Why did the pirates kill their for American hostages aboard the sailing yacht Quest? We may never know. Naval officers are speculating that the close approach of the destroyer USS Sterett may have panicked some of the pirates. The Sterett reportedly drew closer … Continue reading
Category Archives: Lore of the Sea
For the first time since the Iranian revolution in 1979, two ships of the Iranian Navy are transiting the Suez Canal bound for the Mediterranean Sea. The two ships, Alvand, a patrol frigate and Kharg, a supply ship, entered the … Continue reading
The US Central Command announced this morning that four Americans aboard the hijacked sailing vessel Quest were shot and killed by pirates at approximately 1 a.m. EST today. The victims were Jean and Scott Adam, the owners of the yacht, and Phyllis … Continue reading
In contrast to claims made by BP suggesting that the Gulf will have recovered from the Deep Horizon oil spill by 2012, a recent study presented at an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference says that the damage is far … Continue reading
We are learning more about the hijacked SV Quest, seized by pirates off Oman last Friday. The sailing yacht, reportedly with Americans Scott and Jean Adam, Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle aboard, had been sailing with the Oz-Med section of … Continue reading
A glimpse at what trans-Atlantic travel used to be – the RMS Queen Elizabeth of 1948 Top Liner 1948 [iframe: title=”YouTube video player” width=”480″ height=”390″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/tN3jVlNBEWQ” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] … Continue reading
The restored South Street Seaport, on New York’s City’s East River, has always been an uneasy balance between a historic seaport and a real estate deal. South Street is now far more shopping mall than historic seaport. The current museum … Continue reading
One of my favorite blogs is Will van Dorp’s Tugster : a water blog – part shipspotting, part anthropology and part wry commentary on life and the universe, Will and his omnipresent camera do a great job covering New York’s “six borough.” … Continue reading
Four Americans on the S/V Quest were seized by pirates this afternoon 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean. Jean and Scott Adam, owners of the S/V Quest, have been sailing around the world … Continue reading
Last week the Danish warship Esbern Snare captured a hijacked fishing vessel and freed two Yemeni hostages. In addition to 16 pirates aboard the ship, the Danes found rocket launchers, assault rifles, ammunition, large quantities of fuel and two skiffs. … Continue reading
Yesterday, Japan announced that due to concerns for safety they had suspended their whale hunt, as of February 10th. The Sea Shepherds claim that the Japanese are bluffing. Perhaps Watson and his band of bumbling vigilante pirates are concerned over their “reality” TV … Continue reading
Recently the New York Times on its “Answers to Readers’ Questions About New York” blog was asked, “Can you tell me anything about a Hudson River pirate named Sadie the Goat?” Sadie’s tale is worth retelling, whether or not she ever … Continue reading
According to a study published in the February issue of BioScience, 85% percent of the world’s native oyster reefs have been destroyed. Oyster Apocalypse? Truth About Bivalve Obliteration Three-quarters of the wild oysters left in the world, the study says, now … Continue reading
Last November we posted about a plan by Finnish authorities to allow one or several modern breweries to replicate the recipe of beer found in a Baltic Sea shipwreck dated between 1800 to 1830. In addition to cases of champagne, the … Continue reading
Last week we posted about the approval granted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to allow Bruce Power to ship 1,600 tonnes of radioactive waste, in the form of 16 decommissioned nuclear reactors, across the Great Lakes, though the St. … Continue reading
Update: The Seaport Museum “temporarily” laid-off another twelve staff members on Monday afternoon. More bad news from the South Street Seaport. Last week the Seaport Museum laid off the captain of the schooner Pioneer, as well a marine educator … Continue reading
The tank barge Waldhof which capsized a month ago in the Rhine River near Lorelei Rock was finally raised today after its cargo of sulfuric acid was allowed to slowly drain off. Two sailors where lost in the capsize. One of … Continue reading
If by some chance you choose not celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, or you have simply reached the limit of how many hearts and flowers you can tolerate, feel free to celebrate today as the Battle of Cape St. Vincent‘s Day. … Continue reading
Are they islands of love on the storm-tossed seas of life? Sadly, they probably are not, but they do look like Valentine’s Day hearts. … Continue reading
Happy Valentines Day! Yesterday, the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine held a sailor’s valentine workshop. (See our previous post.) Sailors’ valentines were traditionally octagonal wooden boxes with a glass front, with intricate symmetrical designs inside, often made of shells … Continue reading