she 's a naval vessel , not a merchantman. He has an Sin x 1Oin photograph of the picture and it shows " Baker" (International "B " )two-blocked , indicating that she 's carrying flammable or explosive cargo , and her numbers are being hoisted , the fust three being N-A-S-. During the war, the ships' numbers of naval craft started with "N" . Also in this issue , John Hamilton 's depiction of the Liberty ship on page 18 doesn ' t work . Neither a Liberty nor any other cargo steamer of those days could ever go fast enough to make a wave line like he shows this vessel doing . ROB ERT GASTON HERBERT II East Northport, New York The photo to which our advisor and friend Mr. Herbert refers is used a lot because it says so much, we think-that' s why it is used in the Bay Refactory ad and why we ran it again , unblushingly, in our main story.-Eo .
Down to the Sea It' s time I told you how much I enjoy SEA HISTORY, and particularly your lively and seamanlike writing style . I make connections with my own life in nearly every issue . In the autumn issue (SH41) , your appreciation for Sterling Hayden, mastheadman in Gertrude Thebaud, stirred a memory. In 1933 , I borrowed the family Model-A Ford and drove from Perth Amboy , New Jersey, to Gloucester to apply for a job as doryman aboard Gertrude Thebaud. With considerable trepidation, I went into Captain Ben Pine 's office and offered to sign on . He didn't figure this skinny tall boy could lift a codfish off the bottom and, in a kindly way, suggested I finish school and come back to see him then . Next year I was off to sea in a different fashion as a Naval Academy midshipman. Eight years later, having just finished submarine school , I was ordered to the submarine Barb in Scotland via a Liberty ship loading in New York. One day out of Ambrose channel, the chief engineer told the master that a torpedo had penetrated the deep tank in the midship hold but hadn't exploded . That seemed unlikely, but torpedos were my specialty SEA HISTORY , SPRING 1987
and I offered to disarm it, whatever it was. Something certainly had happened as she was taking water faster than she could pump it out, and the A-frame in the low pressure cylinder was cracked half through . We made it Nova Scotia at about 5 knots, very low in the water. I never found out what had happened , but I was greatly relieved to find another Liberty ship in Halifax for the rest of the trip . ROBERT MCNITT Rear Admiral , USN (ret) Annapolis , Maryland
Between the Martingales Since you call me an advisor, I have to scurry something up in the way of advice every now and again . In SEA HISTORY 42 (p28), the caption to Norma Stanford's great photo in the lower right-hand comer reads, in part: " Lady Liberty (seen between the bobstays) ... . " Well , I can ' t quite see Lady Liberty through the bobstays ; but I do see her between the martingale stays! MELBOURNE SMITH Baltimore, Maryland Our friend and advisor Melbourne Smith is, of course, correct . Bobstays run from the bowsprit to cutwater or above that on the stem. Martingale stays runfrom the jibboom to the martingale (or dolphin striker). Martingale guys split and run aft from the martingale on either side to the ship's bow .-ED.
Tall and Goodly Shippes Concerning the use of the expression " taJI ship ," reference can be made to Richard Hakluyt, who uses the expression several times in his Voyages and Documents . " Olde M . William Haukins of Plimouth . . . armed out a tall and goodly shippe of his owne . .. . '' Later in the same book , he records " A voyage with three tall ships, the Penelope Admirall, the Marchant Royall Viceadmiral and the Edward Bonaventure Rereadmirall . . . departed from Plimouth the 10 of April 1591. .. . " So " tall ship " is no new fangled term indeed! LARS GRONSTRAND Abo, Finland Mr . Gronstrand, who played a vital role in the search that brought the splendid bark Elissa to Light in the Mediterranean (the same that now sails, restored, out of Galveston) is very welcome stepping forth to save a good name from contumely . -ED.
Of Byzantium and Genoa In my review of Alex Hurst' s and Duncan Haws' superb Maritime History of the
World, (see SH39, Reviews), I seem to have suggested a stronger Byzantine influence on the growth of Genoa than was actually the case. Genoa was a very late developer among the Italian maritime cities , influenced more by other Italian cities than by Byzantium . Genoa only established its initial dominance in the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1284 when it defeated Pisa in a great naval battle at Meloria. Venice had by that time already been a great sea power for centuries, and it had taken control of most of the Byzantine Empire as a result of the Fourth Crusade eighty years earlier. So, though Genoa, birthplace of Columbus, etc ., was very important in Europe's maritime history, it cannot really be seen as Byzantine-influenced. GARYKETELS Munich, West Germany
QUERIES
& CORRECTIONS
Being a member of the United States Maritime Service during World War II, I would appreciate any available information on USMS insignias or organizations recognizing the forgotten service. GORDON J. FRAZER 406 Evans A venue Wyomissing , PA 19610
I am absolutely delighted with the way the Yavari article in SEA HISTORY 41 turned out. There are just three smaJI points which need clarification . The photo on page 6 was taken in 1985 . Yavari did not become the property of the Navy until the '70s , and was only then painted battleship gray . In the text and caption on page 7, the figure 2,766 represents the disassembled pieces of the two steamers Yavari and Yapura . And on page 6, my great uncle accompanied Scott on his journey of 1901-not 1911. The whole project is now being examined under a microscope by Vickers, the parent company of Cammell Laird , but before they make any commitment they want to send a survey team to Lake Titicaca, so until then there won ' t be much news. MERIEL LARKIN London, England In our Ship Note regarding the sailing coble Three Brothers, we neglected to mention that additional information about the project is available. Enquiries may be addressed to: C . Jefferson Bridlington Coble Preservation Society Harbour Offices Harbour Road Bridlington, North Humberside England YO 15 2NR
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