Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag has put out a timeline of events in the recent loss of John Fisher overboard while sailing in high winds and seas in the Southern Ocean in the Volvo Ocean Race. They were sailing in Leg 7 … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Shipbuilding is a capital intensive and highly competitive business. Remarkably, Jeffboat of Jeffersonville, Indiana, lasted for 184 years. Now, the longest continually operated inland shipyard in the U.S., is reported to be shutting down. Founded in 1834 on the banks of … Continue reading
British sailor, John Fisher, crew on the Volvo Ocean 65 Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, went overboard on Monday and is presumed lost. Fisher went missing while on watch approximately 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn, in high seas, with winds at 35 … Continue reading
On Sunday, the Pink Dolphin, a 223-ton high-speed ferry loaded with 158 passengers and five crew, ran up on rocks while operating in fog, near the port of Mokpo on the southwest coast of Korea, 400 km south of Seoul. The captain … Continue reading
Here is a time-lapse video of the U.S. Coast Guard’s 81-year-old Barque Eagle departing the floating drydock, the ex-USS Oak Ridge, on February 27, 2018, at the Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore, Maryland. The 295-foot Eagle went on dock in August … Continue reading
More than 150 short-finned pilot whales were found stranded early Friday in Hamelin Bay, Western Australia. Despite the best effort of more than 100 volunteer rescuers, only 6 survived to be returned to the sea. Hamelin Bay is located about 192 … Continue reading
For about 30 minutes early Saturday morning the Delaware Memorial Bridge will close as the heavy lift ship, Zhen Hua 16, with two large container cranes on deck, passes beneath it. The distance from the water level to the top of the cranes … Continue reading
On Throw-back Thursday and in honor of Women’s History, here is a slightly reworked post from 2012 about Winnie Breegle, a World War II WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and a Navajo code talker, who didn’t happen to … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the discovery of the wreckage of the USS Juneau by the Paul Allen’s RV Petrel. The Juneau was sunk by Japanese torpedoes during the Battle of Guadalcanal in November of 1942. Of the 687 men who … Continue reading
The latest news from Paul Allen’s research vessel Petrel: Wreckage from the USS Juneau (CL-52) was discovered on March 17, 2018, by the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel. The Juneau was sunk by a Japanese torpedo during the Battle … Continue reading
Wooden vessels can be a bit like the ax that doesn’t wear out as long as you keep replacing the head and the handle. Such is very nearly the case with the Ernestina-Morrissey, a 124-year-old schooner now being restored by Bristol Marine at Boothbay Harbor … Continue reading
Autonomous barges may soon be carrying cargo and passengers on Amsterdam’s 100 km of canals. Referred to as roboats (as in robot boats, not rowboats) they can also be linked together to create bridges and performance stages and platforms. The … Continue reading
At the end of January, we posted about a shipwreck that was suspected to be the remains of the schooner Clotilda, the last vessel to carry slaves to the United States. The wreck was roughly in the right place on … Continue reading
The Draken Harald Hårfagre, the largest Viking longship built in modern times, will be touring the East Coast of the United States this summer. From the Draken website: Beginning in June through October, plans for East Coast Tour 2018 currently consist … Continue reading
My favorite underwater volcano is getting frisky again. Kick’em Jenny, is located off the northern coast of Grenada, in the Lesser Antilles. It rises almost a mile from the ocean floor and is roughly 600 feet below the surface. Recently, the government of … Continue reading
On this day, March 14th, in 1757, Admiral John Byng was executed by firing squad on the quarterdeck of HMS Monarch in the Solent for the crime of failing to “do his utmost against the enemy.” Byng was the first … Continue reading
In the beginning of February, we posted about Paul Cuffee, one of the first African-American ship captains and ship owners. In honor of Captain Cuffee, the New Bedford Whaling Museum will be breaking ground on the Captain Paul Cuffe Park, on March … Continue reading
On February 28th, Indonesian police seized the superyacht Equanimity, moored in Bali, at the request of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Equanimity is a 300′ luxury yacht owned by Malaysian financier Jho Low. The yacht, which is reported to have … Continue reading
Congratulations to Neil and Ariel Weisbrod. Their documentary, Secrets of a Frozen Ocean, won Best Documentary at the New York City International Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to see the world premiere of this fascinating documentary last Wednesday. The premiere, fittingly … Continue reading
This looks fascinating. The New Bedford Whaling Museum has announced that, in partnership with Mystic Seaport Museum, they have developed the world’s most comprehensive whaling history database which is now available online for everyone to use at WhalingHistory.org. In their … Continue reading