American Tug Doom Spiral Was Even Worse Than It Looked

Jul 27

American Tug weathered the Great Recession and Covid 19 Pandemic without ever stopping operations or missing a rent payment, according to news articles. When the La Conner company was acquired by Kadey-Krogen in May 2023, it was building boats and reportedly had no debt.

No one characterized the acquistion as a rescue, described instead as a synergistic union that would help both trawler brands grow.

As recently as February 2024, President and co-founder Kurt Dilworth was still bullish, as he spoke to marine writer Norris Comer:

Our shared resources both from engineering to interior design work and then hopefully, at some point, assembly and building expertise will start to mesh. Who knows what that’ll bring?

From the American Tug standpoint, no one dreamed it would bring doom. The AT bankruptcy would not be the reorganize-and-keep-working Chapter 11 type, but straight to liquidation. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy assets are sold and creditors repaid, usually for pennies on the dollar all around.

When the Krogen executives filed bankrupcy papers earlier this month, American Tug had four boats in various stages of production.

According to the bankruptcy filing, progress payments for these boats totaled $1.5 million during the first six months of this year. Based on the price and reported stages of completion for the four vessels—two 435s and two 365s—American Tug could have collected another estimated $1.7 million if they were completed by the end of 2026.

That’s an estimated $3.2 million in revenue, even if no new boat were ordered.

This would have been down from the roughly five-and-a-half-million totals for 2024 and 2025, but why would 2026 have been less survivable than the Covid years, during which only one boat was being built?

This is undoubtedly one of the questions that Joe and Tana Ganete of Gig Harbor, Washington, were asking when they convinced the Skagit County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the American Tug insolvency for potential fraud.

American Tug Buyers Go to Police with Fraud Claims after Kadey-Krogen Bankruptcy

Jul 12

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The Ganetes have put $700,000 down so far on one of the 365s under construction. They like the other three buyers are considered “unsecured creditors” under the bankruptcy—pennies-on-the-dollar people.

In the nine months since the acquistion, three boats were sold, according to Kadey-Krogen President Tucker West, as quoted in a magazine article. Based on a stated 25 percent completion, the fourth boat being built was likely since that January 2024 article in Soundings Online.

Other questions suggested by the AT bankruptcy filing include:

If the company had no debt in mid-2023 and earned revenues of more than $5.5 million in 2024 and 2025 and $1.5 million so far in 2026, why does the company now owe $1.1 million in unsecured claims—a figure that does not even include the four boat buyers?
Why does American Tug owe about $588,000 in unpaid state and county taxes, going back to fiscal year 2024-25?
What was the purpose of 20 payments, totaling $499,000, from AT to Kadey-Krogen in the 90 days before the bankruptcy filings? The required look-back under bankuptcy regs is 90 days; what were the amounts and the pace of inter-company before that?
What is the story with $177,000 in loan payments to third parties in those final days and thousands of dollars in credit-card reimbursements to Tucker West?

$499,000 Transfered to Kadey-Krogen Yachts

From the American Tug banruptcy filing of July 6.

American Tug declared bankruptcy at the same time as Kadey-Krogen, as part of the Krogen group. Krogen President Tucker West described the financial structure of his company up to and after the AT acquistion. He said Krogen had just created a third brand, Summit Motor Yachts.

West describes Krogen’s move to private equity funding ahead of the American Tug deal in an interview published by Soundings Online in January 2024:

Soundings Online: Soon after Summit was created, in 2021, the Kadey-Krogen Group had more changes. Tom Button retired and Larry Polster moved into a sales role. That’s when you moved up to president and CEO, with growth-equity capital to help the transition, right?
Tucker West: That’s correct. I ended up finding the first guy I ever met when I moved to Rhode Island in 1978, one of my best friends. He’s in private equity. He put together a group to buy out Tom and Larry. The group owns 67 percent and I own the rest. They’re silent partners. He doesn’t know the difference between port and starboard or bow and stern, but he loves coming on the boat if somebody who knows what they’re doing is running it. It’s great because he’s got strengths with financials, which is not my strong suit. It’s been a really, really good setup.

Tucker West signed the bankruptcy filings, but Gavin M. Gray is listed as having served as sole manager of Kadey-Krogen and American Tugs through KKY Holdings, whose voting members included three investors 2820 Partners LP, Yellow Leaf Investments LLC and Summit-KKY LP.

Any police investigation into the surprise bankruptcies of these two quintessential trawler brands is going to run into the challenge of gathering evidence to show criminal behavior and/or criminal intent. And, even then, what may look like nefarious conspiracy at first glance can often be later explained as simple incompetence.

LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.

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Jul 30, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments
Squalls on the horizon, from way up high – CoastalReview
https://coastalreview.org/2026/07/squalls-on-the-horizon-from-way-up-high/

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Jul 30, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments 33.3735,-79.28859999

SCDNR Coastal Updates August

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A SCDNR biologist holds an Atlantic sharpnose shark after measuring and tagging it as part of a routine longline survey. Tagged animals are released back into the ocean. (Photo: Erin Weeks/SCDNR)

Welcome to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Coastal Updates newsletter! You are receiving this email because you attended one of our public programs or signed up for updates from our agency. In this monthly newsletter, you’ll find the latest outdoors news, volunteer opportunities, useful career information and more. We hope it will help you enjoy and protect our state’s beautiful coastline.

What’s happening outdoors along the coast in August?

It’s HOT out there–and not just on land. High temps stress fish too. Consider avoiding fishing for large, adult red drum until temperatures drop and spawning ends in October.
Florida manatees migrate to South Carolina when the water is warm to enjoy our aquatic vegetation. Want to help these visitors on their journey in South Carolina? Report your manatee sightings to SCDNR biologists here.

Events Volunteer Header Women’s Inshore Saltwater Fishing Clinic (Georgetown, SC) | Thursday, July 30th, 8:30AM – 11:30AM | This clinic will teach you how to tie fishing knots, rig a rod and reel and cast. Women ages 12+ are welcome. You must RSVP here to attend.

Saltwater Fishing Clinic (Okatie, SC) | Saturday, August 1st, 8:30AM – 3:30PM | In partnership with the Port Royal Sound Foundation Maritime Center, we’re offering 2 fishing clinics as a component with the Inshore Slam Fishing Tournament. We will teach you how to tie knots, rig your rod, cast, what bait to use and what fish you can catch! You must RSVP here to attend.

Surf Fishing Clinic (Murrells Inlet, SC) | Thursday, August 6th, 7:30AM – 10:30AM | You will learn how to set up your tackle, tie fishing knots, choose the best rigs and bait and surf cast. Kids ages 6+ to adults are welcome. You must RSVP to attend.

Saltwater Pier Fishing Clinic (Hunting Island, SC) | Saturday, August 8th, 8AM – 11AM | You will learn how to tie fishing knots, rig a rod and reel and cast. Kids ages 6+ to adults are welcome. You must RSVP here to attend.

Flounder Fishing at the Pier (North Myrtle Beach, SC) | Saturday, August 8th, 8AM – 11AM | This flounder fishing pier clinic will teach you how to tie fishing knots, rig a rod and reel for flounder, cast, techniques and more! Kids ages 6+ to adults are welcome. You must RSVP here to attend.

Saltwater Pier Fishing Clinic (North Myrtle Beach, SC) | Wednesday, August 12th, 8:30AM – 11:10AM | This pier fishing clinic will teach you skills on how to tie fishing knots, rig a rod and reel and cast. Ages 6+ to adults are welcome. You must RSVP here to attend.

Advanced Surf Fishing (Myrtle Beach, SC) | Wednesday, August 12th, 6PM – 8PM | This class will teach skills on how to tie your own fish finder rig, advanced knots and more technical aspects to surf fishing. Kids ages 6+ to adults are welcome. You must RSVP here to attend.

SCORE MWR Fabrication (James Island, SC) | Wednesday, August 19th, 9AM – 12PM | Join SCORE and Casual Crabbing with Tia to build manufactured wire reefs (MWRs) that will be used as substrate for larval oysters! All volunteers must RSVP ahead of time in order to secure your spot as slots are limited.

Blue Crab Crabbing & Tagging Clinic (McClellanville, SC) | Wednesday, August 26th, 8AM – 11AM | Participants will learn recreational crabbing techniques, blue crab biology, new South Carolina blue crab regulations and conservation best practices. Participants will be helping collect data and tag blue crabs for ongoing research under SCDNR biologists’ supervision. All ages are welcome. You must RSVP to attend.

ACE Basin Fun Day (Edisto Island, SC) | Saturday, September 12th | Save the date! More information to follow.

Jobs and Career

We’re hiring!

Natural Resources Technician II | Colleton County, SC | This employee will be part of the ACE Basin NERR Stewardship program, and will assist with the management of McKenzie Field Station in Bennett’s Point, South Fenwick Island WMA and St. Helena Sound Heritage Preserve/WMA.

