Here is a video of the scuttling of HMS Implacable in 1949. She was originally the French Navy’s Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800. The Duguay-Trouin fought in and survived the Battle of Trafalgar, only to be captured by the British in the Battle of Cape Ortegal and renamed Implacable. When scuttled in 1949, HMS Implacable was the second oldest ship of the Navy after HMS Victory. There were major protests against her disposal, but given the post-War austerity, the British government decided against the cost of her restoration. In 1947 the British government had offered her to the French, who also declined the offer based on restoration costs. The Implacable’s figurehead and stern galleries were removed prior to scuttling and are on display in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, while her capstan is on display at the maritime museum at Rochefort.
The protests over the scuttling of HMS Implacable are believed to have contributed to the British government’s decision to preserve the clipper ship Cutty Sark. Thanks to Andrew Reinbach for pointing out the video on Facebook.
The Alaskan high-tech ferry 
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The Norwegian soft drink 
Calling all Sea Goddesses and would-be Sea Goddesses. Applications are now being accepted for the Maine Sea Goddess Pageant. The Pageant is open to 20 young women who are single, a high school (or equivalent GED) graduate, not more than 21 years of age, and a Maine resident. The young woman chosen as Sea Goddess receives a $2,000 cash award and represents the Maine lobster fishing industry at events in Maine and across New England throughout her one-year reign. This year’s Maine Lobster Festival Sea Goddess Coronation will take place on Wednesday evening, July 31, the first day of the 66th annual 
You might call it the greenhouse effect, though it is not directly related to climate change. A dead sperm whale which washed ashore last year in Andalusia, in southern Spain, was found to have died from ingesting plastic sheets used in the construction of greenhouses in that region. The whale had over 17 kilogrammes (37 pounds) of garbage blocking its stomach, including some 30 square metres (36 square yards) of plastic canvas, said Renaud de Stephanis, a marine biologist at the Donana Biological Station, which is run by the Spanish National Research Council. “There were a dozen metres of plastic rope, plastic sheeting used on the outside of greenhouses, and plastic sheeting used inside and even two flower pots.”
A team of archaeologists think that they may have found the first Viking sunstone. Two years ago we posted about Viking sunstones, the legendary, and indeed considered by many to be mythical, devices which allowed Viking navigators to locate the position of the sun even on heavily overcast or cloudy days. See our previous post – 
Today in Japan, 
Two men and a woman brought pizza and beer aboard the 82′ sailing yacht Darlin in the Sausalito Yacht Harbor late Sunday or early Monday and proceeded to take the boat to sea, only to run aground in shallow water near Pacifica State Beach in Sausalito. The owner of the Darlin saw his yacht on the television coverage of the grounding and reported it stolen. The apparent thieves repeatedly declined assistance and refused to leave the grounded boat. A standoff ensued for several hours with the Coast Guard and local authorities. Ultimately, 
There are two wonderful newsletters for keeping up with what is going on in the world of nautical fiction – 
A new report, published in the j
HMS Ambush