Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 8, 1974 The hydrographic survey vessel Ammiraglio Magnaghi (A 5303) was launched into Mediterranean Sea at Riva Trigoso, a frazione (subdivision) of northwestern Italy’s town and comune of Sestri Levante. (“Ammiraglio” is the Italian word for “admiral.”) This ship was the first survey vessel to be both designed and constructed entirely in Italy for... Continue Reading →
January 14, 1926 MV Carnarvon Castle, an ocean liner of the Union-Castle Line, was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast. This vessel was named for a medieval fortress in northwestern Wales. Carnarvon Castle dates back to the 11th century, with its current stone structure completed in 1283.... Continue Reading →
April 9, 1930 Edward Sycamore, described in the Guardian as "a well-known skipper of racing yachts,” died at his home in the English coastal town of Brightlingsea. He was 74. The next day’s edition of the Guardian noted, “He had few rivals in the art of handling and maneuvering racing craft.” Sycamore was born on... Continue Reading →
March 15, 1902 In the English market town and civil parish of Beverley, a vessel constructed there by the shipbuilding company Cook,Welton & Gemmell was launched. This 149-foot (45-meter)-long vessel was named King Edward, the country’s reigning monarch at the time, and her original owner was James Holliday. In 1911, this vessel ended up in... Continue Reading →
January 4, 1914 The F5, one of the first submarines to be acquired and operated by the Brazilian Navy, was launched at the Fiat-San Giorgio Shipyard in northwest Italy. This vessel was part of the Foca (known more simply as F) class, the Brazilian Navy’s original group of submarines. The F5, which had been built... Continue Reading →
October 11, 2018 In the Republic of Ireland, an offshore patrol vessel built by Babcock Marine in England’s ceremonial county of Devon was delivered to the Irish Naval Service at its base on the island of Haulbowline in Cork Harbour. This vessel was named after George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), a world-renowned Irish playwright whose works... Continue Reading →
July 31, 1829 In southeastern Brazil, a lighthouse on the island of Rasa (“Ilha Rasa” in Portuguese) was inaugurated. This island serves as the entrance to the Port of Rio de Janeiro, which is located in a cove on the western shore of Guanabara Bay. (At the time of Ilha Rasa Lighthouse’s debut, most of... 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 →
January 25, 2011 A sail training ship built for the Indian Navy was launched at the port city of Vasco da Gama on India’s western coast. This ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy just a little over a year later by K.N. Sushil, a vice admiral of the Indian Navy and the flag officer... Continue Reading →
August 4, 1999 In the Netherlands, a vessel built to serve as a training ship for the Brazilian Navy was christened and launched. Cisne Branco, which means “White Swan” in Brazil’s official language of Portuguese, is a full-rigged tall ship (a large sailing vessel) that was constructed by the Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group. This... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 