Sea Tales

In 1934, the luxury liner Morro Castle, en route to New York from Havana, burst into flames as it neared its destination. Was it an accident or did radio officer George Rogers secretly kill the captain and set the ship afire?

Pirate Sam Bellamy captured the British slave galley Whydah, turning it into a treasure ship laden with gold. As he sailed toward Cape Cod and the scandalized woman he left behind, the Whydah sank in a fierce gale off the beach at Wellfleet. For nearly three centuries, treasure hunters have searched the waters for the ship and its riches.

In 1917, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a French munitions ship and a Belgian relief vessel collided in what was the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. Over 1600 people were killed instantly and more than 9000 were wounded. Questions still remain about what really caused the disaster.

In 1898, the USS Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to show the combatants in the Cuban civil war that the U.S. would protect the lives and property of American citizens in the area. When the Maine exploded in the harbor, the public blamed the sinking on the Spanish, leading the U.S. to declare war with Spain.

Special investigates the 1956 sinking of the Andrea Doria, a luxurious passenger liner, which was hit by the Swedish liner, Stockholm. Feature archival footage, stills and eyewitness accounts.

Telling the story behind the fateful final voyage of Captain James Cook, the legendary navigator and explorer.

Documentary on the evacuation of over 300,000 British troops from the seaport of Dunkirk on the northern coast of France, in 1940 during World War II.

Special separates myth from fact by recounting the infamous mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1787.

Profile of Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard, who terrorized ships along the Atlantic Coast of North America and the Carribean from 1716 to 1718.

Special explores the 1941 boarding of a German U-Boat by British naval officers which lead to the discovery of the key to the Nazi's naval code. Feature archival footage, stills and eyewitness accounts.

Documentary tells the story of the disaster that struck on July 29, 1945, when the U.S.S. Indianapolis, on a top secret mission delivering uranium and components to complete atomic bombs, was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine 600 miles west of Guam.

The commander was Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a celebrated polar explorer known for his ego as well as his exploits. The ship was the Karluk, a nineteenth-century whaler. The mission was arctic exploration. And the end was tragic. For sixty years, the true story of the Karluk expedition was unknown, but the complete tale is told here. With over thirty crewmen, the Karluk departed for the arctic in July of 1913. In less than two months, the aged, ill-equipped boat was trapped in the ice. In a stunning act of cowardice, Stefansson abandoned the ship and crew, saying he was hunting and would return shortly. Instead, he traveled the arctic for the next five years, a journey that would win him accolades. The Karluk was crushed in the ice, however, and in their desperate search for safety, 11 crewmen died. THE DEADLY ARCTIC EXPEDITION draws heavily on a book written by William McKinlay, a scholar who was aboard the Karluk and survived the odyssey. Through his words, Stefansson's journals, archival material and expert commentary, the sad saga of the Karluk and her crew comes to life.

In May of 1939, the ship St. Louis departed Hamburg, Germany for Cuba. Onboard were 930 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. In one of the darkest chapters in World War II, they would eventually be returned to the continent they tried to leave, and many ultimately perished in the Holocaust. THE DOOMED VOYAGE OF THE ST. LOUIS is a chronicle of shame and desperation, bravery and quiet heroism. Footage shows the ship arriving in Havana, where officials refused to allow the passengers to disembark. As the St. Louis steamed in circles of Florida and its passengers pondered their uncertain fate, immigration officials from various nations were contacted, but none, including the U.S., allowed them in. Here, the shameful decision of the U.S. is examined in detail. Eventually, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where, despite the heroic efforts of the ship's captain, most of the passengers became victims of the Holocaust. Featuring moving interviews with survivors, period news accounts and commentary from leading scholars, this is a compelling chronicle of a senseless tragedy.

In early 1942, with the world at war, American Naval and Coast Guard resources were stretched so thin that the Eastern Seaboard was virtually unprotected. Brazenly operating close to shore, German U-boats were a genuine threat to American Merchant Marine vessels, causing the deaths of hundreds of sailors. To counteract this threat, The "Hooligan Navy" was formed by the members of the Cruising Club of America, an organization of New England Yachtsmen. This ragtag group of sailors, undraftable reservists and adventurers were adopted by the U.S. Coast Guard and officially christened the Coastal Picket Patrol. Their sleek wooden yachts were repainted gray and outfitted with guns and listening equipment. For the rest of the war, they served as the eyes and ears of the Navy, seeking out and occasionally destroying U-boats and once again making the Atlantic Coast safe for shipping. Eventually, many members of the ""Hooligan Navy"" received commendations and medals for their wartime bravery. THE HOOLIGAN NAVY is a revealing look at one of the most colorful and least heralded stories of World War II.

The son of a parson, he entered the British Navy at 12, serving under his uncle. He was a captain by 21 and an Admiral before he was 30. Brilliant and courageous, Horatio Nelson had already earned a place in naval lore for his role in the battle of the Nile, but at Trafalgar he became a legend. FATAL VICTORY is a detailed look at one of the most important battles in history, where the British Navy commanded by Nelson dealt a resounding defeat to the combined forces of France and Spain, ending Napoleon's dream of invading England. Through Nelson's journals and the diaries and letters of others, along with the commentary of esteemed scholars, the life of the fabled mariner is explored and details of the battle that secured his fame are revealed. Learn of his torrid romance with one of England's most beautiful women, and discover how he died in the final moments of his greatest victory, felled by a sharpshooter's bullet. From blockading the Spanish harbor of Cadiz to his final moments on the deck of the Victory this is the captivating story of NELSON AT TRAFALGAR.

For two years, she slipped, largely unseen, across the waters of the Atlantic, recording over 60 victories and intercepting nearly $6 million worth of goods from the Union. Under the command of Captain Raphael Semmes, the sloop Alabama was the most feared vessel of the Civil War. GHOST SHIP OF THE CONFEDERACY is a detailed look at the career of this fabled vessel, based largely on the extensive diaries of Captain Semmes and her officers, as well as countless other Civil War documents from both sides. Discover how she earned her legend as a "ghost ship" from her practice of re- supplying at sea using spoils captured from defeated ships. Relive her greatest victories with Civil War historians, and learn the remarkable tale of her defeat, when she was sunk off the coast of France by the USS Kersage after an epic battle in which 250 rounds were exchanged.