General Maintenance Technician III | Charleston County, SC | This employee will be responsible for completing tasks on the Upper Coastal Waterfowl Project.

Natural Resources Technician II | Berkeley County, SC | This employee will be responsible for assisting project staff in the operations and pond grow out of numerous species of fish at Bayless Hatchery and Dennis Wildlife Center.

Natural Resources Technician III | Berkeley County, SC | This employee will be responsible for assisting the hatchery manager with all pond harvest activities at Bayless Hatchery and Dennis Wildlife Center.

General Maintenance Technician II | Charleston County, SC | This employee will be responsible for monitoring, maintaining, controlling, and repairing electromechanical systems (e.g. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, generators, lighting, safety systems, and other associated building systems).

Vehicle/Equipment Repair Technician II (Hourly) | Charleston County, SC | This employee will work within SCDNR’s Vessel Operations Section at the Marine Resources Division.

Watercraft Captain I (Hourly) | Charleston County, SC | This employee will be responsible for piloting, navigating and operating SCDNR – MRD’s R/V Silver Crescent to support education and scientific research.

SCDNR crustacean biologist, Jordan, holds a tagged blue crab. (Photo: Erin Weeks/SCDNR)

Other Opportunities with Partners

Director of Preservation – Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor | Remote within Gullah Geechee Corridor (NC, SC, GA, or FL) | This is an exceptional opportunity for a preservation professional who is passionate about cultural stewardship, community collaboration and ensuring that one of America’s most significant living cultures is preserved for future generations. The deadline to apply is August 7th.

Restoration Crew Member (Fall Cohort, 18 weeks) – The Sustainability Institute | North Charleston, SC | This cohort within the Environmental Conservation Corps will engage in habitat restoration activities in public parks, forests and waterways. The deadline to apply is August 10th.

C.A.R.E. Scholarship – Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) | The Conservation Access, Relevancy, and Engagement (C.A.R.E.) committee is actively seeking students to participate in the 80th Annual SEAFWA Conference October 26th -30th in Nashville, Tennessee. The deadline to apply is August 14th.

News Updates Header Berkeley County boaters asked to watch for manatees as gentle giants return to local waterways | The Berkeley Observer

Belle W. Baruch Foundation and SCDNR announce new partnership | News 2

SCDNR and Wounded Nature-Working Veterans remove nine boats at Johns Island landing | ABC4 News

SCDNR encourages reports of non-native blue land crabs | News 2

August and September are peak spawning months for red drum in South Carolina!

August and September are peak spawning months for red drum in South Carolina, and successful spawning activity is critical to producing the next generation of red drum, like the fingerling seen below.

If you’d like to help the population rebound, give these adult (or bull) drum a break from fishing pressure during these months. They’ll still be around when temperatures dip and spawning ends in October – after they’ve had a chance to contribute to next year’s crop of young fish.

Photo: David Fladd

Photo: SCDNR

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Jul 24, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments
Cruisers’ Net Weekly Newsletter – July 24, 2026
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Jul 22, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Guilty Tugboat Captain Was Shopping Online – Loose Cannon

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Guilty Tugboat Captain Was Shopping Online

Under Plea Deal, He Will Serve a Year in Prison for Three Deaths

Jul 22

“My client is deeply remorseful for his conduct, he feels awful,” defense attorney Walter A. Reynoso told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing. “He feels awful about the unimaginable pain and loss suffered by the three families who lost their three very young daughters. Our thoughts remain with each of the families as they continue to endure this profound tragedy.”

Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday to seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the deaths of three girls learning to sail in Biscayne Bay. Insua admitted to operating a barge with obstructed visibility and without a proper lookout, which led to July 28, 2025 collision.

Insua also admitted he was using his phone to visit the online shopping services eBay and Amazon. “Due to the obstructed visibility, and lack of a lookout, Insua did not see the stalled sailboat before the barge struck it,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release yesterday. “A forensic review of Insua’s cellphone revealed internet activity during transit, including at or near the time of the collision.”

Under a plea agreement Insua will serve a year in prison and six months of home confinement. The maximum sentence for the manslaughter offense is 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October 13.

(More details on the accident may be found by following the link at the bottom of this story.)

