Life at sea

Insight into the lives of sailors and seafarers throughout history

Whitby, whaling and press gangs: the real history of Sylvia's Lovers

How a reading of a Victorian novel led to research into contemporary maritime themes and an exploration of our collections.

Nina Baker: one of the first women navigation officers in the Merchant Navy

Learn about Dr Nina Baker’s struggle to become one of the first women navigation officers in the British Merchant Navy

Pirates: fact or fiction?

From buried treasure to walking the plank, how much of what we think we know about pirates is really true?

Who were Anne Bonny and Mary Read?

What do we really know about the notorious pirate duo, and how have later accounts shaped our perception of female pirates?

Parishes-on-sea: Royal Navy chaplains

In this blog we look at the role and experiences of Royal Navy chaplains and what their accounts can tell us about shipboard life.

The art of piracy: imagining the world of Zheng Yi Sao

A series of illustrations by Livia Giorgina Carpineto brings the world of notorious pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao to life

The art of piracy: a fresh perspective on Bonny and Read

A new artwork by Linnea Maertens questions what we think we know about notorious female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. See it on display in Pirates at the National Maritime Museum

The Shipping Forecast

The Shipping Forecast was first broadcast on the BBC in 1925. Explore the history of the forecast with the National Maritime Museum, and discover objects connected with the power of our ocean

Cordage: its origins, construction, properties and uses in ships

Learn more about cordage, also known as rope, including the different fibres used to make cordage and the types of rope most commonly used in sailing ships
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