At one time, 2,000 skipjacks dredged for oysters under sail. Now they number fewer than 40 and less than half are actively fishing. Walter Cronkite hosts this documentary that examines a disappearing way of life for Chesapeake Bay skipjack sailors, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
Seventy five years ago today, the USCG Cutter Alexander Hamilton was the first United States Coast Guard ship to be be lost in World War II. The cutter was named after the first Secretary of the Treasury, often referred to as the “Father of the … Continue reading
In February 2014, the City of Adelaide, the world’s oldest surviving composite clipper ship, returned to her namesake city. Now almost three years later, she still have not quite found a home. The ship is sitting on a deck barge … Continue reading
Taiwan is now operating the two oldest submarines in service in the world, the 72 year old SS-791 Hai Shih, ex-USS Cutlass, and the 71 year old SS-792 Hai Pao, ex USS Tusk. The Taiwanese government has announced that the Hai … Continue reading
Over the weekend, winter storm Kori sent record high waves smashing into the California coast. The National Weather Service said a new wave record was set as the Monterey Bay buoy recorded 34-foot waves. At Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, … Continue reading
A UK member of parliament from Glasgow, Scotland has joined in the effort to save the endangered historic sailing ship Falls of Clyde. MP Alison Thewliss has written to David Ige, Governor of Hawaii, in support of returning the ship to the … Continue reading
Last June, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Vengeance test fired a dummy Trident II D5 nuclear ballistic missile while cruising in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida. The missile was supposed to fly 5,600 miles (9,012 km) to a target at sea off … Continue reading
French sailor, Armel Le Cléac’h, 39, won the 8th Vendée Globe singlehanded round the world race today at 15:37:46 UTC after 74 days 3 hours 35 minutes and 46 seconds at sea on his 60ft racing yacht Banque Populaire VIII. He … Continue reading
After sailing over 24,000 nautical miles and just 300 nautical miles from the finish line of the Vendee Globe singlehanded round the world race, Armel Le Cleac’h sailing Banque Populaire VIII is holding a slim 30 nautical mile lead on … Continue reading
Eight years ago today, US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River. If the plane’s pilots, Captain Chesley “Sulley” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles had not glided the plane in at just the right … Continue reading
A video for a cold winter day. We recently posted about the exciting voyage plans for 2017 on the School Sailing Vessel (SSV) Oliver Hazard Perry. This year, the ship will be sailing to Florida, Bermuda, Cuba and the Arctic. … Continue reading
After a successful first season sailing New England waters, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry has an exciting 2017 ahead. Toward the end of January, the sailing school ship will depart Newport, RI bound for Bermuda, then to Florida where the ship will be … Continue reading
Almost exactly a year ago, we posted, The Return of the Schooner Amistad, about the efforts of the non-profit, Discovering Amistad, to return the schooner to operation. Discovering Amistad has recently announced that it is searching for a Captain/Educator for the replica … Continue reading
Not many lead singers from an 80’s rock and roll band could write a compelling song about ship scrapping, but then Mark Knopfler is not just any singer/songwriter. Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland on the River Clyde, which was … Continue reading
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is big. Like other Nimitz class carriers, it is over 1000′ long on the waterline, wit a beam of 244′ and is powered by nuclear steam plant which develops a quarter of a … Continue reading
The Telegraph in the UK is reporting on two notionally related projects associated with the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower to North America. The first is a virtual reality project led by the Human Interface Technologies Team, … Continue reading
There are roughly twenty sail training ships operated by navies around the world, to help prepare their officers for command at sea. Now China is adding to the fleet. China’s first modern sail training ship is an 85 meter long, 1,200 … Continue reading
I love stumbling across bits of history that are completely new to me. The Japanese galleon San Juan Bautista is a good example. The San Juan Bautista was one of the first Western-style sailing ships to be built in Japan. … Continue reading
The schooner Mary E is coming home to the Bath, Maine on the Kennebec River where she was built in 1906. She is believed to be believed to be the oldest Bath-built wooden vessel still afloat, as well as the oldest … Continue reading
The seas are growing increasingly cluttered. In addition to all the other hazards of the sea, floating objects are a serious threat to sailors. So far, of the original 29 competitors in the Vendee Globe singlehanded around the world race, … Continue reading