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Monthly Archives: July 2011
“The Most Beautiful Ship” – Tall Ships and Bragging Rights
Bragging rights are kind of fun. Whether they mean anything or not is often an open question. How one strings together the adjective phrases can make all the difference. For example, HMS Victory is said to be “the oldest commissioned … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Amerigo Vespucci, HMS Victory, Italian training ship, Malta, USS Constitution
5 Comments
Tall Ships Festival at Greenock, Scotland
If there are tall ships in port, there must be a party going on. About 60 ships are expected at Greenock’s James Watt Dock from the first leg of the Tall Ships 2011 race from Waterford. Estimates range from 100,000 – … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Greenock, Scotland, Tall Ships 2011 race
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Was the Brillante Virtuoso Ever Under Attack?
Was there a pirate attack? On Wednesday we posted about the reports that the Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso had been attacked by pirates and set on fire. It is now unclear where such an attack ever took place. There was indeed a … Continue reading
Tall Ship Race Update – Christian Radich wins First Leg, Waterford Festival “an Awesome Success”
The Tall Ships Race 2011 is off to a great start. The race was kicked off with a festival in Waterford, Ireland, which was declared ‘an awesome success’ by the chairman of Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism authority. (See our previous … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Christian Radich, Ireland, Irene of Bridgwater, Tall Ships Race 2011, Waterford
3 Comments
Yemeni Pirate 11th to Plead Guilty in Hijacking of SV Quest Where 4 Americans were Murdered
In February, the sailing vessel Quest was hijacked by pirates 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. The yacht’s crew of four Americans were taken hostage. The pirates were finally captured by US forces but not before they killed … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Bob Riggle, Mounir Ali, murder, Phyllis Macay, pirates, S/V Quest, Scott and Jean Adams, Yemeni
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American Feeder Lines – New Short Sea Container Operator on the East Coast
For several hundred years, up until just after World War II, cargo moved up and down the East Coast of North America by ships and boats of a range of sizes and shapes. When the interstate highways were built, all but most bulk cargoes shifted to … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged "New England to Halifax Shuttle, American Feeder Lines
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Semi-Submersible Drilling Rig, Transocean Marianas, Evacuated off Ghana
The semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, was preparing to move to a new location off the coast of Ghana when the rig developed a serious list and was in danger of sinking. The rig, under contract to Italian oil company Eni, … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Deepwater Horizon, evacuated, Ghana, semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas
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Brillante Virtuoso, Suezmax Tanker, Set Ablaze by Pirates off Aden – Crew Safe
It has long been predicted and now it has happened – a pirate attack has set fire to a loaded oil tanker. On Wednesday morning, pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden attacked the Suezmax tanker, Brillante Virtuoso, firing a rocket propelled grenade into the deck … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Brillante Virtuoso, fire, Gulf of Aden, pirates, Suezmax tanker
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Search Continues for Seven Missing off Baja after Fishing Boat Sinks
At roughly 2AM on Sunday morning, the chartered fishing boat Eric sank in a storm in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Twenty seven American tourists and a crew of 16 were aboard were aboard the fishing boat … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Baja Peninsula, chartered fishing boat, Eric, Mexico, Sea of Cortez
2 Comments
Joseph Hewes – First “Secretary of the Navy” and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Happy 4th of July to all. On July 4th, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. Joseph Hewes was one of the lesser known signatories to the Declaration. He was born in New Jersey, prospered as … Continue reading
Posted in History, Lore of the Sea
Tagged Declaration of Independence, Joseph Hewes, Secretary of the Navy
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Update: MV Wisdom off Juhu Beach and Now On-Line
Three weeks ago we posted about the MV Wisdom, which had been on her way to a Gujarat scrapyard when the tow line parted. The drifting ship nearly hit a major bridge near Mumbai before finally grounding on Juhu Beach, where … Continue reading
Posted in Current, Lore of the Sea, Ships
Tagged Alang-Bhavnagar Gujarat, Juhu Beach, Mumbai, MV Wisdom, scrapyard
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Great Summer Reading – Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction Log Book for July
A great line-up of Summer reading from Astrodene’s Nautical Log Book for July: Newly released novels include Steven E. Maffeo’s, The Perfect Wreck – Old Ironsides and HMS Java: A Story of 1812, and Tom Grundner’s latest novel in the Sir … Continue reading
China Opens World’s Longest Sea Bridge
The world’ s longest bridge over salt water, the 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, in China, has opened to traffic. It makes me wonder how you say in Mandarin, “OK, kids. Who needs to go to the bathroom? No … Continue reading
