In July, we posted about a Baltic shipwreck on which divers found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution. (see Baltic Bubbly – ‘World’s oldest champagne’) On subsequent dives, smaller bottles have been recovered which apparently contain … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Hurricane Earl, or rather tropical storm Earl, spun its way past New York, far enough out to sea so we had neither wind nor rain to mark his passing. Having missed this hurricane, here is an interesting article on Weather.com that lists the … Continue reading
After Earl, some R.I. weekend events adjust schedules To give participants in the Museum of Yachting’s 31st annual Classic Yacht Regatta in Newport time to get their boats back in the water in the wake of the storm, races scheduled … Continue reading
Hurricane Earl appears not to be likely to make landfall on the US East Coast but the expected winds and seas have rearranged some schedules. The Camden Windjammer Festival originally scheduled to start today has been postponed to 4PM on Saturday. The Gloucester Schooner Festival has cancelled several outdoor activities but otherwise is on … Continue reading
Happy Merchant Navy Day! In Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand today, September 3rd, is celebrated as Merchant Navy Day – an official day of remembrance of the sacrifices made by merchant mariners in war-time. In World War I and World War II, over 45, 000 … Continue reading
Assuming that Hurricane Earl doesn’t interfere, the 3rd annual Fish & Ships Labor Day Weekend Seafood Festival will be held at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut this Saturday through Monday. Fish & Ships Seafood Festival back at Mystic Seaport … Continue reading
The inner harbor of beautiful Victoria, Canada on Vancouver Island will be filled with between 75 to 100 classic boats beginning today and running through the Sunday at the 33rd Annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival. Harbour plays host to classic boat fest … Continue reading
An oil platform operated by Mariner Energy exploded today near Vermilion Bay in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. One worker was reported injured. No one was killed and no significant oil spill resulted. Mariner Energy has been involved at least 13 … Continue reading
The 2010 Port of San Diego Festival of Sail kicks off today with a parade of tall ships on San Diego Bay at 11 a.m. The festival runs runs through September 6th and features more than 20 tall ships … Continue reading
Two major maritime festivals on the US East coast, scheduled for the Labor Day weekend, appear to be generally in the path of Hurricane Earl. The organizers of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival and schooner race and the Camden Windjammer Festival, both … Continue reading
What would Lord Nelson have thought of this? There were various news reports out recently that the British and the French may share aircraft carriers. UK, France closer to carrier sharing deal Britain and France are moving closer to a deal to share … Continue reading
Last week, a paddler in a kayak race on the Missouri River was hit on the side of his face by a 20-30 pound jumping carp, almost causing him to capsize. Fortunately he was not seriously injured but had to … Continue reading
Last week the yacht, Making Waves, a 48 foot Sea Ray Sundancer, with its engine running and the autopilot engaged, came ashore on Redding Beach, FL, on the Gulf of Mexico, with no one aboard. The boat is estimated to be … Continue reading
Stan Roger‘s classic song begins, “Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage; to find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea.” Stan died in 1983, but his son, Nathan Rogers, also a singer, recently set … Continue reading
Another article about stowaways, though of a completely different sort – zebra mussels on the Brig Niagara. Earlier this month, the Niagara, a historically accurate reconstruction of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s victorious 1813 flagship, visited Isle Royale, an island National Park in northwestern Lake … Continue reading
Great news! The oldest just barely surviving composite clipper ship in the world, the City of Adelaide appears likely to be moved to Australia to its namesake city, Adelaide. The ship, which is currently at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland, has … Continue reading
One of the ways that stowaways can get aboard liner ships these days is to hide in cargo containers. Atlantic Container Lines will be using containers for a related if rather different purpose. The shipping line will soon take delivery … Continue reading
Despite all odds, earlier this month, 492 Tamil refugees arrived in Vancouver in an old and barely seaworthy ship, then named the Sun Sea. The Tamil Ghost ship, as she has been dubbed, had been intermittently tracked by the maritime authorities of various nations as she … Continue reading
Earlier this week we posted about Tall Ships Chicago 2010. Among the roughly 20 tall ships participating is the 118-foot topsail schooner Unicorn whose crew includes six Chicago-area girls from the “Sisters Under Sail” program. “Adventure of a Lifetime” is About … Continue reading
Once movies were based on great novels. Of course, they usually ruined the story, but at least you could say, “I liked the book better.” Then, seven years ago, Jerry Bruckheimer produced a movie based on a Disney World … Continue reading