Beyond the Breakers

Here we wrap up the main sequence of the Spanish Armada story. As all hope of a rendezvous with Parma has been lost, Medina Sidonia has no choice but to bring his ships north around Scotland and Ireland, and then back on the long journey south back to Spain.  We bid farewell to Drake, Recalde, Frobisher, the Valdes cousins, and all of the other friends we've made along the way.  Sources: Alli...

In Part III of our Series on the Spanish Armada, it's showtime! We cover the engagements at Portland Bill, the Isle of Wight, and Gravelines. We discuss flyboats, fireships, and timebombs. We finally criticize our boy Medina Sidonia. This episode really has it all. Sources: Hanson, Neil. The Confident Hope of a Miracle . Knopf, 2003. Howarth, David. The Voyage of the Armada . Penguin, 1982. M...

**this was originally released in April of 2022 as a bonus episode; now it's yours to enjoy on the main feed!** In this bonus episode for the month of April 2022 we are delving back into some maritime mysteries and folklore with a talk about the Carroll A. Deering and the tall tales of Alfred Bulltop Stormalong.  Support the show

Join us this week for Part Two of the Spanish Armada of 1588; the Armada sets sail, takes a break, sets sail again, and encounters the English fleet for the first time in the campaign. Hanson, Neil. The Confident Hope of a Miracle . Knopf, 2003. Howarth, David. The Voyage of the Armada . Penguin, 1982. Mackie, J.D. "Scotland and the Spanish Armada." The Scottish Historical Review , vol....

We embark on our next multi-part episode with Part 1, covering the background and planning phases of the Spanish Armada of 1588. This episode has everything! Politics! Logistics! Mutiny! Singed beards!... Typhus! Sources: Drelichman, Mauricio and Hans-Joachim Voth. “Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt and Default in the Age of Philip II.” The Economic Journal , vol. 121, no. 557, December 2011...

This week it's back to just the lads again with the story of the sidewheeler Alaskan, sunk in May 1889 off of Cape Blanco. Sources: "The Alaskan Founders." New York Times , 17 May 1889. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/05/17/100961000.pdf Anderson, Matthew. "SS Columbia - The Lost Ship Who Lit the World." Shipwreck World , 23 Oct 2016. https://www.shipwre...

Alexia (@TitanicTalkline) is with us today to talk about White Star's previous worst disaster - the sinking of the SS Atlantic near Halifax in 1873. Follow Alexia on Twitter! - @TitanicTalkline Hear more Alexia, every week! - Titanic Talkline on Acast Sources: Baber, Mark. "Capt Digby Murray." Encyclopedia Titanica , 1 Nov 2007. https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/community/thread...

**We know there are audio issues with this episode (Tanner recorded with the wrong mic, among other things) but it has been cleaned up to the best of our abilities; we hope it doesn't distract too much from the excellent discussion we got to have!** This week it's Jaylan Salah (@jaylansalman) on the guest mic to discuss one of the most famous maritime incidents in US history - the 1989 g...

This week we're joined by Scott (@DuluthBoatKing) for the story of the SS Western Reserve , one of the early steel-hulled freighters on the Great Lakes, lost with only a single survivor in August 1892 Support the show

[April Fool's Episode 2023] - for new listeners, the media check-in is also part of this , do not yell at us for our media check-ins if you don't like our media check-ins on this episode pls thx] This week we are in Chicago to discuss one of the greatest calamities to ever strike the Second City. It's the story of a bus, a band, a boat, and a bad decision. We dedicate this episode t...

Our friend Paul returns to the pod to share the story of one of the world's most grueling yacht competitions - The Sydney To Hobart Race - and the deadly 1998 edition that claimed the lives of six competitors. Paul is one of the hosts of the Emergency Traffic Podcast (@PodcastTraffic), which  examines firefighter and paramedic line-of-duty deaths. Sources: Dugard, Martin. Knockdown: The Harro...

It's the return of an old foe - the duck boat - in this special episode featuring Philadelphia's Finest: Tom Pain (@tohickontpain)  of Ten Thousand Losses (tenklossespod) - 'a sports podcast from a Philly, leftist, & pro-labor perspective.' **production credit to Tom for the sound effect idea after 'Ride the Ducks International LLC** Sources: "Lawyer of victims in...

This week we're headed north to the waters off of Greenland - it's the story of the Danish vessel Hans Hedtoft , lost on the return leg of her maiden voyage in January 1959. Sources: "Der Untergang der 'Hans Hedtoft.'" https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/c8fffd76f76cf314ade861efcfd56862/der-untergang-der-hans-hedtoft/index.html "Hans Hedtoft." Britannic...

