What is a “tall ship” anyway? How tall does a ship have to be? A tall ship is not actually any specific kind of vessel, but the term usually refers…
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By Richard King In his book, The Last Grain Race, Eric Newby tells of his first voyage at sea. Newby served as an apprentice seaman and was often given the…
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Did you know that the oldest form of insurance in history is marine insurance? The earliest records of this sort of business reach back to ancient times, when shipowners reduced…
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Who in the world…is a nautical archaeologist? By Stephanie Allen Seventy percent of the earth is covered with water. It’s no surprise, then, that people have been traveling by boat…
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Did You Know?
Today, shipyards have a number of ways to get a ship out of water, either by hauling it out or by floating it into a basin and the water pumped out.
Historically though, sea captains would careen their vessels in shallow water by either heaving it over on its side while it was still afloat or by anchoring in shallow water at high tide and then waiting for the tide to go out. The vessel would touch bottom, and, as the tide went out, lay over on its side.
How does one go about getting a ship, especially a big ship, high and dry out of the water today?