Monthly Archives: July 2010

40th Anniversary of Black Tot Day

In early July we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the return of the SS Great Britain to Bristol. Yesterday was a more somber anniversary – the 40th  anniversary of “Black Tot” Day. Ceremony to mark ending of rum tot at … Continue reading

Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Dead Humpback Whale Pinned to Bow of the Sapphire Princess

Last summer,  the Sapphire Princess, a cruise ship operating on the South-West coast of Alaska, arrived in the port of Vancouver with a 70 foot long fin whale impaled on its bulbous bow.   Wednesday, almost exactly a year later, … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Brigantine Beneath Washington Street – Identifying the World Trade Center Ship

Two weeks ago the remains of an 18th century ship were found in the excavation of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.    On Thursday Warren Riess, an archaeologist specializing in marine history, speculated that the ship was  most likely a brigantine; … Continue reading

Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Photos of the MV M. Star – Cause of Damage Still a Mystery

Photos of the damage to the VLCC MV M. Star. Click on the thumbnails above for larger images. Questions Swirl About Damaged Japanese Tanker

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged | 1 Comment

HMS Investigator – 150 years ago and Today

The HMS Investigator was found in remarkably good shape in only 11 meters of water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada’s western Arctic.  The image to the left is from a  lithograph of the … Continue reading

Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

12th Annual West Coast Wooden Kayak Rendezvous – July 30th – August 1st

12th Annual West Coast Wooden Kayak Rendezvous The annual West Coast Wooden Kayak Rendezvous (R2KX) is the first weekend in August at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. The event is free and open to the public (donations to … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bristol Harbor Festival 2010 Begins Today

The Bristol Harbour Festival begins today and runs through the weekend. It is expected to attract over 200,000 people and is one of the biggest free events in the UK.    In addition to Brunel’s SS Great Britain, on permanent … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Skimmer “A Whale” Sails for Dalian, China Spill

Lloyds List is reporting that the Skimmer “A Whale” which failed to collect significant amounts of oil in the Gulf of mexico from the BP spill is now en-route to the major spill in Dalian, China.  The more concentrated oil on the … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Ships | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fourteen Year Old Laura Dekker has Dutch Court OK to Sail around the World

The teen-round-the-world-sailing-escapades may be starting all over again. Laura Dekker has Dutch court permission to sail around the world A Dutch court cleared the way Tuesday for 14-year-old Laura Dekker to embark on a risky attempt to become the youngest … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

What Hit the MV M. Star? An Explosion, A Grenade, or a Freak Wave?

Depending on which of the various news reports you read, the MOL 314,016 dwt tanker M. Star suffered either an explosion, was hit by a grenade or was struck by a freak wave caused by an earthquake while transiting the Straits of Hormuz. … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

HMS Investigator, Abandoned in 1853, Found in Arctic

Earlier this month we posted about a new expedition by Parks Canada to search for Franklin’s ships, the Terrorand the Erebus.  Parks Canada also intended to search for theHMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent … Continue reading

Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hiawatha – Last Operational Walking-Beam Sidewheeler in the World for Sale on EBay

The Hiawatha, reportedly the last operational walking beam steam sidewheeler in the world, is being offered for sale on E-Bay. Built in 1983 of steel, the Hiawatha is 38 feet long with a 15.5 feet beam.  Its paddle wheels are … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Ships | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Tall Ships Duluth 2010 July 28 – August 3

Tall Ships Duluth 2010 has an impressive line up of ships scheduled for their tall ships festival.  The ships are expected to start arriving in Duluth today.  The Brig Niagara, the Barque Europa, HMS Bounty, the Pride of Baltimore II, the … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dismantling the Ground Zero Ship

A follow-up to our previous post – 18th Century Ship Found Buried at New York’s World Trade Center Site.  Workers are now beginning to dismantle what is left of the ship, plank by plank, for preservation.    Last week,  Atlantic Wire  posted an interesting … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sailing Ship Photos from Life Magazine on Google

Be warned.  If you are interested in sailing ships, do not click on the link below  if you have anything important to do  for the next fifteen or twenty minutes or possibly much longer.  Here is a absolutely fantastic archive of … Continue reading

Posted in Galleries, Lore of the Sea, Ships | Tagged , , | 1 Comment