A rendering of the proposed redesign of the S.S. United States
In October, the SS United States Conservancy announced that it had retained the services of a broker to explore selling the SS United States for scrap. Prospects for the ship looked dire. In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Crystal Cruises has signed an option to purchase the ship. In the past few years, the Conservancy has been looking for buyers or investors to turn the iconic passenger liner into a hotel, casino or convention center. This is the first proposal that we have seen to return the ship to full operation as a cruise ship.
The purchase is not a “done deal.” The agreement calls for Crystal Cruises to cover the ship expenses of $60,0000 per month for nine months while they perform a feasibility study. Bringing the ship back into service could cost from $700 million to $800 million according to Crystal’s chief executive, Edie Rodriguez. If all goes well, the ship, which had a capacity for 1,928 passengers and 900 crew, would operate as an 800 passenger luxury cruise ship in worldwide service.
On February 3, 1943, the troopship 
Hōkūleʻa
Hawaii 2
In the late 60s and early 70s, hovercraft ferries were the ships of the future. 
On Friday, more 4,000 longshoremen walked off the job shutting down piers and container terminals in New York and New Jersey. 
If you are in the New York area come help celebrate Lilac, America’s only steam-powered lighthouse tender at a Maritime Mardi Gras fundraiser on Fat Tuesday, February 9th from 6 – 8 PM on 79 Walker Street on the 6th floor, (one block south of Canal between Layfatte and Broadway), in Manhattan. Let the good times roll with cocktails, light appetizers, and a silent auction.
Two American sailors, Bob Weise and Steve Shapiro, both 71, have been attempting to sail across the Atlantic from Norway to Maine in a 40′ gaff rigged sloop named Nora. They began the attempt last July and it has not gone well. In the last seven months, they have been rescued nine times. In this case, persistence is not a virtue.
Yesterday, 
The 
Numbers are fine but sometimes the best way to communicate scale is visually. The image above is what it would have looked like if the largest passenger liner of roughly 100 years ago, 
Here on the west bank of the Hudson River, I spent most of the morning digging out from yesterday’s blizzard, which dumped around 30 inches of snow on us. So, it seems like a good time to think of sunshine and warm breezes. The video, after the page break, is of an Albin Nimbus 42, named Sherry Dawn. This summer I hope to be sailing a sister vessel named Arcturus. Right now Arcturus, ex-Obsession, is being worked on by the good folks at 
Anyone who may doubt that we live on a water planet or that what happens at sea has a huge impact for everyone, even those living far inland, need only look to this year’s 
The sad saga of the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) continues. The 
Only days after hearing good news about