Bon Voyage Fair Harbor Lady! by Terry Walton Little Jennie's launching last August was a festive day , with crowds spraw led on lawns overlooking Centerport Harbor. But while child ren pl ayed in the shallows, everyone knew the moment was the cu lmination of months of hard work-a nd the beginning of even more . Fami lies watched heart-in-mouth as the crane, an American flag at her top , began to hoist Li Ille Jennie. Aloft, her s lender underbody showed the bugeye 's Indian log-canoe ancestry. The launching was perfect , and the gracefu l o ld schooner proceeded directly to the Centerport Marina under tow. There, amid much handshak ing, Laura and Bill Perks of Centerport we re the object of specia l apprec iatio n, fo r the restoration of Little Jennie has been their idea, and they have engaged the good wishes and strong support of a ll w ho have come together for thi s endeavor. Little Jennie was built in 1884, in Mary land , where she worked for ten years oystering on the Chesapeake. S ince then, she has freighted wheat and watermelon, rum (so they say, with two marvelously fast Liberty engines!), and fo r three decades on Long Island Sound , people. Abandoned , she was seven years a hulk in a Huntington yard before be ing hauled for restoration by the Perks. Now ,
Historian Frank Braynard and Adm. Thomas King of the US Merchant Ma rine Academy ; town historian Rufus Langhans; artis1 Woodhull Young ; Dr. Ralph Eshelman, director of 1he Calvert Marine Museum, So/0111011s, Maryland ; and a dedica1ed community of rnppor/ers have made i1 possible for Litt le Jennie to live again.
at last, she is the be loved harbor lady of the Centerport Marina, whence she wi ll lead a fleet to Operation Sai l 1986 in New York to celebrate the birthday of a younger, but no less venerable compatriot , the Statue of Liberty . To prepare for that momentous occasion, Little Jennie must undergo further restoration work. In add ition to volunteer help , she needs new masts (those pictured are makeshift) , substanti al work
A sea classic and a fine gift!
GRISWOLD INN Serving Neighbors and Travelers for Trim Centuries
LUNCHEON AN D DI NN ER DAILY FAMOUS HUNT BREAKFAST SUNDAY OVERl'\JIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS
The Peking Battles Cape Horn This is Irving J o hnso n's classic narrati ve of a passage round Ca pe H orn in 1929 in t he stee l bark Peking. A new forewo rd and appe ndi x provide bac kgrou nd on the a uth or a nd th e ship. In the new afterw o rd th e a uth o r loo ks back, after 48 yea rs o f sea fa rin g, to hi s ex peri ences a board the Peking.
203-767-0991 American Ex press
SEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1985
Reproduced in full color by the Oceanic Navigation Research Society, thi s co llection of 28 different sa iling cards inc ludes Cunard, North German Lloyd , Red Star and Allan Line . Make check payable to Nat'l
tO"lo d isco unt to National Soc iety members.
Maritime Historical Society. set of 28 $8.50
To: National Maritime Historical Soc.
To : National Maritime Historical Soc.
Please se nd me_ hardcover copies of " Peking" ac $11.95;_ paper cover copies a t $5 .95 each. My c heck for $ _ __ is enclosed.
Masler C harge
Steamship Postcards
Capt. Irving Johnson's
132 Maple Sc ., Crocon-on-Hudson, NY 10520
ESSEX. CO\: '-:E CTICL'T
below decks, and a I OOhp + engine. Long-term projects for Little Jennie include maritime education classes and a special mi ssion involving the hand icapped , possibly in cooperation with the Jubilee Tru st in G reat Britain. For further information on the Little Jenni e Project, whether to learn or lend , get in touch with William Perks, Operation Little Jennie, Inc., PO Box 481 , Centerport, NY 11 72 1, 5 16 754-2864.
NA ME - - - - - - - - - - - ADD RESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~
132 Mapl e St. . Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
Please send me_ _ _sets of postcards. My check for ¡s enclosed. Name - - - - - - - - -- - -
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Z IP
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