Lewis and Clark depart to explore the Northwest
One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the . . .
Magellan Reaches the Pacific (28 Nov 1520)
After sailing through the dangerous straits below South America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, . . .
Magellan Reaches the Pacific Ocean
After sailing through the dangerous straits below South America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, . . .
Magellan’s expedition circumnavigates globe
September 6, 1522 – One of Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships—the Victoria—arrives at Sanlúcar . . .
Mary Rose Sinks
Mary Rose Sinks (1545)
Several theories are thought to explain how and why Henry VIII’s flag ship sunk at the Battle of Solent.
Recovered in 1982 and is now on display in Portsmouth, UK.
Mary Rose was one of the largest ships in the English navy through more than three decades of intermittent war, and she was one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built sailing warship. She was armed with new types of heavy guns that could fire through the recently invented gun-ports. She was substantially rebuilt in 1536 and was also one of the earliest ships that could fire a broadside, although the line of battle tactics had not yet been developed. Several theories have sought to explain the demise of the Mary Rose, based on historical records, knowledge of 16th-century shipbuilding, and modern experiments. The precise cause of her sinking is subject to conflicting testimonies and a lack of conclusive evidence.
Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor (18 December 1620)
The famous Mayflower story began in 1606, when a group of reform-minded Separatists in Nottinghamshire, England, founded their own church, separate from the state-sanctioned . . .
Mayflower Departs England (16 Sept. 1620)
The Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists–half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs–had . . .
Mayflower Departs England (1620)
On September 16, 1620 the Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists – . . .
Mayflower docks at Plymouth Harbor (1620)
On December 18, 1620, the British ship Mayflower docked at modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers prepared to begin their new settlement, Plymouth Colony.
The . . .
Mayflower docks at Plymouth Harbor (18 Dec 1620)
On December 18, 1620, the British ship Mayflower docked at modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers prepared to begin their new settlement, Plymouth Colony.
The . . .
Mutiny on the Amistad
Mutiny on the Amistad slave ship (July 2, 1839)
Early in the morning of July 2, 1839, Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rise up against their captors, killing two crewmembers and seizing control of the ship, which had been transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba.
Mutiny on the HMS Bounty (April 28, 1789)
Three weeks into a journey from Tahiti to the West Indies, the HMS Bounty is seized in a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate. Captain William Bligh and . . .
Nelson Wins Battle of the Nile (1 August 1798)
On 1st August 1798, Nelson led his fleet into action against the French fleet anchored at the mouth of the Nile in Aboukir Bay, Egypt. In a fierce action, fought in the . . .
Nelson’s State Funeral (9 Jan 1806)
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, was given a state funeral in London on 9 January 1806. It was the first to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral and was . . .
Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl sails papyrus boat (1970)
On May 17, 1970, Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl and a multinational crew set out from Morocco across the Atlantic Ocean in Ra II, a papyrus sailing craft modeled after . . .
Regina Maris sinks at dock during Hurricane Bob (5 Jan 1994)
From the historical archives of Regina Maris.
In Greenport, New York on February 3, 1994, during a howling rainstorm — which had not been forecast — Regina Maris sank, . . .
Remembering Bill Pinkney
William Deltoris Pinkney III (September 15, 1935 – August 31, 2023) was an American sailor and executive. In 1992, he became the first African American to sail around . . .
Remembering Jerzy Porębski
Porębski was a shanties performer and author of songs with a maritime theme, but also a publicist, fisherman and sailor. Without a doubt, he was one of the animators of . . .
Remembering Linda Anderson (19 Jan 2023)
Linda D. Anderson was a skilled and popular nature and maritime photographer. She frequently photographed and vended at the many tall ship events on the Great Lakes. A Port . . .
Revolutionary War Commander John Paul Jones sets out to raid British ships (1778)
On April 10, 1778, Commander . . .