US Coast Guard Barque Eagle Open to the Public in Brooklyn this Weekend

We just heard from the good folks at PortSide NewYork that the US Coast Guard barque Eagle will be open to the public for the first time ever in Brooklyn, beginning Friday afternoon and continuing Saturday and Sunday at Pier 7 at … Continue reading

Polynesian Voyaging Canoes Arrive in San Francisco through the Golden Gate

In June, we posted about Polynesian voyaging canoes of the “Te Mana o Te Moana” (Spirit of the Sea) expedition arriving in Hilo, Hawaii after sailing from New Zealand by way of the Marquesas and Tahiti.    Yesterday, six of the vaka, … Continue reading

The Great Schooner Race 2011 – Photography by Doug Mills

Beautiful photography by Doug Mills of the The Great Schooner Race of 2011 in Penobscot Bay.  It looks like they had a day of light air so the race may have been a touch on the slow side. Nevertheless the schooners are beautiful. The Great Schooner … Continue reading

San Salvador, 16th Century Replica, Under Construction by the Maritime Museum of San Diego

At a time when many maritime museums in the United States are struggling to just maintain their ships and indeed several are attempting to get rid of them, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is building a new historic replica, the San Salvador, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo‘s flagship.  In the … Continue reading

Historic Ship Festival on Pier 25, Hudson River Park

The North River Historic Ship Society is hosting a four day Historic Ship Festival on July 28-31 to celebrate the  the opening of the first historic ship pier in Hudson River Park in Tribeca, New York. Festival at Pier 25 Features Free Ship Tours, … Continue reading

Update: Plea Bargain in Delaware Duck Boat/Barge Collision

Last July, a barge pushed by the tug Caribbean Sea struck a disabled tourist “duck boat” at anchor in the Delaware River.   Two tourists drowned in the collision.  A report by the National Transportation Safety Board said the tug’s mate Matthew Devlin was on his … Continue reading

Update: Investigating the World Trade Center Ship Using Rings and Worms

Last July, workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship 20 feet below street level.  See our previous posts – here and here. Now researchers have been able to identify where … Continue reading

USNS Bejanmin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford – From the Shipyard to the Scrapyard Without a Day of Service

Twenty five years ago, the US Navy contracted to build two fleet oilers, the USNS Bejanmin Isherwood and the USNS Henry Eckford.   The Navy spent at least $300 million dollars on their construction. Due to shipyard defaults and various … Continue reading

Celebrity Silhouette: Traveling Backwards Down the River Ems

This is an interesting and perhaps an unintentionally amusing clip of the Celebrity Silhouette leaving the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The shipyard has just enough room to build the ship but not to turn her around, so she … Continue reading

Project Shiphunt: Discovering the M.F. Merrick

Sony and Intel have partnered to sponsor “Project Shiphunt.”  The project sponsored a group of Michigan high school students to discover an historic sunken ship in The Great Lakes using Sony VAIO laptops. So far they have assisted in the … Continue reading

Death on the Volga – Cruise Vessel Bulgaria Sinks, More than 100 Dead

On Sunday, the cruise vessel Bulgaria reportedly sank in approximately 3 minutes on the Volga River near Kazan, Russia.  Of the 197 passengers reported to be aboard, more than 100, including many children, are believed to have died. Death on Volga: Sinking Bulgaria cried for … Continue reading

Blast at Cypriot Naval Base a “Catastrophe of Biblical Proportions” – at Least 17 Dead

This morning, an explosion at a munitions dump at the Evangelos Florakis naval base on the southern coast of Cyprus has killed at least 17 and injured over 40.  The explosion knocked out the island’s largest power station at Vassilik and did significant … Continue reading

One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago – William Tillman and the Privateer Jefferson Davis

William Tillman was the first black hero of the American Civil War. He was not a soldier but rather a 27-year-old  cook/steward on the schooner S.J. Waring.  One hundred and fifty years ago last Thursday, the schooner was captured by … Continue reading

“The Most Beautiful Ship” – Tall Ships and Bragging Rights

Bragging rights are kind of fun.  Whether they mean anything or not is often an open question. How one strings together the adjective phrases can make all the difference. For example, HMS Victory is said to be “the oldest commissioned … Continue reading