iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A good friend of mine is in need right now. She helped me when I needed it, and I would not leave her out to dry. Please help if you can, or repost and share around.

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Reposted by BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️

National Museum of Ireland @nmireland.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

It is a keen eye & a gifted hand that can look at a willow hedgerow & not just envision a boat but build it too. Craftsman Tom Delaney has those exceptional abilities. Curator Noel Campbell recently travelled to Tom's workshop to find out more. www.ouririshheritage.org/content/arch... #CuratorBlog

Workshop scene showing traditional willow boat construction (currach frames), with woven wooden hull structures leaning against a white wall and bundles of long willow rods stacked upright. In the foreground, a person in casual clothing stands beside the handcrafted frames inside a studio space with wooden flooring. Overlay text reads: “The weaver’s willow boats.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

I apologize for my absence, my dear shipmates. Life has been busy, but when isn't it. I have news: 1. Boats! I got more to talk about. I want to post them. I WILL post them. Mostly river boats because ofc. 2. Life update: trasgerdner.... Anyway that's all for now!

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Holy shit we have drafts now? That's huge. Finally I won't lose my dumb, long winded ramblings when I swap a fucking page lol.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Queen Mary 2 just visited her sister and namesake, the original Queen Mary, for the first time in 20 years during a long cruise she's going on. She also did her first passing of the Panama Canal. Really cool to see these two together for probably the last time. #maritime #maritimenews #ship #boat

A colourized photo of the Queen Mary 2 (left) with her namesake Queen Mary (right), taken in Long Beach, California on February 2nd, 2026. Credit to KTLA News for the image.

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Reposted by BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️

KCDodger ᛫ ᚹᚨᛚᚲᛇᚱᛁᛖ ᛫ Butch Werewolf Heartthrob @kcdodger.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

This is kind of where I stood in the election in 2024. I told people, go vote, this matters, this might be the last shot you have at exercising that will, but all I got back was "Harris would be worse". I don't think she'd have launched a war on Greenland.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I have a longer piece I did on Bark Marques. Should I post it here? It'll cover a lot especially with text limitations here but it was fun to do even with what little info was available.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Also have they solved the issue of the barrel for the railguns just straight up melting after like 2 shots yet or are they just hoping they'll figure it out by the time they start building them? One of these is gonna be swarmed by destroyers and aircraft like a modern fucking Yamato.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Okay so apparently these are official release specs. Completely ignoring the fact battleships as a platform are just obsolete to begin with, I genuinely don't know how they plan to power this and get 30+ kts out of it with a gas powered engine. Bro what. #naval #navy #maritime #battleship #news

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

I plan to touch more on this as further details are released, and I guess we'll see if they actually will be made. My instincts say they'll end up like the Constellations, but I guess time will tell. #naval #maritime #USNavy #ships #history #news #maritimenews #navy

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

I'm not a defense analyst or naval architect, just a dear humble mariner, so I cannot offer a solution to what I see to be just another appeal to an egomaniacal oligarch's ego. Maybe we should just stick to "good enough" and build a lot of what we know already works and competes. All n all, above me

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Those ships, not nearly as seemingly grandiose, had a slew of issues and could not stick to their budgets or timelines. This, I fear, will go a similar route, leaving the US still far behind in the naval arms race and the country more in debt. Once the US were naval pioneers. No more, it seems.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

While the orange bellend naming a whole class of ships after himself and christening the fleet they'll belong to as the "Golden Fleet" is not shocking given his vanity, the decision to build these is. Recent attempts of fleet building, including the Constellation-class, have been dismal failures.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

www.bbc.com/news/article... Interesting piece of maritime news, though one I'd say I'm not fond of. DOD plans to build a new class of warships, specifically ones they call battleships, to bolster the US' lagging naval fleet and to compete with China. Trump-class, they're called. Continued below.

bbc.com

Donald Trump unveils new class of battleships named after himself - BBC News

The US president has vowed to revive American shipbuilding after lagging behind China in naval capacity.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

As I do not cover maritime disasters on this blog of mine, if any of you want to know more I cannot recommend "Maritime Horrors" or "Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Podcast" enough. They cover the events masterfully. Go to YouTube n' give em a look. #maritime #ships #GreatLakes #freighter #EdmundFitzgerald

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I'd be a poor maritime account if I did not acknowledge the significance of today. It's the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. I'm currently on a hitch so I can't drink, but if you can, toast one to the 29 men that didn't make it home that night. Here's to you, gents.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I'll likely do a specific post on this vessel once there's more info. The official website has specs, but she just went out on her first voyage and I'd like to report how she fares after the fact. #maritime #sailing #sailboat #boat #ship #maritimenews

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I had a similar fit last year for Halloween. It's a fun costume. :D

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Close enough, welcome back Age of Sail. 😭 Jokes aside the Neoliner Origin seems a really cool vessel, even if it's a ro-ro. I dunno if it will be effective but it's nice to see an attempt to be environmentally conscious. Plus she looks pretty. Not paying $7000 for a passenger ticket tho.

