In the Victorian era, one change leads to another, and another... On the high seas, ships once sailed as the wind took them. But when steamships became the standard method of ocean travel, winds no longer mattered. It then became necessary to establish "shipping lanes," to ensure that ships didn't actually run into one another on their way back and forth across the Atlantic.

The Nautical Almanac, by Edwin Dunkin (Leisure Hour, 1868)

An astronomical almanac for navigation.

Compulsory Lane Routes in the North Atlantic (Century Magazine, 1882A)

On the need to create "shipping lanes" to reduce the risk of collisions due to the change from sailing ships to steamships.

A Cruise in a Pilot Boat (Century Magazine, 1882A)

The task of pilot boats was to guide larger vessels in and out of New York harbor. Domestic coastal vessels could decline the service, but it was mandatory for international shipping.

Ocean Signal Stations, by F.A. Cloudman (Century Magazine, 1886B)

How Ships are Spoken at Sea, by Richard Holland (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1888)

Adopting international standards in signalling and signal flags.

The Proposed Scotch Water-Way (Forth and Clyde Ship-Canal) (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1891)

Recent Discoveries Concerning the Gulf Stream, by John Elliott Pillsbury (Century Magazine, 1892A)

The role of the current in navigation and in climate.

Lighthouses

Eddystone Lighthouse (Cassell's Family Paper, 1860)

The New Eddystone Lighthouse (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879)

Sandy Hook [Lighthouse] (Scribners, 1879B)

Stories About Our Lighthouses (Little Folks, 1883)

A Visit to the Eddystone Lighthouse, by F.G. Kitton (The Strand, 1892B)

The Romance of Lighthouse Building, by Ray Stannard Baker (The Strand, 1900A)

Shipwrecks & Rescues

A Ship on Fire (Leisure Hour, 1860)

In the White Sea (Leisure Hour, 1868)

"A narrative of the expedition in search of shipwrecked crews," primarily embarking from Archangel, Norway, and rescuing ship crews caught in the ice of the North Sea.

In Search of the Shipwrecked (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881)

An account of several shipwrecks on the Crozets Islands, near the Cape of Good Hope.

The Raising of the "Utopia" (The Strand, 1892B)

Techniques used to raise a sunken armor-clad warship.

Wrecks, by William G. FitzGerald (The Strand, 1897B)

A look at some modern shipwrecks and their costs.

How a Ship Founders, by W.E. Ellis (The Strand, 1898A)

A Shifted Cargo: A True Sea Story, by Alan Oscar (The Strand, 1898A)

In Search of a Derelict, by A.P. Buller

Searching for the vanished steamer "Perthshire." (The Strand, 1899B)

Boiler Explosions, by Joseph Horner (The Strand, 1900B)

The Romance of Salvage Engineering, by John M. Carlisle (Windsor Magazine, 1903A)

How sunken ships are raised from the deep.