In April, we posted about the Vermont Sail Freight Project, a plan to build a sailing cargo barge to carry non-perishable produce down Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and onward to markets along the river and in New York City. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
At least 130 African refugees have died and 200 are still missing after an overloaded boat caught fire and sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. More than 150 of the migrants have been rescued. Most of those on board were … Continue reading
Last month, the former captain of the destroyer USS Mustin, a Navy special agent and a Singapore-based defense contractor were charged in an alleged bribery scheme to swap classified ship information for luxury travel and prostitutes. Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khem … Continue reading
Back in 2010, we posted that “When and If“, a 1939 Alden schooner built for General George Patton, was for sale, as a result of the then current owner’s divorce. The 63’5” schooner was named “When and If” because Patton … Continue reading
The clipper ship City of Adelaide is supposed to be transported by heavy-lift ship back to Australia in the near future. Scottish taxpayers have already chipped in $1.2 million. The City of Adelaide Trust, however, has been unable to book … Continue reading
The oldest surviving clipper clipper ship, City of Adelaide, was towed on its barge to Chatham where she will be fumigated. In mid-October, the 1864 built composite clipper ship will be moved to Greenwich, near the just slightly younger composite … Continue reading
For thirty years, Greenpeace has used “non-violent direct action” in their environmental protests. In recent years, Greenpeace activists have boarded drilling platforms to disrupt operations. In most cases, the protesters involved were arrested, made to pay fines for trespass and were … Continue reading
If you take a cruise on a ship owned by Carnival, you may want to bring along a flashlight. The newest Princess Cruises ship, the Royal Princess, suffered a power outage while sailing between Mykonos and Naples. Power was reported to … Continue reading
On July 24th, the Dutch sail-training brig Astrid sank after running aground on rocks on the Irish coast on the western mouth of Oysterhaven, near Cork. On September 13th, the ship was lifted off the rocks using a 937-tonne floating … Continue reading
In June, we posted about the Safe Affordable Ferry Design Competition, sponsored by the World Ferry Safety Association, in which student teams from six maritime universities competed to develop a ferry design for a 500 passenger ferry for Bangladesh. Recently the … Continue reading
What is history? What is fiction? These seem to be straightforward questions. The conventional answer would be that history is what happened and fiction are the stories that we make up. In writing my recent novel I was faced with … Continue reading
My novel Hell around the Horn is set on a British windjammer on a voyage around Cape Horn in the particularly brutal winter of 1905. I wanted to write the novel, in part, because the windjammers have been largely forgotten … Continue reading
Tomorrow, if all goes well, a small army of engineers, technicians and mariners will attempt to roll the stricken cruise ship, Costa Concordia, upright from where she sank on the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012. Once upright the … Continue reading
A very interesting opportunity posted on the Tall Ship Challenge Official Blog: Looking for more sea time and experience? Picton Castle is looking for apprentices to join them in the Pacific. For the cost of room and board, you can … Continue reading
Of all the things worth remembering on 9/11, one incredible event is often overlooked. After the attack, all the bridges, tunnels and rail lines in and out of New York City were shut down. Somewhere between 300,000 and one million people … Continue reading