Five crew members on the cruise ship Thomson Majesty are reported to have died and three others were injured after a lifeboat fell 65 feet into the water during a safety drill at the port of Santa Cruz in La Palma, in Spain’s … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Today is Samuel Plimsoll‘s birthday. Born on February 10, 1824, Plimsoll, a British politician and social reformer fought for reasonable loading of cargo ships, which lead the adoption of the first modern loadline, which became known as the Plimsoll mark or Line. In … Continue reading
The Kindle Edition of Hell Around the Horn will be free today through Monday, February 9 – 11th. Click here to download a copy. This is the second and last Kindle free promotion for the book. For those who have asked for … Continue reading
A fascinating video about the legacy of shipbuilders of Essex, Massachussets being carried on by the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum. Thanks to Peter Lane for pointing it out. See also our previous posts, The Shipbuilders of Essex and Launching the Schooner … Continue reading
Remember when ships were built from the keel up and launched by sliding down the building ways into the water with a satisfying splash? OK, maybe I am showing my age. These days ships are built like LEGOs, massive LEGOs, … Continue reading
A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami of up to 5 feet high, damaging several villages and leaving several people missing, presumed dead. Five villages on Santa Cruz and neighboring islands were reported to have … Continue reading
Perhaps the old adage, “be careful what you wish for” should be “be careful what you fish for.” That was the lesson learned recently by a group of marlin fisherman off the coast of Panama after their intended catch capsized … Continue reading
In late January we posted about the “Shackleton Epic Expedition,” led by Australian Tim Jarvis, shoving off from Elephant Island in the lifeboat Alexandra Shackleton, in an attempt to reenact the incredible 1916 voyage of Ernest Shackleton and his six man … Continue reading
The high-tech canting keels on the Vendée Globe Open 60 racing sailboats continue to be problematic, at best. On Sunday, Javier Sanso’s boat, Acciona, capsized, when his keel broke off. Sanso was rescued today. Also today, Jean-Pierre Dick crossed the finish line despite having lost his … Continue reading
The 113 years old topsail schooner Kathleen and May, now berthed in Liverpool, may be on her way Asia, unless money can be raised from a local source to keep the retired merchant schooner in Great Britain. The schooner was the first ship to be listed on the National … Continue reading
In November we posted about the Old Orchard Shoals Light, off Staten Island, NY, which was completely destroyed on October 30th by Hurricane Sandy. The 130-year-old Robbins Reef Lighthouse, on the other side of the island survived the storm, but still suffered significant damage. As reported by the Staten Island … Continue reading
In December of 2011, we posted about the Zapata Water-Jet Flyboard, a sort of personal jetpack connected to a powerful jet ski. Now, just over a year later, we learn that the Flyboard World Cup competition took place in Doha, … Continue reading
On Friday night, the Emma Mærsk, one of the world’s largest container ships, suffered flooding in the engine room and lost power as it was in the northern end of the Suez Canal. Tugs were dispatched and the 1,300 foot long 14,700 TEU … Continue reading
In December, Totem Ocean Transport Express (TOTE) ordered two new LNG powered container ships from NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Late last month they also signed a contract with NASSCO to convert two existing roll-on/roll-off ships to LNG fuel. … Continue reading
In September, a 16 foot long 3,500-pound female great white shark was tagged by researchers off Cape Cod. The shark was nicknamed Mary Lee. Since then Ocearch, the group tracking the shark, have followed Mary Lee on a remarkable journey. … Continue reading