The Man Who Fell to Shore – What Reid Stowe Found Waiting for Him When He Returned From 1,151 Days on the Open Sea

We have posted about Reid Stowe’s remarkable non-stop voyage of over 1100 days at sea.   Now that Reid has been home for several months, Adam Sternbergh writing in the New Yorker magazine has written a portrait of Reid’s voyage … Continue reading

Fire Damaged Ferry, 86-year-old M/V Kirkland, Won’t be Rebuilt

Argosy Cruises has announced that the 86 year old ferry, MV Kirkland, which was severely damaged by fire at the end of last month, will not be rebuilt.  The 1924 wooden-hulled car ferry served passengers all over the Pacific Northwest. The … Continue reading

Sink the HMAS Adelaide !

It looks like the guided missile frigate HMAS Adelaide will indeed be scuttled off Avoca Beach, north of Sydney in New South Wales, to create an artificial diving site.  Last March we posted about a court case brought by environmentalists which prevented the planned scuttling … Continue reading

Is the Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy too big for Portland?

We have previously posted about efforts to permanently moor the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Portland, Maine.   The Navy is is considering proposals from Portland and Rhode Island.  Many in Portland are not happy at the prospect … Continue reading

Real-time Research on Passenger Drills on RCCL’s Jewel of the Seas

As cruise ships grow ever larger safety professionals have questioned whether passengers will be able to get to the life boats in time in case of an  emergency. (See Captain D. Peter Boucher’s BIGGER IS BETTER – NOT on his Nautical Log blog for … Continue reading

Prison ship records from 19th Century published

Ancestry.co.uk. has published, on-line records, held by National Archives of 19th Century prison ships providing  a glimpse into the lives of the estimated 200,000 inmates. Prison ship records from 19th Century published The records outline the disease-ridden conditions on the “prison hulks”, created … Continue reading

Tug Caribbean Sea Never Responded to Duck Boat in Fatal Collision

On July 7th, we posted about a collision between a barge towed by the tug Caribbean Sea and a disabled “Duck boat” DUKW 34 at anchor in the Delaware River off Philadelphia.  Two of the 35 passengers on the duck … Continue reading

Jiaolong – the World’s Deepest Diving Submersible being Tested by the Chinese

Jiaolong, 蛟龙, in Chinese folklore, is a shape-shifting water dragon.  For several months this summer the Chinese government has been quietly testing a new submersible, named Jiaolong, designed to dive to 7,000 meters.  If successful, it will be the deepest diving submersible in the world, diving … Continue reading

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point – Squareriggers, Schooners and Giant Squid

The Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point this weekend offers a wide range of attractions and activities.  It all starts with a parade of ships and schooners at sunset this evening.  The Brig Pilgrim, the replica of the ship made famous by Richard Henry Dana, has … Continue reading

Franklin Records Found as Search Resumes for Franklin’s Ships

An update to a previous post. An Inuit family says a box that was hidden for over 80 years in the Arctic contains documents linked to the doomed Franklin expedition and has just turned the box over to the the Canadian Conservation … Continue reading

Tight Race for Favorite Tug of 2010 – W.O. Decker in the Lead

The Waterford Tugboat Roundup 2010 starts tomorrow with a Parade of  Tugs past the Albany, NY waterfront before all return to Waterford at the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers for a  full weekend of competitions and entertainment.   The Roundup Favorite Tug of 2010 competition … Continue reading

US Marines Recapture M/V Magellan Star from Somali Pirates

Twenty-four U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force stormed the German-owned containership M/V Magellan Star today, capturing the pirates that had seized control of the ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.   No … Continue reading

The Pacific Sun and the Pacific Star: “Lessons Learnt and Heeded” – Or Maybe Not

The video of unsecured furniture flying about on the P&O cruise ship, Pacific Sun, is all over the internet.  A Carnival spokesperson (Carnival owns P&O) is quoted as saying, “The incident was fully investigated and lessons learnt have been heeded, including the … Continue reading

P&O Cruise Ship, Pacific Sun, in Heavy Seas – Alarming Video

Cruise ship operators would prefer that their passengers exist in a hermetically sealed bubble, where they can enjoy the sea without ever having to be exposed to it;  where their passengers can look up occasionally from drinking, dining and spending money in the onboard … Continue reading