Cape Pigeon

a cape pigeon close up flying

By Richard J. King “A seaman has to suffer,” wrote Vito Dumas in his book Alone Through the Roaring Forties (1944). He knew what he was talking about. Few people…

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Anguilla Crocodile

closeup photo of a crcodile walking across the sea bottom

By Richard J. King Weak, exhausted, starved, thirsty, and with some of his men suffering from scurvy, Captain Thomas Bilton and his nine crewmembers shipped their oars and drifted up…

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Ship’s Expedition Artist

painting at NY Historical

Alfred Agate grew up studying art under the guidance of his older brother Frederick, who was an established portrait artist in New York. He was born in upstate New York…

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Sailing a Submarine

etching of captain during a storm

Jury-rigging and the Resourceful Mariner Man the Halyards!  Let Go and Haul!  Set Depth at 100 Feet. Dive Dive Dive! Here’s a quiz: Which of these commands might you hear…

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Cruise Ship Captain

Captain portrait in ship's auditorium

Todd Burgman, Cruise Ship Captain We’ve met a lot of maritime professionals in Sea History, from historians to shipbuilders, artists to offshore racers, oceanographers to maritime attorneys, and more. The…

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Chinstrap Penguin

Hundreds of chinstrap penguins porpoising in Antarctic waters.

By Richard J. King One day in 2002, a swimmer was making her way across Neko Bay in Antarctica when she was surrounded by chinstrap penguins. Taking a swim in…

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Beware the Kraken!

a painting of a large octopus pulling vessels under water

Thousands of sailors went to sea in the Age of Sail; many never returned. Lost without a trace, their loved ones ashore were left wondering what happened to them. We…

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Marine Weather Forecasting

A sailboat sailing into a storm

Listening to the weather report to plan your weekend or to decide what clothes you might wear is something most Americans do every day. Today, people can use apps on…

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I Speak Whale

whale diving down

I Speak Whale There is one thing about stories written for adults that is almost always different from stories that younger people enjoy: the animals NEVER talk. It’s a shame…

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Atlantic Gray Whale

Gray whale surfacing by Marc Webber, USFWS

A gray whale sticks its head out of the water to take a look around, a behavior called “spy-hopping.”   by Richard J. King “Rare Gray Whale Spotted in Atlantic—First…

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Senior Program Manager

Laila checking on progress. (Above)

Visiting the Philly Shipyard in 2023 to check on the progress of the first NSMV, the Empire State before it headed to its new home at SUNY Maritime College in…

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Northern Elephant Seal

closeup of seal

By Richard J. King Charles Scammon, a rare combination of naturalist, artist, ship captain, and commercial hunter, was born in Maine in 1825. As a young man, he sailed to…

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Navigating the Gulf Stream

map of the stream

A River in the Ocean Last summer, beachcombers in Rhode Island came across coconuts washed up on the beach, still in their husks after having floated more than 1,000 miles…

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Pilot Whale

whale pod

By Richard J. King By late afternoon on his first day out of Boston Harbor, Bill Pinkney was already out of sight of land. Aboard his 47-foot sailboat, Commitment, Pinkney…

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Born to Sail

children born at sea

In the Age of Sail, ships that traveled the world’s oceans kept their captains and crews away from their families for long periods of time. Whaling ships, in particular, might…

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