The Monitor’s Dahlgren Guns, Frank Butts’ Boots and the Wailing Black Cat

Posted on by March 4, 2020

On New Year’s Eve, 1862, USS Monitor was under tow off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in a winter storm. The ship was taking on water and in grave danger of sinking. Francis “Frank” Butts, of Providence, R.I., the Monitor‘s helmsman, was bailing water from the ship’s turret which housed two 11″ smoothbore Dahlgren guns.

USS Monitor was an iron-hulled steam-powered warship whose battle with the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, ex-Merrimack, had made wooden battleships obsolete in a single afternoon. While the Monitor survived its battle with CSS Virginia, it was losing its battle with the Atlantic winter storm.

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Climate Change Causing Faster Winds and Accelerating Currents

Posted on by March 3, 2020

Climate change is affecting the oceans in a wide variety of ways. Oceans are warming and acidifying as temperatures rise and CO2 increases. Sea levels are rising as polar ice caps melt. Recently a study suggests that ocean currents have been accelerating, driven by rising wind speeds.

Scientific American reports that a study published…in Science Advances finds that global ocean circulation has been accelerating since the 1990s. The study examined decades of observations from instruments that monitor the seas’ kinetic energy—a measurement of how fast the water is moving.

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Congratulations to Australian Bill Hatfield, 81, the Oldest, Non-Stop, Unassisted Circumnavigator

Posted on by March 2, 2020

Congratulations to Australian Bill Hatfield, who at 81, recently completed a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe. His almost nine-month voyage on his 38-foot yacht L’Eau Commotion, was all the more remarkable because he sailed westward against the prevailing winds and currents. He had previously made three unsuccessful attempts but was turned back each time by weather or damage to his boat. 

The previous holder of bragging rights to the title of oldest solo circumnavigate is Jeanne Socrates, who at 77 completed a solo, unassisted circumnavigation. 

Brisbane grandfather becomes oldest solo sailor

HMS Erebus Artifacts Provide Glimpse into Franklin Expedition Sailors Lives

Posted on by March 1, 2020

Artifacts recovered during 93 dives by Parks Canada on the wreck of HMS Erebus over three weeks this fall provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the officers and sailors on the doomed Franklin Expedition of 1845. More than 350 artifacts have been recovered, including epaulets from a lieutenant’s uniform, ceramic dishes, wine bottles, a hairbrush with strands of human hair, and a pencil case. Sealing wax with the imprint of a fingerprint believed to belong to Edmund Hoar, the captain’s steward was also found.

“We have had the most successful season since the discovery of the wreck,” Marc-André Bernier, manager of Parks Canada’s underwater archeology team, told reporters in a press conference. “The preservation of the objects is quite phenomenal.”   

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The US Navy’s 7th Fleet Self-Quarantine — No Port Calls for 14 days

Posted on by February 29, 2020


While some ill-advised politicians are referring to the threat from Covid-19, the rapidly spreading coronavirus, as a “hoax,” the US Navy is taking it very seriously. Ships in the 7th Fleet has been ordered to spend at least 14 days at sea between port visits as nations in the region battle outbreaks of the new coronavirus, a Navy official told Stars and Stripes on Friday. The ships are effectively being put into self-quarantine. 

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“Unprecedented” Number of Blue Whales Observed Off Southern Ocean South Georgia Island

Posted on by February 28, 2020

Mother Nature Network is reporting that a team of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) counted 55 Antarctic blue whales during their 2020 expedition to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia — a number they called “unprecedented.” In a previous BAS survey in 2018, only one Antarctic blue whale had been sighted.

In addition to Antarctic blue whales, the team recorded 790 humpback whales during the 21-day survey and estimated that there are now more than 20,000 of them feeding off the island seasonally.

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TBT– Frederick Douglass — “I Will Take to the Water”

Posted on by February 27, 2020

Frederick Douglas

An updated repost in honor of Frederick Douglass and Black History Month. 

Frederick Douglass was born around 1818. From an early age, he developed a close attachment to ships and the sea. His path to freedom led directly through the docks and shipyards of Baltimore, Maryland.

As a young man, Douglass was sent to work in the shipyards at Fells Point as a caulker and shipwright’s helper when he was around 12 years old. In the shipyard, he learned the first letters of the alphabet — “L” and “S” for larboard and starboard and “F” and “A” for fore and aft, from marks made by the shipwrights on ship’s frames to identify where they were to be placed on a ship under construction.

