Monthly Archives: March 2010

Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli perhaps bear equal blame for a litigious and incredibly costly America’s Cup race which turned more on technology and court rulings than on sailing.   Now Ellison is singing a different tune, saying  ”We’d like … Continue reading →

Farrell Lines was a grand old US steamship company.  It had an office in downtown Manhattan full of ship models and paintings of ships. Behind the receptionist, as you came in the door, there was a world map with chains … Continue reading →

Disturbing news from Patagonia: Riddle of the dead whales MORE than 300 southern right whales, most of them young calves, have been found dead in the past five years in the waters off Argentina’s Patagonian coast, one of their most … Continue reading →

We are a week late in noting this but Franck Cammas and and his nine-men crew onboard their 105 ft trimaran, Groupama 3, have won the Jules Verne trophy by setting a new round the world sailing record of  48 days, 7 hours, … Continue reading →

Paul Janse van Rensburg’s sailboat, Tafadzwa, was found drifting near the Chatham Islands in the Pacific east of New Zealand.  A search of the boat found van Rensburg’s dog  alive and the boat’s life raft still aboard.   No sign was found … Continue reading →

Forty six crew members are reported missing from the South Korean Cruiser Cheonan which sank late Friday.    South Korean officials are all but ruling out direct North Korean involvement in the sinking.   Fifty eight of the crew were rescued.

An update from Sail-World.  Abby Sunderland is close to rounding Cape Horn, while malfunctioning autopilots may threaten her circumnavigation attempt. Teen sailor Abby Sunderland to round Cape Horn Tuesday 16-year-old Californian sailor Abby Sunderland, following Jessica Watson in her attempt to be … Continue reading →

The HMAS Adelaide is still afloat, as much due to court action as to Archimedes Law.  The HMAS Adelaide was the lead ship of the Adelaide class of guided missile frigates built for the Royal Australian Navy, not to be confused with … Continue reading →

Dennis M. Powers’ Tales of the Seven Seas: The Escapades of Captain Dynamite Johnny O’Brien recounts the story of a larger than life sailor who rose from being a bullied sixteen year old ship’s boy sailing before the mast to become … Continue reading →

Report: South Korean navy ship sinks A South Korean navy ship sank in the Yellow Sea near North Korea late Friday, and the navy shot at an unidentified ship toward the north, according to reports quoting South Korean government officials.

One hundred and seventy one years after the slave ship Amistad sailed from Havana carrying a cargo of captives from Sierra Leone, the replica of the Amistad arrived in Havannah harbor yesterday.  The captives on the original slave ship seized control of the vessel and sailed the … Continue reading →

Molly Shakespear Rimington died at age 93 at the end of January but her obituary only appeared in the Telegraph this week.   She was a fascinating individual.  The daughter of Brigadier Talbot Shakespear, she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, WRNS, … Continue reading →

OK, I admit it. I am posting this because I like the title of the article. Cheap Fokkers Peru has bought, real cheap, two Dutch maritime reconnaissance aircraft (Fokker 60s). These are slightly longer and heavier versions of the twin … Continue reading →

Private security guards shot and killed a Somali pirate during an attack on the the MV Almezaan off the coast of East Africa. This is believed to be the first killing of a pirate by armed private contractors.   The … Continue reading →

Scientists watch whale’s birth near Navy training range Scientists surveying the area near a planned Navy training range said Tuesday they witnessed an endangered right whale giving birth off the Northeast Florida coast.    It was only the second time … Continue reading →

There is a certain irony that a sailing ship would have to be taken out of service because its engine did not meet current emission standards, but such was the case with the Lady Washington, the Official Ship of the State of Washington. … Continue reading →

A deficiency of vitamin C from green leafy vegetables caused the dreaded sailor’s sickness scurvy.   A vertical garden installed on the Plastiki, which sailed this week on its 3-month voyage across the Pacific, may provide fresh greens for the six person crew while at … Continue reading →

Maine man creates huge online ship database Thousands of ships over hundreds of years have navigated the rolling waters of Maine’s Penobscot River across the street from Jon Johansen’s home. Inspired by that history, Johansen set about documenting every ship … Continue reading →

It appears that the wreck of the SS Wimmera, an Australian passenger ship sunk by a mine north of New Zealand in 1918 has been located. Aussie ship sunk in 1918 found off NZ

A fascinating post from the Lawyers, Guns and Money blog. Thanks to Andy from the Maritime Texas blog for passing it along.  The bottom line seems to be that piracy is an expensive business and may be progressively less profitable as ship … Continue reading →