Beyond the Breakers

We're re-joined this week by Nick (@dolorousnick), who shares the story of the sternwheeler showboat  Whippoorwill , struck by a tornado on Pomona Lake in June 1978.  Support the show

Mama never told you there'd be deals like this! Every month you can get even more Beyond the Breakers by joining us on Patreon at the $3 or $5 tier! $3 a month (Able Seaperson) gets you one bonus episode, $5 (2nd Mate) gets you two (or more??) per month.  It sounds a little something like this...  Support the show

Here we have the epic finale of this three-part series - Famagusta will fall, and for the last time two fleets composed primarily of galleys will meet in a major engagement. Sources: Anievas, Alexander and Kerem Nişancioğlu. “The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century.” How the West Came to Rule: The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism. Pluto Press.  Bicheno, Hugh. Crescent and Cr...

This is Part 2 of our (now) three part series leading up to the Battle of Lepanto. Sources: Anievas, Alexander and Kerem Nişancioğlu. “The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century.” How the West Came to Rule: The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism. Pluto Press.  Brummett, Palmira. “Foreign Policy, Naval Strategy, and the Defence of the Ottoman Empire in the Early Sixteenth Century....

This is part 1 of 2 in our discussion of the naval battle at Lepanto in 1571. Before we can get to Lepanto itself, there's a good bit of background to set up first. Sources: Anievas, Alexander and Kerem Nişancioğlu. “The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century.” How the West Came to Rule: The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism. Pluto Press.  Bicheno, Hugh. Crescent and Cross:...

This episode was released as a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode in May 2023 as the conclusion to our Spanish Armada series - now it's been unlocked for everyone in anticipation of our next main episode when we'll be returning to the 16th century and maybe even revisiting some old friends.  Sources for Part V: Brown, Meaghan J. “‘The Heart of All Sorts of People Were Enflamed’: Manipulatin...

[notes to come]  Support the show

This is a teaser containing the first few minutes of our March 2024 Bonus Episode released for patrons at the $5 (2nd Mate) Tier Patrons at the $3 tier can access one additional episode each month, and patrons at the $5 tier can access two additional episodes each month.  Support the show

Many people are familiar with the RMS Carpathia as the vessel that picked up hundreds of Titanic survivors in the early morning of April 15th 1912. In this episode we discuss that monumental event in the Carpathia 's history, in addition to what came before and after.  Sources: "Arthur Henry Rostron: Captain of the RMS Carpathia." Encyclopedia Titanica. https://www.encyclopedia-tita...

Something different this week as we look into maritime folklore related to predicting (and maybe even altering) the weather. **we get into the lore at about 11:20** (for fans of the Loremen - yes, it's Christ-In-A-Hole!)  Sources: Beck, Horace. Folklore and the Sea . Mystic Seaport, 1996. Hole, Christina. "Superstitions and Beliefs of the Sea." Folklore , vol. 78, no. 3, Autumn 1967...

In this episode we go back to the early days of RORO ferries for the tale of the MV Princess Victoria , lost on a crossing of the Irish Sea's North Channel in January 1953.  Sources: Bibby, Miriam. "The Loss of the Princess Victoria."  Historic UK . https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Loss-Of-Princess-Victoria-Ferry/ Cameron, Stephen. Death in the North Channel: T...

Though recorded in July it's technically supposed to be our June 2023 bonus episode - a discussion of an alternate route to freedom for those enslaved in the coastal regions of the American South. And our much-anticipated dive into John C. Calhoun's global race-war fantasy.  **this episode was originally published in July 2023. We made some minor edits and clean-ups for release on the ma...

This is the story of a ship - the USS Princeton - but it's also the story of Robert F. Stockton and his most precious brainchild - a 12-inch wrought iron naval gun affectionately nicknamed 'Peacemaker' Invite your friends, invite your co-workers, hell invite the President! Sources: Duke, Marvin L. “Robert F. Stockton Early U.S. Naval Activities in Africa.” Naval War College Review ,...

