In 1606, the Duyfken, commanded by Willem Janszoon, became the first European vessel to sail to the continent of Australia. In 1999, in an act of “experimental archaeology,” a replica of of the Dutch ship was built in Freemantle, Australia. The goal was to build a replica that approached the remarkable sailing qualities of the original ship. The effort was a success. Now over 400 years after the original first sailed the shallow seas of the East Indies, the Duyfken replica continues its legacy. Recently three short videos were posted of the Duyfken sailing in the Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea. Thanks to Margaret Muir for pointing them out.
For more video of the Duyfken, click here and here. To learn more see : The Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation
Barbados Bound
Two hundred and twenty years ago today on August 4th, 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton established the Revenue Cutter Service, predecessor to the United States Coast Guard. (In 1915, the service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service and adopted its current name.) So happy birthday to the US Coast Guard, the nation’s oldest seagoing service.
One of the joys and pains of buying beer these days, is that there is are so many interesting craft beers to choose from. Some are marvelous, some are unremarkable, while a few are wildly over-hopped, which some American craft brewers think is cutting edge. (It isn’t. It is simply bitter.) Recently, there has been a interesting shift of focus away from hops alone toward 
In 1730, the third year of the reign of King George II, two brothers, Ralph and Robert Clarke, bought shares in a 300-ton sailing vessel. Their enterprise would become 
Earlier this month, 
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The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s 5th Annual Chesapeake Folk Festival, this Saturday, July 28th, in St. Michaels, MD, celebrates the Bay’s people, arts, work, and bounty offers a full stage of live music all day long, regional foods, hands-on activities with regional craftspeople, small-craft paddling around the harbor, and more.
Two recent reports look at the actions and inaction of BP and its contractor Transocean before the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the consequences of the resulting spill on the environment. The explosion on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 and injured 17 and resulted in the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history. A report issued Tuesday by the Chemical Safety Board faulted BP and Transocean for failing to focus on the larger issues of safety and serious accident prevention. The report found that many of the the same failures in safety analysis and planning which lead to a 2005 explosion at a BP Texas City oil refinery, killing 15 employees, contributed to the Deepwater Horzion catastrophe.