Month: April 2025
Blazing Star: The Loss of the Angelina Lauro
Greetings from the US Virgin Islands! My wife and I are on a Caribbean cruise aboard the Norwegian Escape this week, and today we’re in Saint Thomas. We have an excursion booked for Shipwreck Cove, where we’ll snorkel the wreck of the freighter Cartanza Senora (where I hope to get some cool underwater shots). But…
A Visit to the Yarmouth Castle Memorial
Between our cruises on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise and the Norwegian Escape, my wife and I had a free day to spend in sunny Florida. So we rented a car and headed out to nearby Pompano Beach. It’s there—at the Pompano Beach City Cemetery—that exists a memorial to those who perished in the Yarmouth…
Why I Want to Sail on This 34-Year-Old Cruise Ship
“Why?” “That should be…interesting.” “Really?” “Eww.” These are just a few of the responses I’ve gotten when I’ve said that we’re sailing on the 34-year-old Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. I get it too. It’s the oldest cruise ship that regularly sails out of North America. It offers two and three-day cruises to the Bahamas at…
Book Review: Buoyant: The Heist of Titanic II by Alan Hartwell
If you couldn’t tell by this year’s April Fools’ Day post, I’m a big fan of crime and mystery stories. I always have been. So when I stumbled across Buoyant: The Heist of Titanic II, I was immediately intrigued. Especially when it said it was intended for readers who “enjoy fresh, twisty, high-concept crime thrillers.”…
Sailing into the Past: My Maritime History Bucket List
I’ve always loved ships, museums, and historic places—and I absolutely love to travel. That’s partly why I started this blog in the first place. Recently, I came across a few history blogs where people shared the historic sites and places they dream of visiting. I thought it was such a fun idea that I decided…
Five Other Passenger Ships That Sank on Their Maiden Voyage
The sinking of the RMS Titanic is arguably the most famous maritime disaster in history. This event has captured the world’s attention for over 110 years, partly because it occurred on the ship’s maiden voyage. What should have been a crowning moment turned into a total catastrophe. It serves as a sobering reminder that the…
Two Tragedies of Modern Memory: Titanic and the American Civil War
Today marks the 160th anniversary of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This ultimately led to the surrender of other Confederate forces throughout the country and ended the bloody American Civil War. After four years of terrible warfare, between 650,000 and 750,000 soldiers were dead. Practically…
Movie Review: Britannic (2000)
In January 2000, a made-for-TV movie called Britannic aired. Starring Amanda Ryan, Michael Atterton, John Rhys-Davies, and Jacqueline Bisset, the film tells a highly fictionalized account of HMHS Britannic and her last days in November 1916. I remember renting this movie from Blockbuster back in the day and being really excited to watch a film…
The Killer Steward of the Liverpool, Dublin, and London Steam Packet Company
In the sweltering heat of August 1891, a chilling tale of passion and murder unfolded in Victorian England. While passengers aboard the Liverpool, Dublin, and London Steam Packet Company’s SS May Day enjoyed their journey across the Irish Sea, little did they know that among them walked a man whose passion and emotions had transformed…