Photo by:nicoleyfun

Sure, the gCaptain forum contains a few surly comments but, just as a comment seems out of line, we are reminded of the intellect and curiosity of our fellow mariners. The post that best exemplifies this is titled “Best Nautical Books for the Merchant Mariner” , as it quickly reminds us why sailing is a noble profession and the reason why we continue to face the hardships of a life at sea.

To help get you through the winter weather, we have included a few of the books in a new widget located in the sidebar of this blog. You can also view most of the books in the gCaptain ship store located HERE.

So what is your favorite Maritime Book? Add you comments to The List or leave a comment below.

Wikipedia has a good entry detailing the meaning behind each of the Signal Flags. Click on the image above to view the rest.

In celebration of Lego’s 50th anniversary we bring you Lego Ships, Lego Lighthouses, Lego Aircraft carriers and other nautical lego sets.

Lego Aircraft Carrier

This absolutely enormous Lego aircraft carrier was made from over 200,000 individual bricks. The leviathan weighs in at just over 350 pounds. It has working aircraft elevators, a hangar, radar dishes, electrical lights and a working catapult/slingshot for launching the jets.

Lego Lighthouse

The area of ‘LEGO City’, in LegoLand Windsor, is a mock-up of a small Lego town.One of the most visible attractions in the area is the LEGO City Harbour, a set where live stunt shows are performed at intervals throughout the day, including dives from the top of a lighthouse into the harbor below.

Mystery LegoMan

A daring rescue at sea was performed by tourists at the Dutch resort of Zandvoort. The efforts began when a large orange head was observed floating towards the beach. The man in question… well actually it was a giant, 8 foot tall, Lego person of unknown origin. Speculation leads to some sort of cargo mishap but details are yet unknown.

( Full Story | Photos | Video | gCaptain’s Original Post)

Lego Bulker

The Great Lakes Maritime Museum has on display the M/V STEWART J. CORT…  LEGO Ship. The vessel’s builder, Duane Collicott, tells us;

I have wanted to model the CORT for many years. My interest in her has many angles, including her status as the first thousand-footer and the uniqueness of her design among thousand-footers. Little did I know when I first considered it years ago that when I finally got around to actually building a model I would be using LEGO as the modeling medium. Read More…

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Visit LegoLand San Diego (actually it’s in nearby Carlsbad) and you’ll be treated to a complete reproduction of a modern lego harbor… container ships, gantry cranes and all.

Thanks to Sea-Fever for the inspiration.

Here are gCaptain editor’s Top 10 upcoming picks of the week from gCaptain’s Maritime News Discoverer. Please Vote on the ones you like to have them published.

WIGS come to Alaska
This is a big deal. The first use of a commercial WIG is being planned for the Lynn Canal. A 12 passenger $1.2m vessel. Docks and Harbors Board ha read more »

Update on Arctic Expeditions – MAREX
In prior years, the question of who owns the North Pole and the Arctic in general was simply a theoretical one. The territory had been trapped in ice read more »

COAST GUARD CONDUCTING FIRST NORTH POLE FLIGHT
“The northern reaches of the Arctic is a new area for us to do surveillance,” said Rear Adm. Arthur E. Brooks read more »

BIMCO Feature – Feature: The blossoming of LNG shipping
The established, low-key world of LNG shipping is changing out of all recognition as trade volumes mushroom, the supply chain extends and offshore read more »

CNOOC Building Deep-sea Drilling Rig
China will finish its first deep-sea drilling rig with a maximum working depth of three kilometers by 2011, a spokesman for China National Offshore O read more »

Iran to Buy 52 ships by 2010
The Managing Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines says IRISL has signed a contract for purchase of fifty-two ships. Mohammad-Hosse read more »

Forward Looking 3D Sonar System for Collision Avoidance
FarSounder, Inc. a Warwick, Rhode Island based technology company has been awarded a $2 million grant from the US National Institute of Standards and read more »

Watchkeeper: Getting closer to the crew
There is concern about the quality of seafarers, and of the lack of experience of some given accelerated promotion to fill gaps. read more »

Crew Study Reveals Benefits and Perks Boost Morale and Retention
Amen! ….bring on the lobster tails. read more »

10 Reasons Why Captain’s Sink with the Ship
Whenever a ship sinks due to any reason, the Captain of the Ship prefers to sink with the ship. In my last post “Cargo ships collide in Thessaloniki read more »

Ships have been around for thousands of years but it’s interesting to note that most of the traditional names have survived. We know that not all our viewers at gCaptain.com are lifelong sailors so here is a short lesson for you! (Parts of a Ship)

I wanted to take some time and thank some of our partner sites; Maritime Experts from around the web. I also wanted to take the time to explain each one to our readers. The sites can be found at the bottom of the right sidebar —>

This is Part 2 of our series and concentrates on sites devoted to near coastal (boating) sites. When you are finished reading revisit Part 1; Big Ships.

Bitter End Blog

Formerly know as Maritime Ramblings this blog is written by Richard Rodriguez who also happens to be one of our most prolific contributers and winner of our last contest. Richard mixes stories about his adventures as a vessel asist Captain with interesting maritime news of the day as well as local Seattle area waterfront happenings. The blog is interesting, well written and updated frequently giving it the gCaptain seal of approval.

Panbo

From the newest VHF radios to the latest AIS information if your looking for goodies for your boat Panbo is the place to visit. What I like most about panbo is they always consider unlimited vessels in their reviews of small boat electronics. If every boater was a reader of this blog I would certainly feel more confident brining my ship into places like Port Everglades, the Puget Sound or even San Diego. Highlights of the site (from the unlimited tonnage perspective) include Digital Charting, AIS and pilot ride-along sections.

Sea Fever

I grappled with the decision of whether to categorize this site as “Big Ship” or coastal since it contains lots of interesting articles for us unlimited seafarers. The decision was made after reading the author, John Masefield’s Peter Mello’s, excellent “About the Blog(ger)” section. To quote, “The Sea-Fever blog is a work in progress that will cover subjects that interest me, professionally and personally. Topics will include maritime heritage and cultural initiatives, corporate social responsibility”. A great blog that’s on my daily reading list.

Tugster

This site is not about small pleasure craft, it is about New York Harbor’s working side. The site is filled with interesting pictures and commentary on the blue collar boats and ships that keep the harbor running. It’s a great site that first time visitors can spend hours reading, especially if (like me) they have roots in NYC’s maritime community.

Marine Firefighting Newsletter

Along with Tugster, Tom Guldner’s Marine Firefighting Newsletter has roots in New York Harbor. Tom was a New York City firefighter and worked a wide range of assignments including the FDNY’s fire boats and rescue trucks. This is not a blog, so it isn’t updated on a regular basis but it does contain valuable information that will help keep your crew safe in an emergency.

Honorable Mentions:

Navagear

Navagear gets left off our blog roll for the simple reason that it does not contain enough information relevant to our core audience; Ship Captains. Otherwise it is a great site that I read on a regular basis.

You can see the best stories from all the above blogs, as voted on by gCaptain readers, at our Maritime News Discoverer. Have a maritime blog post you would like to share, submit it now.