While docking in Vancouver on Saturday morning, the Holland America cruise ship MS Oosterdam collided with the MS Nieuw Amsterdam also owned by Holland America. The stern of the Oosterdam struck the stern of the already docked Nieuw Amsterdam. No … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
While the surface of the Earth is more than 70% covered by ocean, worlds covered by even greater expanses of water may be more common than previously thought. We have previously posted about evidence of water on other bodies in … Continue reading
Two days ago, NPR reported: “Fisherman off the coast of Norway encountered a beluga whale with “Equipment of St. Petersburg” inscribed on its harness. Researchers think the beluga may be a Russian spy in training.” There was speculation that the … Continue reading
The cruise ship MV Freewinds is described on the Scientology website as “a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion.” It is also home to at least one confirmed case of the measles. … Continue reading
Here is a fun time-lapse of the 1939 built Alden schooner, When And If, overtaking the schooner America 2.0 in the 34th Annual Schooner Wharf Bar Wrecker’s Cup Race in Key West, FL. When And If was built for General … Continue reading
For centuries, ancient megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge, existing all across Europe, have been abiding mysteries. Who built them, how and why? A new study by Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden may have at least one … Continue reading
When Hurricane Harvey blew through the US Gulf coast in August 2017, the replica of Columbus’ Niña sank at the dock in Corpus Christie, Texas. Last Tuesday, the replica sank again. ABC Channel KSAT 12 quotes Kim Mrazek, president of … Continue reading
Next Wednesday, May 1, from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, the City Lore gallery in Manhattan is hosting Waterfront Heroes: Women on the Waterfront which will feature a panel discussion moderated by maritime journalist Betsy Haggerty. The panelists will include Fulton … Continue reading
There has been a minor hub-bub of late over the decision by the Scottish Maritime Museum to use gender-neutral references to ships after vandals have scratched out references to “she” several times on museum displays. Putting aside the question of … Continue reading
In 1919, the three-masted schooner William H. Sumner was wrecked on the North Carolina shore near New Topsail Inlet, after a mutiny by its crew. Since then the wreck has played hide and seek, disappearing beneath the sand and emerging … Continue reading
Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, 52, sailed 8,700-miles across the Pacific non-stop, becoming the first visually impaired person to do so. He was assisted by his sighted navigator, Doug Smith. The two left California in late February on a 12m (40 ft) sailboat and … Continue reading
A study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports documents that as ferocious as great white sharks can be, even the great whites are afraid of transient orcas. When the orcas swim by the Southeast Farallon Islands, off San Francisco, the great … Continue reading
A few years ago I was walking down a street in Austin Texas when I saw a group of folks sitting at a bar pedal by. Apparently, they were peddling a “Pedal Pub” on a PubCrawler tour. The Pedal Pub … Continue reading
At the end of last December, we posted about the 72-year-old French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin who set off to attempt to drift across the Atlantic in a large wooden barrel. He departed from El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, … Continue reading
Recently, we posted about the planned sinking of the USS Clamagore as an artificial reef. The 1945 built Balao-class submarine has been an exhibit at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC since 1981, but the museum says … Continue reading
Man at Sea is one of Alfred Dunhill’s ‘Portraits of Achievement‘. It is five years old, but new to me. Man at Sea is an ode to the sea and one man’s life long passion for sailing on it, following … Continue reading
In February we posted that the tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry was entering drydock and that the mission and strategy of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI), the organization operating the ship, was being reconsidered. Rather than focussing on distance sailing, … Continue reading
The News is reporting that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is setting sail today from Portsmouth Harbour, heading to a celebratory tour of Falmouth, where he finished his record-setting voyage on April 22 in 1969, becoming the first person to sail non-stop … Continue reading
Four workers on a drilling rig 135 miles off the coast of Thailand saw something completely unexpected in the ocean swimming toward the rig — a small brown dog. The dog successfully climbed onto a partially submerged strut on the … Continue reading
Bill Heine, journalist and radio presenter, who for many years, lived in the Headington suburb of Oxford, died of cancer earlier this month at the age of 74. He left behind his partner, Jane Hanson, and their son, Magnus, as … Continue reading