Marlinspike Magazine

09/17/2026

Glad the weather cooperated. You don't turn 100 every day!

09/17/2026

NAME THAT BOAT! We've removed *most* of the names from trailboards and burgees, to make you work a little harder. Photo: Mike Rutstein

09/17/2026

"...the Shenandoah will remain open Sunday for anyone who wants to say goodbye. Open boat tours will last from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m."

On Friday, Shenandoah will return to Vineyard Haven harbor on its final voyage, sailing home with a group of Chilmark school students who have spent the week living aboard the ship. Celebrations will then take place all weekend.

09/16/2026

Such a cool photo! I'd like to see the windjammers all fly the correct US flag for the year they were launched.

09/16/2026

Not a low-maintenance vessel. Congrats to the crew!

09/16/2026

Stage Harbor hosted a celebrity guest this week, as the Tall Ship Lynx held court for a parade of admirers.

CHATHAM – Stage Harbor hosted a celebrity guest this week, as the Tall Ship Lynx held court for a parade of admirers.Facing stiff headwinds, the...

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

Thursday in Salem!

On September 7, 1775, the schooner Hannah, sailing under orders from General George Washington, captured the British supply vessel Unity off Cape Ann. It was the first capture made by an armed vessel of what would eventually become the Continental Navy.

A Marblehead fishing schooner owned by Colonel John Glover, she was sailed by a crew drawn largely from Marblehead. Washington had commissioned Nicholson Broughton to command her just five days earlier, on September 2nd, with orders to seize vessels supplying the British army in Boston. Her first days at sea were nearly her last. On September 5th she was chased off Cape Ann by the 20-gun HMS Lively and only escaped into Gloucester Harbor. Two days later she returned to the same waters and took Unity, along with her cargo of naval stores.

The claim to being the "birthplace of the American Navy" has never fully settled: Beverly and Marblehead, among other places, all claim the title and have each made their case over the past two and a half centuries. What is not contested is that Hannah's crew were local men, her captain a local appointment, and her mission launched from a local harbor, in defense of a siege being fought in their own backyard.

Want to know the rest of the story? Join us this Thursday, September 17th at 6:30 PM at the Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center for our Conflict and Community lecture, "Hannah in Context: What Really Happened, and Why Did It Matter?" with Captain Michael Rutstein, who will explore the full story of the Hannah including the dramatic October engagement when she ran aground under fire from HMS Nautilus near Beverly.

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hannah-in-context-what-really-happened-and-why-did-it-matter-tickets-1985835512475
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Photo Credit:
Public Domain