People and the ocean

Profiling the individuals and communities connected with our 'blue planet'

A photographic passport-style photo of Nina from her seamen's record

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
Black and white image of a woman wearing RNLI gear

Oral histories: the women of the RNLI

Listen to the stories of women who volunteer with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – part of a series of recordings by the National Maritime Museum
A woman, Rose Ravetz, standing on a boat wearing a green anorak and red scarf.

Sailing without engines: a return to wind and wave power

How does it feel to sail solely using the wind and the waves? Wind, Tide & Oar, a new film by Huw Wahl, explores the essence of engineless sailing
A photographer stands in front of an RNLI orange lifeboat holding an Edwardian camera on a tripod

Capturing history: Jack Lowe and the RNLI 

How one photographer’s quest to visit every lifeboat station shines a light on our maritime heritage
Image of woman mudlarking at Enderby Wharf

A Quietly Historic Shoreline In Transition

“Time and Tide” is filmmaker Paul Wyatt’s love letter to a once-industrial riverside path in Greenwich. This area played a significant role in bridging oceans and changing how we communicate forever. Paul talks to Assistant Curator Aimee Mook about his film.
A boy stands on a rock looking out to sea. The waves are lapping around him

The peoples of the Pacific: on the 'front line' of climate change

What is the impact of global change change on Pacific communities? And what should the global response be when a person’s homeland is literally ‘going under’?
A family walks along a beach at sunset. The sun is setting behind them, framing them in silhouette

Who owns the ocean?

Are the oceans really free for all? Find out what could be done to protect marine environments – and who has the power to make it happen
A group of three Black men in swim shorts sit on the muddy bank of a river or lake. Another man in the background in a yellow shirt and white hat looks out across the water

Our Connection to Water: meet the artists

Find out more about the seven artists that were featured in the National Maritime Museum's contemporary art exhibition
Cathryn Spain stands by the River Thames

Making Waves: Cathryn Spain

Meet Senior Harbour Master Cathryn Spain, who oversees navigational safety on the River Thames
See all