The ship’s bell on the Costa Concordia has gone missing. According to Reuters, “underwater thieves have evaded an array of laser systems that measure millimetric shifts in the Costa Concordia shipwreck and 24-hour surveillance by the Italian coast guard and … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
Retirement has not been easy for the Battleship New Jersey. After serving with distinction for 45 years in World War II, the Korean Conflict and the War in Vietnam, the highly decorated battleship became a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey in … Continue reading
In preparation for a busy summer of sailing and an upcoming Atlantic voyage, the barque Picton Castle was hauled up on the marine railway at Lunenburg Foundry today. PICTON CASTLE Going Into Drydock March 14, 2012 [iframe: width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/rg_3HbYNF-E” … Continue reading
Today 3/14 is Pi day, a celebration of the irrational number that defines circles and spheres. Why celebrate Pi? Why not. Circles and spheres have their own magic, from soap bubbles to the globe, as does Pi, a number that never … Continue reading
Yesterday, the MV-Shariatpur-1, a ferry crossing the the Meghna River, just south of the capital, Dhaka, in Bangladesh, collided with a cargo vessel in early morning darkness. The ferry capsized and sank, killing at least 114 of the more than 200 passengers believed to be aboard. … Continue reading
Not long ago, we posted about the Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon. There are indeed fisherman poets on all coasts and this Thursday, March 15th, the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine is hosting “Voices of the Sea: The Poetry and Song … Continue reading
After 18 months in dry dock and 15,500 volunteer hours of labor, a wholly rebuilt Hōkūle‘a, a Hawaiian voyaging canoe, was launched last week at Sand Island, Oahu, 37 years to the day after she was first launched. Following sea trials and outfitting, she … Continue reading
The Pacific nation of Kiribati is sinking. Or, more accurately, the ocean is rising, which from a practical perspective amounts to the same thing. The nation of 33 tiny atolls and coral islands, scattered across an area of the Pacific Ocean more than … Continue reading
The USS Enterprise has set sail on her final mission. The fifty year old carrier is heading to the Middle East on a seven-month deployment. The “Big E,” as she is called, was the first nuclear powered air craft carrier in … Continue reading
One year ago today, the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck 70 miles offshore, triggering a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland smashing towns, airports and highways across the north-eastern Japanese coast. Over 16,000 people are known … Continue reading
Jack Chippendale, a master wooden boat builder, died on February 24th at the age of 87. Over his seventy year career, he is said to have built more than 4,000 boats, including boats which won 30 world and national sailing … Continue reading
There are no weekends off at sea and this has been a busy Saturday. Off Sicily, the 18,000 DWT Italian tanker Gelso M ran aground in a storm, with reports of engine room flooding. The crew of 19 was evacuated by helicopter without injury. … Continue reading
We posted recently about the “race” to dive to the deepest spot in the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, almost 36,000 feet below the surface. The first and last time that anyone ever ventured to the bottom of the … Continue reading
The USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia were not the first iron-clad war ships, but they were the first to face each other in battle. One hundred and fifty years ago today, the two ironclads met in Hampton Roads, VA and fought each … Continue reading
The Florida Legislature has designated the schooner Western Union as the state’s official flagship. The schooner was built in 1939 and served for 35 years as as a cable vessel for the Western Union Telegraph Company, repairing and maintaining undersea … Continue reading