Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
February 13, 2015
The sea lily (Bourgueticrinida) is an order of marine animals referred to as crinoids. They are typically found in deep ocean waters (to a depth of about 18,000 feet). In their adult form, they are attached to the sea floor by means of a stalk.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 1, 2013
Once the Dutch decided to compete with the Portuguese and the Spanish for maritime commerce with East Asia, they jumped in with both feet. After establishing a base in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta), they focused on trade with China and Japan.
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 3, 2012
The North Sea is a body of water located between Scandinavia, northwest Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France), and Great Britain (England and Scotland). To the north, it connects with the Norwegian Sea. To the east, through the Skagerrak and Kattegat…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
May 4, 2012
Abel Tasman (1603-1659) was a Dutch merchant and explorer. He is credited with the European discovery of Australia and New Zealand. He joined the Dutch United East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie - VOC) in 1633 and was promptly…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 30, 2012
Starting in about 1890, the United States Navy began a rebuilding program to replace its antiquated fleet, most of which then dated from the Civil War. It handily won the naval conflicts of the Spanish-American War, but that was against a nation with an even more antiquated fleet.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 22, 2011
Little is known of Henry Hudson prior to 1607, when he was hired by the Muscovy Company of the Kingdom of England to find a northern route to the Far East. He and a crew of ten sailed on the 80-ton Hopewell. They reached the east coast of Greenland and traveled north to the ice pack.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
August 5, 2011
Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746) was a naturalist and zoologist, noted for being the first European to set foot in what is now Alaska and for describing and documenting some of the unique animal life of the region. He was born in Windsheim, Bavaria and studied at the University of Wittenberg.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
March 11, 2011
Born in Faversham, Kent in about 1553, Jack Ward (or Birdy) spent his youth in the fisheries trade. Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, he participated in privateering, an activity encouraged by Queen Elizabeth. With the accession of James I in 1603, Letters of Marque were no longer issued.
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
December 21, 2010
Nikumaroro (previously known as Gardner Island) is a small coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean situated just south of the Equator and just west of the 180th meridian. It lies in the Phoenix Island Chain and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
July 6, 2010
The Limitation of Liability Act, now located at 46 U.S. Code sections 30501-30512, was adopted to provide shipowners a measure of protection if their ships were to cause injury or damage to others in cases where the shipowners have no privity or knowledge relative to the cause of the incident.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
June 8, 2010
The Thames Barrier is a 1,710-foot wide movable flood control barrier across the River Thames just downstream from central London. After a ten-year construction period, it was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on May 8, 1984.
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.
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 27, 2009
The parallels of latitude are fixed by the rotation of the Earth. The only human involvement is the use of a 360 degree circle, starting at the equator. The degrees of longitude, although using the same 360 framework, could be commenced from…
Posted to Maritime Musings
(by
Dennis Bryant)
on
November 20, 2009
Existence of the north and south magnetic poles was postulated long after magnetic compasses came into widespread use. Prior to that, many people believed that the compass needle was attracted either to a magnetic island in the far north or to the Pole Star (Polaris) itself.
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