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Archaeologists Discover 200 Ancient Roman Amphorae in Underwater Cave

Posted on by February 26, 2020

Over the years, we have posted about the “world’s oldest beer” and the “world’s oldest champagne” found in shipwrecks dating from the 1700s. Recently, divers have located roughly 200 ancient Roman amphorae, believed to originally have stored wine, in an underwater cave off the coast of Majorca.

The ceramic containers were found in the Fuente de Ses Aiguades cave, which lies in the Bay of Alcudia on the northeastern coast of Majorca, in the Spanish Balearic Islands. Unlike the ancient beer and champagne bottles whose contents were still more or less intact, the amphorae are no longer sealed so whatever they contained, whether wine or oil, has long washed away.

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Grays Harbor Historical Seaport’s Hawaiian Chieftain Up For Sale

Posted on by February 25, 2020

For several years now, the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport‘s tall ships, the replica brig Lady Washington and the square topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain, have sailed the Pacific Coast offering educational and sail training programs. One highlight of these programs were the “battle-sails” where the two ships maneuvered to fire blanks at each other in mock combat. We recently posted a video of a “battle-sail.”

The “battle-sails,” at least those involving the Hawaiian Chieftain, appear to be coming to an end. Grays Harbor Historical Seaport (GHHS) has announced its intention to sell the Hawaiian Chieftain to focus on the operation of Lady Washington. The decision was precipitated by the discovery of significant problems with the steel in her hull and bowsprit last year by Coast Guard inspectors. 

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Amazing Video of Humpback Whale Bubble-Net Feeding

Posted on by February 24, 2020

Here is a breathtaking video of humpback whales bubble-net feeding in Alaska shot by the University of Hawaii, Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP). The whales use bubbles to create virtual nets to herd their prey. The video was captured using aerial drones and also by cameras attached by suction cups to the whales to give a whale’s eye view perspective. Simply amazing.

Whale bubble-net feeding documented by UH researchers through groundbreaking video

Song For A Sunday — Bob Wright’s Downing’s Oyster Bar

Posted on by February 23, 2020

A follow up to yesterday’s post about Thomas Downing, the free black owner of an upscale oyster house in New York’s financial district prior to the Civil War. While serving New York City’s white financial and political elite upstairs, Downing also ran an Underground Railroad station in his restaurant’s basement, helping runaways escape from slavery. Here is a song by Bob Wright and Harbortown about Downing’s duel enterprises —  Downing’s Oyster Bar.

Thomas Downing, From Son of Slaves to Oyster King of New York City

Posted on by February 22, 2020

Image: NY Public Library

In the decades before the Civil War, Thomas Downing, the son of slaves, became the acknowledged oyster king of New York City when New York was the oyster capital of the known universe.  He had learned how to rake oysters as a child on Chincoteague Island, Virginia. When he moved to New York in 1819 at the age of 28, he became an oysterman. 

There were hundreds of oyster cellars in New York City at the time, many associated with working-class bars, dance halls, and brothels. Oysters were plentiful, cheap, and thought of as a food of the lower classes.

Thomas Downing helped to change that perception, when he opened his own oyster cellar at 5 Broad Street, in the heart of the financial district, in 1825.  The restaurant was elegantly appointed with damask curtains, gold-leaf carvings, chandeliers and mirrored hallways. Stockbrokers, attorneys, politicians, and other of the city’s elites ate raw, fried, or stewed oysters, oyster pie, fish with oyster sauce, or poached turkey stuffed with oysters.

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Screening of “The Arctic Rose Mystery” at Shiplore in NYC on Monday, 2/24/20

Posted on by February 22, 2020


On Monday, February 24th, at 7:30 PM, New York’s Shiplore and Model Club, the city’s oldest nautical interest group, will be hosting a screening of the documentary “The Mystery of the Arctic Rose,”  which examines the deadliest U.S. fishing accident in 50 years. 

I participated in the documentary and will be making a few comments on the tragic sinking and the particular challenges of fishing vessel safety. The documentary is a production of Exploration Production Inc. in association with Smithsonian Networks and Discovery Canada and is a part of the series, “Disasters at Sea.”

The screening will be held at Gerry Weinstein’s loft at 80 White Street in downtown Manhattan. Feel free to stop by if you are in the area.

Betelgeuse, Navigational Star, May Explode, If It Hasn’t Already

Posted on by February 20, 2020

Betelgeuse, a red giant in the constellation Orion, is normally one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky. For those navigating by sextant, it is  one of the 58 navigational stars. Recently, however, it has begun to dim and is now fainter than ever recorded. What is happening?

