Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs

Rich Napolitano
  • 4.9 (138)
  • History
  • Updated Biweekly

A maritime history podcast about shipwrecks, maritime disasters, and seafaring legends. Hear tragic stories of loss, as well as heroic tales of triumph. Host Rich Napolitano explores maritime history like you've never heard, including occasional guests such as authors, historians, mariners, divers, and archaeologists. If you love history, you will love Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs.

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  1. 1d ago

    Ships' Log: The Andrea Doria - The Pride of Italy

    The Andrea Doria: Pride of Italy On the night of July 25, 1956, the ocean liner Andrea Doria was off the coast of Nantucket steaming towards New York. Converging on the same path but in the opposite direction was the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm. Nantucket. Thick fog blanketed the Atlantic that night. Radar showed each ship the other's blip, yet through a chain of misread signals and last-second turns, the Andrea Doria and Stockholm collided. The Stockholm's reinforced bow tore into the Andrea Doria's starboard side, ripping open several decks and killing passengers instantly in their cabins. The Italian liner, already listing dangerously due to a design flaw in her fuel tanks, began taking on water and rolling further with every passing hour. What followed was one of the great maritime rescues of the 20th century. Nearby ships, including the Ile de France, diverted course and worked through the night to pull survivors from lifeboats in the darkness. By morning on July 26, with more than 1,600 people safely evacuated, the Andrea Doria finally rolled onto her side and slipped beneath the waves, watched by cameras and a stunned public. This episode traces the final hours of the Andrea Doria: the decisions on the bridge, the scramble to save lives, and the questions that still surround how two ships equipped with modern radar ever found themselves on a collision course. My guest for this episode is wreck diver Andrea Murdoch Alpini. You can find him at https://www.phidiving.com/ and https://www.wreckdiving.it/. This episode was originally published as Episode 4 of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs on October 4, 2022. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at [⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠](https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com). Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. [⁠⁠⁠](⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com)https://www.seansigfried.com⁠⁠⁠ **🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES** 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is part of the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ 👉Get exclusive bonus episodes and merch on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠ 👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Ships' Log: The Andrea Doria - The Pride of Italy

  2. 1d ago

    Introducing the Jordan Harbinger Show

    Gain insights from some incredible guests on The Jordan Harbinger Show. I have become a regular listener again and hope you check it out too!

    Introducing the Jordan Harbinger Show

  3. 2d ago

    The SS Eastland Disaster

    The SS Eastland Disaster — Chicago, 1915 On the morning of July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland was moored in the Chicago River, preparing to carry passengers to a company picnic across Lake Michigan. It never got underway. As passengers boarded, the ship began to list, then rolled onto its side while still tied to the dock, in water barely twenty feet deep. The disaster killed 844 people. Most victims were workers at the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works, many of them young, many of them immigrants, dressed for a day off. My guest for this episode is Paul Durica from the Chicago History Museum. This is a replay of Episode 10 of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs from December 13, 2022. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠seansigfried.com⁠⁠ **🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES** 👉Get exclusive bonus episodes and merch on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠ 👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is part of the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod ** No AI was used to create this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The SS Eastland Disaster

  4. Jul 23 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    Ann Harvey: Savior of the Shipwrecked

    On May 29, 1828, the brig Despatch departed Derry, Ireland, bound for Quebec with roughly 200 emigrants aboard, most of them Irish. On July 10, after crossing the Atlantic, the ship ran aground on rocks near Isle aux Morts on Newfoundland's south coast during a storm. Survivors were left stranded on a small rocky outcropping. Fisherman George Harvey, his seventeen-year-old daughter Ann, his twelve-year-old son Tom, and (possibly) the family's Newfoundland dog set out in a small punt to search for survivors. Between July 12 and 15, the Harveys made repeated trips through rough seas, ultimately rescuing 163 people. This is a bonus episode for premium subscribers on Patreon, Apple Podcasts, and Into History. 👉Apple Podcast subscribers get 15% OFF all Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise! Use code SHIPWRECKS at checkout. ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com

    Ann Harvey: Savior of the Shipwrecked

  5. Jul 21

    The Hunting of the Bismarck

    In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, one of the most powerful warships ever built, sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood in a matter of minutes at the Battle of the Denmark Strait. What followed was one of the largest hunts in naval history. After three days of desperate pursuit across the North Atlantic, a crippling torpedo strike from a lone Swordfish biplane, and a final, brutal showdown that sent the pride of the German fleet to the bottom of the ocean. This episode traces the full story of the Bismarck's fateful voyage, from the loss of the Hood to the ship's last stand against the Royal Navy, in one of World War II's most dramatic naval battles. **🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES** 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is part of the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ 👉Get exclusive bonus episodes and merch on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠ 👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Hunting of the Bismarck

