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BILL BLACK AGENCY INC. ... yours to count on Phone 718 981-7373 telex 126072 1 Edgewater Plaza Staten Island, New York 10305
SHEARWATER CRUISES INC. • Historic Hyde Park and Kingston Areas • Sailing Tours-Two Hour-Half or Full Day
Fall Foliage • Bareboat Charters 28 ft. Sabre 25 ft. Bristol •Lessons: Individual or Group Unique Teaching Method
Call 914 876-7350 May - October
THE FOUR-STACK STEAMSHIP TIE Vessel with a black hull, white topsides and four red stacks on an ocean blue background. $16. Postpaid.
NAUTICA P.O. Box 881
Marco Island, Florida 33937
Send $2 .00 for this 16-page color cata. plus special sale price. The most complete nautical clock cata. in the world (more than 200 choices) & guarantee the lowest price! Also , write for our free cata. list on nautical antiques, gifts,
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The Hudson River Maritime Center (see , " Directo ry, " page 20) celebrated its fifth anni versary thi s year. Among its many programs are the maintenance of the tug Mathilda and the Ro ndout n li ghthouse , which can be visited abo ard the Marion T. Budd. One of the year ' s highlights was the induction of the Hudson River steamer Mary Powell into the Nati onal Maritime Hall of Fame. The Center maintains a large co llecti on of artifacts from the Powell, considered by many the most graceful steamboat of her era. (For more on thi s lovely vessel, see " Modelmaker's Corner," page 3 1. ) The Cente r also sent its renowned Rigging Gang to May vill e, New York , to help fit out Sea Lion, a 63 ft . ship modeled on a sixteenthcentury merchant vessel. Fourteen years abuilding , Sea Lion was started- and fini shed- by Ernie Cowan, who in hi s fo rmer li fe was a deputy sheriff. Based on plans from a treati se by Matthew Baker, master shipwright to Queen Elizabeth , the ship was built almost exc lusively with traditional tool s: Her hull was shaped with a compass and straightedge. Although the project imposed severe fin ancial burdens on Cowan and hi s supporters, burdens compounded by the skepti cism of some of their tow nsmen, Sea Lion has been a major attraction on Lake Chauta uqua , and in the year befo re commissioning generated more th an $ 1 million in touri st revenues fo r the area ! Despite these hardships, the Sea Lion Project, Ltd ., has undertaken the management of several other vessels. The steamboat Chautauqua Belle, des igned by Allen Bates fo r the bicentenni al, was destined for the scrap heap. Her operation serves as a reminder of nineteenth -century Lake Chautauqua when myri ad steamers plied her waters. The Bemus Point-Stow Ferry was also threatened by the opening of the Lake Chautauqua Bridge . Though in herself a nondescript vessel (enli vened somewhat by the addition of fo ur Victori an pilothouses), the fe rry is the continu ati on of the first j udicial act in the county' s hi story , when in 18 11 Thomas Bemus obtained permi ssion to run a log-raft ferry to carry his cattle to pasture . Two other vesse ls are used in conjunction with Sea Lion's acti vi ties: a tugboat, Herself, built in 1938 , and the first vessel constructed at the Chautauqua Lake Boat Yard ; and a recently donated 1923 Lake Eri e Lifeboat whi ch as yet has no name. If you are interested in suggesting a name , or in making some other contributi on to the Sea Lion Project, contact them at R.D . One , Sea Li on Drive , Mayville NY 14757; 7 161753-2403. The State of New Jersey has been looking at the potential of its Hudson River Waterfront . Pl ans under revi ew include the opening of the Hudson Ri ver Walkway from Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge . The path will link existing parks and hi stori c sites (including the steam yacht Kestrel and the ferry Binghamton), and may generate development and expansion of light rail and fe rry routes. N.J . De pt. of Transportati on, Di v. of Coastal Resources , CN401 , Trenton NJ 98625.
SEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1985