The Pride of Baltimore II, the Brig Niagara, and the privateer Lynx will on hand for the 2011 Duluth Music and Maritime Festival starting on Friday July 15 and running through Monday, July 18. Music, food, and tall ships – it sounds … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Anyone who needs to be reminded that New York City is indeed a city of water should find their way down to the harbor’s edge on Saturday. The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is hosting the 2011 the City of Water Day Festival … Continue reading
A few updates of recent posts: Posted July 11th: Death on the Volga – Cruise Vessel Bulgaria Sinks, More than 100 Dead – From CNN: “Four people face criminal charges in connection with the sinking of a Russian ship Sunday in which … Continue reading
In 1936, Frank Swift founded Maine Windjammer Cruises and began chartering or buying old cargo schooners and offering passenger cruises along the Maine Coast. This Friday, the Maine Windjammer Association will hold the 7th Annual Maine Windjammer Parade & Anniversary Party in honor of Swift’s founding … Continue reading
Mystic Seaport is hosting a Tattoos & Tallships Weekend on Saturday, July 16th and Sunday, July 17th. If you have a tattoo and a story to tell about it, be sure to stop by the “Tattoo Tales” booth, where you can … Continue reading
On Sunday, the cruise vessel Bulgaria reportedly sank in approximately 3 minutes on the Volga River near Kazan, Russia. Of the 197 passengers reported to be aboard, more than 100, including many children, are believed to have died. Death on Volga: Sinking Bulgaria cried for … Continue reading
This morning, an explosion at a munitions dump at the Evangelos Florakis naval base on the southern coast of Cyprus has killed at least 17 and injured over 40. The explosion knocked out the island’s largest power station at Vassilik and did significant … Continue reading
William Tillman was the first black hero of the American Civil War. He was not a soldier but rather a 27-year-old cook/steward on the schooner S.J. Waring. One hundred and fifty years ago last Thursday, the schooner was captured by … Continue reading
A modified F/A-18D Hornet fighter plane recently landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower controlled by linked computers on the ship and on the plane. A pilot and a flight engineer were on the plane … Continue reading
Bragging rights are kind of fun. Whether they mean anything or not is often an open question. How one strings together the adjective phrases can make all the difference. For example, HMS Victory is said to be “the oldest commissioned … Continue reading
If there are tall ships in port, there must be a party going on. About 60 ships are expected at Greenock’s James Watt Dock from the first leg of the Tall Ships 2011 race from Waterford. Estimates range from 100,000 – … Continue reading
Was there a pirate attack? On Wednesday we posted about the reports that the Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso had been attacked by pirates and set on fire. It is now unclear where such an attack ever took place. There was indeed a … Continue reading
The Tall Ships Race 2011 is off to a great start. The race was kicked off with a festival in Waterford, Ireland, which was declared ‘an awesome success’ by the chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority. (See our previous … Continue reading
In February, the sailing vessel Quest was hijacked by pirates 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. The yacht’s crew of four Americans were taken hostage. The pirates were finally captured by US forces but not before they killed … Continue reading
For several hundred years, up until just after World War II, cargo moved up and down the East Coast of North America by ships and boats of a range of sizes and shapes. When the interstate highways were built, all but most bulk cargoes shifted to … Continue reading
The semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, was preparing to move to a new location off the coast of Ghana when the rig developed a serious list and was in danger of sinking. The rig, under contract to Italian oil company Eni, … Continue reading
It has long been predicted and now it has happened – a pirate attack has set fire to a loaded oil tanker. On Wednesday morning, pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden attacked the Suezmax tanker, Brillante Virtuoso, firing a rocket propelled grenade into the deck … Continue reading
The barque Elissa, built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the Official Tall ship of the State of Texas and the star attraction at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston, is suffering from electrolytic corrosion, which if not repaired, may keep … Continue reading
At roughly 2AM on Sunday morning, the chartered fishing boat Eric sank in a storm in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Twenty seven American tourists and a crew of 16 were aboard were aboard the fishing boat … Continue reading
Happy 4th of July to all. On July 4th, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. Joseph Hewes was one of the lesser known signatories to the Declaration. He was born in New Jersey, prospered as … Continue reading