Schooner Heritage in better times
At the end of June, we posted that the Maine windjammer passenger fleet faced an uncertain season due to the pandemic. Shortly thereafter, the State of Maine, working with the Maine Windjammer Association and others, agreed on a set of rules and guidelines to allow overnight windjammer cruises to start in July. That would generally be good news, except that the rules were very tough. The toughest was probably the state’s requirement that all out-of-state visitors must have a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of travel.
So, while it may be possible to cruise this year, many, and indeed most, windjammers have decided to keep their sails folded and not sail in the 2020 sailing season.
The Netherlands has the largest, still operational, historical sailing fleet in the world, consisting of 400 traditional, authentic sailing vessels. There are real concerns that the historic fleet may be destroyed by the aftermath of COVID-19. With the fleet locked down in port, a significant component of the Netherlands’ maritime heritage is at risk. 
We have posted in the past about the heroic and pioneering 
For a third day, the USS Bonhomme Richard continues to burn at the dock, despite the best efforts of hundreds of Navy and civilian firefighters to quench the inferno. The casualty raises the question, are dockside fires on ships worse than fires at sea? 
On Sunday at around 8 AM Pacific Time, an 
The US Coast Guard will name the eleventh ship in its new 
On March 27, astronomers discovered a new comet that they designated C/2020 F3. The comet was located using NASA’s space telescope, the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), the comet is being called Neowise. While not one of the brighter comets, like Hale-Bopp, the great comet of 1997,” nevertheless Neowise should be visible with the naked eye until early August. Let’s hope that the ancient lore of comets as harbingers of doom does not apply. We have had enough ill-fortune in 2020 already. 
On April 24, Angela Madsen set off from Marina del Rey, California bound for Hawaii in the 20′ ocean rowing boat, Row of Life. A three-time Paralympian and a Marine veteran, her goal was to be the first paraplegic and at 60, the oldest woman to row the Pacific Ocean alone.
In September 2019, the car carrier 
On Friday, June 26, 2020, 
Two groups of fishermen had recent close encounters with humpback whales off the Jersey Shore.
In May, 
On June 23, the keel was laid for the 
We recently 
At the end of May, we 
For decades, schooners referred to as “windjammers” have sailed up and down the Maine coast carrying vacationers from May to October. This year, however, the pandemic has delayed the season and there are concerns that it may not start at all.