Fifty years ago this year, nine sailors set off in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Only one, Robin Knox-Johnston sailing his 32-foot Bermudan ketch Suhaili, finished the race, becoming the first person ever to sail single-handed non-stop around the globe. This June, the race is … Continue reading
Category Archives: Current
Six days ago, oil began spilling into Borneo’s Balikpapan Bay. The oil would spread to cover an area of nearly 13,000 hectares and pollute 60 km of coastal ecosystems, including mangrove wetlands and marine mammal habitats. At least one protected dugong … Continue reading
A new exhibit has recently opened at the Postal Museum in London — Voices from the Deep. The exhibit features undeliveredd letters retrieved from the wreck of the SS Gairsoppa, a British merchant ship which was sunk by a U-boat 300 miles southwest of Galway … Continue reading
A fleet of tall ships is sailing to Galveston Island, Texas which will host Tall Ships Galveston from April 5 – 8th to kick off the Tall Ships Challenge Gulf Coast 2018 tall ship race. Included in the fleet will be: Galveston’s … Continue reading
As if things were not complicated enough, it appears that North Korea is building a second and more capable ballistic missile submarine. In addition to developing inter-continental range ballistic missiles launched from land, North Korea has for several years been … Continue reading
The remarkable discovery of 29 ancient footprints just above what would have been the tide line on Calvert Island in British Columbia provides new evidence to support the idea that early humans first migrated to America by sea along what is termed … Continue reading
The Southern Ocean has been battering the rigs of the boats sailing in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) as the fleet rounds Cape Horn. On Friday, Vestas 11th Hour Racing was dismasted. The Vestas boat lost its mast in 25 … Continue reading
A new study published in Nature suggests that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is growing “exponentially” and now spans roughly 617,763 square miles (1.6 million square km), or about three times the size of France. The garbage patch is an … Continue reading
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
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
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
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