The Crown Iris

1 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

Crown Iris © Sotiris Boutsaxis/cc-by-sa-4.0

Crown Iris © Sotiris Boutsaxis/cc-by-sa-4.0

MS Crown Iris is a cruise ship owned by Mano Maritime. She was originally ordered by Birka Line as MS Birka Queen from the Wärtsilä Marine Turku Shipyard in Finland, but completed by Kvaerner Masa-Yards as MS Royal Majesty for Majesty Cruise Line. In 1997 she was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line as the MS Norwegian Majesty and lengthened by 33.76 m (110 ft 9 in) at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. She was sold to Louis Cruises as the MS Louis Majesty from 2008 to 2012 when she was chartered to Thomson Cruises as the MS Thomson Majesty before being returned to Louis Cruises/Celestyal Cruises, as the Majesty. In 2018 the ship sold to >Mano Maritime.   read more…

The E-Ship 1

1 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

in Cardamena Harbour © Lech Dobrosielski

in Cardamena Harbour © Lech Dobrosielski

The E-Ship 1 is a RoRo cargo ship that made its first voyage with cargo in August 2010. The ship is owned by the third-largest wind turbine manufacturer, Germany‘s Enercon GmbH. It is used to transport wind turbine components. The E-Ship 1 is a Flettner ship: four large rotorsails that rise from its deck are rotated via a mechanical linkage to the ship’s propellers. The sails, or Flettner rotors, aid the ship’s propulsion by means of the Magnus effect – the perpendicular force that is exerted on a spinning body moving through a fluid stream.   read more…

The Diamond Princess

1 August 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

view from Mount Roberts, Juneau, USA © Barek

view from Mount Roberts, Juneau, USA © Barek

Diamond Princess is a British-registered cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Asia during the northern hemisphere summer and Australia during the southern hemisphere summer. She is a subclassed Grand-class ship, which is also known as a Gem-class ship. Diamond Princess and her sister ship, Sapphire Princess, are the widest subclass of Grand-class ships, as they have a 37.5-metre (123 ft 0 in) beam, while all other Grand-class ships have a beam of 36 metres (118 ft 1 in). Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess were both built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Industries.   read more…

The USS Niagara

1 July 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

USS Niagara in Quebec City, Canada © Cephas/cc-by-sa-4.0

USS Niagara in Quebec City, Canada © Cephas/cc-by-sa-4.0

USS Niagara, commonly called the US Brig Niagara or the Flagship Niagara, is a wooden-hulled snow-brig that served as the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. As the ship is certified for sail training by the United States Coast Guard, she is also designated SSV Niagara. Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in downtown Erie in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania as an outdoor exhibit for the museum. She also often travels the Great Lakes during the summer, serving as an ambassador of Pennsylvania when not docked. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated the official state ship of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1988.   read more…

The Marella Discovery

1 June 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  11 minutes

leaving the River Tyne, England © Spooglecruft/cc-by-sa-4.0

leaving the River Tyne, England © Spooglecruft/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marella Discovery (formerly Splendour of the Seas and TUI Discovery) is a former Royal Caribbean International Vision-class cruise ship now sailing for Marella Cruises. The second in the line of the Vision-class ships, she features a seven-story lobby, rock-climbing wall, and a 9-hole miniature golf course. Following the announcement on 9 October 2017 that Thomson Cruises would be renamed Marella Cruises, TUI Group also announced that TUI Discovery would adopt the name Marella Discovery at the end of October 2017, and also that she would become the first ship in the Thomson fleet to be based in Asia, home porting Malaysia in Autumn 2018, following the end of her UK debut season.   read more…

The Golden Hinde

1 May 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  12 minutes

© Jose L. Marin/cc-by-2.5

© Jose L. Marin/cc-by-2.5

Golden Hind was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as Pelican, but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden hind (a female red deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake’s world voyage. A full-sized, seaworthy reconstruction is in London, on the south bank of the Thames.   read more…

Alinghi

1 April 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Sport, Superyachts, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

Alinghi 5 in Valencia 2010 © flickr.com - Yasuhiro Chatani/cc-by-2.0

Alinghi 5 in Valencia 2010 © flickr.com – Yasuhiro Chatani/cc-by-2.0

Alinghi is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America’s Cup, as well as other competitions. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America’s Cup. Alinghi challenged for and won the 2003 America’s Cup in Auckland New Zealand and successfully defended it at the 2007 America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain. Alinghi lost the America’s Cup to the Golden Gate Yacht Club and their team BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match in Valencia, Spain in February 2010. For the 2003 event, Team New Zealand as the holder of the America’s Cup, in consultation with Prada, the Challenger of Record, removed the nationality rule that stipulated that all of the crew members must be nationals of the challenging syndicate.   read more…

The Regal Princess

1 March 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

in Warnemünde, Germany © Bahnfrend/cc-by-sa-4.0

in Warnemünde, Germany © Bahnfrend/cc-by-sa-4.0

Regal Princess is a Royal-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, and is the second ship to sail for the cruise line under this name. Regal Princess, as well as her sister ship Royal Princess, were ordered on 17 February 2010 from Fincantieri and were constructed at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and debuted in 2014. Homeport is Southampton in England.   read more…

The Crown Princess

1 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Crown Princess in Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island © CB2379/cc-by-sa-3.0

Crown Princess in Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island © CB2379/cc-by-sa-3.0

Crown Princess is a Crown-class cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. Her maiden voyage took place on June 14, 2006, departing Red Hook, Brooklyn (New York) for Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos Islands), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands), and Port Canaveral (Florida).   read more…

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