On a fog-shrouded Tuesday, the schooner Unicorn was the first to arrive in Halifax for their Tall Ships Festival. In addition to being a lovely topsail schooner, the Unicorn is the only tall ship sailing in the world with an … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Falls of Clyde is the last four-masted full-rigged iron ship and the only surviving sailing oil tanker. The ship was launched in 1878 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, for the Fall Line. She became a museum ship in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1971, but was … Continue reading
The container ship, MSC Flaminia, is in flames, drifting in the North Atlantic, roughly half way between Britain and Canada, approximately 1,000 miles west of Cornwall. One man is reported either be missing or to have died from burns. At least … Continue reading
Today the the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance hosted the “City of Water Day” to celebrate New York – New Jersey harbor. Festivities were centered on Governor’s Island and Liberty State Park with activities spread across the waterfront from Edgewater to Brooklyn and Staten Island. In addition to … Continue reading
We have been following the construction of the Dragon Harald Fairhair, (or in Norwegian Draken Harald Hårfagre) the largest Viking longship to have been built in modern times. (See our previous post – Building the Viking Longship Dragon Harald Fairhair.) Built of oak, … Continue reading
In February 2011, we posted that the the SS United States Conservancy had purchased the S.S. United States from Norwegian Cruise Line. The sale was made possible by a $5.8 million gift by Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. Since then the Conservancy has raised $5 million of the estimated $25 million needed … Continue reading
Last February, we posted about the modification to the USS Ponce prior to being sent to the Persian Gulf. (See Mine-Detecting Dolphins and USS Ponce, Commando “Mothership” in Persian Gulf?) We included the question mark in the post title because, while … Continue reading
Yesterday, I went on a field trip with the New York Shiplore and Model Club to Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut. (Thanks to Lee Gruzen, Norman Brouwer and Linda Zatkowski for making the arrangements.) Our first stop was Stonington, Connecticut, a … Continue reading
Early airplane wings were built of canvas stretched over a wooden frame, held together with wire rigging. Modern airplane wings are built of aluminum and other metals. The comparison to sails, masts and rigging on ships may not apply directly. Nevertheless, the … Continue reading
Last Friday, 19 schooners sailed from the starting line near the Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland, Me out into Penobscott, Bay and then into Camden, Me, for the 36th annual Great Windjammer Race. After the breakneck speeds of America’s Cup catamarans, the … Continue reading
To say that this will be a busy weekend on the New England waterfront may be an understatement. Following the 4th of July festivities in Boston, OpSail 2012 CT starts today in New London, CT, with an impressive fleet of ships. Only about 50 … Continue reading
The Navy’s Floating Instrument Platform, better known as FLIP, went into service fifty years ago, in 1962. The 355-foot research vessel is capable of operating horizontally as a conventional, if somewhat odd-looking, ship. When on station, however, it “flips” vertically 90 degrees and becomes the … Continue reading
Happy 4th of July! Those of us in the United States celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Immediately after declaring independence from Great Britain, the representatives in the Continental Congress drank a toast with glasses of Madeira wine. Why Madiera? It … Continue reading
For several years now cruise ships fans have been concerned that the 2008 debt crunch in Dubai would result in the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 being sold for scrap instead of being converted to a luxury hotel, as had been the plan when she … Continue reading
We recently posted about OpSail 2012 and Boston’s weeklong celebration of the USS Constitution and the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides” after British round shot bounced off her oak planks, is the world’s … Continue reading