As Black History Month comes to a close, it is worthwhile to remember early African-American shipmasters. Who was the first? That is hard to say. Paul Cuffe is a good candidate. Paul Cuffe was born on Cuttyhunk Island, MA on January 17, 1759, … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, seized the steamer, sailed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor and turned it over to the Union naval blockade. Smalls … Continue reading
An updated repost in honor of Black History Month. We are a few days late celebrating Frederick Douglass‘ birthday or at least the day that he celebrated as his birthday. As a slave, he never knew the date of his birth … Continue reading
On a cold winter Sunday on the banks of the Hudson River, here is a video from the New Zealand summer about the restoration of one of the oldest yachts in the island nation, the 115-year-old Ariki. For additional photos … Continue reading
According to a saying often attributed to Mark Twain, “History may not repeat itself. But it often rhymes.” This came to mind recently when posting about the sad state of the windjammer Falls of Clyde, which recently nearly sank at the … Continue reading
We are a few days late in wishing the iconic cartoon character, Popeye the sailorman, a happy birthday. (Frankly, I am not sure how one sends birthday wishes to a cartoon character, in any case.) Popeye first appeared on January … Continue reading
Last April, we posted about a planned expedition to the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea on the icebreaking polar-supply and research-vessel SA Agulhas II. The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 is now underway, and scientists have spent the past two weeks investigating the Larsen C … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about the replica of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour which will be circumnavigating Australia to commemorate the 250th-anniversary of Cook’s arrival. Some critics have noted that Captain Cook did not actually sail around Australia. Coincidentally and almost simultaneously, archaeologists in London … Continue reading
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia, HMS Endeavour, a replica of Cook’s ship, will circumnavigate the continent. Prime minister Scott Morrison has announced the Australian government will be providing 6.7 million Australian dollars (£3.72 million) … Continue reading
Recently the containership MOL Empire passed an abandoned sailboat in the mid-Atlantic around 1,500 nautical miles away from Jersey. The captain emailed photos of the boat to the Cross Jobourg Coastguard in France which was able to identify it as the Service Civique. The … Continue reading
For Throwback Thursday, an updated repost of an event from ten years ago — the other “Miracle on the Hudson.” Ten years ago this week, US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River. If the plane’s … Continue reading
Today marks the 100th year anniversary of the Great Boston Molasses Flood, which inundated Boston’s North End sending a wall of molasses, killing 21 and injuring 150. The Purity Distilling Company built a large molasses storage tank on Commercial Street in Boston’s North … Continue reading
In August of 1772, a powerful hurricane devastated much of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. On the island of St. Croix, the town of Christiansted was virtually leveled. An impoverished 17-year-old clerk, who worked for a local merchant, wrote a letter to … Continue reading
On New Year’s Eve 1918, over 200 men crowded the dock at the port of Kyle of Lochalsh waiting to the board the HMY Iolaire, a 190′ long iron-hulled yacht requisitioned by the Admiralty. Most of the men were Royal Navy Reservists. … Continue reading
Here is a wonderful sea story which appears to be more or less true. RMS Warrimoo was an Australian/New Zealand passenger ship, launched in 1892. The ship is best remembered for crossing the intersection of the international dateline and the equator at precisely the turn of … Continue reading
Recently, teams of Navy specialists have successfully removed 230,000 gallons of fuel, or close to 800 tons, still aboard the Prinz Eugen when it sank at Kwajalein, 72 years ago. The bottom of the lagoon at the Kwajalein Atoll is … Continue reading
A report from a few years ago. A story well worth retelling. Today the Christmas Ship is Chicago’s largest all-volunteer charitable support program for inner-city youth and their families at Christmas time. At the turn of the twentieth century, the “Christmas Tree … Continue reading
I will admit to being dependent on GPS. I rely on it for both maps and apps on my phone as well as the chartplotters on several tablets on my boat. Nevertheless, until recently I knew nothing of Gladys West, a … Continue reading
Researchers believe that wreckage found off the coast of Filey in Yorkshire is from the American warship USS Bonhomme Richard. The ship, under the command of John Paul Jones, fought a four-hour battle with HMS Serapis off nearby Flamborough Head in … Continue reading
On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the iconic USS Arizona Memorial remains closed to the public. As we posted last June, the memorial close indefinitely after structural cracks in the memorial dock were reported in early May. The National Park Service (NPS) … Continue reading