Artifacts References

I find this sort of material to be much more interesting than the endless rehashing of coral reefs, glowingly useless gear reviews, and "buoyancy tips" that fill up the standard glossy diving magazines.

Historical

Conservation ManualDonny L. Hamilton

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
Peter Kemp, 1988

Lots of interesting information and trivia.




The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm
Sebastian Junger, 1997

You saw the movie. The book is better.



Nautical

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast
Richard Henry Dana Jr., 1869

Detailed and literate sailor's account of a voyage on a square-rigger around Cape Horn and back in the 1850's.

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Moby Dick

Moby Dick
Herman Melville, 1851

Really needs no introduction. If you thought it was awful in high school, give this one another try now. Its much better than you remember. The story may be fiction, but the technical details are quite accurate.

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Fictional

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne, 1870

Still fun to read, and infinitely better than any of the movie adaptations. Verne predicted scuba diving, submarines, and nuclear power in the 1860s!

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Other

Schooners and Schooner Barges

Schooners and Schooner Barges
Paul C Morris
Lower Cape Pub., 1984









Railroad Ferries of the Hudson

Railroad Ferries of the Hudson
Raymond Baxter, Arthur Adams
Fordham University Press., 1999








SS United States Finally Leaves Philadelphia to Begin Its Last Chapter

By Forrest Brown and Danny Freeman, CNN
Wed February 19, 2025

The storied ocean liner SS United States leaves its Philadelphia pier in the Delaware River on Wednesday. From SS United States Conservancy/Facebook

After months of multiple delays, the SS United States finally left its longtime home of Philadelphia just before 1 p.m. ET Wednesday. The storied ocean liner's next stop is Mobile, Alabama, where it will be prepared for its final mission - to become an artificial reef off the coast of the Florida Panhandle. The American maritime icon, nearly as large as the Chrysler Building, was launched in 1951 and set the transatlantic speed record in 1952.