A colour photo of the new "Neoliner Origin" by Neoline, a roll on-roll off style of cargo vessel propelled mostly by sails to reduce emissions and environmental impact. She has two large masts with two large sails on each, with a total of 3,000 square meters of sail area. Photo credit: Neoline official website.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Man why doesn't this site save drafts??😭 Had a whole thing typed up about the other vessel I saw, clicked out of the app for one second to double check a piece of information, opened the app again and everything I typed was deleted. Dome straight bullshit, man. I guess I'll try again in a bit augh.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

That's all I have today! The other, the River Queen, I'll do sometime this week, ideally, before I go out on my next hitch. Either way, thank you for stopping by and stay safe, shipmates! #maritime #history #naval #usnavy #maritimehistory #ships #boats #navalhistory

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Some work has been done since the early 2010s on scrapping her, but the turbulent nature of the Mississippi's river stage makes it difficult to do, as Inaugural is only easily reachable when river stages are low and the current slower, allowing us to see this beautiful bygone girl.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Having suffered damage to the hull, she started taking on water and listed over to her port side, then promptly sank. This is what remains of her, after over 30 years of being a victim to water and sun and neglect. Much of her superstructure is gone, but the hull mostly still intact surprisingly.

A color photo taken by me of the wreck of the Inaugural along the shore, approximately a mile south of the Arch. She lays on her port side, easily visible with the low river stage.

Anotjer color photo taken by me of the wreck of the Inaugural along the shore, approximately a mile south of the Arch. Though much of the superstructure has eroded away or been scrapped, her hull is remarkably well preserved.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

In 1993 St. Louis (and honestly everyone along the Mississippi River) suffered the Great Flood of 1993, one of 3 major floods in the last century and arguably the worst. During this catastrophe, the Inaugural broke loose at her moorings, drifted south, then grounded ashore.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

She was stricken from the record in 1967, being sold to Missouri to be kept as a floating museum from 1968 onwards. Being only one of two remaining wartime vessels of her class, she was a popular attraction, even being designated a Historic Landmark. For 25 years she remained moored by the Arch.

A black and white photo from 1967 of the USS Inaugural moored at the levee in front of the Arch. She served as a popular maritime attraction from 1968 to 1993.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

She also swept mines after the battle to clear way for the potential US invasion, which of course never occurred. The war over, she sailed back to the mainland, arriving back home in early February of 1946. After the war, she was transferred to the Naval Reserve Fleet and kinda just...sat around.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

She spent most of her war career doing patrols and escorts in the US-controlled Pacific waters and surrounding islands therein. She eventually found her way to Okinawa in May of 1945 and performed, again, patrols but also additionally anti-air duties. A job she was good at with her 4 Bofors 40mm.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The USS Inaugural (AM-242) lnaugural was an Admirable-class minesweeper from WW2, the largest class the USN had during the war. She was commissioned in December of 1944, putting her in perfect time to participate in the end of the Pacific theater.

A wartime black and white photo from some time in the 1940s of the Inaugural with her dazzle camo, a method of paint that made it more difficult to discern hull shape and direction at distance on the waves.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Ahoy shipmates! I come bearing more mildly interesting maritime history for you! Recently I was in St. Louis and had the opportunity to see two neat wrecks, one Naval and the other civilian. We'll focus on the Navy's first since it's more interesting, then do the other another day.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Pretty late to the party on this but the full official MIR (Marine Investigation Report) for the Titan submersible incident by the NTSB is published. Provided is the link to read it: www.ntsb.gov/investigatio.... I'll be looking over it myself and seeing how it differs from the USCG's report.

ntsb.gov

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

She's propelled by diesel engines, and her stern paddlewheel is both small and just for show as far as I know according to one of the crew I talked to. Tickets for a week or so long voyage start at like $4k a guest, so my ass is never going on one lol. Queen Mary 2 is like half that price.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

She has 5 decks, with an onboard gym and putting course up on the promenade. Her length is about 300 feet (90m), a beam of 52 feet (16m), and had a top speed of 12 knots (though her onboard odometer likely just measures this in MPH because knots aren't usually used on the river.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

She's owned by American Cruise Lines (ACL) to provide river excursions coming from her home port of New Orleans, all the way up to St. Paul, Minnesota. She can carry and entertain 150 guests, all with staterooms facing out to the water and the majority having private balconies.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Been awhile! Decided to show off a boat I saw swinging by the levee. Here's the scuttlebutt on her. The *American Heritage*, originally named the *Queen of the Mississippi* is a paddlewheel river cruise boat that entered service in 2015, so she's pretty new.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

A raccoon managed to sneak its way aboard my vessel. I wish I was able to get photos of the lil guy.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

I realize I should probably show my raccoon

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Oh! I'm flattered (and a lil flustered).

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

As of yesterday, the second funnel has now been removed. The SS United States is now bare of her towering funnels, with trams now conducting further work to make her ready for sinking such as removing electronics, hazardous materials, and creating extra spaces for wildlife to live.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Correction: apparently both of her funnels will be preserved and displayed.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

More news. Also somber. Work has begun on breaking down the SS United States for sinking. As of yesterday, they have started to remove her funnels, one of which will be preserved in a museum for the ship situated in Florida. Hurts to see her go. To really see it.

A colour photo of crews removing the funnels of the SS United States in preparation for her to be sunk as a coral reef. (Credit: Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners, 08/05/2025)

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Relatedly, the MAR for the incident has not been released by the NTSB, and their website says their own investigation is still ongoing. How long we may have to wait for their findings, I am not sure. Likely not too long, though.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Ahoy! News! The USCG had released their Report Of Investigation regarding the implosion of the Titan submersible on June 18th, 2023. The report itself is about 330-ish pages long and pretty intensive, as these reports tend to be. Here's a link to any interested: media.defense.gov/2025/Aug/05/...

media.defense.gov

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Okay funnily enough after reading further in "The Wager", this book is mentioned by name.

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BilgeRacc 🏳️‍⚧️ @bilgeracc.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Did not know this! How this captivates me. I'll have to look into the history of how the GMT was ascertained and adopted. Figure it's needed, too, for the subject matter if I decide to pursue it.

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