What follows is the “factual proffer” behind the plea agreement:

The United States of America, defendant Yusiel Lopez Insua (“the Defendant”), and the defendant’s undersigned counsel (collectively, the “Parties”), agree that had this case proceeded to trial, the United States would have proven the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt:
On July 28, 2025, the Defendant operated a 25-foot tugboat that was affixed to, and pushing, a 108 feet long, 28 feet wide, and 149 gross ton construction barge (collectively “the Vessel”). The Vessel had the capacity for steering and propulsion. Due to the position of a deckhouse and a crane on the barge, the Defendant did not have waterline visibility in front of the Vessel, from his position in the Vessel’s pilothouse. While there was another person on the barge (“Individual 1”), Individual 1 was not designated as a “look out” and was not acting as a lookout on July 28, 2025. Individual 1 did not have a means of communicating with the Defendant from the deckhouse to the pilot house, and the Defendant did not take actions to ensure that Individual 1 was acting as a “look out.”
On July 28, 2025, the Defendant was piloting the Vessel from a lot on Star Island to an empty lot on Di Lido Island to transport material from the deconstruction of a sea wall. Because the Defendant was driving the Vessel in the inland waters of the United States, he was subject to the United States Inland Navigation Rules, codified in 33 C.F.R. § 83, et seq. One such rule provides that “[a] power driven vessel underway shall keep out of the way of… [a] sailing vessel.” 33 C.F.R. § 83.18(a)(iv).
On that same day—July 28, 2025—a group of children and young adults in a camp run by a local organization were sailing from the camp towards Monument Island. One such sailboat was a Hobie Getaway type sailboat which had a 13’ 6” foot tall sail (‘the Sailboat”). The Sailboat’s sole means of propulsion was wind and sail. The Sailboat was operated by Victim 6 and had five children aboard (Victim 1, Victim 2, Victim 3, Victim 4, and Victim 5).
As the Sailboat progressed through Biscayne Bay, the wind suddenly died, leaving the Sailboat becalmed—unable to move under its own power. The Vessel, piloted by the Defendant, continued on a collision course towards the Sailboat. Because the Vessel was a power-driven vessel underway, it had a duty under the Navigation Rules to avoid collision. Despite this, the Defendant did not change course or speed. Victim 6, as alleged in the Information, attempted to warn the Defendant of the oncoming collision by waving her hands but the Defendant did not change course or speed.
A forensic examination of Defendant’s cellular telephone revealed that it was unlocked while transiting from the lot on Star Island and in the moments prior to and at the collision demonstrated activity on eBay and Amazon.
The Vessel—operated by the Defendant—collided with the Sailboat. Victim 4, Victim 5, and Victim 6, as alleged in the Information, escaped being pulled under the water by the Vessel as the Vessel continued to travel over and on top of the Sailboat, eventually submerging it and pinning it under the barge’s hull. However, Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3, as alleged in the Information, were trapped underwater, pinned by their life jackets to the bottom of the barge’s hull. Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3 perished by drowning.
The above conduct given the attendant circumstances constituted the required negligence under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1115. This negligence caused Victim 1, Victim 2, and Victim 3’s deaths. The Defendant had a duty to avoid a collision.
The facts described above are not intended to be a complete recitation of the facts of this case and are merely intended to form a basis for the undersigned Defendant’s knowing, willful, and intentional plea of guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the Information.

‘Seaman’s Manslaughter,’ Coast Guard Says, Referring Barge Deaths to Prosecutors

October 31, 2025

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Jul 22, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Tropical Storm Bertha Strengthens – Fred Pickhardt

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Tropical Storm Bertha Strengthens

Max winds now to 50 knots

Fred Pickhardt

Jul 21

Tropical Storm Bertha is showing increased organization this morning. Deep convection has developed around the system, dropping its minimum central pressure to 995mb. Max sustained winds have ticked up to 50 knots (approx. 60 mph). The storm is currently drifting north-northwest at a slow 3 knots.

Forecast Track and Intensity

A mid-level ridge centered near the Rockies is expected to move southeastward. This will push Bertha on a west-northwest to westward track, steering it near or along the northern Gulf Coast.

Despite the recent organization, Bertha remains an asymmetric storm. The heaviest rainfall and strongest winds are concentrated to the south and east of the center. Furthermore, strong northeasterly vertical wind shear will persist through tonight. This shear will make further intensification difficult. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts a gradual weakening trend over the coming days.

Key Impacts and Safety Warnings

Wind and Storm Conditions: A Tropical Storm Warning is currently in effect from the Florida Panhandle westward to southeastern Louisiana. Expect tropical storm conditions to arrive later today and continue into Wednesday. A Tropical Storm Watch is also in effect for metro New Orleans and the southern Gulf Coast of Louisiana.
Coastal Flooding: A Coastal Flood Warning covers the Mississippi and Louisiana coastlines. Residents in these areas should prepare for moderate coastal flooding.
Flash Flooding: Heavy rains could cause isolated areas of flash flooding through Friday. The highest risk spans the Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana and the upper Texas coast.

