Shows
Nautical NonsenseEpisode 24: The Mary CelesteEpisode 24: The Mary Celeste The sea is full of mysteries We’ve all heard about the well known fact that we know less about our oceans than we do about outer space. Most mysteries at sea can be debunked to superstition and folklore, but there are some stories that remain a enigma, puzzling the brightest of minds. In episode 19 we talked about the Bermuda Triangle, and while it is still an odd cluster of tragic events, we can look at the science behind it and understand that the phenomena surrounding that are...
2022-12-0115 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 23: The Hurricane Lady of St. AugustineIf you’re from the coastal American south, the days of June 1 to November 30th sit a little differently than the rest. For over 60 million Americans, they live in an area that is vulnerable to one of the greatest forces of mother nature, the hurricane. The end of November marks the end of hurricane season in the South East United States and the Carribbean. The recent hurricane Nichole is among the latest in the season of hurricanes to touch land in Florida, the next one closest being hurricane Kate in 1985. And th...
2022-11-1711 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 22: Liminal LighthousesEPISODE 22: LIMINAL LIGHTHOUSES By all intents and purposes, a lighthouse should represent hope. They light the way to safety, and present a safe harbour. But they also are reaped in solitude and often lie at the edge of danger. Even that though, could bring hope. So what is it about lighthouses, then, that makes them such macabre places? Lighthouses occupy the liminal spaces between land and the sea. The rest often in the harshest of environments where humans shouldn’t really exist, and where normal rules of society do not prevail. There is no...
2022-11-0418 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 21: The Sinking of the Wilhelm GustlaffEpisode 21: The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlaff In the icy cold January of 1945, all was quiet in the Baltic Sea. The Wilhelm Gustlaff floated silently along. Later that evening a national broadcast from Hitler blared through the boats speakers, echoing across the water. A man named Aleksander took his shot. In a loss of life that accounted to nearly 9000 people, the tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustlaff is that of the largest loss of human life at sea. Listen to the podcast to learn more! SHOW NOTES: 0:10 Peter’s Yo...
2022-10-2012 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 20: ShackletonEpisode 20: Shackleton If there was ever a man with a sense of adventure and a roaming spirit, it was Earnest Shackleton. Earnest left school at the age of 16 to join the Merchant Navy. After that, he spent four years learning his trade as an apprentice on a square-rigged sailing ship. He then trained to be an officer, working his way up through the ranks. In 1898 he earned his master mariner certificate and got a job as an officer on the Union Castle line. He primarily did the sailing route bet...
2022-04-2018 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 19: The Bermuda TriangleIn 1950 the Sandra departed from Savannah Georgia with 300 tons of insecticide on board. The Sandra’s destination was Venezuala, but she never completed her journey. As the ship passed the Florida coast the ship lost complete radio contact and disappeared without trace. No one ever heard from the Sandra again. SHOW NOTES: :40 Flight 19 1:00 SS Cotopaxi 2:10 The Bermuda Triangle 2:35 Vincent Gaddis 4:30 Charles Berlitz’s The Bermuda Triangle 9:10 The Reality of the Bermuda Triangle Connect with Sydney Zarub...
2022-04-0112 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 18: HoratioEveryone loves the story of an underdog. A tale of someone with all the odds stacked against them, and manages to come back and surprise the world with their amazing feats. The type of person who has Islands named after them and can inspire a nation Someone who is so impressive at what they have accomplished, you can almost forget and forgive their flaws. Horatio always had a poor disposition. His stomach afflicted him in ways he barely handled. When he was born, his mother didn’t believe he wou...
2022-03-2516 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 17: Sailors' TattoosSailors in particular are known for their decorated canvases of bodies. It is often said tattooing was first introduced to sailors after Captain Cook’s voyages to the South Seas. Here the men encountered the islanders with extensive tattoo designs, and the sailors were smitten. Captain Cook himself undertook a systematic study of these designs and several of the sailors on his the voyages had themselves tattooed. Everything about the first sailor tattoos were simple. They were marks of identification or affection. But gradually, and as things do with sailors, a superstition began to grow ar...
2022-03-1811 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 16: Ship TalkEPISODE 16 - SHIP TALK The way a person speaks says a lot about their background. Even setting the topic of conversation aside the accents, colloquialisms, and vocabulary of an individual are all indicators of geographic origins, regional and parental influences, and education. The way someone phrases their sentences, certain jargon they might use, and the way they place certain inflections on words and syntax can also provide huge clues to the profession of the speaker. Salesmen tend to posses the earnest capability of carrying a conversation with a wall, using everyday language, but in a way that...
