We Are Sailing At The Corner Café

There is something about the sea and sailing ships that fascinates so many people. From the time the first person used a log to paddle across a river and then decided to tie several together or to hollow one out, ships have helped humans to move themselves and their goods all over the world.

The oldest discovered sea faring hulled boat is a Late Bronze Age shipwreck discovered off the coast of Turkey, which dates back to 1300 BC.

The Phoenician and Greek civilisations gradually mastered navigation at sea aboard triremes - ships with three banks of oars - enabling them to explore and colonise the whole of the Mediterranean area.

The vikings of Scandinavia were great seafarers, using their shallow-hulled longships to sail up rivers and to cross oceans, with the use of both sail and oar, opening up both trade routes and fresh areas to plunder.

Few things can rival the elegance of the tall ships!

The beautiful but ill-fated RMS Titanic - so many lives lost that night.

The golden age of ocean liners stretched from the mid nineteenth century to just after the Second World War when aircraft travel began to to be the chosen method of crossing the oceans. Some of these giants were turned to cruising, some were made into museums or floating hotels, and some ended their days in the scrapyard.

During World War 2, many liners were used as troop or hospital ships, and many were attacked and sunk while on those duties.

When the QE2 was retired in 2008, only one ocean liner remained in service, the Queen Mary 2, which was launched in 2004.

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