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Monthly Archives: April 2011
The Oldest Shipwreck in the Caribbean – A Treasure in Silver and Jade
Divers from Deep Blue Marine have located a wreck site off the Dominican Republic believed to date back to the 1500s and have uncovered a treasure of silver coins and jade figurines. ‘We’ve just scratched the surface’: Divers find ‘oldest shipwreck in … Continue reading
Lard Ho! Coast Guard Ups the Weight for Average Passengers
The US Coast Guard has updated its regulations, increasing the average weight per passenger for stability and loading calculations of tour and charter boats from 160 pounds to 185 pounds. Lard ahoy! Coast Guard estimates average weight of cruise passengers has gone up by … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged average weight per passenger, regulations, US Coast Guard
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Update 2: Le Papillon, the Sands of Fire Island and the Backhoe
An update to a story that we have been following. The 50′ schooner Le Papillon came ashore on a beach on Fire Island, northeast of New York harbor, at the beginning of April. Just as it looked like the schooner would be … Continue reading
The Liverpool Sea Shanty Festival Returns Song to the Docks
Beginning today and running for two weekends, April 29 – May , and May 7-8, the Liverpool Sea Shanty Festival will return boisterous songs to the docks on the Merseyside. Singers from New York and the Netherlands will be joining in. Sounds of the … Continue reading
Pegasus, Lilac and Clipper City to Dock at Pier Pier 25 in the Hudson River
In January we posted that the Hudson River Park Trust was seeking proposals to dock historic vessels on the newly refurbished Pier 25 in the Hudson River off Tribecca. Earlier this month the the Hudson River Park Trust announced … Continue reading
Rockhopper Penguins Returning From Rehab on Tristan da Cunha
The Greek-owned 75,000 tonne bulk carrier, MV Oliva, ran aground on March 16th on Nightingale Island, a 4 square kilometer island in the Tristan da Cuhna archipelago in the South Atlantic. The resulting oil spill threatened nearly half of the world population … Continue reading
Posted in Lore of the Sea
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Beaufort Group Bids on the Cruiser Olympia
A group in Beaufort, SC is bidding on acquiring the Cruiser Olympia. Beaufort group bids on century-old ship A Beaufort organization is bidding to become the next home of the ship Commodore George Dewey used as his flagship at the Battle of … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Beaufort, Commodore George Dewey, Cruiser Olympia, Delaware River
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On this Day in History – Kon Tiki Sets Sail
On April 28, 1947, a six-man expedition led by Thor Heyerdahl sailed from Callao, Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia. Heyerdahl’s book, Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft, … Continue reading
Pelicans Return with a Vengance
Hailing from Florida, I am a huge fan of brown pelicans. I was therefore very pleased to hear that after several years where brown pelicans on the West Coast of the US have been mysteriously dying off, this year the flocks of pelicans … Continue reading
Mystery 18th Century Shipwreck Found in the Gulf of Finland
I am always amazed by how well darkness, cold and a lack of oxygen can preserve a wooden ship wreck. Thanks to Badewanne, a non-profit group of divers that has been documenting shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland for more … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged 18th Century Shipwreck, Badewanne, divers, Gulf of Finland, unidentified
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The Scuttling of the MSC Chitra
Last August, we posted about the collision of the containership MSC Chitra and the bulk carrier Khalijia 3 which resulting in the sinking of the Chitra with a significant oil spill, a loss of cargo containers and the blockage of the port of Mumbai for five … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged bulk carrier, containership, India, Khalijia 3, MSC Chitra, Mumbai, scuttling
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Ohio River Great Steamboat Race Threatened by High water
The Ohio River may just be too high to allow the running of the Great Steamboat Race on May 4th, between the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati on May 4. If the river doesn’t fall, officials are … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Belle of Cincinnati, Belle of Louisville, Great Steamboat Race, Ohio River
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Flying the Flag, Fleeing the State – Missing the Point
In yesterday’s New York Times, Rose George of Leeds, UK was an Op-Ed Contributor. In her essay, Flying the Flag, Fleeing the State, she starts off by calling many ship operators criminals and comparing them to Somali pirates: But maritime lawlessness … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
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Russian submarine to participate in first-ever naval exercise with NATO warships
A sign of changing times. A Russian submarine will be participating in a NATO undersea rescue exercise off the Spanish coast scheduled for next month. Russian submarine to participate in first-ever naval exercise with NATO warships
75 years of Maine Windjammer Cruises
For hundreds of years, coastal schooners carried cargoes up and down the hundred harbored coast of Maine. By the early part of the last century, the schooners were being replaced by trucks and trains. In 1936 Captain Frank Swift started buying laid up … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
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Cyclone Reveals Unbury Island’s 130-Year-Old Shipwreck
As the sands of Fire Island are swallowing Le Papillon, Cyclone Yasi has uncovered a mysterious shipwreck on an island off the Queensland coast. Cyclone Winds Unbury Island’s 130-Year-Old Shipwreck The huge cyclone’s intense winds blew away sand on one … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Cyclone Yasi, Queensland, shipwreck
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Storytelling at the Bivalve Shipping Sheds
If Detroit was and is the “motor city,” then perhaps Bivalve, New Jersey was the Oyster Capital of the World. By the late 1880s, 90 railcars full of oysters were shipped from Bivalve every week. Oysters were once the largest … Continue reading
Posted in Current, History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged A.J. Meerwald, Bayshore Discovery Project, Bivalve, New Jersey, oyster
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Update: Duck Boats Return to the Delaware
The Ducks have returned to the Delaware River. Not mallards, but duck boats. Last July a tug pushing a barge ran down a disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia. Two of the 35 … Continue reading
Safety – the Forest or the Trees on the Deepwater Horizon?
The Coast Guard released a report yesterday that was highly critical of Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig, which exploded and sank last year. Transocean contributed to Gulf disaster, Coast Guard report says Flaws in Transocean Ltd.’s … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Coast Guard, Deepwater Horizon drill rig, Transocean
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Whisky Bottles Still Washing Up From the Wreck of the Sailing Ship Stuart – 110 years ago
It is not champagne, but whiskey bottles which are still appearing from the sands where the sailing ship Stuart wrecked 110 years ago on Easter Sunday off the Llyn peninsula of Northern Wales. Whisky bottles still being washed up on … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Easter, Llyn peninsula, Northern Wales, Sailing ship, Stuart, whisky
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