Beyond the Breakers

This week it is the story of the narrowboat Drum Major and her 1998 foundering on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal that resulted in multiple deaths. *there is about 19 minutes of intro in this one so skip accordingly if you want to get into things right away gazafunds.com Sources:  Clarke, Mike. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal: A History and Guide . Carnegie Publishing, 1994.  Farrington, J.H. “The...

Honorary third host of the podcast Kaylee is back this week to join us in discussing the R.J. Hackett , a vessel that changed the way bulk cargo was transported on the Great Lakes and laid the groundwork for the designs we still see today.  gazafunds.com Sources:  Baker, Newton D. “Transportation on the Great Lakes.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , vol. 171, Ja...

We are joined by the baddest boys in the Ozarks - We Always Lie To Strangers - to discuss the I-40 Bridge Disaster, which saw the towboat Robert Y. Love impact a bridge over the Arkansas river near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, on May 26 2002. (Wish we could claim the foresight to have scheduled this for the anniversary but that is entirely 100% coincidental)  You can find everything WALTS-related here...

This is a short preview of a bonus episode available at the Able Seaperson ($3) and 2nd Mate ($5) tiers  Support the show

Here we conclude the main story of the mutiny on the whaleship Globe where everyone lives happily ever after in a tropical paradise. Or something like that.  *meant to cut in a minor edit for this episode - George Comstock was 15 by the time the Globe sailed, and Samuel was 20 gazafunds.com Sources:  Couper, Alastair. “Dangers, Mutinies, and the Law.” Sailors and Traders: A Maritime History of the...

Following up on our Battleship Potemkin bonus, we are staying in the mutinous mood with this two-part series on the whaleship Globe , and the enigmatic boatsteerer Samuel Comstock who would cast her into infamy. gazafunds.com Sources:  Couper, Alastair. “Dangers, Mutinies, and the Law.” Sailors and Traders: A Maritime History of the Pacific Peoples.” University of Hawai’i Press Gibson, Gregory. De...

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ! **this is a short preview of a much longer bonus episode we did on Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, available for $3 and $5 patrons**  Religious symbolism plays a major role in the works of Sergei Eisenstein, so we found ourselves discussing it quite a bit during our episode on Battleship Potemkin . For Easter, we've cut those sections of the episode together in...

This week we discuss the loss of the USS Turner , a Gleaves-class destroyer that sank off of New York City in January 1944.  **Jump to around 13:30 to get right into the action** gazafunds.com Sources:  "Gleaves class destroyers (1940)." https://naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/gleaves-class-destroyers.php Naczi, Robert F. "Special: Tragedy Strikes in New York Harbor." U.S. Naval...

In this episode we go deep into the history books to discuss the deadliest maritime disaster we've covered up to this point.  gazafunds.com Thank you to our lovely advertisers! Kelly (Radway's Medicated Soap)  Nick (Sulfur Bitters)  Jas (Dr. Keeler's Celebrated Family Medicines [various])  Kaylee (Father Koening's Nerve Tonic)  Sharp (Allan's Lung Balsam)  Taylor (Hood&apo...

Here is a short clip from our most recent 2nd Mate Tier bonus episode: 'The Ignoble Means by Which That Wealth Was Accumulated' - The Slaving Brig Henriqueta and the Illicit Slave Trade to Brazil  * (the full episode is about 1:18:00 in length)  If you enjoy the show, there is much more of it for you to check out on Patreon - join as an Able Seaperson ($3) for an extra bonus episode each...

This week we have the story of the jackup rig Kolskaya , lost in the Sea of Okhotsk in December 2011.  gazafunds.com Sources:  "Буровая платформа Кольская - трагедия и надежда." www.kolskaya.com "How do jackup rigs work?" https://www.rigzone.com/training/insight?insight_id=339&c_id=24 История крушения Кольской нефтяной платформы. Обо всем из жизни , 27 Dec 2021. https://www...

This week we are discussing a smashingly successful air attack conducted by the Empire of Japan in December 1941 (but not that one). Jump to around 14:30 to get right to the action gazafunds.com Sources: Bell, Christopher M. “The ‘Singapore Strategy’ and the Deterrence of Japan: Winston Churchill, the Admiralty and the Dispatch of Force Z.” The English Historical Review , vol. 116, no. 467, Jun 20...

It's all regional rivalries and riverine wrecks this week as we discuss the sidewheel steamer Empire of Troy (1843 - 1853). *jump to around [13:00] if you want to dive right in to the main part of the episode gazafunds.com Sources: Allison, J. Thomas. Hudson River Steamboat Catastrophes: Contests & Collisions . The History Press, 2013.  Ellis, David Maldwyn. “Albany and Troy - Commercial...

