We recently posted about Scott Kelly, the American astronaut who spent almost a year in space on the international Space Station. Scott Kelly is an alumnus of the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler. Before graduating … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
The Fictional Café is publishing three audio excerpts from V.E. Ulett’s Captain Blackwell’s Prize as a podcast. The first went up last Friday and the will continue for the next two Fridays, followed by an interview with the author on the fourth and … Continue reading
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have spotted a translucent white octopod at a depth of 4,300 meters while collecting geological samples with a remote-operated vehicle on Necker Ridge in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Described as a “remarkable … Continue reading
For the last few years, we have followed the sad saga of the “rebuilding” of the schooner Bluenose II. The latest development involves the replacement of the existing steel rudder and steering system at an estimated additional cost of $1 … Continue reading
Originally posted on gCaptain by Rick Spilman, on March 3, 2016. Reposted with permission. Rogue waves are real sea monsters. Rising many times higher than surrounding waves, they have the power to sink ships and to cripple offshore platforms. Recently, … Continue reading
Day before yesterday, we posted about the body of Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, a German sailor, who had been found adrift on his yacht off the Philippines. The body was a dusty grey in color and the sailor was widely … Continue reading
For several years now we have been posting about Scott and Mark Kelly, the identical twins who both graduated from merchant marine academies and served in the Navy. Each became astronauts and both have traveled in space. Recently, Scott Kelly … Continue reading
Two fisherman came across a macabre scene on a dismasted derelict sailboat, drifting 40 miles off the coast of Barobo in Surigao del Sur in the Philippines. A figure, the color of dry plaster, was slumped over the chart table … Continue reading
Last week, the 1895 lumber schooner C.A. Thayer, the last surviving West Coast lumber schooner, returned to her berth at San Francisco Maritime‘s Hyde Street Pier, after having three masts and a bowsprit installed by the Bay Ship and Yacht … Continue reading
Has Royal Caribbean Lines learned its lesson? Just days after a passenger filed a lawsuit against RCL for knowingly sending the cruise ship Anthem of the Seas into a winter storm off Hatteras in early February, the cruise line cut … Continue reading
$9.99 with Dave Evans is a weekly program which explores fun things to do and see in New York City for under ten bucks. Recently, he stopped by the ex-USCG Cutter Lilac at Pier 25 in Manhattan on the Hudson … Continue reading
What has been referred to as the Second Battle of the River Platte, may be coming to an end. In 2010, we posted about a legal battle over the salvaging of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee which was scuttled … Continue reading
Those of us around New York harbor have been watching a dramatic rescue unfold this morning. Around 2 AM, the 76-foot scallop fishing vessel Carolina Queen III, with 7 aboard, ran aground off Rockaway beach near the East Rockaway Inlet, … Continue reading
Recent studies suggest that sea levels are now rising at the fastest rate in the last 28 centuries. According to two reports, increased flooding in coastal communities in America can be traced directly to increased the production of greenhouse gases … Continue reading
The Department of the Interior recently announced that the SS Badger; the last coal-fired, passenger car ferry operating on the Great Lakes; has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. From the news release: The designation recognizes the Badger’s exceptional … Continue reading
Beautiful video shot by NOAA of Hawai’ian deepwater coral in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Deep Ocean Corals … Continue reading
On February 21, 1862, Nathaniel Gordon, captain of the slave ship, Erie, was executed by hanging in New York City. Under the Piracy Law of 1820, slave trading was considered to be an act of piracy punishable by death. He was … Continue reading
In December of 2012, we posted about the keel laying for the Peruvian Navy’s sail training ship at the Marine Industrial Services (SIMA) shipyard in Callao. Last month, the new four-masted barque, BAP (Buque Armada Peruana) Unión was commissioned. The … Continue reading
Some folks think that those around New York City are unfriendly, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Here is a short video of a seal resting on a patch of ice in the Hudson River waving at Megan Viscovich … Continue reading
Why did Captain Michael Davidson set a course that brought his ship, El Faro, into the path of Hurricane Joaquin last October with tragic results? That question, for which we many never have a fully satisfactory answer, has been at the core … Continue reading