2022-03-1112 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 15: Sea MonstersFear of anything is often misplaced for what is truly fear of the unknown. Are you scared of the dark, or maybe what lay hidden in the darkness? From the first time a human dipped their toes in the ocean, we have been fearful of what lies beneath that glimmering surface. From Greek myths to Icelandic sagas and in Chinese folklore. stories from around the world tell tales of terrible monsters in the sea. These creatures continue to hold a fascination over us today and appear in movies such as Pirates of the...
2022-03-0412 minNautical Nonsense14. Episode 14: The ClotildaSometime in the summer of 1860, just over 100 kidnapped africans children came ashore in Mobile Bay, part of the gulf coast of Alabama. The reports on the specific number of slaves on board vary anywhere from 109 to 116. The slave trade had been outlawed for over 50 years at this point, but that didn’t stop William Foster from seeking a profit on the exploitation of human lives. More than 8,000 captives were brought to the American South by slave traders following the 1807 ban. American shipowners, merchants, seamen and corrupt officials, a majority of then based out of...
2022-02-2509 minNautical Nonsense13. Episode 13 Sailors in LoveIn the nineteenth century Darwin’s Origin of Species gave credence to the reality of mermaids. Darwin’s research concluded the possibility of mermaids as some evolutionary by-product or evidence of humankind’s descent from watery origins. When this happened, the Victorians of the nineteenth century became obsessed. Mermaids consumed everything. The fantasy of the ethereal creature from the deep moved from sailor’s folklore into the cultural mainstream. In this evolving folklore, the sight or sound of a mermaid was taken as a sign of storms or shipwreck. There are...
2022-02-1218 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 12: WayfindingThe ocean holds a power within her, a volume that our species is incapable of comprehending. She makes up nearly 75% of the planet we call home, yet we know only her surface. We know the seven seas, our major oceans, but we don’t know all her history. We know the great barrier reef and the inhabitants. We know the beautiful blue whale and we know of great whites. We also know how we have used and abused the ocean, making her our trash bin, a place we could discard things and forget about them. But...
2022-02-0413 minNautical Nonsense11. Episode 11 - Sailors and the SkyIn the early days of sailing and navigation, sailors had to stay close to the coast. They looked to the shore for landmarks to guide them. Hills, cliffs, churches, and windmills could all give a navigator key clues to his location. As local knowledge grew, and more people navigated coastal waters, books showcasing the horizon and specific landmarks regarding your route became available for purchase. A sailor knew as long as he could see land, he wasn’t truly lost. By keeping an eye on the coast, you had that rough idea of your location. SHO...
2022-01-2813 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 10: The Story of Anne Bonny and Mary ReadEpisode 10: The Story of Anne Bonny & Mary Read Anne had flaming red hair, and the stereotypical fiery temper to go with it. She was the illegitimate daughter of Irish lawyer, William Cormac. In those days, having a child out of wedlock was kind of a big deal. William Cormac’s maidservant, Mary, gave birth to Anne in sixteen ninety seven. Shortly after her birth and, not surprisingly, William’s wife found out about the child and his mistress. So William fled with Mary and baby Anne to America, in order to avoid the scan...
2022-01-2112 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 9: PulaskiThe S.S. Pulaski was built for the ocean, unlike her predecessor Home. Pulaski was larger, faster, more robust and far more glamorous. She was the who’s who of eastern seaboard ocean liners, everyone sought a berth aboard and dare to take a trip on board the new and elegant Pulaski. She was built so impressively not only to attract the attention of rich businessmen, but to allay passenger fears after what happened to the S.S. Home. S.S. Pulaski departed on her fourth voyage on the thirteenth of June, 1838. She was...
2022-01-1423 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 8: Sea ShantiesBut there is something to be said about why a sea shanty, a tune from a time most people know or think little about, happened to become a viral phenomena overnight Sea shanties and ballads have long been a way to bring people together. Their simplicity of tune and rhythm means anyone can partake, so long as you can remember the words - or not, that’s fine too. You can always just mumble along. But the words to sea shanties are often very simple, allowing people of many languages, backgrounds, and cultures to be able...
