Post Irene Wrap-up: How the Ships & Boats Coped with the Storm

Hurricane Irene has swept past, not as bad as she could have been, but bad enough, nevertheless.  Downgraded to a tropical storm by 9AM this morning, she still caused significant flooding on the East coast, hitting  Philadelphia  particularly hard. The city, situated between the Delaware … Continue reading

Skin and Bones – Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor

Mystic Seaport is featuring a traveling exhibit from Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum – Skin & Bones,  Tattoos in the Life of an American Sailor. The exhibition runs through September 5, 2011. Skin and Bones – Tattoos in the Life of the American … Continue reading

Sailors’ Valentines – Better than a Hallmark Card

Happy Valentines Day!   Yesterday, the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine held a sailor’s valentine workshop.  (See our previous post.)   Sailors’ valentines were traditionally octagonal wooden boxes with a glass front,  with intricate symmetrical designs inside, often made of shells … Continue reading

Statue Cruises fuel cell powered hybrid ferry for New York harbor

Earlier this week we posted about Cakewalk, a luxury yacht built at Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Conn.   Here is quite different vessel now under construction at Derecktor.    Statue Cruises, a subsidiary of Hornblower Cruises, has hired Derecktor to construct the world’s … Continue reading

Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World – a Review

A few days ago, we posted about Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, which will be broadcast tomorrow, May 10, at 9PM on most PBS channel in the United States. I had the opportunity to … Continue reading