Captain Tom Bushy, master of Mass Maritime’s T.S. Kennedy, will be appearing on WGBH‘s program “Greater Boston” tonight at 7pm to discuss the piracy problems off the coast of Somalia, and to provide some insight into life aboard large commercial ships. If you miss the show, I will try to get a copy of it …

I’ve received a number of e-mails and a Skribit suggestion in response to my SPOT review asking how much it costs.  I decided I’d just make another post to address this, rather than answer all the individual requests.  Here’s how the pricing breaks down: Basic Service: $99.99/year This provides check-in (send “I’m OK” messages to …

I recently received a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker as part of a contest run on gCaptain.  For those of you unfamiliar with the device, it’s a GPS antenna and commercial satellite transmitter integrated inside of a handheld case, with a few different functions thrown into the mix.  You can use it to track your location …

This week, the Queen Elizabeth 2 visited Southampton, England for the last time ever.  The cruise liner is making its final voyage before coming to rest in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to live out the rest of her days as a floating hotel and museum.  You may have heard in the news that she ran …

I received a suggestion this week that I talk about how my classes are going so far this year.  To be honest, classes are much tougher than they were last year.  Now that I’m starting to get into the core material for my major, the learning curve is a little steeper. Rules of the Road …

I received a suggestion a few weeks ago to talk about drug testing.  As most people involved with the Academy know, cadets are randomly drug tested to stay in compliance with Coast Guard licensing requirements.  Testing has always been conducted regularly at the Academy, but this year it’s being done with greater frequency.  Starting this …

I’ve implemented a new, much better and more useful commenting system on this blog. I have not, as of yet, been able to import previous comments into the new system, but I’m working on it (even if it means I have to hand-type them in). That said, the new system is wide open for your …

I received a suggestion a while ago (sorry for the delay to whoever left it) to talk about what opinions are being expressed about the presidential election.  To be honest, I’ve been tiptoeing around the issue on my blog, since this is such a polarized election.  However, since today is election day and what’s done …