Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 10, 1897 In southeastern Norway, a sailing ship built at the Prosgrund Baatbyggeri shipyard in the municipality of Porsgrunn was launched. (At this time, the present-day kingdom of Norway was part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.) The ship was named after the wyvern, a mythical winged reptile that resembles a dragon... Continue Reading →
August 3, 1987 The sail training ship (STS) Young Endeavour began her maiden voyage at the coastal town and civil parish of Lowestoft in England. (Lowestoft holds the record as the most easterly settlement in the entire United Kingdom.) Sail training ships are vessels used for teaching people how to operate wind-powered vessels. This training... Continue Reading →
June 16, 1941 About six months before the United States officially entered World War II on the side of the Allies, the schooner Bowdoin was commissioned into the U.S. Navy. USS Bowdoin (IX-50) became one of this military branch’s few sail-powered vessels at the time. Bowdoin was placed under the command of USNR (U.S. Navy... Continue Reading →
March 17, 1915 Jacob Ackerman, who earned legendary status for his longtime roles as a captain of vessels and the keeper of a lighthouse on the Hudson River, died in the village of Tarrytown in New York’s Westchester County. He was 88 years old. The New York Times attributed his death to paralysis. Ackerman was... Continue Reading →
January 27, 1909 Garlandstone, a ketch (two-masted sailboat), was launched in southwestern England. In a 1996 edition of the London-based Guardian, author Virginia Spiers highlighted Garlandstone in the daily column A Country Diary. “This handsome merchant vessel was built on the [River Tamar], built by James Goss in his yard on the Devon bank opposite... Continue Reading →
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 →
June 12, 1909 The sailing yacht Carnegie was launched at the Tebo Yacht Basin Company’s shipyard at the foot of 23rd Street in Brooklyn, New York. This yacht, which had been designed by naval architect Henry J. Gielow (1855-1925), was constructed to serve as a scientific research vessel for the Carnegie Institution of Washington (now... Continue Reading →
February 21, 1894 A pilot boat constructed by shipbuilder Moses Adams (1837-1894) in Essex, Massachusetts, was launched. Moses, who died less than five months after this launch, built the vessel for a company of Sandy Hook pilots. These pilots are transported via such boats to ships bound for or already within the region encompassing of... Continue Reading →
January 17, 1929 Popeye the Sailor, one of the all-time favorites among cartoon characters, made his debut in a supporting role in E.C. Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre. In keeping with what has remained his maritime orientation, Popeye found himself in his first appearance being approached about helping out with waterborne transportation. An enterprising character named... Continue Reading →
December 26, 1859 At eleven o’clock on a Monday morning, the pilot boat John D. Jones, No. 15, was launched into a section of the East River within the ward of Williamsburg in the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). J.D. Jones had been built by J.B & J.D. Van... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 