We kick off Season 5 by getting back to the Great Lakes for the story of the SS Francisco Morazan *Taylor's new mic sounds great but we are still getting Tanner's audio situation resolved gazafunds.com Sources: "Francisco Morazan." National Park Service , 2024. https://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/historyculture/shipwreckmorazan.htm "Personaje Histórico Francisco Morazan."...

In this final episode of Season 4, we conclude the tale of the oil tanker SS Torrey Canyon. gazafunds.com   Sources: Green, Anna and Timothy Cooper. “Community and Exclusion: The Torrey Canyon Disaster of 1967.” The Journal of Social History , vol. 48, no. 4, 2015, pp. 892 - 909.  Gundlach, Erich. R. “Oil Tanker Disasters.” Environment , vol. 19, no. 9, December 1977, pp. 16 - 27.  Petrow, Richard...

In Part II we get into the wreck itself and some of the initial attempts at salvage and containment gazafunds.com Sources: Green, Anna and Timothy Cooper. “Community and Exclusion: The Torrey Canyon Disaster of 1967.” The Journal of Social History , vol. 48, no. 4, 2015, pp. 892 - 909.  Hassler, Bjorn. “Accidental Versus Operational Oil Spills from Shipping in the Baltic Sea: Risk Governance and M...

This week we begin the story of the SS Torrey Canyon , the first major oil tanker spill in history. This part of the episode has us looking into the background of the vessel itself and her captain, Pastrengo Rugiati. Register for Terror Camp here!!! (virtual, December 6 - 8); this will include keynote speakers including author Julian Sancton ( Madhouse at the End of the Earth ) and Jared Harris (F...

This is an old bonus episode that we are unlocking to hopefully poach some listens off of a certain very popular podcast about engineering disasters (with slides), which just released an episode about the true story of the  Pendleton and the  Fort Mercer Support the show

Kaylee is back with us for Breakerween 2024 - this year we've got spooky tales of a haunted U-boat, fishing for Oldsmobiles, and a veritable fleet of ultrabuoyant American-made caskets.  gazafunds.com Support the show

This week we have another U-boat episode, but this time we're down in the Gulf of Mexico to talk about the SS Robert E. Lee (booooo) gazafunds.com Sources: "The Panic of 1907 and the Maine Man Who Caused It." New England Historical Society . https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-panic-of-1907-and-the-maine-man-who-caused-it/ "Robert E. Lee." Uboat.net . https://uboat...

This week we have wrangled a real live Canadian to discuss the October 1804 sinking of His Majesty's Armed Vessel Speedy and the impact of her loss on the province of Upper Canada. **one of our upcoming bonus episodes will look at the search for the Speedy 's wrecksite** gazafunds.com Sources: Baillod, Brendon. “The Enduring Mystery of the HMS Speedy .” Shipwreck World , 3 December 2019....

They were rescued by the Coast Guard, it counts. gazafunds.com Sources: Civil Aeronautics Board - Accident Investigation Report. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33563 "The Ditching." Time , 29 Oct 1956. https://web.archive.org/web/20070428134921/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,867172,00.html Stannard, Matthew B. "Danville pilot has historical predecessor." S...

This week we have a steamboat tale to tell, specifically the story of the Ohio River steamer Scioto and her deadly collision with the John Lomas in 1882. gazafunds.com Sources: Bailey, Kenneth R. "The 'Scioto' Disaster." West Virginia HIstory , vol. 6, no. 1, Spring 2012, pp. 49 - 72. "A Pall of Egyptian Gloom: The Sinking of the 'Scioto'". East Liverpool Hi...

This week we are in the city of Baltimore to discuss the 2004 sinking of the water taxi Lady D .  A big thanks to our listener Josh for suggesting this as a topic for the show! gazafunds.com Sources: "Baltimore Sea Cadets Cited For Rescue Efforts After Water Taxi Capsizes." Sea Power , July 2004. "Capsizing of U.S. Small Passenger Vessel  Lady D,  Northwest Harbor, Baltimore, Maryla...

This bonus episode was recorded for July 2023. After a year marinating in the patrons-only vault, we think it's time you hear it on the main feed! In this episode we discuss the publicity tours of the German cruiser Karlsruhe during the Interwar years, where the vessel found some cities quite welcoming and others decidedly less so gazafunds.com Santiago Ramos, Simone. "Gone to Texas - Tw...