Something Best Not to Think About When on a Cruise

Posted on by June 15, 2010

When on a cruise vacation, I can imagine nothing less relaxing than worrying that the cruise line vacation planner might have given your home address to thieves, who were breaking into your house as you waited in line for the midnight buffet on the cruise ship.

Bethsaida Sandoval, a vacation planner for Royal Caribbean, has been charged supplying her husband with passenger information which he then used to burglarize their homes while the passengers were on vacation.   Ms.  Sandoval and her husband, John Lopez,  have been each charged with 20 counts of burglary and one count of racketeering. She is no longer employed by Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean employee accused of burglarizing customers’ homes while they were on cruises
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Frank Dye, Legendary Small Boat Cruiser

Posted on by June 15, 2010

Frank Dye was a small boat cruiser who became something of a legend following his sea voyages in his 16′ Wayfarer open dinghy.

Frank Dye

Frank Dye, who died on May 16 aged 82, was a cult figure among small-boat sailors for undertaking numerous voyages in his open 15ft 10in wooden Wayfarer dinghy Wanderer; these included passages from Scotland to Iceland and across the North Sea to Norway, and featured mountainous seas, gales up to Force 11 and numerous capsizes and broken masts.
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The General Slocum Tragedy

Posted on by June 15, 2010

One hundred and six years ago today, June 15th, 1904, the  Paddle Steamer General Slocum caught fire in the East River and burned killing an estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board.  The steamer was carrying members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to a church picnic.  It was the greatest loss of life in one event in New York City prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum

Reg White – Olympian, Sailor, and Boatbuilder

Posted on by June 14, 2010

Reg White, boatbuilder, sailor, and Olympic Gold Medal winner died of a heart attack on May 27, 2010, at age 74. He had just finished an sailboat race in Brightlingsea, UK.

Reg White

Sailor and builder of revolutionary multihull boats whose international racing successes included a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics
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Sagres in San Diego and San Diego in Pascagoula

Posted on by June 14, 2010

Last week, one of my favorite tall ships, the Portuguese Sail Training Ship Sagres visited San Diego, California. This weekend, on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the US Navy christened the USS San Diego, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship.    Not to be too critical of the grey-stack line, but the Portuguese Navy has the better looking ship.

1937 Portuguese Tall Ship Sagres Sails Into San Diego

Northrop Grumman shows off its newest warship

Searching for the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion with the Titanic as Cover

Posted on by April 5, 2012

Late last month, the secret was revealed – when Bob Ballard discovered the Titanic in 1985,  he was actually on a  secret mission to find two sunken US submarines, the USS Thresher and USS Scorpion, both of which had sunk in the Atlantic in the 1960s.   Only after his team located and surveyed the two missing subs was he allowed to search for the Titanic, leaving only a twelve day window to located the sunken passenger liner.

Titanic: The Final Secret

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Titanic search was cover for secret Cold War subs mission
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Yukon Protects the wreck of A.J. Goddard on Lake Labarge

Posted on by June 13, 2010

Yukon protects Klondike shipwreck site

Just months after a team of archeologists revealed their discovery of a historic Klondike shipwreck in waters north of Whitehorse, the Yukon government has declared the sunken A.J. Goddard sternwheeler a historic site symbolizing the “sense of adventure” that gripped North America at the height of the 1890s gold rush.
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STRAND CRAFT 122 – Custom Yacht & Custom Car

Posted on by June 12, 2010

It is such a relief that we never really have to worry about the very wealthy among us running out of places to spend their money.   Here may be but the latests example of where those with more money than sense can drop  a seizable sum.  The Strand Craft 122 promises to be a super yacht with a super car.  Each 38 meter mega-yacht comes with a matching custom automobile.

$25M ‘Bond’ yacht with matching supercar
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SS Robin, Oldest Steam Coaster, Soon to Have New Home

Posted on by June 12, 2010

The SS Robin, built in 1890, is the last remaining steam coaster in the world. She will soon be moved to a custom built pontoon barge which will support the old ship and serves as space for a floating museum.  The pontoon recently arrived in Lowestoft in the UK.   The SS Robin is expected to be lifted onto the pontoon on June 28th.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for the heads up.
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Abby Sunderland Update, Photo of “Wild Eyes”

Posted on by June 11, 2010

Wild Eyes, Abby Sunderland's dismasted sailboat

Rough weather is reported to be delaying  the French fishing boat that is on its way to rescue Abby Sunderland.   Her sailboat, Wild Eyes, has been dismasted but has not lost its keel as was earlier reported.   A photograph of the boat,  taken by the spotter plane that located her, has been released.

Rough weather delays teen sailor rescue

On Jacques Cousteau’s Centennial, the Calypso to Sail Again?

Posted on by June 11, 2010

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jacques Cousteau.  It is hard to overstate Cousteau’s influence as an inventor, writer, filmmaker, explorer and ecologist.   His first book, the Silent World, written with Frédéric Dumas in 1953, was a memoir which describes how Cousteau and Émile Gagnan designed, built and tested the aqua-lung in 1943.  It was  an immediate best seller and is still in print, having been published in 22 languages and selling over 5 million copies.  The documentary, Silent World, based on the book, co-directed by Cousteau and Louis Malle,  earned Cousteau the first of his two Academy Awards.   In his lifetime Cousteau would go on to write over 50 books and to produce more than 120 television documentaries.  Jacques Cousteau died on 25 June 1997  at age 87.

Most of films and television programs were shot from the RV Calypso, a converted Royal Navy minesweeper. The ship was accidentally rammed by a barge in Singapore in 1996 and sank.  In honor of the centennial of Cousteau’s birth, the Cousteau Society has announced that the restored Calypso will sail again.

Jacques Cousteau’s ship sails again
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Humpback Whale Washes Ashore on New York’s Jones Beach

Posted on by June 11, 2010

A 25 foot long baby humpback whale washed ashore on Jones Beach, on Long Island, New York yesterday morning.  There were no immediate signs of injury.  A necropsy will be performed today to determine what killed the whale.  In April, another baby humpback died when it was stranded on a beach in East Hampton,  Long Island.

Beached whale found near Long Island

Abby Sunderland Located Alive Aboard Disabled Sailboat

Posted on by June 11, 2010

Abby Sunderland has been contacted by rescuers who report that she is alive and uninjured aboard her sailboat Wild Eyes in the Indian Ocean.    The sail boat is afloat but has been variously reported as having been dis-masted and to have lost its keel.   The boat is said to be adrift in ocean waves which have been reported to be over 30 feet.  Three rescue ships are on their way to her reported position. The first is expected to arrive in roughly 24 hours.

Teenage round-the-world sailor Abby Sunderland found alive
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Abby Sunderland Feared Lost at Sea

Posted on by June 10, 2010

Abby Sunderland

The story is still developing, but there are serious concerns for the 16 year old solo sailor.

Abby Sunderland Feared Lost at Sea

Abby Sunderland, 16, who is attempting to become the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe, was feared lost at sea today after her crew lost contact with her boat.
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