OPERATION SAIL
Report from Boston Harbor "Where it all began" has been the theme of the Bicentennial celebration here in Boston and for that matter New England. And where it all began was on the seas and in the harbors, as these were the highways of the time, the transportation routes that brought the goods to and from the fledgling colonies. The hardy colonial craftsmen found all the materials to begin a new and financially rewarding industry . The craftsmen were here and the budding iron foundries were here, the rope walks were here, the cargos were here and the markets in the old world were waiting to buy both the cargos and the ships. So it was in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that the ships and the men to build and sail them were to go forth from Boston to change the trade of the whole world. So it is that the development of our country is tied to the sea. Any history of Boston must have a strong tie to the maritime, as it is to those individuals who had the drive and desire to develop the commercial trade not only with Europe and the old world but to the West coast of North America and on to the Orient. The visit of the Tall Ships to Boston has again brought a focus on our harbor. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, through the Metropolitan District Commission and the Department of Environmental Management, has established the Boston Harbor Islands State Park. The new park is made up of the islands of the harbor that for the past three hundred years have been used, but mostly misused, for pest houses, rendering plants, garbage dumps and military fortifications. The new park was opened with just three of the islands being developed as open space and recreation area, as well as historic fortifications on George's Island being refurbished. The Massachusetts Port Authority who is charge of the development of the commercial aspects of the harbor has now begun to focus on the marine industry to improve the port facilities rather than concentrate on Logan Airport. Three events took place during July 1976 in Boston that will have a lasting effect on our city. On July 4th, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops presented the 1812 overture at the Hatch Shell on the banks of the Charles River. The finale was unforgettable with the field artillery pieces from the Massachusetts National Guard
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coordinated with the Pops music. On the tenth of July the Tall ships of Operation Sail paraded into Boston harbor lead by the venerable USS "Constitution. " On the eleventh HMS "Britannia" arrived in Boston harbor to bring Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for a nine hour visit to Boston in honor of our country's two hundredth birthday.
Fort Independence on Castle Island with more than 100,000 people gathered, appropriately, around the Donald McKay Monument (in center of photo) to view the Tall Ships Parade into Boston Harbor, July 10, 1976.
These events had a profound effect on the people of Boston. In each case hundreds of thousands of people joined together to be witness to something that has survived to become a living part of our heritage: Mr. Fiedler and the music of composer Tchaikovsky; Queen Elizabeth and the British monarchy; and the Tall Ships whose design and romance have all survived the test of time. Over four million people took part in these events and not one serious incident happened during that time to detract from the celebration. People were talking to and smiling at each other, caught up in the great feeling of brotherhood that was evident everywhere. They were in need of and looking for things to which they could relate and hold as truths. These they found. The value of such events cannot be measured in dollars, even though many dollars were added to the local economy. But the good will and good feelings are priceless. ALBERT A. SWANSON
Suoscription $10.50 one year 38 Commercial Wharf, Boston, Mass. 02110
RADICH WEATHERS A HURRICANE The Norwegian full-rigger Christian Radich started her homeward voyage late in the season, having visited ports as far inland as Chicago during Operation Sail. Paul Galloway boarded her in Montreal on September 7, and sent back to the Chicago Sun-Times an account of the hurricane she encountered 400 miles off the coast of England on Wednesday evening, September 22. He records the scene as Captain Kjell Thorsen sent out a standby advisory at noon Thursday, after sixteen hours' battering by the storm, saying the ship would need help ''if hurricane lasts another twelve hours": "Outside the windows of the tiny pilot house was a scene of the storm's incredible violence and anarchy. Three of the petty officers, in yellow, rubberized foul weather suits, were hanging from a yard on the mainmast, trying desperately and in vain to secure what remained of the mainsail...Just in front of us, two cadets, ages 15 and 16, in their orange weather gear, fought the wheel, struggling to keep the ship at a 45-degree angle to massive breakers. "On the foremast, only tatters of sail remained. They had been torn loose by the fury of the hurricane as ff they were soggy paper, and frayed remnants of the rigging, steel cables and ropes almost as large as a child's wrist swung drunkenly from the yards." Earlier the ship had run before the blow, Galloway reports, "swept along on roller-coaster cascades of waves, screaming through the night at 14 knots under only one sail on the mainmast and one torn and bedraggled sail on the foremast." There was concern that she would lose her topgallant masts. But, records Galloway, "There was no fear, no panic. The officers went through their harrowing duties with a professional calm that belied their concern, meeting one crisis after another, being defeated, falling back, then facing the next crisis. "Throughout the horror of the long night and the gray morning and afternoon of the next day, the routine of the ship went on. The cadets, although they were not allowed aloft in the rigging, maintained their four-hour watches." The Force 12 storm-a hurricane with winds over 65 knots-abated Thursday afternoon, and the Radich was able to make way under power toward England, where on Sunday night, "battered and wounded but with a dignified grace," she came to anchor off Pal-