Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 18, 2015 Macif, a 98-foot (30-meter)-long vessel, was officially launched. This vessel is an Ultim-class maxi-trimaran, which is a type of multihull boat built with a main hull that has two outrigger hulls (floats) attached to it via lateral beams. Macif -- named for the French insurance company that owns her -- was designed... Continue Reading →
August 22, 1978 Appledore II, a privately owned two-masted wooden schooner, was launched from the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This vessel -- with an overall length of 86 feet (26 meters) -- is larger than her sister ships Appledore I, III, IV, and V. All of these ships were constructed for Herbert and Doris... Continue Reading →
March 21, 1999 The first nonstop flight around the world by balloon came to an end in western Egypt. The pilots and sole passengers for this record-setting journey were 41-year-old psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and 51-year-old English balloonist and former Royal Air Force pilot Brian Jones. They landed the helium-and-hot-air balloon, which was named in honor... Continue Reading →
May 4, 1964 Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, less than three weeks after becoming the first woman to fly solo around the world, was awarded the Federal Aviation Agency's Decoration for Exceptional Service by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This presentation took place in the Rose Garden at the White House. The 38-year-old Mock, in circumnavigating the globe... Continue Reading →
April 20, 1882 In what was then the Kingdom of Italy, the Italian Royal Navy’s screw corvette Vettor Pisani departed from the city of Naples for an ambitious voyage across the globe. (A screw corvette is a small warship powered by both a steam engine and screw propeller.) The key objectives for this global circumnavigation... Continue Reading →
November 29, 1987 Kay Cottee departed from Sydney, Australia, on board the yacht Blackmore's First Lady for what would become a notable voyage across the globe. When she returned to Sydney Harbour 189 days later, Cottee made history as the first woman to sail around the world solo, non-stop, and without any assistance. Cottee, who... Continue Reading →
August 8, 1890 Carl Stearns Clancy, who became the first person to travel around the world on a motorcycle, was born in the town of Epping, New Hampshire. His mother was from Massachusetts and his father had emigrated from Ireland. Carl Stearns Clancy’s transportation-related to fame began in earnest in October 1912 when he and... Continue Reading →
June 27, 1898 Joshua Slocum completed the first solo circumnavigation of the world at 1:00 a.m. when he sailed into the harbor at Newport, Rhode Island, on board his oyster sloop (a type of one-masted sailboat) named the Spray. The Canadian-born Slocum had first set sail in that vessel from Boston on April 25, 1895,... Continue Reading →
April 25, 1960 A global circumnavigation milestone took place when the U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton (SSRN-586) completed the first submerged voyage around the world. The U.S. Navy’s code name for this pioneering circumnavigation was Operation Sandblast. Triton, which had been commissioned the previous November and was under the command of Captain Edward L. “Ned” Beach,... Continue Reading →
April 22, 1969 Robert “Robin” Knox-Johnston was greeted by the cheers of a dockside crowd and the sounds of boat whistles as he arrived at Falmouth, England, to both win the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and complete the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world. “I’m a little overwhelmed by this reception,” said the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 