Jonathan Corum writes in the New York Times: Betelgeuse typically fades and brightens in short cycles of 14 months and longer cycles of about six years. Overlapping cycles might explain the dimming, or clouds of debris might be obscuring the starlight. Or the star might be about to explode. …

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Remembering Robert Smalls – Slave, Pilot of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & Congressman

Posted on by February 2, 2022

Robert Smalls is an unsung American hero. If all goes well, he may soon get some of the recognition that he deserves. Last year, it was announced that Charles Burnett is directing a movie about Robert Smalls for Amazon Studios. It is expected to be released later this year. 

In the meantime, his is a story well worth retelling. An updated repost. The remarkable story of Robert Smalls.

On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, led eight fellow slaves in an audacious flight to freedom. They seized the CSS Planter, steamed it out past the batteries and forts of Charleston harbor, and turned it over to the Union naval blockade.  Smalls would go on to become the first black captain of a U.S. Navy vessel, a South Carolina State Legislator, a Major General in the South Carolina Militia, a five-term U.S. Congressman, and a U.S. Collector of Customs.  

Harper’s Weekly of June 14, 1862, recounts the escape:
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The Long Strange Voyage of the “Ghost Ship” MV Alta

Posted on by February 18, 2020

Photo: Irish Coast Guard

Storm Dennis was the second-strongest nontropical storm on record in the North Atlantic Ocean. It brought hurricane-force winds, towering waves, and significant flooding to Britain, Wales, and Ireland. It also brought something wholly unexpected — the abandoned general cargo ship, MV Alta, which washed up on the rocky shore near Ballycotton, Cork, on Ireland’s southern coast.

No one was aboard the 77m (253′) cargo ship, built in 1976, when she came ashore. The MV Alta had been a “ghost ship,” a derelict, adrift in the Atlantic Ocean for more than 17 months, ever since her crew of 10 was rescued by the US Coast Guard in October 2018.  The crew had been stranded for almost 20 days following a machinery failure. They were running out of food and water and a hurricane was approaching. In the nick of time, USCGC Confidence rescued the crew approximately 1,380 miles southeast of Bermuda and brought them to Puerto Rico. 

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Happy Presidents’ Day – Lincoln’s Improved Camel Patent

Posted on by February 17, 2020

Nantucket Camel Ride

In the United States, today is “Presidents’ Day,”  a national holiday on the third Monday of February, falling between Lincoln’s (February 14th) and Washington’s  (February 22) birthdays.  Here is an updated repost of the tale of a patent granted to Abraham Lincoln for a device to lift boats and ships over sandbars.

In the early 1800s, the entrance to the harbor of the great whaling port of Nantucket had shoaled in. Fully loaded whaling ships could not cross the bar and return to the docks beyond Brandt Point. For years the ships anchored offshore and were lightered, the barrels of whale oil loaded into smaller boats which could make it across the bar.

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Black History Month — David Debias, 8 Year Old Sailor on Old Ironsides

Posted on by February 16, 2020

Capture of H.M. Ships Cyane & Levant, by the U.S. Frigate Constitution

David Debias, was a free black youth from the north side of Beacon Hill in Boston. In 1814, at only 8 years old, he signed aboard the USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides.” He was rated as a ship’s boy and was assigned as a servant to Master’s Mate Nathaniel G. Leighton. 

On the night of February 20, 1815, Debias served on USS Constitution during the battle in which Old Ironsides captured HMS Cyane and HMS Levant.

He sailed on board Levant, with Master’s Mate Leighton, as part of the prize crew.  Levant was subsequently captured by a British squadron on the way back to the United States and Debias and the rest of the prize crew were imprisoned in Barbados. With the end of the war in May, he returned home and was finally reunited with his family. His father collected $31.98 — the equivalent of roughly $550 today — for his young son’s seven months of service.

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Update: U.S. To Repatriate Most Americans on Quarantined Cruise Ship Diamond Princess

Posted on by February 15, 2020

Is the quarantine of the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan an effective way to control the spread of the virus known as COVID-19 , or is it facilitating the spread of the virus to other passengers and crew aboard the ship? Not enough is known about how the virus is spread for a definitive answer, nevertheless, the latter seems increasingly likely. One observer called the quarantine a “scary public health experiment.”

After initially saying that the ship was the safest place for the more than 400 American passengers, the US Embassy has reversed itself and announced plans to repatriate most American passengers from the ship.  

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