Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
December 2, 2014
The bark HMS Endeavour was built in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke. A type known locally as a Whitby Cat, it had a broad, flat bow, a square stern, a long box-like body with a deep hold, and a flat bottom. Originally ship-rigged, it was…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
July 15, 2014
The Cape Cod Canal is a seven-mile long sea level canal connecting Cape Cod Bay to the north with Buzzards Bay to the south. Maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), it has a minimum channel width of 480 feet and an authorized depth of 32 feet at mean low water.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
September 3, 2013
During the American Revolutionary War, British forces captured thousands of “rebels”. Those in uniform were accorded treatment somewhat akin to prisoner of war status. Those not in uniform, particularly the maritime privateers, were subjected to harsher conditions.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
August 14, 2012
The albatross is the largest of all birds in terms of wingspan (up to 12 feet). It can be found soaring above all ocean waters of the Southern Hemisphere and above the North Pacific. It is largely absent from the North Atlantic, probably due to loss of habitat.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
September 16, 2011
Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was born at West Point, where his father was an instructor. After graduating with distinction from the US Naval Academy in 1859, he served blockade duty on a number of warships during the Civil War. Mahan was promoted at…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
January 4, 2011
The whoosh you experienced at about 1900 UTC on Monday, January 3, 2011 was the sun passing by on its closest approach to the Earth – a mere 91,402,505 miles away. This recurs every year, often at night when it can’t be observed. The date and…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 5, 2010
The requirement for scanning of 100% of maritime shipping containers in overseas ports prior to loading on a ship bound for the United States was enacted into federal law (with various caveats) by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
April 6, 2010
The US Coast Guard adopted the concept of geographic districts when it absorbed the US Lighthouse Service in 1939. Previously, it had no formal segmentation of its chain of command based on geography. Rather, the chain of command was grouped around function.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 5, 2010
The trireme was utilized as a warship in the Mediterranean Sea from the 7th century BC until the fall of the Roman Republic at about the commencement of the Christian era. No other warship design has survived in service for a comparable period. It was truly the dominant battleship of its day.