LETTERS Pedro, Ca lifo rni a in 1943. She se rved in WW II an d th e Korean confl ict. Her record in cludes 400 rescued pilot s and ship survivors, 16 enem y aircraft shot down , four battle stars, a nd a Navy Unit Co mm endati on. S he was a lso Kamikazed twice. She still mount s 5-5in. gun s in 5 turret s and 5-2 1in. torpedo tubes. Plans arc to put her in historic drydock number one for sandblasting and painting as a first step toward opening her to th e public. One final note. I railed 10 find mention or any Viking lon gs hips in yo ur listing. Was thi ~ a n oversig ht or do yo u not con~ ider them to be warships? JOHN G . SCHUMITSCH USS Comtitution
Charleston, Massachuse11s The world should know that Constitution still serves, and I thank you for 111akin1< this unequivocally clear. As 10 the Vikin1< ships-some were ceremonial, as were !he ones thal survived. -NORMAN BROUWER. The Gallant Schooner Barges I am currently working on a book dealing with the history of the sc hoo ner barges and their tugs a nd their competition with the large schoon ers. I've collected a fairly large group of photographs but to date have been unable to find any good pictures of the schooner-barges shown with their sai ls set while under tow. I would be very much obliged to anyone who could help me in finding such photos and would be happy lo pay for, copy, trade or whatever, in order to obtain them. In addition, I'd lik e to learn more about the life on the schoo ner barges, the methods used by the tugs to make up and drop the tows and anything that might have been relevant to the economics of the whole business. This is one phase of marine history that has largely gone neglected and I hope that something can be done about it, as the material that I' ve been able to unearth so far has been very interesting. PAUL C. MORRIS, JR.
Mr. Morris, co-author with Joseph Morin of The Island Steamers, may be reached at 5 New Mill Street, Nantucket MA 02554 by anyone able to contribute to this worthwhile undertaking. -ED. The Bonhomme Richard's Anchors Robert G. Herbert is, of course, correct about the Bonhomme Richard's anchors (SH 13:4)-if his ass umptions ma y be accepted. But here's the conclusion I came to in my forthcomin g book on th e
Richard: SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1979
"The logbook of the Richard says that she had four anchors on the bows. They were probably l he best bower, on the starboard side because of the veering properties of storms in northern latitudes: two bowers and l he sheet or spare bower. There were probabl y a couple of kedge anchors below, on the ballast, plus a st ream anchor." I put the a nchors below , beca use she was tender, and Jones actually swayed six cannon and carriages below to stiffen her. He also took on more ballast-see the logs. Old French formulas give the same weight for bowers and sheet anchors, but there is no guarantee that the formu las we re followed! One of the things I have learned about ancient ships is "II a in 't necessa rily so ." For instance, the French East lndiamen, coming back to Lorienl, were stripped of spars, guns, anchors, ballast (except kentledge) and laid up "in ordi nary." Guns and anchors went into a common stock, or park, and were rei ss ued to whi chever ship needed them. It is therefore quite likel y (as indicated by the log) that all four bow anchors were the sa me size! We'll only know for sure, when we recover them from the wreck. NORMANN. RUBIN Silver Spring, Maryland
Mr. Herbert's letter on standard anchor sizes was written in response to Eric Ber1yman 's article on the search for the remains of !he Bonhomme Richard off England's East Coos/ (SH 12). Dr. Ber1yman is leading anolher search expedition as we go to press. Results of that search, and the appearance of Mr. Rubin's book on the Richard, to be published by Leeward Press this fall, are eagerly awaited by us all.-ED. Don't Forget Joshua Slocum! II is a pleasure to see in this plastic age a publication of suc h excellent presentation, and on such an interesting and largely ignored subject. But in the "Book Locker" (SH 13:56) I am surprised that from yo ur panel of literary and nautical experts there was no mention of one writer-not a literary bloke-who for me must always feature in any list of wr iters on the sea: Joshua Slocum! G .M. PAGE Rye, New York
Out of work and out of sorts with the world, Captain Slocum rebuilt the sloop Spray to set forth to sea alone, in the 1890s. His book on this, Sailing Alone Around the World, is deservedly a classic and f orlunately s1ill in print. -ED.
Sea Witch, In Fast Company I am taken with Melbourne Smith's proposal (SH 13:19-21) that a clipper, specifically a replica of the Sea Witch, be built and sailed. I think it's the best idea yet, and that all effort and money should be devoted toward it rather than further restorations. Obviously Captain Smith feels it is feasible, and has reason to, from his experience in building the Pride of Baltimore. I knew that Alexander Laing is a n authoritative writer on clippers, but I am a little surprised that he classes the Lightning and the Red Jacket as being a lik e. In Cutler's Greyhounds of the Sea the half models of the two are shown, and th e contrast in their lines, indicating clearly the "extremeness" of the Lightning, is quite evident from the models. The lines of Sea Witch and Red Jacket do not appear too different. A point about Sea Witch's records which Cutler draws attention to, is the qualities of Captain Waterman including his uncann y ability to sail shorter routes. I would further point out that while Red Jacket is chiefly noted for her still standing record east across the Atlantic, her performances on the Australia run showed her capable of speed over long distances, too. J.M. KENNADAY Castine, Maine Captain Smith's Sea Witch project will
enlist history, craftsmanship and seamanship of high order. May it lead also to renewed appreciation of the American clipper ship and the forces that produced her. Sea Witch was a superb performer under Captain Waterman, but it's worth noting that her epic 97-day passage to San Francisco was made under Captain Land. -ED. Melbourne Smith's proposal to build a new clipper ship Sea Witch in New York (SH 13: 19) will stir new interest in the world-famous original, built by Smith and Dimon in their ya rd at the foot of Fourth Street. The property was owned by my grandfather, Fredric Dimon Philips, until 1938-39, when Mayor LaGuardia decided to build the East River Drive. II is my understanding that a captain's chest that has been in my family from the time of the Sea Witch was originally purchased by Captain Robert H . "Bu ll y" Waterman in Canton, China, about 1848. The photograph I've enclosed shows the "secret" logbook drawer open. There is also a hiding place for manifests, etc., in the back of the chest. When the dropdown front of the chest is closed up, both the logbook and manifest compartments
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