HMS Investigator, Abandoned in 1854, Found in Arctic
July 28, 2010
Earlier this month we posted about a new expedition by Parks Canada to search for Franklin’s ships, the Terror and the Erebus. Parks Canada also intended to search for the HMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent to search for Franklin. Today Parks Canada announced that they have found the [...]
Read MoreNorth Carolina’s Oldest Shipwreck Moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
July 23, 2010
As a follow-up to a post from early June, the remains of what is believed to be the wreck of a merchant ship from the mid-1600s are being moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for preservation. The wreck was uncovered by winter gales on Corolla beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and is believed to be the [...]
Read MoreBaltic Bubbly – ‘World’s oldest champagne’
July 18, 2010
Divers have found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution on the Baltic seabed. Reportedly, it was still highly drinkable. All I can say is that the seabed must be one hell of a wine cellar. Dark, cold, but at a constant temperature, and totally devoid of oxygen – it does meet the [...]
Read MoreThe Olympias Trireme – 5th Century B.C Warship Reborn
July 17, 2010
Many historians have long suspected that the performance of the Greek triremes as reported by Esculus and others, were overstated. Some have referred to them as “mythological.” The Olympias trireme, built in 1987, designed by the naval architect John Coates, who died last week, has proven to be as fast and maneuverable as the triremes described in the ancient texts. [...]
Read MoreJohn Coates: Latter-Day Trireme Designer
July 17, 2010
John Coates John Coates, who died on July 10 aged 88, had retired as chief naval architect at the Ministry of Defence when he took a central role in the building of a Greek trireme, the first, fastest and best known oared warship of the ancient world. Triremes were 100ft three-tiered vessels powered by two [...]
Read More18th Century Ship Found Buried at New York’s World Trade Center Site
July 15, 2010
Workers excavating at the new World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan have uncovered the remains of an 18th century wooden merchant ship. The ship was found 20 feet below street level, is roughly 30 feet in length and was probably buried intentionally as land fill. It was found in an area outside that which had been previously excavated for the original [...]
Read MoreSearching for a Ship? Try ShipIndex.org
July 14, 2010
For anyone researching a particular ship, ShipIndex.org could prove invaluable. It offers a searchable database with 143,935 entries in the free database and 1,349,574 entries available with premium access. Having done a bit of searching, it looks both easy and powerful. ShipIndex.org If you’re a historian, a modelmaker, a genealogist, a fact-checker, or anyone else who needs [...]
Read MoreSS Great Britain : From Seabed to National Treasure – A Model for Ship Restoration?
July 6, 2010
Forty years ago, on July 5th, 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Avon to witness the return of the SS Great Britain, or what was left of her. After spending 37 years on the seabed in the Falklands, she was a rusting hulk. In 1843, she was Isambard Kingdom Brunel‘s masterpiece, the world’s first iron-hulled screw-driven passenger [...]
Read MoreSearch Restarts for the Terror, Erebus and HMS Investigator
July 2, 2010
After a season’s delay due to lack of access to icebreakers, Parks Canada is renewing its search for Franklin’s ship’s Erebus and Terror. They will also be searching for the HMS Investigator, a ship which was caught in the ice and sank when sent to search for Franklin. Parks Canada mounting summertime search for three [...]
Read MoreQuest for the South Magnetic Pole
June 30, 2010
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 [...]
Read MoreBelated Happy 100th Birthday Wishes to Bill King, World War II Sub Commander and Adventurer
June 28, 2010
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 [...]
Read MoreHappy Birthday to the Lydia Eva – 80 Year Old Steam Herring Drifter
June 27, 2010
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 [...]
Read MoreLost Wooden Steamer L.R. Doty Located After 112 Years
June 25, 2010
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 [...]
Read MoreChauncy Maples, Africa’s Oldest Ship, Returning as Clinic Ship on Lake Malawi
June 24, 2010
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 [...]
Read MoreThe Channel Islands at War
June 23, 2010
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 Marking the 70th anniversary of the German invasion and occupation of the Channel Islands, Yesterday travels across the Channel to revisit a [...]
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