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Monthly Archives: September 2009
The Swiss Decide Against Joining European Union’s Anti-Piracy Efforts
Perhaps it is the thought that counts. Swiss lawmakers have decided against joining EU anti-piracy efforts because it would violate the country’s long-held tradition of neutrality. The land-locked country lacks a blue water navy so could not send a ship or … Continue reading
Archeology Weekend at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is hosting an Archeology Weekend tomorrow and Sunday. it will include presentations on Lake Champlain shipwrecks and feature some of their latest explorations including early steamboats, gunboats, sailing vessels and canal boats. There will be special demonstrations in … Continue reading
Billboards for Submarines?
We previously posted about the Royal Navy installing Windows on submarines. We were relieved to learn that the reference was to an a computer operating system and not panes of glass. Then again, it appears that the late Ivar Haglund, owner … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Ivar Haglund, Ivar’s Seafood, underwater billboards
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Mary Rose prepares to rise again
Depending on how you look at it, there is either good or bad news about the Mary Rose. The Mary Rose is the only only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world. She was one of the first … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged King Henry VIII, Mary Rose
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Breaking News – Spotted Dick is Back!
An update to our previous post – Spotted Dick Off the Menu. As reported by the BBC: Council chiefs have reversed a decision to rename the pudding Spotted Dick after receiving “abusive letters” and accusations of political correctness. Canteen staff … Continue reading
Digging into the Archives – Logs of the Serapis and Elegiac Epistles on the Calamities of Love and War
In honor of John Paul Jones’ victory in the Battle of Flamborough Head where he captured HMS Serapis on this day 230 years ago, we offer two works from the archives. (For those who have not yet discovered it, the Internet … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Battle of Flamborough Head, John Paul Jones
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John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard, 230 years ago today
I have always been a John Paul Jones sceptic. Was he a great naval leader or merely a prima dona? Was he so difficult a personality that he was never an effective leader? He was at the very least a … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Bonhomme Richard, John Paul Jones, Serapis
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HMS Victory Fires 64 Gun Broadside to Launch the National Museum of the Royal Navy
Last Friday the HMS Victory fired a 64 gun rolling broadside to to help launch the National Museum of the Royal Navy. (While the broadside was impressively load and smoky, the amount of gunpowder used for the symbolic broadside was reported to … Continue reading
Posted in Lore of the Sea
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Charles W. Morgan to Sail Again?
Intriguing news about Charles W. Morgan, the last American sailing whale ship. From Boston.com Mystic Seaport officials are now considering whether to make the ship seaworthy again so that it can tour New England’s coastline in the summer of 2012, … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Charles W. Morgan, last American sailing whale ship, mystic seaport
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The Bloop and the Sea Serpent
Last month we posted about The Great Gloucester Sea Serpent of 1817. Eric, a blog reader, commented, no doubt tongue in cheek, “So that is what the bloop was.” His comment got me thinking about the ironies of observations, technology and … Continue reading
Posted in Lore of the Sea
Tagged bloop, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Hywind – the First Full-scale Floating Wind Turbine
Last week, StatoilHydro inaugurated Hywind in the North Sea off South-west Norway. Hywind is the first full scale floating wind turbine and is a research pilot program to develop a new generation of offshore wind mills. StatoilHydro inaugurates floating wind … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged first full scale floating wind turbine, Hywind, StatoilHydro
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Star-Crossed by Linda Collison, a Review
I started reading nautical fiction, specifically C.S. Forester’s Hornblower series, as a teenager. The Hornblower novels, while meant for adults, were great “boy books,” full of adventure and action, with a hero with just enough self doubt and angst for … Continue reading
Skysail in Close-Encounter with Airplane
In June we posted about ships using SkySails to reduce fuel costs by an estimated 10 to 35%. (See Go Fly a Kite? A Look at SkySails) One possibly unforeseen hazard of the SkySails became clear last week when an aircraft and a … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged aircraft, collision threat, Skysails
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On this Day in History: Magellan Sets Sail
On Sept. 20, 1519, Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. (Magellan was killed en route, but … Continue reading
Theodore Tugboat in the Big Harbor
While New York may have a great yearly tug boat race, I recently discovered that Halifax harbor has a real Theodore Tugboat. In the 1990s, “Theodore Tugboat”, was a Canadian kid’s TV show about a harbor tug in the “Big Harbor”. In the … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Big Harbor, Canada, Halifax, Theodore Tugboat, Thomas the Tank Engine
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