A group in Beaufort, SC is bidding on acquiring the Cruiser Olympia. Beaufort group bids on century-old ship A Beaufort organization is bidding to become the next home of the ship Commodore George Dewey used as his flagship at the Battle of … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
On April 28, 1947, a six-man expedition led by Thor Heyerdahl sailed from Callao, Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia. Heyerdahl’s book, Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft, … Continue reading
I am always amazed by how well darkness, cold and a lack of oxygen can preserve a wooden ship wreck. Thanks to Badewanne, a non-profit group of divers that has been documenting shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland for more … Continue reading
Last August, we posted about the collision of the containership MSC Chitra and the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 which resulting in the sinking of the Chitra with a significant oil spill, a loss of cargo containers and the blockage of the port of Mumbai for five … Continue reading
The Ohio River may just be too high to allow the running of the Great Steamboat Race on May 4th, between the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati on May 4. If the river doesn’t fall, officials are … Continue reading
A sign of changing times. A Russian submarine will be participating in a NATO undersea rescue exercise off the Spanish coast scheduled for next month. Russian submarine to participate in first-ever naval exercise with NATO warships … Continue reading
For hundreds of years, coastal schooners carried cargoes up and down the hundred harbored coast of Maine. By the early part of the last century, the schooners were being replaced by trucks and trains. In 1936 Captain Frank Swift started buying laid up … Continue reading
As the sands of Fire Island are swallowing Le Papillon, Cyclone Yasi has uncovered a mysterious shipwreck on an island off the Queensland coast. Cyclone Winds Unbury Island’s 130-Year-Old Shipwreck The huge cyclone’s intense winds blew away sand on one … Continue reading
It is not champagne, but whiskey bottles which are still appearing from the sands where the sailing ship Stuart wrecked 110 years ago on Easter Sunday off the Llyn peninsula of Northern Wales. Whisky bottles still being washed up on … Continue reading
Douglas Faulkner, who died recently, had a varied and highly accomplished career as a naval and marine architect. He was involved in the design and testing of the first British nuclear submarine, HMS Dreadnought. He was later an assistant professor at the Royal Naval College, … Continue reading
The MV Asphalt Venture was hijacked by Somali pirates on September 28, 2010. After negotiating and being paid a multi-million dollar ransom, the pirates released the ship and part of the crew yesterday, but continued to hold seven Indian seafarers hostage, reportedly in retaliation … Continue reading
Not quite three weeks ago the 50′ steel pinky schooner Le Papillon came ashore on Fire Island, a barrier island off Long Island, northeast of the entrance to New York harbor. Will van Dorp at the Tugster blog has taken some amazing … Continue reading
Great news. The Sloop Providence, replica of the American Revolutionary sloop of the same name is sailing again after being laid up for 3 1/2 years. She was purchased last year from the City of Providence by boat builder … Continue reading
Oopps. In what is being described as a “school-boy error” the British Ministry of Defence posted a report on-line which revealed secret information about the UK’s nuclear powered submarines. The sensitive material was “redacted” by turning the background black, so that the text was not readable. … Continue reading
New York and Philadelphia are major ports and centers of art and culture. By all rights both should be home for major and successful seaport museums. Sadly that is not the case. Last month we posted about the Independence Seaport … Continue reading
Sixty years ago today, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Affray sailed on a simulated war mission called “Exercise Spring Train” and never returned. Despite an extensive search by 24 ships from four nations, the sunken submarine was not found until June 14, 1951. … Continue reading
On a cold and rainy April day here on the banks of the Hudson River, it is nice to consider sunnier climes. An interview with the Maho Noborisaka, Second Mate on the Tall Ship Soren Larsen. A Wind In Her … Continue reading
Haynes Manuals are well known as practical guides aimed at automobile enthusiastic and mechanics. They have also branched out into manuals for domestic appliances, personal computers, digital photography, model railways, men, babies, sex, and women. Reportedly the last four categories … Continue reading
Ninety nine years ago today, the RMS Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic with the loss of 1,517 passengers and crew. The sinking of the Titanic had a major impact on ship operations. The first International … Continue reading
On April 14, 1945, the German submarine U-1206, on its first war patrol, had its mission go down the toilet. U-1206 “was one of the late war boats fitted with the new deepwater high-pressure toilets which allowed them to be … Continue reading