“Lord Nelson’s love of bling may be the reason he was shot dead at the Battle of Trafalgar, a medal expert claimed yesterday.” Whether or not Nelson’s fondness for wearing his medals made him an easier target at Trafalgar, one of those … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
As reported in Sail Magazine, the next America’s Cup will be sailed in 2013 in 72′ catamarans with wing sails. America’s Cup in Cats! According to officials, the new AC72 class will regularly attain speeds of 30 knots, “excite fans” as they … Continue reading
There was an amusing bit of bantering and ballyhooing about ship jargon in the New York Times yesterday. In an article about the remains of ship found in the excavation near the new World Trade Center (see our previous posts here) … Continue reading
Last week we posted about Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) installation of offshore buoys off the coast of Oregon to capture and convert wave energy into electricity. It appears that they will also be playing a key role in the world’s largest wave energy … Continue reading
On July 7th, we posted about a collision between a barge towed by the tug Caribbean Sea and a disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia. Two of the 35 passengers on the duck … Continue reading
Jiaolong, 蛟龙, in Chinese folklore, is a shape-shifting water dragon. For several months this summer the Chinese government has been quietly testing a new submersible, named Jiaolong, designed to dive to 7,000 meters. If successful, it will be the deepest diving submersible in the world, diving … Continue reading
Early last month we posted about an ice island four times the size of Manhattan, a 100-square-mile block of ice 600 feet thick , that broke off from the Petermann glacier in Greenland. In a case of an irresistible force meeting … Continue reading
An historic poster that originally sold for just a tuppence to celebrate Lord Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar went on the auction block this week. It was expected to fetch £40,000 but bids failed … Continue reading
More details on the capture of the M/V Magellan Star. The crew and the ship management company kept their heads and their sense of humor when the ship was boarded by Somali pirates on Wednesday. When the pirates boarded the ship, … Continue reading
Thanks to Ulrich Rudofsky for forwarding these slideshows of the Waterford Tug Roundup. Click here to view the slideshow from Friday aternoon. Click here to to view a slideshow from Saturday. … Continue reading
The Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point this weekend offers a wide range of attractions and activities. It all starts with a parade of ships and schooners at sunset this evening. The Brig Pilgrim, the replica of the ship made famous by Richard Henry Dana, has … Continue reading
The Pride of Baltimore II needs your help. The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving away $1.3 million dollars toward “ideas that refresh the Gulf.” The Pride of Baltimore organization is competing for a $50, 000 grant to teach boating safety … Continue reading
Gipsy Moth IV, the yacht that Sir Francis Chichester singlehanded around the world is for sale for £250,000. Chichester was the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the three capes, the route taken by the clipper ships. He … Continue reading
An update to a previous post. An Inuit family says a box that was hidden for over 80 years in the Arctic contains documents linked to the doomed Franklin expedition and has just turned the box over to the the Canadian Conservation … Continue reading
The Waterford Tugboat Roundup 2010 starts tomorrow with a Parade of Tugs past the Albany, NY waterfront before all return to Waterford at the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers for a full weekend of competitions and entertainment. The Roundup Favorite Tug of 2010 competition … Continue reading
Twenty-four U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force stormed the German-owned containership M/V Magellan Star today, capturing the pirates that had seized control of the ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. No … Continue reading
This sounds like a fantastic festival for anyone near Townsend, Washington. The 34th Annual Wooden Boat Festival, which starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend, features almost 300 wooden vessels on display ranging from small wherries to the 133′ classic schooner Adventuress. Ahoy for Wooden Boat Festival: Tents … Continue reading
The video of unsecured furniture flying about on the P&O cruise ship, Pacific Sun, is all over the internet. A Carnival spokesperson (Carnival owns P&O) is quoted as saying, “The incident was fully investigated and lessons learnt have been heeded, including the … Continue reading
Cruise ship operators would prefer that their passengers exist in a hermetically sealed bubble, where they can enjoy the sea without ever having to be exposed to it; where their passengers can look up occasionally from drinking, dining and spending money in the onboard … Continue reading
A twelve year old male orca whale, named Sumar by SeaWorld, died suddenly at their San Diego facility on Tuesday. Sadly its death was not untypical. Male orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 years. Many live … Continue reading