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Jul 22, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Dear Coast Guard, You Do Know They Can’t Hear You, Right? – Loose Cannon

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Dear Coast Guard, You Do Know They Can’t Hear You, Right?

A Brief Memo to Watchstanders

Jul 21

The author is a retired telecom/satcom professional who cruises the East Coast with his wife Louise aboard a 52-foot steel trawler yacht named Vector. He is Loose Cannon’s go-to guy in matters of regulations and best practices.

By SEAN WELSH

Dear U.S. Coast Guard radio watchstanders:

Getting on Channel 16 when there is an open mic, to announce that there is an open mic, and to ask mariners to check their equipment, basically does nothing except add clutter to the channel, something you would be yelling at us for doing.

The reason is simple, and really ought to be taught in radio watchstander school, if it’s not already: The radio with the open mic—the one radio you are trying to talk to—cannot and will not hear your announcement. When the microphone transmit button is pressed, the radio can no longer receive transmissions from other stations.

Yes, yes, there is a minuscule chance that the vessel with the open mic actually has more than one radio, and one of the other radios is tuned to 16, and someone somewhere on that vessel will hear your plea, make their way to the bridge or wherever the offending radio is, and do something about it.

Or perhaps the vessel with the open mic is actually in a marina, and within earshot of another boat with a radio that is on, and they will hear your call.

But both of these scenarios have a likelihood that is vanishingly small. When most of us hear people making open-mic announcements, we think “does this person not know how radios work?” When it’s the Coast Guard doing it, we wonder about standards of training.

FWIW.

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Jul 21, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.0732,-80.15129999
Tropical Storm Bertha forms near Florida’s Panhandle, threatens northern Gulf coast SunSentinel

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https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/07/21/tropical-storm-bertha-florida-louisiana/

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Jul 20, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Alternate History: ‘Real’ Odysseus Sailed to the Bahamas and Back – Loose Cannon

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Alternate History: ‘Real’ Odysseus Sailed to the Bahamas and Back

Author-Sailor Also Suggests Florida Might Have Been ‘Hell’

Jul 20

**Another waterfront property owner** shows his distain for sailors trying to enjoy the cruising lifestyle. Actually, the Cyclops doesn’t play a role in the reimagined *Odyssey*. This work, Odysseus and Polyphemus, is an 1896 oil painting by the Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin, now display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Henk van Oosten is a Dutch sailor and professional predictor of the future. When van Oosten retired from his job as an innovation expert, he combined sensibilities from both vocation and avocation, reexamined historical assumptions and proceded to rewrite The Odyssey.

Why Is This of Interest to Sailors Today?
The author assumes an early Western European maritime culture with bluewater-capable craft plying trade routes outside the Mediterranean.
He posits a lost system of celestial navigation more akin to traditional Polynesian methods but not exactly that either.

One of the greatest works of literature of all time, The Odyssey is also one of the earliest examples of a sequel. Writing around 800 years BC, Homer chronicled an epic war of Greeks versus Trojans in his poem The Iliad. The blind Greek poet hooked his audience: The war was caused by Helen, the unfaithful queen with a “face that launched a thousand ships.”

With the release of the Christipher Nolan movie “The Odyssey” last week, a massive amount of attention is being paid to the story.

Odysseus, the central figure in The Odyssey, was fresh from winning the Trojan War with his idea for the “Trojan horse” ruse de guerre in The Iliad. If you think of the Greek heroes of that war as celebrities such as, say, the Beatles, Odysseus would have been “the clever one.”

What van Oosten had done in a series of academic papers and a book was to upend the Homeric versions and create an entirely different narrative, set not in the Greek world of the Eastern Mediterranean but the Atlantic Ocean.

In van Oosten’s retro-futuristic imagination, Odysseus takes a ten-year lap around the Atlantic, to the Caribbean, then the Bahamas, Florida and the Azores before returning to his kingdom in southwestern Spain.

Hilariously, van Oosten identifies Florida as possibly the Hades of Homer’s account. That is, a Hell on earth.

