The first headlines read, “Swan Kills Kayaker,” and “Aggressive swan kills kayaker.” Later versions were more moderate – “Swan attack contributed to man’s drowning death” and “Kayaker drowns after coming too close to swan” with “Chicago Kayaker Killed After Swan … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
There are over five hundred miles of waterfront in New York harbor. The Mary A. Whalen only needs around 200 feet of it to tie up, yet for the last six years, the historic tanker and PortSide New York, the non-profit educational … Continue reading
One of the pleasures of cruising with a family can be leaving children with the shipboard children’s program. On Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 for example, the Cunard website boasts: “Younger members of the family will not want to leave The Play Zone … Continue reading
In February, Costa Lines invited ten companies to bid on salvaging the Costa Concordia (see our previous post.) Today, the salvage contract was awarded to Titan Salvage and Micoperi. Titan Salvage is a unit of Crowley Maritime Corporation and Micoperi is a Italian marine … Continue reading
Here is a cute trailer announcing the reopening of the composite clipper ship Cutty Sark in her drydock in Greenwich, UK. The ship built in 1869, caught fire on May 21, 2007 and has undergone a full restoration. The ship … Continue reading
This sounds like the teaser from a thriller or murder mystery. Unfortunately, it is all too real. Last Thursday, shortly after 7 AM, coworkers found the bodies of US Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Hopkins and retired Boatswain Mate Chief Rich Belisle, working as a civilian contractor, at … Continue reading
The image is wonderful to think about. At the start of the London Olympics, the trireme Olympias, with 170 of Britain’s finest rowers at the oars, was to proceed down the Thames bearing the Olympic flame. But it is not to be. As … Continue reading
Princess Cruises said it deeply regrets that its ship the Star Princess passed by a fishing boat adrift in the Pacific Ocean and failing to rescue the dying men on board. The cruise line is blaming a “breakdown in communication,” claiming … Continue reading
In February, we posted about the rescue of the three fishermen, drifting in the Pacific, by the cruise ship, Seaborne Odyssey. There are now reports of a similar story with a tragically different outcome. Passengers aboard the cruise ship, Star Princess, are claiming that the ship ignored a drifting boat in distress in the Pacific off the Galapagos, leaving … Continue reading
When US Coast Guard inspectors came aboard the bulk carrier M/V Aquarosa in Baltimore in February of 2011, a junior engineer slipped them a note, which read, “I have sometheng to till you but secret.” The engineer, Salvatore Lopez, from the Philippines, had collected evidence of the illegal … Continue reading
As we posted a few days ago, OpSail 2012 kicks off today in New Orleans. In addition to the USCG Cutter Eagle, two lesser known tall ships will be participating — Indonesian Navy’s steel three masted barquentine Dewaruci, and the Ecuadoran Navy’s steel three-masted … Continue reading
After a difficult last few days, Matt Rutherford sailed into Chesapeake Bay this morning at 10:42 AM, completing the first ever solo circumnavigation of the Americas, a voyage of 309 days and over 25,000 miles. Matt’s plan is still to make his first landfall this Saturday the 21st … Continue reading
Bolivia is poised to de-flag fifteen ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) just weeks after these ships were flagged into the Bolivian registry. The ships had previously been registered in Malta and Cyprus. Facing international sanctions over its … Continue reading
Matt Rutherford, sailing St. Brendan, a 27′ Albin Vega, is within hours of sailing into the Chesapeake Bay, finishing his solo circumnavigation of the Americas! Matt is planning to on setting foot on-shore for the first time in 25,000 miles-at-sea, at noon, Saturday, April 21 at … Continue reading
Very few of the bodies of the 1514 passengers and crews who died on the Titanic were ever recovered. Recently released photographs, which raise the question of whether or not here are human remains at the wreck site, have become central to a … Continue reading
Danish shipping magnate Arnold Maersk Mc-Kinney Moeller died today at aged 98. He was Denmark’s richest man who created the country’s largest enterprise, the shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S. The conglomerate is the largest container ship and supply vessel … Continue reading
The 47th Operation Sail, OpSail 2012 gets underway tomorrow, April 17th and will continue through the 23rd, in the port of New Orleans, LA. It will feature the tall ships Dewaruci from Indonesia, the BAE Guayas from Equador and the … Continue reading
Today, on the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of 1,514 lives, it would be appropriate for a learned historian at an august university to sit down to ponder the commercialization of history and to consider how our consumer culture … Continue reading
In June of 1912, Joseph Conrad wrote “Some Reflections on the Loss of the Titanic” for the English Review. While best known as a novelist, his comments reflect his years as a ship’s officer in both sail and steam. He finds little … Continue reading
Update: Sad news. As of Sunday Evening, the Coast Guard suspended the search for the four crew missing after the 38′ yacht Slow Speed Chase ran aground in Farallones Race off San Francisco on Saturday. Three or four sailors are … Continue reading