Tag: maritime

A Tale of Two Gulf of Alaska Crossings: Yacht and Tugboat

6/23/2026 - By Norris Comer, best4boats. The Gulf of Alaska is one of those bodies of water that commands respect from anyone who's crossed it — or plans to. In a vivid first-person account for Best4Boats, editorial director Norris Comer recounts two very different passages across the gulf: one aboard a 1965… SEE MORE

Western Flyer was used by author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts for their expedition to the Sea of Cortez.

Steinbeck’s Historic Western Flyer Plans Spring Return to Pacific Northwest

2/15/2026 - By Norris Comer, best4boats.com. One of America's most storied vessels is plotting a course back to her home waters. The Western Flyer — the 1937 wooden fishing vessel immortalized in John Steinbeck's The Log from the Sea of Cortez — is now a fully restored floating classroom based in Monterey,… SEE MORE

When History Sets Sail: The $11.2M Journey to Keep Mayflower II Alive

10/15/2025 - By Arnie Hammerman, Published in best4boats.com. The extensive restoration of Mayflower II illustrates the complex technical and financial challenges involved in maintaining historic vessels as operational maritime assets. The project's multi-year timeline and collaborative funding model offer insights for harbor communities seeking to preserve their own historic waterfront vessels. In… SEE MORE

Advanced ROV Technology Drives Pacific Northwest Shipwreck Exploration

9/27/2025 - By Norris Comer, Published in best4boats.com. The SS Pacific salvage operation demonstrates how modern maritime technology enables complex Deepwater recovery missions previously impossible for independent operators. The integration of custom ROV systems with specialized detection equipment illustrates the evolving capabilities available to smaller-scale maritime exploration ventures. A key part of… SEE MORE

Navigation Aid, buoy, in the fog. Photo by Andrew Marek/Shutterstock

Navigation Markers Targeted for Removal by U.S. Coast Guard — Here’s How to Weigh In

5/7/2025 - Coast Guard proposing the removal of 350+ navigation aids (NY to Maine). Public comment deadline: June 13, 2025 By US Harbors The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed eliminating more than 350 navigational aids—buoys, daymarks, and lights—along the Northeast coast, from New York to Eastport, Maine. These changes are part of… SEE MORE

New Data for Improved Navigation in the Upper Hudson River

1/30/2025 - By oceanservice.noaa.gov. Real-time data on coastal conditions will support improved maritime navigation in New York. Navigating New York waterways just got a bit easier. NOAA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced the establishment of the Hudson River Estuary Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS®). The system delivers real-time… SEE MORE

Portland Parade of Lights Celebrates Holiday Cheer

1/1/2025 - By Carli Stewart. Portland, Maine’s waterfront came alive on Dec. 14 as the annual Parade of Lights delighted locals and visitors alike. Against the backdrop of a full moon and Bug Light’s familiar beacon, vessels of all shapes and sizes, from lobster boats, ferry boats, and sailboats, dazzled onlookers with… SEE MORE

Dragger Susan Rose Raised One Year After Sinking

12/16/2024 - By nationalfisherman.com. The Rhode Island steel trawler Susan Rose was raised from the sea floor this week a year after sinking off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., removed as a hazard to navigation. After the 2023 grounding, the fishing boat’s crew of four safely got off onto the beach, dropping down from the… SEE MORE

Image Credits: The Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Marine Weather Forecasts Are Getting an AI Upgrade

11/24/2024 - By Vanessa Minke-Martin Machine learning systems—powered by new data—are taking some of the guesswork out of maritime safety. Jake Spink fished British Columbia’s craggy coast for four decades. Now, as the president of the British Columbia Coast Pilots—an association of highly trained captains that guide thousands of tankers, cruise ships,… SEE MORE

Century-Old Halibut Schooners Restored in Port Townsend

10/22/2024 - By Michael Crowley. The boatyard many fishermen who ply the waters of the Pacific Northwest or Alaska in wooden boats choose for maintenance and repairs is Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op in Port Townsend, Wash. At the yard this September, several wooden halibut schooners had been hauled out awaiting work this fall. Among them… SEE MORE