In Ancient times, if you became sick on a Roman galley, your medical plan allowed you to be thrown overboard, fortunately without any cost or co-pay to you. The Romans didn’t consider it “Socialism”! Yet here, in the good old USA, this simple effective plan…
Posts tagged as “Mark C. Nuccio”
Those who know me as an almost truthful teller of “Sea Tales” will accept this story unquestioned, at least to my face. Those who think this tale is mere folly, I detest. I tolerate those who casually question it, I admire those who believe it’s…
“When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades…that was to be a steamboat man.” Mark Twain. Many of us think only of Mark Twain as the writer of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but Twain led an adventurous life…
It’s a custom now! Give the people what they want! Ahoy! Ahoy! It’s bread and circuses! Memorial Day is here, the time for boating, beaches, and beer! Truth be told it’s the day put aside after the Civil War to honor the 700,000 Union and…
I used to be tall, but at my age, I’ve been in my shrinking stage for a while. What I have lost in height has been gained on my “Grog Belly”. When I’m with people of my generation, I still rate in height. When I…
You think the Summer bays are crowded now! So, what can I bellyache about now? Last summer we were anchored in a small, out-of-the-way cove, that hasn’t been over-discovered yet. I was lying out on the deck enjoying the sun and doing some drawing. Suddenly…
From the glory days of the great sailing ships to the modern vessels of today, the ships that crossed the oceans most often carried more than human passengers. Yep! Ships can carry a lot of creepy crawly, scampering villains, both in olden times and on…
Tar, that thick, gooey, mess has been used on ships for many purposes since the beginning of ancient voyages. All types of tars and pitch formulas were used on hulls, decks, riggings, and even on a seaman’s clothing. It has always been the crew fighting…
“Pieces of wreck washed up on the shore near The Fire Island Lighthouse cannot be from the famed wreck of the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic!”Most of you know about the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic in 1819. I won’t dawdle on…
I wrote an article years ago concerning the wholesale destruction of shore birds on Long Island’s Great South Bay during the 19th and early 20th Century. Many shorebird species were decimated due to the fashionable use of various feathers in women’s hats during that period.…