Government in Maritime History
Docent Milt Rose gives a 1 hour tour of the Houston Maritime Gallery, focusing on the role Government has played in maritime history.
Tackling Ocean Plastic | Part 2
Be sure to read Part I here! Michael Garbarino (MG): This is a question about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since you’ve actually been there. When you enter the waters of the convergence zone, is it like entering a loose collection of plastic, or is it a very solid patch that you can’t see the…
What IS a Pilot?
What exactly IS a ship channel pilot? Retired Houston Ship Channel Pilot, Lou Vest explains who the ship channel pilots are, what they do, and why we need them!
Lou Vest
Lou Vest is a retired Houston Ship Channel Pilot who shares a story from the ship channel and a close call with another vessel. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more stories from Lou!
Tackling Ocean Plastic | Part 1
The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) has recently released Part 1 of a 2 part interview series with Mary Crowley of the Ocean Voyages Institute on cleaning up plastic in the Pacific Ocean. This interview provides a necessary and disturbing view on the unfathomable tons of plastic and garbage floating around the Pacific…
This ain’t your grandfather’s barge
This ain’t your grandfather’s barge…. with modern ships measuring up to 1,200 feet long and 175 feet wide, a ship channel built in the 1800s is struggling to keep up. How do the pilots handle it? Lou Vest sheds some light!
HM’s Set Sail Mural
For those who have visited Houston Maritime’s interim site at the corner of Navigation and Canal, you may have noticed the stunning artwork decorating the wall along the entry way to the museum gallery. This mural was designed and painted by local Houston graffiti artist Anthony Rose. Flanked by anchors, the mural creates an imposing…
Board President – Tom Johnson
In 1965 Tom joined with a few San Antonio high school graduate’s intent on attending Texas A&M University. As one of the first few classes to graduate the Texas Maritime Academy as part of Texas A&M, Tom obtained a BS in Marine Engineering and has spent the entirety of his almost 50 year maritime career serving…
A 400-Year-Old Dying Art Form
Many docents have donated models or contributed articles about individual ships or exhibits in the collection at Houston Maritime. As a miniature artist, I have donated many miniature models to the collection. To accompany those models, I requested to write an article about a 400-year-old dying art form and an art form for which I…
The Texas Chicken
530 feet – (175 feet + 175 feet) = Not a lot of room for error! Lou Vest explains the “Texas Chicken” and how ships fight massive hydrodynamic forces to pass each other on the ship channel.