Solitude at Sea Three years, 30,000 miles The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum by Geoffrey Wolff - Reviewed by John Rousmaniere, edited by Gene Epstein, Barrons Anybody hoping for a happier second act in life will find inspiration—as well as caution—in the story of Captain Joshua Slocum (1844-1908). Praised by Theodore Roosevelt as the hero … [Read more...]
“By Guess or by God:” Catastrophe In The Heart of the Sea
by Colin D. Dewey In Nantucket, on Aug 5, 1819, the ship Essex: 87 feet at waterline, 238 tons, sailed. The Essex, an old, tired, ship, began what was planned as a routine two or three year whaling voyage: and the story began the way sea stories have always begun: like Samuel Taylor Coleridge tells it in his Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 'The ship was … [Read more...]
The Deep – Based on a True Story of One Man’s Survival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2cXyRli7R4 Based on an astonishing true incident that took place on the frigid seas off Iceland in 1984, The Deep fashions a modern-day everyman myth about the sole survivor of a shipwreck, whose superhuman will to survive made him both an inexplicable scientific phenomenon and a genuine national hero. One of the most anticipated Nordic films … [Read more...]
Somali Pirate Short Film – ‘Fishing Without Nets’
'Fishing Without Nets' is an interesting short film on Somali pirates. While it is a fictional story shot in Kenya, you'd probably believe it was a documentary if you weren't told otherwise. The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. So enjoy! TEASER http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw5dAhxhlQc DIRECTOR Cutter … [Read more...]
Shipowner Defaults, Your Ship Gets Arrested in Port, Now What?
The shipping industry has certainly seen better days, which for some shipowners, has put them in a financial bind. A recent example is the VLCC Samho Dream which was recently sold at auction after the owner defaulted on it's bank loans. So what happens with the crew in that situation? In Thome Ship Management's December newsletter, they talked with two of their captains … [Read more...]