Perry’s Battle Flag
On June 1, 1813, one hundred and ninety eight years ago today, the British frigate HMS Shannon defeated and captured the USS Chesapeake in single ship combat. Captain James Lawrence on the Chesapeake was mortally wounded during the battle. His last words were, depending on the account, “Don’t give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks,” or “Tell them to fire faster; don’t give up the ship.” If “don’t give up the ship” was an order, it was never carried out because the ship had already been taken by British boarders.
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The good news is that the events were more like the 
Victor Hugo wrote, “Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come.” There are some ideas whose time always appears to be coming but somehow never quite arrive. As a young naval architect in the 1970s, I recall predictions that tug boats would be towing icebergs to areas where fresh water is in short supply. On Sunday, Time magazine posted an article asking, “
An explosion in a fuel tank on the cruise ship docks in Gibraltar today injured several on the dock and over twelve passengers on the 3,634-passenger Royal Caribbean cruise ship, 
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The times are changing. No news there. Rather than welcoming the sailors and marines on the docks, some New Yorkers are reaching out to sailors during Fleet Week using social networking. Some sailors and marines are connecting with New Yorkers the same way. Craigslist seems a particularly popular way to make connections.
We recently
What looks like a great exhibition, “
The 
Back in February of last year, the 
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Piscataqua Maritime Commission is sponsoring 
Congratulations to 
Last week 