Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, the 987-foot tank vessel Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. What followed was the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The oil slick has spread over 3,000 square miles and onto over 350 miles of beaches in Prince William Sound, one of the most pristine and magnificent natural areas in the country. Experts still are assessing the environmental and economic implications of the incident. The job of cleaning up the spill is under way, and although the initial response proceeded slowly, major steps have been taken.

The very large spill size, the remote location, and the character of the oil all tested spill preparedness and response capabilities. Government and industry plans, individually and collectively, proved to be wholly insufficient to control an oil spill of the magnitude of the Exxon Valdez incident. Initial industry efforts to get equipment on scene were unreasonably slow, and once deployed the equipment could not cope with the spill. Moreover, the various contingency plans did not refer to each other or establish a workable response command hierarchy. This resulted in confusion and delayed the cleanup.

Prepared by the National Response Team, this report was requested by the President and undertaken by Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William K. Reilly. The report addresses the preparedness for, the response to, and early lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez incident. The President has also asked Secretary Skinner to coordinate the efforts of all federal agencies involved in the cleanup and Administrator Reilly to coordinate the long-term recovery of the affected areas of the Alaskan environment. These efforts are ongoing.

The report addresses a number of important environmental, energy, economic, and health implications of the incident.

Reprint of the best book ever about practice and history of american yachting. First issued in 1904.

SIXTEEN boats were in the procession which entered on the terrible hours of rowing, drifting and suspense. Women wept for lost husbands and sons, sailors sobbed for the ship which had been their pride. Men choked back tears and sought to comfort the widowed. Perhaps, they said, other boats might have put off in another direction. They strove, though none too sure themselves, to convince the women of the certainty that a rescue ship would appear.

Tugboats hold a fascination not only for anyone who has worked aboard a vessel or around a harbor but for many land-bound folks as well. There is something about their chunky, powerful build and their often risky but vital work that excites our interest and admiration. The captains and crews of the tugboats are justifiably proud of what they do, and they have some great stories to tell about the ships and barges they tow or push; the harbors, storms, tides, and dangerous passages they must negotiate; the unions; the pilots; the different designs and capabilties of their boats; and the way the boats and their livelihood are irrevocably changing.

This report discusses the fire that destroyed the small passenger vessel Express Shuttle II. From its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board identified safety issues in the following areas: preventive maintenance, crew response to fire emergency, and fire detection systems. NTSB recommendations are included.

Thomas Russells book, first edited in 1917, was intended to serve as a complete manual for owners of motor boats. It includes a detailed guide to all contemporary classic boat engines and other technical components such as gearboxes and propellers. This book still is a rich source for all owner and lovers of classic boats.

This work touches on the specialized world of wooden-ship building, looking at the endless variations of techniques from country to country, region to region, and over the course of history.

The exploits of the U.S. Navy's 'Patrol Torpedo' or PT Boat crews became famous during WWII. Known by the Japanese as "devil boats," the little PTs landed big blows on the enemy, sinking numerous ships and supply barges. They also laid mines, carried out intelligence operations, and performed search and rescue operations among other tasks. While the most famous boat of the war was PT-109, commanded by future President John F. Kennedy, PT-73 also gained fame as the star of the TV show McHale's Navy starring Ernest Borgnine. Originally created in 1945 by the Bureau of Ships, "Know Your PT Boat" was intended to educate the crews of motor torpedo boats about all aspects of PT operation and maintenance in the field. Filled with advice drawn from the battle-tested crews of the "mosquito fleet," and featuring hilarious (and sometimes impolite) cartoon illustrations, it's sometimes hard to believe this booklet was an official U.S. Navy publication. This softcover reprint features the original book in its entirety.

The famous and complete history of sailing ships from its beginning until the late 19th century. Probably the best and most detailed book about historical windjammers from all countries and continents. First published in 1909.

Celestial navigation is a way to find your latitude and longitude on earth using a sextant to measure the angular heights of celestial bodies above the horizon. It has been used by mariners at sea and explorers on land for three hundred years, and it is still used today as a dependable backup to modern electronic navigation. Routine celestial navigation relies upon accurate time (Universal Time) to find the longitude of a position (latitude does not require time). Advanced celestial navigators can find longitude without knowing the time using a technique called Lunar Distance. In this technique, the sextant is used to measure the angular (diagonal) distance between the moon and another celestial body. Since this distance slowly changes as the moon moves eastward though the stars, it can be used to find the time of day that is needed to complete the longitude determination.The process of finding longitude from lunar distance, however, requires special tables that have not been published in the Nautical Almanac or other sources since the early 1900s. Although software solutions have been available, most advanced celestial navigators are very grateful to navigation historian Bruce Stark for creating these printed tables dedicated to this task. They have been used and tested by mariners for more than 15 years and are praised by experts for their ingenuity and ease of use in solving this complex navigation exercise-which all agree is the hallmark of an expert celestial navigator.With The Stark Tables in your nav station, you no longer have to fear losing power to your electronic navigation aids, nor are you dependent on accurate time from any official broadcast.Besides their practical use in back up navigation, historians have used these tables for years to interpret the logbooks of Lewis and Clark, David Thompson, James Cook, Matthew Flinders, George Vancouver, Nathaniel Bowditch, and other notable explorers and sea captains."It is remarkable in this day when the very survival of celestial navigation seems in question, that an individual should suddenly appear on the scene and present to the world such a brilliant piece of work. Stark has rendered a great service to the celestial navigation community." - Robert Eno, The Navigator's Newsletter"Captain Cook would have relished using these tables, had they been available to him then."- George Huxtable, FRIN

Being a Nautical Description of the Coasts of France, Spain and Portugal, the West Coast of Africa, the Coasts of Brazil and Patagonia, the Islands of the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries and Cape Verdes, and of the detached Shoals and Dangers reported to exist in the Atlantic; to this is added a General Review of the Winds, Tides, Currents, etc. A Description of the principal Harbours on the Coast of North America, and the Account of the most advantageous Tracks across the Atlantic.

This book contains the definitive analysis of the navigation and achievement of the discovery of the North Pole by Robert Peary and Matthew Hensen in April of 1909. The report is the work of members of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Art of Navigation. It was commissioned by the National Geographic Society in 1989 to resolve the controversies surrounding this achievement once and for all. "I consider this the end of a historic controversy and the confirmation of due justice to a great explorer." - Gilbert M. Grosvenor, President National Geographic Society

A narrative of all Voyages to the North-West Passage from the beginning until 1890.

"Navigation puzzles, controversies, historical problems, and other ponderables demystified by an expert navigator and writer. Joe Portney is a US Naval Academy graduate and Air Force navigator who has participated in three historic flights over the North Pole. He is a past President of the Institute of Navigation and recipient of the Weems Award for continuing contributions to the art and science of navigation. He has produced a wonderful little book here, chock filled with interesting tidbits, each of which can be read in a few minutes but will stimulate your thought for many days to come. Some are very basic, others more involved, but he provides a clear explanation of each. Some refer to math computations that we might not all be familiar with, but this is not a distraction from the main points being made even in these few cases."

Reprint of the original official publication, 1792.

Major safety issues discussed in this report include stability standards and procedures for passenger vessels; and regulation of New York State's public vessels. As a result of its investigation of this accident, the Safety Board made safety recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of New York.

This book discusses the reasons why it is advantageous to owners and operators of deep draft commercial vessels to construct their ships with greater fire protection than what is required by the regulatory construct.

With A Review Of The Case Of The Antelope.