The Star Spangled Banner and the Search for HMS Terror

History is full of strange connections.   This week an almost 200-year-old copy of “The Star Spangled Banner” is to be sold at auction house at Christie’s auction house in Manhattan.   The sheet music is currently valued at between … Continue reading

33rd Annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival

The inner harbor of beautiful Victoria, Canada on Vancouver Island will be  filled with between 75 to 100 classic boats beginning today and running through the Sunday at the 33rd Annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival. Harbour plays host to classic boat fest … Continue reading

The ‘impossible’ voyage of a Tamil ghost ship

Despite all odds, earlier this month, 492 Tamil refugees arrived in Vancouver in an old and barely seaworthy ship, then named the Sun Sea.  The Tamil Ghost ship, as she has been dubbed,  had been intermittently tracked by the maritime authorities of various nations as she … Continue reading

Women on Subs – Not all that New

Julian Stockwin made a comment on Twitter this morning (what is the past tense of “to tweet?” by the way) regarding women on submarines.  He noted that Norway has had women serving on submarines for decades.   Indeed, the US … Continue reading