The 19th annual Woodenboat Show is to be held next weekend in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut. I hope any readers of this blog who live nearby will attend, and let us know how they found it in a comment to this post. According to the Web site of the Mystic Seaport Museum: Wooden boats of every… Continue reading Craftsmanship on show
Tag: Ships
Another adventure ends successfully
Heartfelt congratulations to the crew of the Talisker Bounty Boat, who yesterday completed their re-enactment of William Bligh‘s famous 4,000-mile journey in an open boat, from near Tonga to Kupang in West Timor, after the notorious ‘Mutiny on the Bounty‘ in 1789. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Four adventurers have landed in Indonesia at the… Continue reading Another adventure ends successfully
The spirit of adventure is worth the risk
I’m more than a little angry at all the recriminations being directed against the parents of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland. She was trying to circumnavigate the globe alone, aboard her yacht Wild Eyes. As you probably know, her attempt came to a sad end last week when her vessel was dismasted in a storm in the… Continue reading The spirit of adventure is worth the risk
The ‘little ships’ get under way
A couple of days ago I wrote about the 70th anniversary celebrations of the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, resulting in the rescue of most of the British Army in the face of certain destruction at the hands of the advancing German Wehrmacht. The commemoration is in full swing at present. This morning a flotilla… Continue reading The ‘little ships’ get under way
The “little ships” celebrate their 70th anniversary
Seventy years ago, on May 26th, 1940, the British authorities put out an urgent call to all owners of river and harbor ferries, private yachts and pleasure craft, etc., and all those competent to crew them. Their services were urgently required. (That original request, as broadcast by the BBC on May 29th, 1940, may be… Continue reading The “little ships” celebrate their 70th anniversary
A ship that can’t be allowed to die!
I’m appalled to read that the USS Olympia, the flagship of then-Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the 1898 Spanish-American War, is so seriously dilapidated that she may sink at her moorings. Astonishingly, no money is available to repair her. She may even have to be sunk as an artificial reef!… Continue reading A ship that can’t be allowed to die!
So much for international law!
The Russian Navy seems to have a refreshingly practical approach to the application of international law to pirates. The BBC reports: Ten suspected Somali pirates captured by the Russian navy last week may have perished after their release, a defence source in Moscow has told reporters. Marines seized them during a dramatic operation to free… Continue reading So much for international law!
A very interesting inside look at the Russian Navy
The US Naval Institute has published an article giving a very interesting series of impressions of the Russian Navy. It cites a Russian document prepared for that Navy’s high command, discussing a joint exercise with the French Navy in 2004. Here are a few excerpts from that Russian report, as cited by the USNI. French… Continue reading A very interesting inside look at the Russian Navy
Doofus Of The Day #347
Today’s Doofus is from England. It’s the sort of silly sea tale that couldn’t be made up. The 32ft Myra Two motor cruiser had to be guided to safety by coastguards yesterday after its captain ran aground as he attempted to sail out of the River Thames. It turned out the hapless mariner and his… Continue reading Doofus Of The Day #347
A watch made from the Titanic?
Reader Adrian S. sent me a link to an article about watches made from the steel of the Titanic, salvaged from the wreck site deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. We’re all for reuse and recycle, but Romain Jerome’s Titanic DNA Watch is borderline macabre/bizarre. Granted, we really dig the design — but taking actual steel… Continue reading A watch made from the Titanic?