Featured Books
True Colours by Alaric Bond
Schooner: Building a Wooden Boat on Martha's Vineyard by Dunlop & Shaw
Live Yankees: The Sewalls and Their Ships by W. H. Bunting
His Majesty's Ship by Alaric Bond
Galveston's the Elissa: The Tall Ship of Texas by Kurt Voss
My River Chronicles - Rediscovering the America on the Hudson by Jessica DuLong
The Frigate Surprise: The Complete Story of the Ship Made Famous in the Novels of Patrick O'Brian by by Geoff Hunt and Brian Lavery
James Nelson's George Washington's Secret Navy
Defying Empire:Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York by Thomas Truxes
Deadly Shoals, a Wiki Coffin Mystery by Joan Druett
Star Crossedby Linda Collison
The Privateer's Revenge: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures)
Peter Wicked: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels)
The Jackass Frigate byAlaric Bond
Steady As She Goesby John Molloy
Voyages, the Age of Sail: Documents in American Maritime History, Volume I, 1492-1865
Expedition Whydah: The Story of the World's First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her
Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the New World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom--and Revenge
The Illustrated Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Quest for the South Magnetic Pole
We recently posted about the centennial of Robert Falcon Scott‘s departure on his ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole. Now the Australian National Maritime Museum will host a new exhibit, the Quest for the South Magnetic Pole. The quest to locate the magnetic pole is more challenging than I had ever imagined. Apparently it can shift by as much [...]
“A Whale” – World’s Largest Oil Skimmer Waiting on EPA and Coast Guard Approval
Update: According to her AIS (Automatic Identification System) the A Whale is now off Louisiana. Thanks to Buck for pointing it out. Click here to see per position on the chart. A Taiwanese-owned, Liberian-flagged tanker, the A Whale, has been modified for skimming up to 500,000 barrels of oil-contaminated water a day. To put this in context, if [...]
Belated Happy 100th Birthday Wishes to Bill King, World War II Sub Commander and Adventurer
We are five days late but nevertheless would like to wish Commander William Donald Aelian “Bill” King a most happy 100th birthday. He is only living submarine commander from World War II. He initially served on the battleship, HMS Resolution, and later becoming commanding officer of HMS Snapper, an S class submarine and then of HMS Trusty and [...]
BP Deepwater Horizon – Whales and Dolphins Sick and Dying in the Spill
Sobering aerial video of the scope of the ongoing spill. At around 6:30 there is footage of pods of dead and dying dolphins and a sperm whale caught in the oil. Difficult video to watch but important, nevertheless. BP Slick Covers Dolphins and Whales.mov
Happy Birthday to the Lydia Eva – 80 Year Old Steam Herring Drifter
Famous steam drifter celebrates 80th birthday in Yarmouth The world’s last surviving steam drifter, the Lydia Eva, will be celebrating her 80th birthday in Great Yarmouth on Sunday. As well as celebrating her birthday, the weekend will also mark the completion of a £1.2m restoration project of the vessel. Throughout the weekend, people will [...]
Portside New York – Big BlueBQ July 3rd
Portside New York is a maritime hub and cultural space whose centerpiece is the historic coastal tanker Mary Whalen. Portside is based this summer on pier 11 in the Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, Brooklyn. On Saturday, July 3rd, Portside is hosting the Big Blue BQ from 6:30 -8 PM. Expect good food, good music and good company as [...]
Asian Carp Invading the Great Lakes
Two species of Asian carp, the bighead and the silver, were imported in the US in the 1970s by catfish farmers to eat algae in ponds. In flood in the 1990s, Asian trout escaped in the Mississippi River basin have been multiplying wildly and heading north. A few days ago an 20 pound Asian bighead [...]
Lost Wooden Steamer L.R. Doty Located After 112 Years
In October of 1898, the wooden steamship L.R. Doty disappeared in Lake Michigan in a storm with seventy mile an hour winds and thirty foot waves. Her crew of 17 and two ship’s cats were lost. A group of Wisconsin divers recently discovered the shipwreck , intact and upright, in 300 feet of water [...]
Chauncy Maples, Africa’s Oldest Ship, Returning as Clinic Ship on Lake Malawi
In 1898, the Chauncy Maples was built at the shipyard of Alley & McLellan in Glasgow. She was then disassembled into 3,481 parts and shipped out for reassembly at Monkey Bay as a missionary/hospital steamer on Lake Malawi. Now, one hundred and twelve years later, the Chauncy Maples may be returning to duty as a traveling clinic on [...]
Mystic Seaport Wooden Boat Show, June 25 – 27
A wonderful boat show in a enchanting setting, the Mystic Seaport Wooden Boat Show starts this Friday. I am seriously annoyed that it looks like I will be be missing it again this year. The show is hosted in partnership with Wooden Boat Publications. The 19th Annual WoodenBoat Show
The Channel Islands at War
For those in the UK, the Yesterday Channel is beginning a new documentary series, The Channel Islands at War, next week on Monday 28th, Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th of June. The Channel Islands at War
Lake Erie Shipwreck to Remain in the Deep ?
An interested court case between a private salvor and the State of New York appears to have been settled in favor of the state. The salvor, Northeast Research, claimed the 19th century schooner, which it claims is the Caledonia. They had planned to raise the vessel and display it in a large tank on [...]
‘Jaws’ Shark Hunted Down
It says something about our society that a missing prop from a classic movie, specifically Bruce, the mechanical shark from Jaws, has its own Facebook page. I’m not exactly sure what it says, but it has to say something. For those who might be interested, Bruce, the missing mechanical shark has been located in a Los Angeles junkyard. ‘Jaws’ Shark [...]
USS Forrestal arrives in Phila. to await fate
USS Forrestal arrives in Phila. to await fate The aircraft carrier Forrestal arrived in Philadelphia Friday morning to await its fate. The ship, decommissioned in 1993 in Philadelphia after 38 years in service, had been moored next to the Saratoga in Newport, R.I. It left under tow Tuesday.
Mermaid Parade 2010 – Coney Island
Happy Solstice to All. One way that at least some New Yorkers mark the beginning of the summer is to observe or participate in the Mermaid Parade, an event celebrating the sea and the season, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn for the past 28 years. This year in addition to scantily clad mermaids and [...]