Van Oosten was inspired by a 1990 book that posited Troy as a fortress in England, not what is now Turkey. Speaking to Fiona Cameron Lister in a July 22, 2020 story on the Medium website, Van Oosten said:

As a scientist, I disliked the fact everyone was saying the same thing about Troy — that it was Greek and on the coast of Turkey. The few people saying something different and that the Odyssey was possibly on the Atlantic were completely dismissed by classical historians and archaeologists…In searching for other perspectives to interpret the Iliad and the Odyssey, I am taking my own approach. As a reader, but also as a traveller and sailor.

Van Oosten’s inspiration was the shield of Achilles, another Trojan war hero conventionally assumed to have been Greek. According to Homer, the shield was made by a god for Achilles and decorated along its rim by a depiction of Oceanus, now called the Atlantic Ocean. The waves of Oceanus surround a dome of the sky with the sun, moon and four constellations.

Which can be used, van Oosten theorizes, for navigation to guide voyagers on the somewhat circular route still used for small boat voyages from Europe to the Caribbean and back. The fact that the Oceanus motif rims the circular shield suggests the Gulf Stream, he said.

*Haphaestus*, Greek god of fire and blacksmiths, made this shield for Achilles.

The Iliad records the first reference in history to celestial navigation. Homer describes the nymph Calipso giving Odysseus sailing directions using the very same constellations on Achilles’ shield, according to van Oosten:

Ocean navigation is determined, more accurately than by the sun, by constellations on the Achilles shield. Using the SkyMap astronomy software, it is possible to study the night sky in 1400 BC. The Great Bear is always in the north. If there are two stars on the horizon perpendicular to each other, that is the right course.

Stars Like Range Lights

To the west in winter is the setting Betelgeuse (Orion) and directly above, Procyon (Canis minor). In 1400 BC, this range marked the route from Boa Vista in the Cape Verde Islands to Guadalupe in the Caribbean.

In the summer of 1400 BC, heading towards the home port in the east, there is the rising *Saiph* (Orion) and *Aldebaran* (Hyades) directly above it. To van Oosten, Ithaca was not a Greek city state; it was in Southwestern Spain at the mouth of the Rio Odiel and Rio Tinto, site of present day Huelva.

Odysseus’ Imagined Route

As you can see, the reimagined Odyssey does follow the currents like the ocean-river depicted on Achilles shield. Coastal cruising is indicated by dotted lines, while the ocean-crossing passages are straight lines, aligned with the ranges depicted in the star charts above.

The story is pretty involved, of course. Epic, you might say. So one of van Oosten’s papers is included below for those who want to get deep in the weeds, or you could read van Oosten’s book on the subject.

Trojan Tin War And Odysseus Ocean Route

1.35MB ∙ PDF file

By Henk van Oosten, Wageningen University

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Helen of Troy doesn’t exist in van Oosten’s narrative. The Trojan War is a powerplay between various peoples along the Iberian Atlantic and British Isles involved in the mining and distribution of tin. Tin was perhaps the most strategic commodity of the Bronze Age since it was the element in bronze alloy that kept edged weapons sharp.

The absence of Helen doesn’t mean van Oosten entirely ignores the love angle. None of the mentioned Atlantic islands were populated in 1400 BC, according to conventional thinking, but the science is not definitive. That gives van Oosten the wiggle room to speculate.

In those places, Odysseus dallies with the same assortment of nymphs, witches and queens as had been assigned by Homer, thus maintaining a plausible explanation of why it took 10 years to sail from Cornwall in the Southwest England to his wife in Huelva.

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Jul 20, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Tropical Depression 2 Monday Update – Fred Pickhardt

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Tropical Depression 2 Monday Update

Fred Pickhardt

Jul 20

TD2 at 5pm EDT, was centered near 28.7N 85.8W with max winds of 30 KT with a minimum pressure of 1005 mb. The strongest winds are currently south and east of the center. The low-level center is drifting northwest at only 3 knots and is forecast to move slowly northwestward to west-northwestward for 36 h or so, followed by a turn toward the west.

The depression is experiencing moderate northeasterly shear, and these conditions should continue for another 18-24 hours, after which, the northeasterly shear should increase, and cause the system to weaken. The peak intensity forecast is 45 knots in 36 hours, however, wind shear could keep that somewhat lower.

Tropical storm conditions are possible in portions of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to southeastern Louisiana Tuesday and Wednesday. A storm Surge Watch is in effect for the Alabama, Mississippi, and southeastern Louisiana coasts.

Areas of flash flooding will be possible through Friday along portions of the Gulf Coast and adjacent inland locations from western Florida north of Fort Myers to the Middle Texas Coast, including southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Latest NHC advisories: NOAA NHC

Ocean Weather Services

Forensic Marine Weather Expert

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