I am fortunate to know some very creative and amazing people, and sometimes I'm fortunate enough to be asked to participate in their projects! Today at 2:30pm, I'll be joining Lacy O'Connell and Andrew Winter of Winconnell Films at The Rooms to talk about their new short documentary, "Sailor on the Hill".
Read MoreBuilt and owned by James P. Smith (J.P & L.A. Smith) of Chicago, the Margaret Olwill was a steam freighter during an era when almost all goods and services were delivered by ship to the communities along the water’s edge. A reliable vessel, her wood and steel hull kept her sturdy against the weather of the Great Lakes.
Read MoreShipster chats about the SS Florizel.
Read MoreAs many of you will know if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I was fortunate enough to be involved in some of the various commemoration events for the centennial anniversary of the SS Florizel. Coming out of that week, I’ve decided to publish an abridged version of the talk I gave at The Rooms on February 22nd.
This is not the full text of my presentation, but it summarizes many of the key points around the story of her sinking. If you have any questions or stories to share, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Read MoreHi Everyone! I've got a couple of fun events coming up in the near future! If you're in the St. John's/Mount Pearl area this month, feel free to come by and check them out!
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet up with Jamie Fitzpatrick of CBC's The Broadcast. We strolled along the harbour front in St. John's and chatted about ships, maritime research, and how I get people to talk to me about their lives aboard ships.
Read MoreUPDATED: August 19th, 2017
Wondering what that navy vessel is in the harbour this weekend? Take a peek at this article I wrote in 2014 that tells you all about it. As of this edit, there are four other vessels of this same class under construction in Portugal - Sines, Setúbal, Funchal, and Aveiro - at the WestSea Shipyard. Sines was launched on May 3rd, 2017 and is set to join the navy June of next year (2018). Setúbal is on schedule to be launched in 2019. Funchal and Aveiro are scheduled to begin construction later this year. The Viana do Castelo-class ships will gradually replace the current Baptista de Andrade-class corvettes in the Portuguese fleet.
Read MoreSummertime in St. John’s is my favourite time of year for just so, so many reasons. The sun shines, the trees get their leaves, flowers bloom and for a few short months, we can forget how quickly this beautiful place will change into a frozen hellscape. The best part of summer, of course, is that new ships start to arrive in the harbour.
You’ve seen me write about this before, usually in reference to “Cruise Ship Season”. While I do appreciate the technological and architectural marvels that are the massive passenger liners, it’s the research, naval, and other more unique ships that always catch my eye. One such ship, the RRS Discovery, sailed through the Narrows last month and I was lucky enough to get on board and get a tour.
Read MoreThe Canada C3 is currently finishing up its tour of the Atlantic coast and heading to the Arctic Ocean. She stopped off here from July 10th-11th, and I was lucky enough to squeeze a tour of the vessel in before heading to work. So let's talk about the history of the Polar Prince, and look at her current role as the literal flagship for Canada 150.
Read MoreThis past week, I was invited to speak at the Crows Nest Officer's Club about an interesting vessel with a checkered past. For 55 years, the SS Thetis sailed from the North Atlantic to the shores of Hawai'i, and North again to Alaska before ending up back off the shores of Newfoundland for the rest of her career. She had an incredible career, so read on to learn more!
Read More
