There aren’t many publishers with a special interest in nautical fiction. Tom Grundner, the owner of Fireship Press, who died suddenly on September 11th, was one. I never had the chance to meet him in person, but I genuinely liked the man I knew only through … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Earlier this week the 45,000 DWT tanker, Mattheos I, with a crew of 23, was hijacked off Benin in the Gulf of Guinea. According to the IMB Piracy Center, this year there have been 19 pirate attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea … Continue reading
Today is “International Talk Like A Pirate Day.” Many use it as an excuse to dress up in bad costumes and shout “Aaargh, Matie” and “Shiver me Timbers,” in some sort of odd homage to Johnny Depp and the Disney … Continue reading
Talk about match racing! This Sunday off Newport Beach, CA, two identical brigantines, the Irving Johnson and the Exy Johnson, will race. They will be manned by crews from rival local clubs, the Bahia Corinthian and Balboa Yacht clubs, under the supervision … Continue reading
Today the Google “doodle,” the image that appears above the Google search box, was an orange. Why an orange? If you clicked on the doodle it took you to a search for Albert Szent-Györgyi, the Hungarian physiologist who is credited with discovering … Continue reading
Frankly, the A.J. Meerwald , the Kalmar Nyckel, and the Gazela deserve far better. The A.J. Meerwald, the “Official Tall Ship of the state of New Jersey,” is a 1928 built Delaware Bay oyster schooner. The Kalmar Nyckel , the Delaware’s “Official Tall Ship,” … Continue reading
Remarkable footage of blue whales from MSNBC. Thanks to Thomas Armstrong for pointing it out on Facebook. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy … Continue reading
A fast burning fire in the engine room of the Norwegian cruise ship, MS Nordlys, killed two crew members and injured nine others. The more than 200 passengers aboard the ship were safely evacuated to the town of Aalesund, 230 miles (375 kilometers) northwest of … Continue reading
There have been a book, two movies and one pop song entitled, “Sink the Bismark.” That is what came to mind when I heard that the Torbay Council’s Harbour Committee is recommending that they sink the Ark Royal. The … Continue reading
The old days before Facebook or even the internet, the America’s Cup races were sailed on stately 12 meters in the light air of summer off Newport, Rhode Island. The most exciting thing I ever saw a twelve meter do … Continue reading
If you are in the vicinity tomorrow evening be sure to stop by the historic buoy tender LILAC at the Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 at North Moore Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, where Carolina Salguero & Jessica DuLong will speak on the Mariners’ Response … Continue reading
The folks at the Pint Jockeys blog have suggested a great way to support the repairs to the 1877 Barque Elissa, which is believed to have been a victim of stray current electrolytic corrosion resulting from underwater electrical cable damage after Hurricane Ike. … Continue reading
British tourists, David and Judith Tebbutt, arrived at Kiwayu Safari Village, an exclusive Kenyan resort, at 4PM, Saturday. Between midnight and 4AM, a gang of armed men arrived by speedboat and stormed their beachfront villa. David Tebbutt, 58, was killed and his wife … Continue reading
Have you ever wanted to live in an aquarium? I have friends who have been flooded recently, who may feel that they do and I strongly suspect that they do not recommend it. Here is an alternative which looks a lot … Continue reading
Ten years ago today, amidst the smoke, flames, and debris from the collapsed World Trade Center towers, an armada of tugs, ferries, launches and virtually every other craft available in New York harbor steamed toward the docks and seawalls of … Continue reading
It is an all too common story, an overloaded and poorly maintained ferry in an impoverished nation capsizes, drowning many of its passengers. It happens so often it that it is often not reported beyond the local press. This morning at three AM … Continue reading
If Malcom McLean was the father of containerization, then Keith Tantlinger, who died recently at the age of 92, was the father of the shipping container. Tantlinger’s container designs spurred the containerization revolution that forever changed both shipping and world trade. The idea of “containerizing” … Continue reading
What does it take to get a sailboat with an 80′ tall mast beneath a bridge with a 65′ vertical clearance? It takes balls. Boat balls, which is to say, two heavy bags each filled with a ton of water, … Continue reading
For those of a non-piratical bent there is still a lot going on this weekend. The Yonkers Riverfest 2011 will be held tomorrow just a bit up the river from New York City. The schooner A.J. Meerwald will be offering … Continue reading
The good folks in Eastport, Maine have seen fit to once again hold their annual Eastport Pirate Festival this weekend, featuring lots of fun activities including a lobster boat race. (Who knew pirates had lobster boats?) The Treasure Coast … Continue reading