vessel was the USS Chesapeake (renamed USS Severn in 1905), launched in Bath, Maine, June 30, 1899. “A full-rigged training vessel for a ‘Nautical Preparatory School’ based in Providence, R.I., was under construction at a Perth Amboy, N.J., shipyard in 1903. She was to be named the Young America, and delivered that August 20. The shipyard folded with the vessel still on the ways. For years afterward, shipbuilding reports say the yard was ‘inactive with several uncompleted vessels on the ways.’ The project was apparently dropped. I have never been able to learn what became of the unfinished hull. “There have been a number of proposed replicas: USS Hancock, USS Randolph, Sea Witch. Unless I’m forgetting something, no full-rigged ship replica has actually been built in the US.” But we both were forgetting something: the National Park Service’s museum ship Friendship of Salem, a tidy, little full-rigged museum ship (launched August 1998) that gets to sail from time to time. The responsibility is entirely mine. Harry Truman must have been channeling his inner sea captain when he said, “The buck stops here” because captains, maybe even more than presidents, accept complete responsibility. So I’m amending my statement: OHP will be the first oceangoing full-rigged ship to be built in America in the last 110 years. Capt. Richard Bailey Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island Newport, R.I.
Mystery boat a ’39 Sam Crocker The mystery boat in Letters, on page 7 of the December issue (“Old Yawl Piques Bernie’s Curiosity”) is Sowelu, a 37 S. S. Crocker-designed 37-footer built in 1939. She is at Alex Hadden’s yard here in Georgetown. We have the spars here at Robinhood Marine Center. The owner is away for the winter working on the Elizabeth II with Alex down in the Carolinas. Gordon E. Reed Robinhood Marine Center Georgetown Maine Editor’s note: A quick Internet search harvested this ad (of indeterminate age) for a Maine charter operation. While this is probably the same boat, we don’t know if she’s still in the charter business. “Sail Sowelu LLC: Sail the Maine coast in a classic wooden boat. No experience needed. Sail with Capt. Karen aboard Sowelu (originally Blue Peter), designed by S.S. Crocker, built by Simms Bros., and launched in 1939. Ketch-rigged with a yankee, genoa, staysail, jib, main and mizzen. Sowelu has options for a variety of weather. Capable of eight knots in a brisk breeze, she is seakindly and steady. An 80-h.p. diesel will get us where we want to go if the wind does not cooperate.” 8
Points East Midwinter 2013
Missing element is communication I have read with interest the conversation between Jim Love (“Race Encounter was Unsettling” Letters, August 2012) and other captains. Jim is the primary-care provider for my children. I know some of the racers. All are kind, compassionate people with a love of sailing. However, in every letter so far, there seems to be one thing missing: communication. Every sailor must maintain a “listening watch” on Marine Channel 16. This means that you have a radio, turned on, set to Channel 16 or scans it frequently, and you are listening for your boat name or for a description of a boat and events that sound like it might be referring to you. Every sailor must also know, and be equipped to use, sound signals to communicate their intent. When vessels are in sight of one another, a vessel under way, when maneuvering as authorized or required by these Rules, shall indicate that maneuver by the following signals on her whistle: One short blast to mean, “I am altering my course to starboard;” Two short blasts to mean, “I am altering my course to port;” Three short blasts to mean, “I am operating astern propulsion.” Upon hearing the one- or two-blast signal of the other, shall, if in agreement, sound the same whistle signal and take the steps necessary to effect a safe passing. When vessels in sight of one another are approaching each other and from any cause either vessel fails to understand the intentions or actions of the other, or is in doubt whether sufficient action is being taken by the other to avoid collision, the vessel in doubt shall immediately indicate such doubt by giving at least five short and rapid blasts on the whistle (or horn). These signals may be supplemented by short and rapid flashes of light. I watched with some amusement the lack of communication play out in the shipping lane coming into Searsport. I was sailing out of Belfast toward Islesboro. I heard, on Channel 16, a tanker giving his speed and position off Camden Harbor and looking for a response from a sailboat crossing his path. Looking south, we could see the tanker sitting like a block building dropped on the water. We continued to enjoy a sail out to Turtle Head, periodically watching the tanker as it made its way up the Penobscot. We heard the tanker radio the sailboat again informing them they were overtaking them and asking their intentions. After a couple minutes, the tanker captain again came on and wryly stated that he was assuming the sailboat would be maintaining course and speed ahead of him. By now, the pair was passing Lincolnville Beach. I was now on a southerly tack and watched this strange procession pass me – the sailboat about a quarter-mile ahead of the tanker all the way into the transfer area where the editor@pointseast.com