The government of Ukrainia is claiming that the Russian Navy has issued an ultimatum demanding the surrender of two Ukrainian Navy vessels in in Sevastopol’s harbor. They claim that four Russian Navy vessels have the Ukrainian anti-submarine ship, Ternopil, and the the command ship, Slavutych, blocked … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
From the New York Times: Hollywood gave a big boost to the myth that captains could legally join couples on the open seas. In New York, Captain Arnold Wonsever, an ordained minister, is making this myth a reality. … Continue reading
Update: Reports of the defection of the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny are being denied by the Ukrainian military. The ship is reported to have be sighted in port in Crete still flying the Ukrainian flag. There are reports that the Ukraine’s Navy flagship, the frigate … Continue reading
Two Indian naval officers, Lieutenant Commander Kapish Muwal and Lieutenant Manoranjan Kumar, died in a fire on the submarine INS Sindhuratna. Seven sailors were evacuated suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire broke out around 40 nautical miles off Mumbai early … Continue reading
I recently read of the successful sea-trial of the remodeled super-yacht M5, (ex Mirabella V.) They were testing what is described as the “new carbon rig.” The new rig includes 34 new carbon fibre stays and titanium fittings with built-in dynamic … Continue reading
I am not sure why I find this to be so amusing. Here is a fish controlling a small robotic car by swimming around in a small tank. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing along the story. As described … Continue reading
Last July, I was pleased, and more than a bit surprised, to see a play in New York City about a shipyard. It was Off-Broadway and only a two man play, but nevertheless, it was about a shipyard. The play, … Continue reading
Russell and Graham Henry, two brothers from British Columbia, hauled their kayaks ashore in Juno Beach, Florida over the weekend. They had set out from the mouth of the Amazon river in Belém Brazil on July 30, 2013. In their … Continue reading
Sometimes, Monday morning can feel like a train-wreck, or perhaps a boat-wreck. Here in the Extreme Sailing Series 2014 – Singapore, the Aberdeed boat ends up literally on top of the Groupma boat. Perhaps “prepare to repel boarders!” should be … Continue reading
Last Wednesday, we posted about Svendborg Maersk, which last an estimated 520 containers in a storm in the Bay of Biscay. What happened to all the containers that fell overboard? One of them, loaded with a million cigarettes, may have just washed … Continue reading
The story of the “ghost ship” Mary Celeste is one of the great mysteries of the sea. The merchant brigantine was found 400 miles east of the Azores on December 5, 1872, unmanned and apparently abandoned in fair weather. What happened … Continue reading
During the Siege of Syracuse, 214–212 BC, Archimedes was said to have used “burning mirrors” to set fire to a Roman fleet attacking the city. The mirrors focused the rays of the sun and generated enough heat to set ships … Continue reading
The Navy plans to deploy its first laser weapons on the USS Ponce, one of its oldest ships. The laser weapons designed to be capable of disabling small enemy vessels and shooting down surveillance drones will be installed on the 43 … Continue reading
CNN is reporting that hypodermic needles and traces of narcotics were found with the bodies of two American security officers on the container ship Maersk Alabama, suggesting that the deaths resulted from drug overdoses, according to a Seychelles government official. … Continue reading
Joshua Slocum was born on February 20, 1844. After a career at sea, he rebuilt a 36′ 9″ (11.2 m) gaff rigged oyster boat, which he named Spray. Between 1895 and 1898, he sailed the Spray singlehanded around the world, … Continue reading