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The Old Salt Blog is a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea, whether from the deck of a ship or boat or from the pages of a novel. Pull up a chair by the fire and make yourself at home.
Old Salt Blog
2d ago
Photo: Patrick Coyne
With the advent of climate change red tide outbreaks have grown more frequent. A red tide occurs when certain types of algae grow out of control. The name “red tide” comes from the fact that overgrowth of algae can cause the color of the water to turn red, (as well as green or brown.) Red tides can be hazardous to human health and sea life.
Some, though not all, red tides can be bioluminescent, putting on an amazing light show that turns the ocean waves a vivid neon blue. A few years back, an outbreak of red tide off Newport Beach, California discolored the Pacific ..read more
Old Salt Blog
4d ago
I like it, even if I am not sure I understand it. Here is the Strictly Scottish dance team dancing a ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ medley at the BC Highland Games of 2023. Thanks to Frank Hanavan for pointing it out.
Strictly Scottish dance ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ Medley at BC Highland Games 2023
The post Strictly Scottish Dance ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ Medley appeared first on Old Salt Blog ..read more
Old Salt Blog
1w ago
Here is another old favorite, a companion repost to yesterday’s repost of “The Unsinkable Hugh Williams – Truth Behind the Legend?”
We recently posted in response to a video, “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?.” It recounted how three men named Hugh Williams were each the only survivors of shipwrecks in the treacherousness Menai Straits off North Wales. More remarkably, two of the Hugh Williams escaped from shipwrecks on the same day, December 5th separated by over a hundred years. The video claimed that all three Hugh Williams’ ships sank on D ..read more
Old Salt Blog
1w ago
I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams.
There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence Ever Recorded?” (The video is embedded at the bottom of the post.) It tells the story of a ship that sank in the Menai Strait off the coast of Wales on December 5, 1664. All 81 passengers died, except one. His name was Hugh Williams. Then on December 5th, 1785 another ship with 60 aboard sank in the Menai Strait. The only survivor – a man named Hugh Williams. In 1 ..read more
Old Salt Blog
1w ago
Preussen under full sail
We recently posted about the five-masted full-rigged cruise ship Royal Clipper, a modern sailing ship designed as an homage to the great five-masted windjammer Preussen. Here is a repost of a guest post by Robin Denny about the mighty windjammer:
With the Peking now back in her home port of Hamburg, perhaps it is opportune to mention another of the Flying P sailing ships, the great Preussen. A five-masted full-rigged ship, 482′ LOA, with square sails on all masts, she was one of the fastest sailing ships, matching the Clippers with speeds up ..read more
Old Salt Blog
1w ago
My wife and I are currently sailing as passengers on the cruise ship Royal Clipper, the second of only two five-masted full-rigged steel ships ever built. The first such ship was the mighty windjammer, Preussen, of 1902. The Royal Clipper, launched in 2000, was inspired by the Preussen. An updated repost.
Here is an animation from a Mariner’s Mirror podcast about the Preussen, perhaps the greatest windjammer of the early twentieth century. One of the Flying P-Liners, built for the F. Laeisz shipping company in 1902, she was then the only five-masted full-rigged steel commercial sailing sh ..read more
Old Salt Blog
2w ago
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost.
The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper ship Neptune’s Car, bound for San Francisco from New York City. Mary’s husband Captain Joshua had collapsed, suffering from “brain fever.” For 56 days, Mary took over the command and navigation of the ship. She faced down a mutiny and successfully brought the clipper into San Francisco. On her arrival, Mary was 19 years old and pregnant with her first child.
Mary wa ..read more
Old Salt Blog
3w ago
An updated repost in honor of Women’s History month.
Since at least the 17th century, on the Korean island of Jeju, the haenyeo, Korean for “sea women” have worked free diving in the clear island waters. Using an ancient breathing technique called sumbisori, the women dive as deep as 32 feet to harvest octopus, abalone, conch, sea urchins, clams and edible seaweeds.
To pass the time and ease the boredom while rowing in open boats to choice diving spots, the haenyeo would sing songs with simple melodies, to the rhythm of the ocean waves. Atlas Obscura notes that there is no sheet music fo ..read more
Old Salt Blog
3w ago
Mary Anning
Remember the old tongue twister, “She sells seashells by the seashore?” (Try saying that three times fast.) The tongue twisting seashell seller was inspired by a real woman named Mary Anning, an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist, who did indeed sell seashells by the seashore, as well as accomplishing much, much more.
This month, it was announced that a set of stamps are being issued to recognize Mary Anning’s contribution to the modern understanding of dinosaurs.
Despite a lack of education and a life of poverty, Mary Anning became known a ..read more
Old Salt Blog
3w ago
At approximately 1:30 AM this morning, the Singapore-flagged, 10,000 TEU container ship, MV Dali struck the southern support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, spanning the Patapsco River at the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, Maryland. The impact collapsed the main spans of the 1.6-mile-long bridge.
There are no reported injuries aboard the ship. Maintenance workers on the bridge and an unknown number of vehicles were thrown into the river when the bridge collapsed. Two were rescued from the water while at least seven are reported to be missing.
The crew of the container ship issued a ..read more