  6. Jul 14

    The Sinking and Discovery of the USCGC Tampa

    The Sinking and Discovery of the USCGC Tampa On September 26, 1918, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa vanished into the Bristol Channel after a German U-boat torpedo struck her hull, killing all 131 sailors and personnel aboard in what remains the largest single loss of American life in combat during World War I. For over a century, the ship's final resting place stayed a mystery until April 2026, when a British volunteer dive team called Gasperados located her wreckage roughly 50 miles off Newquay, Cornwall, more than 300 feet beneath the Atlantic. In this video, we cover the full story of the Tampa: her origins as the Revenue Cutter Miami in 1912, her service on international ice patrols, her wartime role escorting convoys through U-boat-infested waters, the night she was lost, and the painstaking three-year search that finally solved one of the Coast Guard's oldest mysteries. 🔹 The Tampa's early years and transformation into a Coast Guard cutter 🔹 Her WWI convoy escort missions across the Atlantic 🔹 The attack by German submarine UB-91 🔹 How the Gasperados dive team and Coast Guard historians identified the wreck 🔹 What the discovery means for the families of the lost crew Guests for this episode are: 🔹 Dr. Bill Thiessen, Historian for the USCG Atlantic Area 🔹 Dom Robinson, Gasperados Dive Team 🔹 Gary Thomas, CDR Gary M. Thomas, USCG (Ret.) 👉 Dom Robinson's YouTube Channel:  @DeepWreckDiver  👉 Gasperados Dive Team: https://www.facebook.com/p/Gasperados-Dive-Team-61579320759276/ 👉 US Coast Guard History: https://www.history.uscg.mil/home/history-program/ 👉 Foundation for Coast Guard History: https://fcgh.org/ #USCGCTampa #CoastGuardHistory #WWIShipwreck #NavalHistory #Shipwreck #WorldWarI #MaritimeHistory #Cornwall #UBoat #podcast #history **🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES** 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is part of the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ 👉Get exclusive bonus episodes and merch on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠ 👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Sinking and Discovery of the USCGC Tampa

  7. Jul 7

    Don't Give Up The Ship: The Battle of Lake Erie

    In the summer of 1813, American and British forces raced to build fleets on the shores of Lake Erie, each side betting that naval control would decide the fate of the western frontier. On September 10th, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry sailed his squadron out to meet the British fleet under Robert Barclay. Early in the battle, Perry's flagship Lawrence was battered into a wreck, forcing him to row through open water under fire to reach the Niagara and continue the fight. Turning the tables, Perry drove his second ship straight into the British line, breaking their formation and forcing a full surrender within hours. The victory gave the U.S. total command of Lake Erie, cut off British supply lines, and paved the way for General William Henry Harrison's recapture of Detroit and the Battle of the Thames. Perry's now famous "Don't Give Up The Ship" battle flag resides at the US Naval Academy as one of its most treasured artifacts. **🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES** 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is part of the Into History podcast channel. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ 👉Get exclusive bonus episodes and merch on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠ 👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠ 👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ 👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Don't Give Up The Ship: The Battle of Lake Erie

  8. Jun 30 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    The Last Crossing: The Sinking of MV Salem Express

    This bonus episode is exclusively for premium subscribers on Apple Podcasts, Patreon, and Into History. On the night of December 15, 1991, hundreds of pilgrims returning home to Egypt from Mecca were less than an hour from port when their ferry struck a coral reef in the Red Sea. Within roughly 11 minutes, the Salem Express was underwater. It sank entirely in under 20 minutes. The official death toll stands at 470, though some evidence suggests the ship was overcrowded and the true number of lives lost may have been far greater, possibly exceeding 1,600. Built originally in France and launched in 1964 as the Fred Scamaroni, named for a World War II French resistance member who died in captivity rather than betray his mission, the vessel had sailed under multiple names and owners before becoming the Salem Express in 1988. By 1991, she was running a standard 450-mile route between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Safaga, Egypt, carrying pilgrims who had completed the Hajj. On the night of the disaster, Captain Hassan Moro opted for an unauthorized shortcut between Hyndman Reef and the Egyptian coastline to reduce travel time amid deteriorating weather conditions. Poor visibility, compounded by darkness and gale-force winds, led to a misjudgment of the ship's position. The reef tore a hole in the forward starboard bow and knocked open the ship's bow door, allowing seawater to flood the car deck. For a roll-on/roll-off ferry, that was a death sentence. Only one lifeboat was launched. Today, the Salem Express lies on her starboard side at a maximum depth of 32 meters off Port Safaga. She has become one of the most debated dive sites in the world. Divers report the wreck is comparatively intact, with a remarkable debris field of preserved passenger belongings, including luggage packed with gifts pilgrims were bringing home to their families. Whether diving the site is an act of remembrance or an intrusion on a mass grave is a question the diving community has never resolved. 👉Apple Podcast subscribers get 15% OFF all merchandise! Use code SHIPWRECKS at checkout. ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠ ** No AI was used to create this episode. Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. ⁠⁠https://www.seansigfried.com⁠⁠ You can also listen to Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. ⁠⁠https://www.podfollow.com/shipwreckspod

    The Last Crossing: The Sinking of MV Salem Express
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About

A maritime history podcast about shipwrecks, maritime disasters, and seafaring legends. Hear tragic stories of loss, as well as heroic tales of triumph. Host Rich Napolitano explores maritime history like you've never heard, including occasional guests such as authors, historians, mariners, divers, and archaeologists. If you love history, you will love Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs.

Information

  • Creator
    Rich Napolitano
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    191
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Nautilus Media, LLC
  • Show Website
    Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs
  • Provider
    Nautilus Media LLC