Half Seas Over
A Column of Interesting Research Tidbits Related to Maritime Maine
Charles Lagerbom teaches AP US History at Belfast Area High School and lives in Northport. He can be contacted at clagerbom@rsu71.org. He is the author of "Whaling in Maine," available through The History Press (www.historypress.com).
Additional Column Posts (1 - 20 of 28) Next Page
Deep in the Devonian: The Age of Fishes!
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Jun 17When diving sites here in Midcoast Maine, we often encounter various marine flora and fauna. Some of the life we see in Penobscot Bay looks ...
Shipwreck and gold, Part 1
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Jun 03The three-mast 1,183-ton ship General Grant was built in Bath in 1864, named for the famous Civil War general and future U.S. president, part of a ...
The RBW Trifecta
By Charles H. Lagerbom - May 20For scuba diving in Midcoast Maine, Rockland's Breakwater, which we refer to as RBW, is a great option. It actually offers three different dives ...
Maine-built schooner + Bermuda Triangle = maritime mystery
By Charles H. Lagerbom - May 06While looking into the history of Maine-built schooners, I came across a reference to the Carroll A. Deering. This five-masted schooner is ...
There’s no viz like low viz
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Apr 22As a scuba diver here in Maine, I often hear people ask how far you can see underwater. There is no real simple answer, it actually depends on a ...
Families and wooden boat building
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Apr 01It took me aback recently when someone suggested it might be a waste of time for anyone wanting to build a wooden boat. The point he was trying to ...
Learning how to scuba – Then and now
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Mar 18In 1979 during my sophomore year in high school, for my birthday my parents purchased for me a scuba certification course. I had always been ...
The Belfast Bark Suliote, Part 2
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Mar 04After its noted trip to California, there is not much information available as to Suliote's next few voyages. At some point, the bark returned to ...
I’m being followed by a moon snail …
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Feb 18For the past five years or so, a local dive group in the area called Mid-Coast Maine Aqua-Nuts have been compiling a photo database of marine life ...
What is it about Cape Horn?
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Feb 08Cape Horn, located at 56 degrees South latitude, brings to mind visions of wind-whipped water, plunging seas, desperate mariners hanging aloft in ...
Shipwreck and gold - Part 2
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Jun 10Soon after the rescued survivors of General Grant returned to civilization, the irresistible siren-song began about golden treasure just sitting ...
The wreck of the Alfred D. Snow
By Charles H. Lagerbom - May 27Over February break, I visited the Thomaston Historical Society to research Maine-built ships which rounded Cape Horn, for my next book. There, I ...
But, Dad, it’s due tomorrow!
By Charles H. Lagerbom - May 13My son called from college at the end of March, said he needed to do a project and wanted to interview me about scuba diving. He is a junior at ...
Twilight Time
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Apr 29The current passenger excursion boat on Moosehead Lake is called the Katadhin, or more affectionately, Kate. I saw it a few summers back while ...
The Boxer and Enterprise
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Apr 08As far as wars go in American History, the War of 1812 does not get that much coverage or study. But here in Maine, the conflict proved to be a ...
Maine Maritime Academy’s training ships
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Mar 25The other day, as I drove through Castine for some research on Fort Pentagoet, I decided to swing down by the town dock. There, I found the Maine ...
‘Shiver Me Timbers?’ Maine’s first pirate
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Mar 11When I heard about the first pirate known to have cruised Maine waters, images came to mind of Hollywood's Jack Sparrow or one of the blood-thirsty...
The Belfast bark Suliote, part 1
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Feb 25In 1848, once rumors were confirmed, gold fever hit hard among most everyone along the Maine Midcoast. Belfast's Asa Faunce was just finishing ...
Scuba divers and red knit caps
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Feb 11When I was a kid growing up in Kansas, I used to watch “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” Seeing his adventures around the world aboard his ...
Sad ending for a Hero
By Charles H. Lagerbom - Jan 21In 1968, the Harvey Gamage shipyard in South Bristol built and launched the National Science Foundation Research Vessel Hero. The idea was to ...
