Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs

The first in a planned series of future episodes about the world's most well-known lighthouses. The enormous Lighthouse of Alexandria is the most famous lighthouse of all time, and stood for 1500 years on the shore of Alexandria, Egypt, and It is one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Hook Lighthouse in Ireland is over 1200 years old and is the oldest, intact, operational lighthouse in the wor...

The U.S. Navy brig Somers was part of an experimental apprentice program to teach young men, mostly teenagers, to be naval officers. During a return voyage to Africa in 1842, Captain Alexander Slidell Mackenzie learned of a mutiny plot, orchestrated by Philip Spencer and other young crewmen. Spencer was the son of Secretary of War John Spencer, and already had a reputation as a troublemaker. Actin...

The pleasure yacht Wawinet sank on September 21, 1942, in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Wawinet was owned by retired NHL defenseman Bert Corbeau who played for the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Corbeau was Plant Supervisor at Midland Foundry and Machine Company, of Midland, Ontario, and he was taking the workers out for an evening boating excursion. Corbeau was an experience...

(This episode was oiginally released in January of 2023.) On the evening of January 28, 1980 the United States Coast Guard cutter Blackthorn was leaving Tampa Bay on its way to its home base in Galveston, Texas. It was a cool, calm, and pleasant night as the Blackthorn headed out. At the same time, the SS Capricorn was inbound to the bay. Through a series of missteps and miscommunications, the Bla...

Bonus Episode from La Fayette, We Are Here! podcast. This particular conflict goes by multiple names and definitions. While it is globally recognized as the Seven Years' War, it is more commonly referred to in America as the French and Indian War, and in Canada as the War of Conquest. These wars are all interconnected and are part of a vast global struggle between the two superpowers of the mid-ei...

In the midst of increased tariffs and enforcement of the Navigation Acts, an angry group of merchants, plantation owners, and residents of Providence, Rhode Island slipped out under the cover of darkness on June 10, 1772, and boarded HMS Gaspee. After a short battle, the Rhode Islanders burned the British vessel, and shot and wounded its commander, Lt. William Duddingston. The Gaspee Affair, as it...

On the 13th of January, 2012 the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia struck a rocky outcropping off the coast of Italy. The ship lost power and propulsion, and came to rest on its starboard side, just meters from the island of Giglio. Panic and chaos ensued on board, with over 4000 passengers and 1000 crew. Captain Francesco Schettino altered the planned course of his ship to perform a sail-by sal...

Bonus Episode from La Fayette, We Are Here! podcast. The Nouvelle France (New France) is the French colonization of North America. Over a couple of centuries, the French established settlements all over North America, especially along the St. Lawrence and Mississippi River but also in Nova Scotia, Florida, Louisiana and more. New France existed from the first adventures of Jacques Cartier in 1534...

The Royal Tar was a Canadian steamship built in 1835. On October 25, 1836, the ship was on voyage from Eastport, Maine to Portland, Maine. On board were 72 passengers, 21 crew, and a large caravan of animals that were part of a traveling menagerie. The caravan included horses, lions, camels, a tiger, birds, reptiles, and even an elephant. when the ship's boiler ran dry due to a leak. When the boil...

Food aboard ships during the Age of Sail (roughly from the 16th to the 19th centuries) was far from luxurious, chosen for its durability rather than flavor or nutritional value. Sailors were at sea for extended periods with no refrigeration, so provisions had to withstand long voyages. The cuisine was monotonous, barely edible, and nutritionally deficient by modern standards. Sailors endured long...

Captain Samuel Francis Knowles began his career on the sea at a very young age, honing his skills as a teenager aboard ships out of Boston. He would go on to captain several ships including the Norway and the Mary S. Ames. Captain Frank survived a fire on board the Norway, with all hands saved, and a hurricane that sank the Mary S. Ames. Throughout his years on the seas, Captain Frank had many adv...

On October 9, 1862, David Henry White was kidnapped at sea from the United States merchant ship Tonawanda by Captain Raphael Semmes of the CSS Alabama. The young man was from a free, black family of Lewes, Delaware, and was employed on the Tonawanda by the Cope Line as a passenger cook. Dr. Andrew Sillen, author of Kidnapped at Sea, discusses the story of David Henry White, his life while enslaved...