You've heard of Neo-Confederates, but what about Nepo-Confederates. Here's the story of the USS Underwriter and her loss during a Confederate attempt to re-capture New Bern, NC in February 1864. Sources: Coddington, Ronald S. "Civil War Sailors: From the Collections Of Our Readers." Military Images , vol. 30, no. 3, Nov - Dec 2008, pp. 25 - 37. Duppstadt, Andrew. "USS Unde...

In our third episode of Season Four we tell the story of the Volga River cruise ship Aleksandr Suvorov, and her fatal run-in with the Imperial Bridge at Ulyanovsk in June 1983. **a very small part of conversation was cut when Tanner was talking about The Others of Edenwell by Verity Holloway . The missing portion was something like 'books that are set during WWI but not in the trenches on the...

In May 1944,  during the buildup to Operation Forager, another shocking disaster rocked Pearl Harbor. Sources: Barger, Mel. "LST Memories: The Second Pearl Harbor Disaster." LST Scuttlebutt: The Official Website of the United States LST Association . https://www.uslst.org/memories/27-articles/17-lst-memories-the-second-pearl-harbor-disaster Oral history of the experience of Paul E. Coope...

To kick off Season Four we are telling the story of the destroyer USS Reuben James , the first US Navy loss of the Second World War. Sources:  Benson, Olver. “The Changing Patterns of the War.” Current History, vol. 1, no. 4, Dec 1941, pp. 297 - 302.  Blower, Brooke. “From Isolationism to Neutrality.” Diplomatic History , vo. 38, no. 2, Apr 2014, pp. 345 - 376.  Guerlac, Henry and Marie Boas. “The...

This is Part Two of the tale of the Mavi Marmara and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla of 2010. This part of the episode details the raid itself, the aftermath, and where the flotilla fits in the long story of Palestine. This will also serve as the main feed finale for Season Three of the show. We will be back in the new year with a brand new season of old favorites, new fixations, and everything in betwe...

In this two-part episode we  discuss the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla,  which was raided by Israeli forces resulting in the deaths of multiple participants.  Part One looks at the history and context in which the Freedom Flotillas occurred, and leads into the raid itself.  Part Two will deal with the details of the raid in the early morning of May 31st, 2010 and the aftermath of the attack, includin...

**this episode was originally released a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode in December 2022** Here is an extra special Patreon bonus episode wrapping up our discussion of the Lusitania . We talk about the legal aspects of Britain's blockade and the German U-boat campaign, the Lusitania Riots of 1915, and cover a few other bits of miscellanea.  Thanks so much for supporting the show, and we look...

In the dying days of the Great War, the French navy commissioned 12 Navarin- class minesweepers, to be constructed in Canada under the direction of Wisconsin's Manitowoc Shipbuilding. Three of these minesweepers - Inkerman, Cerisoles, and Sebastopol departed Fort William, Ontario  on Novembers 23, 1918 Only one would be seen again. Sources: Stonehouse, Frederick. "Ils Sont Disparu! They...

In March 1929, the US Coast Guard cutters Wolcott and Dexter pursued and subsequently sank the bootlegging schooner I'm Alone , touching off an international incident and legal battle that would outlast the Prohibition laws that led to it in the first place. Sources: The American Council on Addiction & Alcohol Problems Hagen, Carrie. "The Coast Guard's Most Potent Weapon During...

This is the first installment of our Beyond the Breakers Book Club episodes. We hope to get one of these in each month. This episode is being released as the main episode this week, and if you like what you hear then subsequent book club episodes will be available on Patreon at the second mate ($5) tier. Outro Music: This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, 'Jack Johnson' Sources: Berliner, Jonathan. “...

It is once again Halloween and that means we have a round of spooky ship tales to share with you.  We've got:  the USS North Carolina Deaths on Hallowe'en at Fort Niagara the spectral sailors of the oil tanker Watertown 'The Phantom of the Forrestal' **As we're sharing this episode with you, the genocide in Palestine continues, with upwards of 8,000 recorded deaths in Gaza...

This is a bit of a chimera episode with welcoming Taylor back to the show, discussing some current events (including the St. Lawrence Seaway workers strike), and telling the tale of the MV Material Service . **if you just want pure unfiltered shipwreck action the story itself starts at 19:30** Sources: Kohl, Chris. 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks, Vol. II . Seawolf Communications, 1998. Leathem Sm...