An updated repost from a few year’s back. One hundred and sixteen years ago today, the disaster on the General Slocum resulted in the largest loss of life in New York City prior to the attacks of 9/11/01. At around … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
On June 17, 2017, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Fitzgerald, collided with the container ship ACX Crystal near Toyko Bay off the coast of Japan. Seven US sailors died in the collision and at least three more were injured, including … Continue reading
Centaur is one of three sailing barges owned and operated by the Thames Sailing Barge Trust. Launched in February 1895 at John and Herbert Cann’s Bathside yard in Harwich, Centaur was built as a coasting barge – able to trade … Continue reading
Raine Island, Australia, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, is one of the world’s largest nesting sites for green sea turtles. Researchers have found that drone cameras are the best way to count the young sea turtles. Using … Continue reading
The bad news is that the annual summer “hypoxic” or “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico this year may be larger than average. The good news is that it will be about 15% smaller than last year’s model prediction … Continue reading
The Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut is a magical place to visit, particularly in the Spring and early Summer. Unfortunately, the museum was shut down by the pandemic since the beginning of April. The great news is that as … Continue reading
In addition to serving as a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, Kathryn Sullivan was also the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984. Now, at 68, she has become the first woman to reach … Continue reading
Jeanne Socrates was 76 when she set sail alone from Victoria, British Columbia, in October 2018, on her 38′ yacht Nereida. She returned to Victoria 339 days later, then 77, having sailed singlehanded non-stop around world, becoming the oldest sailor … Continue reading
Happy World Ocean Day, held every year on the 8th of June to celebrate the oceans and to take action to restore and protect them. This year the day’s theme is ‘Innovation for a sustainable ocean.’ Unfortunately, the current US … Continue reading
After a rough week, here is something beautiful — a video compilation of stills and video of ships and their crews, by “ship shooter” Jonathan Atkin. Maritime Love Affair from (mostly) above. from jonathan atkin on Vimeo. … Continue reading
On June 5, 2019, the offshore supply boat Princess Janice was operating from a Nigerian oil terminal when suddenly the AIS (Automatic Identification System) an automatic tracking system showed the vessel a continent away, circling above Point Reyes, CA, eventually … Continue reading
As protests over the death of George Floyd and against racism and police brutality continue across the nation and parts of the globe, the leadership of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet has issued a letter titled “Respect, … Continue reading
On May 24th, a fire in a warehouse on Pier 45 on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf came very close to the engulfing the World War II Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien and the USS Pampanito, a Balao class fleet submarine museum … Continue reading
General Order 99 One hundred and six years ago next month, on July 1, 1914, Secretary of the US Navy Josephus Daniels issued General Order 99, banning “the use or introduction for drinking purposes of alcoholic liquors on board any … Continue reading
The Seattle-based factory trawler, American Dynasty, cut short its fishing season off the Washington coast after most of the 126 crew tested positive for COVID-19. A statement by American Seafoods, which owns the ship, reported that a crew member tested … Continue reading
On June 1, 1813, two hundred and seven years ago today, the British frigate HMS Shannon defeated and captured the USS Chesapeake in single-ship combat. Captain James Lawrence on the Chesapeake was mortally wounded during the battle. His last words … Continue reading
The bark Europa arrived in the port of Ushuaia, Argentina in late March. Ushuaia, which describes itself as “the end of the world, the beginning of everything,” would normally be the jumping-off point for the ship’s regular voyage to Antarctica. … Continue reading
Three rusting masts rise from the Thames Estuary, off Sheppy Island, not far from Sheerness. They are the masts that once supported the swinging booms on the Liberty ship USS Richard Montgomery, which sank with a cargo of high explosive … Continue reading
In the 1990s, rumors began to spread that the Colombian cartels were moving cocaine to the United States by submarine. In 2006 the navy intercepted a “narco-sub” off Costa Rica with 3.5 tonnes of cocaine on board. In 2019, thirty-three … Continue reading
On Throw-Back-Thursday, here is footage of the sinking of the German battleship Bismark, 79 years ago yesterday, by the Royal Navy in a three-day running battle in which the Bismark sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood. Ultimately, the German battleship … Continue reading