Category Archives: Maritime & Navy

Windfinder iPhone app

Posted on January 12, 2010 by

I posted earlier on this blog about the Windfinder web site, useful for wind and weather reports. As an iPhone user I am happy that there is now also an app for Windfinder. There are two versions, that both can … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Maritime & Navy, Meteo, Outdoors, Sailing and Cruising | 4 Comments

How to track ships with an iPhone

Posted on January 5, 2010 by

Check out this very cool app for iPhone. It’s called gTrax, and it lets you track ships through their AIS-B transmitter (an automatic identification system for ships, similar to what is being used in aviation). Now it covers the important … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Maritime & Navy, Navigation, Sailing and Cruising, Shipping, Technology | Leave a comment

Ransom for Chinese ship ‘raising the bar’

Posted on December 30, 2009 by

I posted earlier about the mainland Chinese vessel De Xin Hai and her crew of 25, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates. Well, here’s the latest from South China Morning Post of December 29. The US$4 million ransom paid … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, China, Maritime & Navy, News and Opinion, Shipping | Leave a comment

Het Wakend Oog

Posted on December 24, 2009 by

On the Dutch Wadden Sea island of Terschelling, near the harbour, there is this nice little coffee house called ‘Het Wakend Oog’ (The All-seeing Eye).  The purpose was to provide shelter for the local fishermen, when they had to watch … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Island tales, Maritime & Navy, Masonic | Leave a comment

Brandaris lighthouse

Posted on December 20, 2009 by

The Brandaris is a lighthouse on the Dutch Wadden Sea island Terschelling, in Friesland. The first Brandaris was built in 1323, but it was destroyed in 1570. The current tower was built in 1594. It was my daily sight when … Continue reading →

Posted in Island tales, Maritime & Navy, Navigation | Leave a comment

PredictWind.com

Posted on December 6, 2009 by

One of the best forecast services for wind and marine weather I have seen so far. I am using PredictWind for about 6 months now, and their predictions are extremely accurate. It is not a free site, but they offer … Continue reading →

Posted in Maritime & Navy, Meteo, Sailing and Cruising | Leave a comment

Deep thinkers

Posted on November 4, 2009 by

From The Guardian a very interesting article about dolphins, by Anuschka de Rohan. At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, Kelly the dolphin has built up quite a reputation. All the dolphins at the institute are trained to … Continue reading →

Posted in Maritime & Navy, News and Opinion, Remarkable | Leave a comment

China in talks with pirates to free crew

Posted on October 29, 2009 by

I posted earlier about the Chinese Navy ships trying to intercept the recently hijacked freighter De Xin Hai. Well seems it’s back to negotiating, as the hijacked ship had already reached the Somali coast before the Navy could do anything. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, China, Maritime & Navy, News and Opinion, Shipping | 1 Comment

Doing the Tsunami Tango in American Samoa

Posted on October 26, 2009 by

On September 29, 2009 American Samoa was hit by a tsunami. Find below the story of a cruiser in Pago Pago who was right in the middle of it. Unfortunately I could not retrieve the pictures which are mentioned in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Maritime & Navy, Remarkable, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

Showdown a test of PLA’s might

Posted on October 22, 2009 by

From South China Morning Post. The People’s Liberation Army warships steaming to intercept a hijacked mainland bulk carrier in the Indian Ocean are sailing into uncharted waters in an operation laced with military and diplomatic uncertainty. The showdown with Somali … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, China, Maritime & Navy, News and Opinion, Shipping | 1 Comment

Chinese navy sees off Indian sub.

Posted on February 4, 2009 by

When China announced not so long ago, they would send their navy to protect their ships against the piracy attacks off the Somalian coast, I thought it would be only a matter of time till there would be trouble. Well, … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Maritime & Navy, Shipping | Leave a comment

S/V Kaiwo Maru.

Posted on June 24, 2008 by

I paid a quick visit to Kobe last week. From my hotel room overlooking the harbour, I could see the ‘Kaiwo Maru’. She is a fully rigged four masted sailing vessel. Together with her sister ship the ‘Nippon Maru’, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Maritime & Navy, Travel | 2 Comments

Animated Knots.

Posted on May 25, 2008 by

On one of the forums about cruising I frequent, I found the site Animated Knots. It’s the coolest site about knots I have ever seen. The contents of the site also can be purchased as a program, to run independent … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Internet, Maritime & Navy, Outdoors, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

Storm survival.

Posted on May 17, 2008 by

Much has been written about storm survival tactics, and much of it is about the different systems of sea anchors. Sea anchors have the function to enable the boat to hold position in a storm, and keep the hull in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Dix 43 project, Maritime & Navy, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

OceansWatch

Posted on May 7, 2008 by

Today I want to give a heads-up for OceansWatch, an organisation I recently joined, and which deserves to be promoted. I will provide below, unedited, some information on their organisation and goals. OceansWatch is a not-for-profit Trust with a rapidly … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Environment, Maritime & Navy, Sailing and Cruising | Leave a comment