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…
A Woman and the Big Ship: Elaine Kaplan and the SS United States
A complex engineering marvel, the SS United States remains the fastest ocean liner ever built. She smashed the Queen Mary’s coveted transatlantic speed record on her 1952 maiden voyage and achieved an astonishing average speed of 36 knots (41 mph; 67 km/h). It was the culmination of a dream long held by the ship’s designer,…
The Captain’s Table
Stories from the Golden Age of Ocean Liners to the Cruise Ships of Today
How it all started…
Over a decade ago, I started a blog called The Captain’s Table to tell the stories about the ships and people involved in the Golden Age of ocean liners. I was working as a tour guide aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA at the time and it was a way to help me both deepen my knowledge and explore a topic I’d been passionate about for a long time.
With this overhauled version of the blog, I’ll continue to explore the stories, ships, and people connected to the old ocean liners. But there’ll also be a new emphasis on cruise ships as well: they continue the traditions and history made famous by such ships as Queen Mary, United States, Mauretania, Caronia, and many others. I’ll be nerding out a lot, and I really hope that you enjoy this blog.
Zach Whitlow
Writer, Ship Geek, and Avid Cruiser