We're going a bit further up the Ohio this week to discuss the loss of the towboat Elizabeth M in January 2005. Sources: Clowdis, Charles W. and Natasha Horowitz. "The River Barge Still Plays a Role in U.S. Transportation." S&P Global, 4 June 2009, https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/mi/country-industry-forecasting.html?id=106593483 Frazier, Reid R. "Pilot detail...

This week we are headed to the Queen City - Cincinnati, OH - to discuss the steamboat Moselle, whose explosive loss in 1838 spurred the US Congress to create the first federal legislation governing transportation safety. Sources: Aldrich, Mark. “Safe and Suitable Boilers: The Railroads, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and Locomotive Safety, 1900 - 1945.” Railroad History , no. 171, 1994, pp. 2...

This week we dip back into the fertile shipwreck soil of the Graveyard of the Atlantic.  Sources: "Empire Gem." Monitor National Marine Sanctuary , https://monitor.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/empire_gem.html#:~:text=Today%2C%20Empire%20Gem%20rests%20at,lies%20broke%20in%20two%20pieces Gentile, Gary. Popular Dive Guide Series: Shipwrecks of North Carolina from Diamond Shoals North . Gary Gentile...

This week we discuss the loss of the trawler Antares and the role played in her sinking by the Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant. Sources: "Minister says no more action on Antares sinking." The Herald , 19 Oct 1992.   https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12584178.minister-says-no-more-action-on-antares-sinking/ "Report of the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents into the collisi...

**Dead Reckoning is a bonus series that we put on Patreon; consider becoming a patron if you enjoy what you hear!** This fourth episode of Dead Reckoning is a reading of "The Body on the Shore," as shared in Frederick Stonehouse's Haunted Lakes (1997), asking the age-old question of how much money your sanity is really worth. Support the show

This week we have special guest Jamie (from Old Shipping Lines on YouTube) to discuss the sinking of the British liner SS Vestris in 1928. Sources: Berchtold, William E. "More Fodder for Photomaniacs." The North American Review , vol. 239, no. 1, January 1935, pp. 19-30. Grace, Michael. "Disaster at Sea - SS Vestris" Cruising the Past , 21 Nov 2009. https://www.cruiselinehistor...

This week we actually get a couple of shipwrecks for the price of one, in our discussion of the SS Northern Pacific , which served in both civilian and military capacities during her 7-year sailing career. [sources - full list to come] Gentile, Gary. Shipwrecks of Delaware and Maryland. Gary Gentile Productions, 1990. Support the show

This week we're talking about the loss of the steamer R.G. Coburn in October 1871. Other sub-topics include the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire, the Chicago iron & steel industry, and the dazzling array of fonts in 1800s newspaper advertisements.  Sources: Bensman, David and Mark R. Wilson. "Iron and Steel." Encyclopedia of Chicago , 2005. http://encyclopedia.chicagohistor...

This bonus episode spun off from Episode 87 covering the steamship Metropolis , which spent part of its career serving in the Atlantic Blockading Squadron. We look at the effectiveness of the blockade and impact that the contraband trade had on life in the Confederacy. **note, the last 5-ish minutes of the episode is just some hot mic / behind the scenes discussion from between recordings that we...

This week we discuss the story of the steamship Metropolis, formerly known as the USS Stars And Stripes, which ran aground near Currituck, NC in 1878. Sources: Gentile, Gary. Shipwrecks of North Carolina from Hatteras Inlet South . G. Gentile Productions, 1992. Tabb, Kip. "Beach wreckage revives mystery of the Metropolis." Outer Banks Voice, 14 Oct 2020. https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2...

Welcome to Season Three of Beyond the Breakers! We are starting the new year by talking about the 1982 sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit  Ocean Ranger in the Hibernia Field of the Grand Banks. Sources: Collier, Keith. "The Loss of the Ocean Ranger , 15 February 1982." Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage , October 2016. www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/ocean-ranger.php Dodd,...

This bonus episode is a discussion of the article "Dead Men Do Tell Tales: Folklore, Fraternity, and the Forecastle" Source:  Rouleau, Brian J. "Dead Men Do Tell Tales: Folklore, Fraternity, and the Forecastle." Early American Studies, vol. 05, no. 01, Spring 2007, pp. 30-62 Support the show