posted about Blue Mermaid, the first sailing barge built for trade in Britain since 1930. Recently, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has granted permission to the Sea-Change Sailing Trust, which owns the Blue Mermaid, for the barge … Continue reading
Sad news. The Eleonora E is being scrapped. Last June, we posted that the classic 49m schooner was struck by a 60m long search and rescue vessel in Port Tárraco, Tarragona, Spain, and subsequently sank. The search and rescue vessel … Continue reading
On the first day of Women’s History month, something a bit different. Since at least the 17th century, on the Korean island of Jeju, the haenyeo, Korean for “sea women” have worked free diving in the clear island waters. Using … Continue reading