The Skeleton Coast of Namibia is infamous for the countless shipwrecks scattered along its shores, a haunting reminder of the treacherous conditions mariners have faced for centuries. Thick, unpredictable fogs, strong Atlantic currents, and hidden sandbars have made navigating this coastline perilous, often leading ships to run aground. Some of the wrecks, dating as far back as the early Portugues...

The Ocean Ranger disaster occurred on February 15, 1982, when the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the North Atlantic. A severe winter storm caused massive waves and hurricane-force winds, leading to water breaching the rig’s ballast control room. A series of mechanical and human errors in handling the flooding worsened the situation, and eventu...

Ships of the Crusades Joining me for this episode is Dr. Nicholas Morton, Associate Professor with the School of Arts and Humanities at Nottingham Trent University. Dr. Morton has written many books, including The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East. The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated by European Christians between the 11th and 13th centuries, ai...

The bulk carrier SS Marine Electric went down on February 12th, 1983, 30 miles off the coast of Virginia during a severe winter storm. The World War 2 era ship had been been deteriorating for years and suffered from rust, corrosion, failed pumps, and faulty safety features that the ship's owners, Marine Transport Lines had neglected to repair. Only 3 out of 34 crewmembers survived the wreck. Many...

History Daily From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by Lindsay Graham. Audio editing and sound design by Mollie Baack. Music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written and researched by James Benmore. Executive Producers are Steven Walters for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser. December 14, 1911. Roald Amundsen becomes the first person to reach...

The Halifax Explosion of 1917 occurred on December 6 when the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the narrow harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The collision caused a massive explosion that devastated the surrounding area, resulting in approximately 2,000 deaths and injuring around 9,000 people. The blast obliterated buildings, starte...

The USS Thresher (SSN-593) was a nuclear-powered submarine that tragically sank on April 10, 1963, during a deep-diving test about 220 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. This disaster resulted in the loss of all 129 crew members and civilians on board, marking the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history. The Thresher's sinking highlighted critical flaws in submarine design and emergency re...

Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860), was a daring and influential British naval officer renowned for his unconventional tactics and audacious exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. Known for his strategic brilliance and fearless leadership, Cochrane earned a reputation as one of the most successful frigate captains in the Royal Navy, particularly for his devastating raids on ene...

Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860), was a daring and influential British naval officer renowned for his unconventional tactics and audacious exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. Known for his strategic brilliance and fearless leadership, Cochrane earned a reputation as one of the most successful frigate captains in the Royal Navy, particularly for his devastating raids on ene...

The Lakonia was launched in 1929 as the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (JVO) of the Netherlands Line as an ocean liner, servicing the route between Europe and the Dutch East Indies. After being converted to a troop ship during World War 2, she returned to passenger service until 1963, when she was sold to the Greek Line. The JVO was refurbished and renamed as the Lakonia, then relaunched as a cruise shi...

The 1881 Steamboat Victoria disaster in London, Ontario, Canada, remains one of the most tragic maritime accidents in Canadian history. On May 24, 1881, the Victoria, a paddlewheel steamboat, was packed with passengers enjoying a holiday excursion on the Thames River. However, tragedy struck when the boat became unstable, and its boiler came loose from its mountings. The boiler crashed through the...

From History Daily, hosted by Lindsay Graham, The Sinking of the Laconia. Get ad-free access to History Daily, Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs, and many other fantastic history podcasts, on the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe at IntoHistory.com/shipwreckspod. September 12, 1942. During the Second World War, a German U-boat sinks the RMS Laconia, killing over 1,600 of the British liner’s passengers...

On December 20, 1987, the Philippines experienced the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history when the MV Doña Paz, a passenger ferry, collided with the MT Vector, an oil tanker. The accident occurred near the Tablas Strait, resulting in a massive fire that engulfed both vessels. The MV Doña Paz was heavily overcrowded with an estimated 4,385 people. Only 25 passengers from the Doña Paz survi...