An updated repost. Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick, was inspired, at least in part, by the sinking of the whaleship Essex by a sperm whale in 1820. The fate of the Essex unquestionably supplied Melville with ending to his novel. Nevertheless, the core … Continue reading
My short story Bloody Rain — Murder, Madness and the Monsoon, set on a sailing ship in the 1880s, is free as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. That’s right — free. Feel free to grab a copy. About … Continue reading
An updated repost. For thousands of years, sailors have told of nighttime seas that mysteriously glowed a milky white or luminescent blue, stretching out to the horizon. Referred to as a “milky sea,” the tales date back at least to … Continue reading
Something to take one’s mind off the unpleasantness of current events. A repost. Krill Joy From Slate:This video catches a rare glimpse of a gigantic, lunge-feeding blue whale deciding on what’s for lunch. A nonintrusive drone from Oregon State University … Continue reading
Remember King Harald “Blåtand” Gormsson? No? The king of Denmark and later Norway in the late 10th century. The name still doesn’t ring a bell? His rune mark is embedded in your phone and possibly your earbuds and speakers. His … Continue reading
One of the great things about writing historical fiction is discovering odd sets of facts, often buried in the archives, that capture both the desperation and the madness of a given time. Often, as the cliche goes, you just can’t … Continue reading
Tiny, beautiful, and dangerous blue dragon sea slugs are washing ashore on Texas beaches. The words “blue dragon” and “sea slug” do not seem to go together. The image of a dragon, of any color, and a slug just do … Continue reading
With the advent of climate change red tide outbreaks have grown more frequent. A red tide occurs when certain types of algae grow out of control. The name “red tide” comes from the fact that overgrowth of algae can cause … Continue reading
I like it, even if I am not sure I understand it. Here is the Strictly Scottish dance team dancing a ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ medley at the BC Highland Games of 2023. Thanks to Frank Hanavan for pointing it out. … Continue reading
Here is another old favorite, a companion repost to yesterday’s repost of “The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?” We recently posted in response to a video, “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?.” It recounted how three men named Hugh … Continue reading
I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams. There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence … Continue reading
We recently posted about the five-masted full-rigged cruise ship Royal Clipper, a modern sailing ship designed as an homage to the great five-masted windjammer Preussen. Here is a repost of a guest post by Robin Denny about the mighty windjammer: With the Peking now … Continue reading
My wife and I are currently sailing as passengers on the cruise ship Royal Clipper, the second of only two five-masted full-rigged steel ships ever built. The first such ship was the mighty windjammer, Preussen, of 1902. The Royal Clipper, launched … Continue reading
For the next fortnight, I will be a passenger on a sailing ship crossing the briny blue of the Atlantic. This seems like a good time to make an updated repost on the color blue. Homer referred to the famously … Continue reading
On April Fool’s Day, a repost about not an April Fool’s Day prank but a hoax and a swindle. In October of 1897, at the height of the Alaskan Gold Rush, two men, Prescott Ford Jernegan, a Baptist minister, and … Continue reading
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost. The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper … Continue reading
An updated repost in honor of Women’s History month. Since at least the 17th century, on the Korean island of Jeju, the haenyeo, Korean for “sea women” have worked free diving in the clear island waters. Using an ancient breathing … Continue reading
Remember the old tongue twister, “She sells seashells by the seashore?” (Try saying that three times fast.) The tongue twisting seashell seller was inspired by a real woman named Mary Anning, an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist, who did indeed … Continue reading
At approximately 1:30 AM this morning, the Singapore-flagged, 10,000 TEU container ship, MV Dali struck the southern support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, spanning the Patapsco River at the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, Maryland. The impact … Continue reading
Task & Purpose reports that three of the five Navy commanding officers who have been fired so far this year, including a Navy SEAL and two submarine captains, were relieved after being arrested off-base for driving under the influence. Navy … Continue reading