On this day in 1776, Governor Johannes de Graaff of St. Eustatius returned the salute fired by the American brig Andrew Doria, which is considered to be the first international acknowledgment of the independence of the new republic of the United … Continue reading
Category Archives: Ships
I recently came across a video of the Viking longship replica Saga Oseberg tacking across the wind. Before seeing the video I would have thought that the only way to tack a longship, to bring the wind from one side … Continue reading
Great news. The captain and chief engineer of the 222′ supply boat C-Retriever, who were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria on October 23th, have been released following the payment of ransom. The two Americans are reported to be in good health … Continue reading
The USS George Washington battle group has been ordered to depart from Hong Kong, where it had been making a port call, and to steam for the Philippines to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan which … Continue reading
The USS New York called in New York harbor over the weekend to help celebrate Veteran’s Week. The ship is the fifth of the San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock ships. The ship’s bow includes 7.5 tonnes of salvaged steel from … Continue reading
It all sounds like a bad novel. Bribes, prostitutes, and Lady Gaga tickets were allegedly handed out to US Navy officers by a Malaysian businessman known as “Fat Leonard” in exchange for classified information and directing business toward the Singapore-based … Continue reading
On November 14th, 1863, on the Isle of Man in Great Britain, the shipyard of Gibson, McDonald & Arnold, Ramsey launched the 1,200 tonne full rigged iron ship, Euterpe, for the firm of Wakefield Nash & Co., Liverpool. The ship … Continue reading
The U.S. Navy’s new supercarrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), was floated in the drydock last month. She will be christened this Saturday, November 9th at the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. In addition to other superlatives, she … Continue reading
A short video reminder of how quickly things can change. One Australia’s AUS-35 boat was racing in the Louis Vuitton qualifying matches in the America’s Cup of March 1995, when it suddenly broke in half and sank, in less than two minutes … Continue reading
This morning we posted about a new video game, Assassins Creed IV : Blag Flag, which takes notable liberties with history. One of the characters in the game, Edward Thatch, is based on the historical pirate, Edward Teach, better known as … Continue reading
Award-winning architect Dame Zaha Hadid has designed a family of super-yachts with a skeletal superstructure for the German shipbuilders Blohm+Voss. These are the first super-yachts designed by Hadid who is known for a wide range of project including the Roca London Gallery, … Continue reading
Earlier this week we posted about the Vermont Sail Project barge Ceres calling in New York harbor. Here is a wonderful short video from documentary filmmaker Thomas Halaczinsky capturing a portion of the first voyage of the Ceres down the … Continue reading
Pirates are reported to have seized the captain and chief engineer from the US Flag offshore supply vessel, C-Retriever, which was attacked in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Nigeria early Wednesday. Both the captain and chief engineer are … Continue reading
The first US Navy “supercarrier,” the USS Forrestal was recently sold for scrap for the sum of one penny to the All Star Metals scrap yard in Beaumont, Texas. The Navy offered the carrier as a museum but did not … Continue reading
October 21st is a busy day in nautical history. In addition to being the anniversary of the Battle of Trafagar of 1805, it was also the day that the the USS Constitution was launched in 1797. A three-masted US Navy heavy frigate, … Continue reading
Happy Trafalgar Day – the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. Nelson died in his greatest victory. … Continue reading
Congratulations to all the racers in this year’s Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. In last year’s race, Woodwind, Heron and Prom Queen, the top three Class A schooners (from 40′ to less than 50′) all beat the elapsed and corrected time of the … Continue reading
The composite clipper ship, City of Adelaide, which had been renamed HMS Carrick, was officially renamed the City of Adelaide once at a ceremony on the River Thames at Greenwich near London. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was accidentally … Continue reading
The Parade of Sail in the 2013 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race starts in a few minutes from Canton, MD in Baltimore harbor. The race begins tomorrow at 1330 just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis and ends 127 nautical miles … Continue reading
Monitor HMS M33, only surviving warship from the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, has received £1.79m from the UK’s Heritage Lottery Fund to allow the ship to be restored in time for the 100th anniversary of the campaign. GALLIPOLI … Continue reading