Chilean Navy Rescues 84 Year Old Sailor on Seventh Attempt to Round Cape Horn

The good news is that the Chilean Navy, assisted by the Japanese merchant ship, White Kingdom, have rescued Thomas Louis Corogin, an 84-year-old American sailor, after his seventh failed attempt to round Cape Horn, single handed.  Corogin is now safely ashore after the mast on his Westsail … Continue reading

Rescue Mission to Nome – Russian Tanker Renda & USCG Icebreaker Healy Battle Ice to Deliver Fuel

The Russian tanker Renda and the USCG icebreaking cutter Healy are on a rescue mission to the Alaskan city of Nome. After a major storm prevented a pre-winter fuel delivery by barge, the Russian tanker Renda was chartered to deliver 1.3 … Continue reading

Update: Cracking on the Vale Beijing – Offloading Bunkers and Transferring Cargo

In early December, on her maiden voyage, the VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier) Vale Beijing suffered structural cracking while loading cargo in northeast Brasil.  As reported by Maritime Propulsion , the extent of the damage was significant – the hull plating was found to … Continue reading

Jules Verne Trophy : Banque Populaire V – Closing on Finish Line and a New World Record at Almost Thirty Knots

Update:  Banque Populaire V crossed the line at 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, 53 seconds, beating the previous record by 2 days and 18 hours.  An amazing performance by Captain Loick Peyron and his crew. Our heartiest congratulations. The live satellite map shows the … Continue reading

Laura Dekker, Banque Populaire V, Jules Verne, the Internet & and Our Shrinking Globe

This morning, when I logged onto my computer, I checked the position of the max-trimaran Banque Populaire V as its screams it way across the North Atlantic at roughly 30 knots, seeking to seize the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation. It … Continue reading

The Lenox Project – Building a Restoration Warship

A very interesting, if ambitious, new project.  While we often focus on the Georgian Navy, the Royal Navy during the Restoration is fascinating it own right.  The Lenox Project hopes to build a replica of the Lenox, a 17th century warship in the restored dockyard at … Continue reading

Berths Available on TS Pelican from Liverpool to the West Indies Next September

The headline in the Liverpool Daily Post reads, “Places available on first Liverpool transatlantic tall ship voyage for more than 100 years.”   Whether this is literally true or not, the trip looks very interesting for a number of reasons. The three-masted barquentine Pelican … Continue reading

Tall Ship Elissa Fundraising On Track – Not So Endangered After All

Last week we posted about America’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2011, a list compiled by Joe Follansbee at the Fyddeye Guides.  This sort of list is interesting and useful in that it starts conversations about ships which require attention … Continue reading

The Passengers are Fatter so US Coast Guard Revises their Regulations

For roughly the last fifty years, the US Coast Guard regulations for the loading and stability of passenger vessels has assumed an average weight of 160 pounds per person.  Conceding to the reality of a more corpulent population, the regulations were updated last month, increasing the … Continue reading

The Cyber-Reconstruction of the 17th Century, Nossa Senhora dos Martires, at Texas A&M

What better way to start the new year than to look at a project which uses modern technology to recreate virtually a ship from 1606?    Dr. Filipe Castro,  of the Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University, working with the university’s Visualization … Continue reading

Update: Repairs Underway to Russian Fishing Vessel Sparta with Help from Korean Icebreaker Araon

The Russian fishing vessel Sparta, which was holed by ice below the waterline in the Ross Sea off Antarctica on December 16th and has been trapped in the ice for over ten days, is now undergoing temporary repairs.  On Monday, … Continue reading

Update: Christmas Day Rescue for Russian Fishing Vessel Sparta?

The South Korean icebreaker Araon and the fishing vessel Chiyo Maru No 3 may reach the stricken Russian fishing vessel Sparta on Christmas Day. The Sparta is a 157 feet long fishing vessel with a crew of 32 aboard which … Continue reading

Stricken Fishing Vessel Sparta Not Fit for Antarctic Ice

The Russian fishing vessel Sparta is afloat, though just barely after being holed by ice at the edge of the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica.  Why was an non-ice strengthened fishing boat fishing in such treacherous waters in the first place?  That is the question being raised by the Vyacheslav Martyanov, … Continue reading