The SS Regulus was built by the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Company at Willington Quay in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. It was purchased by the St. John’s firm A. Harvey and Company in 1897 to serve as a general cargo vessel travelling from Newfoundland to other ports along the eastern seaboard.
Read MoreThe Lyubov Orlova went from being a small, not well known boat to an international bringer of cannibal rats. Learn more in this article about the storied ghost ship.
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 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 MoreOne of the most important rules when it comes to being on the water is that if someone else is in trouble, and you can help, you do it. It doesn’t matter if you and the skipper on the other boat don’t get along, or if you’re competing for the same catch. If someone is in trouble, you help. This is even more evident with this week’s story. The crew of a fishing boat got into trouble off the coast of Cape Breton, and radioed for help. Ships nearby responded, including a Canadian National Railway (CNR) railcar ferry that was tied up in North Sydney. Through a series of truly unfortunate events, however, this act of kindness and duty would result in some of the crew of the rescue vessel paying the ultimate price. This week, we look at the story of the F/V Enterprise and the M/V Patrick Morris.
Read MoreShipwrecks litter the shores and banks of any coastal area. Sometimes they lie just below the surface, or as washed up wreckage on the shore. Occasionally the rusted out skeletons remain above the surface, serving as reminders of time past. Previously I've covered the SS Charcot, SS Florizel, SS Kyle, HMS Calypso and the SS Ethie, all wrecks that are visible from land. This week, we look at the wreck of a cargo ship on the shores of Gander Bay, the SS Ahern Trader.
Read MoreHi everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in posting here over the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I was in Ottawa, and this past week I have been brutally sick. Today, we get back on schedule, so here we go! Back to the shores of Newfoundland, where in the 1600s North America was still new land and the French and English were fighting over who had rights to what. In one standoff in Bay Bulls Harbour, a ship was sank to prevent it from being captured by the French. Today, the wreck is a protected archaeological site. This week, we're looking at the story of the HMS Saphire.
Read MoreLast week, I received a message from Martin LeDuc, Chief Engineer on the McKeil Marine owned tug Beverly M I. The Beverly was in St. John's for some maintenance and was moored at NewDock - Martin wanted to know if I was interested in a tour of the tug. I jumped at the opportunity, so Saturday afternoon, myself and Scott Humber of Scott Humber Photography headed down to the dock and met up with Martin for a tour of the ship.
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