Model Mayflower Fashioned from Actual Ship’s Timber

Today in the Bucks County Courthouse in Pennsylvania, a 20-inch-long and 22-inch-tall model of the Mayflower, the ship that carried English separatists, known as Pilgrims, to Massachusetts in 1620,  will go on public display for the first time in the United States.  The … Continue reading

Happy Birthday US Navy – Whenever and whereaver the place and time may be

Today, October 13th,  is celebrated as the birthday of the United States Navy, not to be confused with Navy Day, which is celebrated on October 27th.  The current “birthday” may have more to do with bragging rights than real birthdays. For many years, the … Continue reading

Tracking Orcas by Zeppelin on the Airship Eureka

The Center for Whale Research is using a novel approach to tracking orca whales.  They are using the only operational zeppelin in the United States,  the Airship Eureka, on loan from Farmers’ Insurance, the company that sponsors the zeppelin, which donated … Continue reading

Collision between Greek tanker Mindoro and Cypriot container ship Jork Ranger

This morning around 4:56 UTC the Cypriot container ship Jork Ranger collided with the Greek tanker Mindoro, carrying  jet fuel off the Scheveningen coast in the North Sea.  The collision caused a fuel spill from a five-meter wide puncture in the … Continue reading

Wind Power and Hot Air – Cape Wind Still in Doubt as Google Shows Some Backbone

According to one study the US has enough offshore wind to power the country four times over.  In Europe there are currently 830 wind turbines now installed and grid connected, totalling 2,063 MW in 39 wind farms in nine European … Continue reading

Happy Columbus Day – Thoughts on What Columbus Was and Was Not

Today is Columbus Day in the United States (and Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Happy Thanksgiving Canadians.)  Columbus Day is celebrated tomorrow in Spain. Every year about this time,  various scholars and pundits emerge to denigrate the memory of the Genoese naviator and explorer.   There were indeed many things … Continue reading

Fairtransport and the Brigantine Tres Hombres

We posted recently about the efforts by B9 Shipping and the Greenheart Project to develop competitive modern sailing cargo ships.   In the Netherlands Fairtransport Shipbrokers is operating the Brigantine Tres Hombres in freight service between Europe, the Atlantic islands, the Caribbean … Continue reading

10/10/10 : Goodbye to the Netherlands Antilles, Hello Curaçao and Sint Maarten

Today, 10/10/10 is proving popular as a day to be be married.   It is also apparently a good day for a divorce, or at east a reorganization. The Netherlands Antilles is being dissolved today.  The islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten are becoming … Continue reading

A New Generation of High-Tech Sailing Ships?

B9 Shipping and the Greenheart Project are both working to develop new high-tech sailing coasters.  B9 has in mind a 3,000 DWT three masted bulk carrier with automated square sails whereas the Greenheart Project envisions a much smaller fore and … Continue reading

Chemical Tanker YM Uranus under Tow after Collision with Hanjin Rizhao

Yesterday the 7,000 DWT chemical tanker YM Uranus carrying pyrogas gasoline was in a collision with the 197,000 DWT bulker Hanjin Rizhao off the coast of Brittany.  Contrary to early reports that the chemical tanker was sinking, she remained afloat, despite … Continue reading

Countdown to the VELUX 5 Oceans Race

The Velux 5 Oceans Single Handed Round the World Race will be starting in just over a week on October 17th.   The competitors will race from La Rochelle, France to Cape Town, South Africa; then on to Wellington, New Zealand; to … Continue reading

Seafarers Ale:Drinking for a Cause, not Just Because…

For those in Britain, Fuller’s Brewery (Fuller, Smith and Turner plc), founded in 1864 and London’s only remaining traditional family brewer, is donating £5 to Seafarers UK for every barrel of their Seafarer’s Ale sold.  Seafarers UK is a national charity that supports … Continue reading

Whale Wars War of Words: Sinking of the Ady Gil Ordered by Watson?

Last January the power boat Ady Gil was hit by the Japanese whaling ship, Shonan Maru 2, during the Sea Shepherds‘ protest/reality TV show.  Who was responsible for the collision is still the subject of controversy. Now the captain of the Ady … Continue reading