San Francisco Maritime National Park Association
Why Save an Old Schooner? There are not many big wooden sailing vessels left in the world. If we look for what remains of the age of wooden sail, we see a handful of warships—the Vasa, the Victory, the Constitution, and the Constellation. These are state ships, preserved to commemorate a national tradition of naval glory. Merchant vessels have never stirred the national soul quite as much as warships. In this country, no clipper ship was saved, nor a packet ship, nor a square-rigged Down-Easter, nor one of the big East Coast schooners. We have one whaling bark, the Charles Morgan at Mystic, Connecticut. A handful of wooden fishing schooners and smaller cargo schooners survive. On the West Coast, we have the schooner Wawona at Seattle, Washington, and our own C.A. Thayer. Outside the United States, there is only one wooden merchant square-rigger, the bark Sigyn in Finland, and again a scattering of smaller schooners. Certainly there are hulks and wrecks tucked into backwaters, but intact wooden vessels? Only these very precious few. It is hardly surprising that so few big wooden vessels have survived. Wood is ultimately a biodegradable material. A wooden hull begins to rot the moment it is put into the water. It will be eaten by worms or beetles, or will self-destruct from the very strain of floating. Good care and good luck might prolong its life, but a wooden ship was ultimately disposable. The West Coast lumber schooners were considered to have a useful life of about twenty-five years. They were never intended to last forever. Given this underlying reality, were we foolish to make the effort to keep the C.A. Thayer alive? Was it worth the money, the labor, the timber? What is the price of our history? What is the price of inspiration for our children? The C.A. Thayer is a tangible link with both our maritime history and the commercial growth of the old West. The Thayer shows us the life of the coasting seaman. She speaks of man-killing labor, and of the bond between vessel and crew as they jointly dare the hard leeward coast through any condition of wind and sea. The Thayer shows us how the daily work of these men and this vessel—the prosaic task of moving cargoes of timber —settled and built the frontier coast, from the rough mill towns of Washington to the gingerbread palaces of San Francisco. In the Thayer, we experience a wooden island from another age. Isolated from the land, she is a contained environment where a generation of strong men and resilient women both lived and worked. Standing in the hold, or in the after cabin or in the cramped galley, we can feel their presence. Thousand of schoolchildren, living and working aboard only overnight have felt this connection. They are flung backward to a time when only hard work, commitment to tasks, and strength of character were considered. The Thayer projects these simple realities to all who encounter her. For those of us privileged to have been involved with the restoration of the Thayer, she has revealed hidden subtleties previously known only to her original builders — the spring-loading of her keel against the stress of floating, the way her sheer clamps forward tie the bow together, or the intricate fitting of her waterway timbers. These secrets reveal something of the thought processes of her builders, and leave us with a profound respect for the mysteries of the shipbuilder’s art. Again, we are flung back in time, now to sit at the feet of masters. The Thayer has survived wars and natural disaster, voyages in Arctic waters, hard slogs along the coast, and rough service for the U.S. Army. She has survived intact, and is still able to tell her stories. We must complete her rebuild and pass her along, whole, to those who will rise behind us. It is they who will ultimately care for her and keep our cultural, historical, and spiritual connection with our past alive.
Stephen Canright, Curator of Maritime History San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
President Deborah Hornberger First Vice Presidents Sanford Livingston, Jr. Susan C. Rogers Gregory J. Ryken Thomas Thompson secretary Michael Meyers Treasurer Robert S. MacIntosh Trustees James Andrasick Neil D. Chaitin Michael Dowling Robert H. Enslow Mary Foley, RN Anne Halsted Steve Kapp Tim Kochis Tom LaTour Michael McDonnell Harry Nystrom Dr. David Sanchez, Jr. Anthony Sandberg Robert F. Sappio Lilly Stamets Edward Suharski John R. Tregenza Senior Trustees Donald D. Doyle George Fleharty Mark Scott Hamilton, Esq. Joseph C. Houghteling David E. Nelson Executive Director Eamon O’Byrne CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Stephen P. Langmaid Counsel
Eric R. Swett, Esq. •
S ea L etter
MANAGING EDITOR Gail Hynes Shea GUEST EDITOR Stephen Canright COPYEDITOR Lenore Henry DESIGN & PRODUCTION Tony Mesler •
S an F rancisco M aritime N ational H istorical P ark PHOTOGRAPHY & DIGITAL IMAGE PRODUCTION Tim Campbell Steven Danford
• Comments, suggestions, or story ideas, contact: San Francisco Maritime National Park Association P.O. Box 470310, San Francisco, CA 94147-0310 Phone: (415) 561-6662 • Fax: (415) 561-6660 E-Mail: info@maritime.org • www.maritime.org Visit the website to order copies of this issue.
The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to maritime preservation and education. The Association operates the historic World War II submarine USS Pampanito and supports the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Many illustrations in Sea Letter are taken from the collections of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Reference use of these collections is encouraged, and is available through the Park’s J. Porter Shaw Library and other sources. The opinions expressed in Sea Letter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association.
Gail Hynes Shea, Managing Editor Sea Letter magazine 2
SEA LETTER