2022-01-0711 minNautical NonsenseEpisode 7: Edmund FitzgeraldEpisode 7: Edmund Fitzgerald Not all tales of ships on the lakes come from a time of corsets and petticoats. Some of our most famous and tragic stories are much more modern than that, and stick with us more notably because of the impact from falling so close to home. In 1976 Gordon Lightfoot released a folk ballad that reached the number one slot in Canada and the number two slot in the U -S on billboard charts. The song was nominated for two grammy awards, song of the year, and best Male pop vocal performance. A...
2021-12-3110 minNautical NonsenseOur Nautical VernacularAs humans, we yearn for tradition. We crave the companionship and comfort in the knowledge our actions were reflected in those before us and will be in those after us. Some traditions that get passed on are obvious, like roasting a turkey on Thanksgiving or leaving out cookies and milk for Santa. Language through the years has morphed, and thanks to immigration, our colloquialisms, and an increase in rapid communication, our vocabulary has both expanded and contracted. Language is a living organism of its own. You might remember from...
2021-12-2415 minNautical NonsenseLife and Times of Captain BlighEighteen men, five days of rations, and the equivalent of an Atlantic crossing. People used to be made of tougher stuff. There aren’t many people in our lifetime who would willingly leave their families, knowing the potential of death, and also knowing our modern comforts and giving them up entirely. Society has, in a lot of ways, changed for the better, but not necessarily in all aspects. Many people would grimace at the idea of camping, let alone a lifetime of camping with rations, cold miserable weather, strict regulations, and little to no pay. As much as...
2021-12-1717 minNautical NonsenseGhost ShipsIt makes sense a culture filled with superstition and lore has a treasure trove of ghost stories. For as long as mankind has been on the ocean there have been disappearances at sea. For those back onshore the agony of waiting, wishing, and hoping for an answer to where their loved ones were and if they would ever return haunted their every thought. A desperate mind starts to dream up reasons for things unknown. Why have they not returned? Why would they die? Why is there no word? Am I being punished? Maybe they’re still out there. B...
2021-12-1013 minNautical NonsenseThe Christmas Tree SchoonerHerman Schuenemann was not a wealthy man, most sailors aren’t. But he was successful, well-respected, and had a loving wife and three daughters. He married his wife Barbara in 1891. They were both of German descent, in a time when the area of Chicago was rapidly growing in Germanic and European population. Having been born in Wisconsin, Schuenemann moved to Chicago and established himself as a merchant mariner and a schooner captain. At the same time, the German tradition of decorating pine trees in your home during Christmas significantly increased in popularity. Combined with the budding German com...
2021-12-0309 minNautical NonsenseApocryphal Acronyms of Nebulous, Nautical NonsenseWe have all heard the saying to curse like a sailor. My mom often says it about my generation and our vulgar tongues. We often associated the cursing of sailors to their lack of education, morals, or lack of both. Whenever this is a pop culture film of pirates or sailors, it always seems like they are spewing profanity in one form or another. Most of these phrases we don’t know for sure where they come from. When I talk about them, know that I am taking the story that comes to the closest point of nauti...
2021-12-0310 minNautical NonsenseSailing SuperstitionsSailors have always been a superstitious lot. Maybe it is the inherent risk that comes from being at sea that makes sailors skittish, or perhaps because sailors were traditionally uneducated, illiterate men trying to find a reason for the phenomena happening around them. They wanted to put an explanation on things any way they could. Whether for peace of mind or just a little extra luck, there is no denying the superstitions, folklore, and traditions associated with the ancient art of sailing. For the average person, sailing is a world they are totally unfamiliar with. For those of...
2021-12-0309 minNautical NonsenseWelcome to the Nautical Nonsense Podcast!In this podcast, we're going to dive into nautical history, sailing quirks, and famous characters who have defined the ocean. The podcast officially launches on Friday December 3rd and new episodes will be dropping each Friday.
2021-11-1901 min
The Big Fat Joey Show Radio PodcastInterviews with Below Deck Sailing Yacht's Sydney Zaruba and Humanitarian Josh AryehOn today's show we speak with Bravo TV's Below Deck Sailing Yacht's Sydney Zaruba.
Sydney spills the seawater and let's us know what goes on 'Below Deck'.
Sydney also plays everyone's favorite radio game 'This or That' with Cyn.
So put on your life jacket and hold on for hijinks on the high seas.
To keep up with all that Sydney's up to, follow her on IG at:
@sydney_zaruba
Also on today's show we speak with one of the most generous people I kn...
2021-06-0857 min