The municipality of Amsterdam has a population of just under 800,000 people. Amsterdam’s population almost doubled this weekend as SAIL 2010 attracted roughly 1.5 million visitors. Some final thoughts on the festival, which ended this morning, by Marijke Peters of Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Bon voyage … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Tis the season for tall ships festivals. Tomorrow, Tall Ships Chicago 2010 begins in the Windy City at the Navy Pier. The event runs through August 29th and is described as, “Twenty Ships. Six Days. Once-in-a-Lifetime. ” Tall Ships Chicago 2010 – … Continue reading
In 1819, the SS Savannah was first steamship in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Despite this accomplishment, the Savannah was a commercial failure and was converted back to sail shortly after returning from Europe. It is somehow fitting that … Continue reading
Laura Dekker, the Dutch 14 year old, reportedly set sail on Saturday on her attempt to sail around the world alone, at least according to her manager. Ms. Dekker was originally reported to have departed from Portugal but is now believed to have left via Gibraltar on her 38′ yacht, … Continue reading
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC has been hosting an intriguing exhibit: Lost at Sea – The Ocean in the English Imagination, 1550-1750. Unfortunately the exhibit itself is almost over, running only through September 4th. Nevertheless, for those of us who cannot make it … Continue reading
Recent studies by researchers at Penn State have suggested that Northern Right Whales increase the volumes of their calls to counteract increases in environmental noise, such as propeller noise from ships. This is the first time that an ability to … Continue reading
Interesting news from various sources on the first large tanker to transit Russia’s Northeast Passage through the Arctic. The Barents Observer reports that the “100,000 tons tanker Baltica left Murmansk on Saturday loaded with gas condensate for China. This is … Continue reading
BBC is featuring a dramatization of Patrick O’Brian’s novel HMS Surprise. Very well done. Each episode is 45 minutes long and will remain on line for a week. HMS Surprise – Episode 1 HMS Surprise – Episode 2 HMS Surprise … Continue reading
A wonderful video about the ongoing festival. … Continue reading
The day after Philadelphia’s tall ship, the newly repaired, Gazela, arrived in New York harbor, an article in this morning’s New York Times focussed on the three historic ships in trouble on the Delaware River, in or near Philadelphia – the Olympia, the battleship … Continue reading
Philadelphia’s tall ship, the barquentine Gazela Primeiro, arrived in New York harbor yesterday, on her way to PortSide New York. (See our previous post – The Gazela at Portside with Vaudeville and Pirates – Oh My!) The classic ship will … Continue reading
Two US Navy officers, in command of the USS Gunston Hall and USS Peleliu, were relieved of their commands within days of each other over charges related to sexual harassment. Cmdr. Fred R. Wilhelm, the Commanding Officer of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston … Continue reading
SAIL Amsterdam 2010, which starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend, will feature roughly 600 ships berthing in and around the harbor, ranging from traditional tall ships to historical replicas, to traditional coasting craft, as well as modern yachts and naval vessels. Twenty Class … Continue reading
The E Ship 1 arrived in Dublin last week with a cargo of wind turbines manufactured by Enercon. What was striking was the ship itself, with four tall pillars rising vertically from the ship, two forward and two aft. The … Continue reading
Earlier this month we posted about Philadelphia’s tall ship, the barquentine Gazela, returning to sea after suffering rudder damage several years ago. After participating in a Portuguese festival in New Bedford, MA the Gazela will be visiting PortSide New York,starting this Thursday August 19th to Monday the 23rd. She will be … Continue reading
A week ago we posted about the increasing popularity of Stand-Up-Paddling (SUP) also known as paddle-boarding. The sport was new to us, but obviously we have been behind the times, at least when it comes to stand-up paddling. Last … Continue reading
In 1994, US Courts gave salvage rights to the RMS Titanic, 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, to RMS Titanic Inc, a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc, but explicitly did not grant ownership of the wreck or the … Continue reading
In 1905, the three masted schooner yacht Atlantic sailed 3006 miles in twelve days, four hours, one minute and nine seconds; winning the Kaiser’s Cup from New York to the Lizard and setting the record for the fastest transatlantic passage … Continue reading
After a service life of almost 40 years, the Soviet light cruiser Murmansk was decommissioned and sold for scrap. On Christmas Eve in 1994, the ship was under tow to India when the tug lost control of the ship in a storm. … Continue reading
The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Kursk sank ten years ago yesterday with a loss of all aboard. One hundred and sixteen crew members and two weapons experts died in what is believed to have been the explosion of a faulty torpedo. At 154m … Continue reading