Seaport Experience Workday evenings I drive home down Manhattan island 's FDR Drive along the East River , the tidal estuary that runs between Manhattan and her sister boroughs on the western edge of Long Island . The East River always boasted an impressive array of ships-tugs and small tankers , freighters, barges and boats of the municipal services and , especially in the lower reaches, an assortment of boats offering the public a chance to get afloat , one way or another. No more than a year or so ago, it was possible to take in the regular traffic at a glance. There were the schooner Pioneer and replica steamboat Andrew Fletcher out of South Street Seaport, the Staten Island ferries running. between lower Manhattan and St. George , the graceful yawl Petrel and the Liberty Island ferries sailing from the Battery . From the berths on the Hudson River there were the dinner boats of World Yacht Enterprises, the Hudson River Dayliner and , in their red and green livery , the yac hts of the Circle Line . Today, the scene has changed dramatically . To thi s not incon siderable fleet have been added a companion to the Fletcher , the De Witt Clinton, the elegant dinner boats Spirit of New York, Dolly Madison and, doubling World Yacht 's fleet , the Duchess of New York and Princess of New York. There are also a host of new ferries running trans-Hudson, to southern Brooklyn , to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey , and even to La Guardia Airport. A slew of private , club and corporate yachts al so cater to people 's yearning to get out on the water, to take in the sights, sounds and rhythms of the sea and ships. Thi s sudden profusion of passenger shipping is by no means a local phenomenon . One perso n who know s about this , and who willingly shares his knowledge , is Ted Scull. Historian , raconteur, ship enthusiast and, not least , a writer , Scull' s most recent book is Watertrips: A Guide to East Coast Cruise Ships, Ferryboats, and Island Excursions (International Marine, Camden , ME, 1987 , 264pp, illus , $14.95pb). At once coherent and discursive, Watertrips covers as much as its title suggests and then some- from open-deck car ferries on the Connecticut River , to harbor cruises in Newport News, windjammers along the Maine coast, and fall foliage cruises in New England and upstate New York . To the practical information one might expect-prices, addresses , and seasons- Scull adds suggestions about what to see, accomodations, restaurants and even connecting bus and train service. Just SEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1987
how much he covers can be judged from the index of more than 175 ports of embarkation . In recent years, the numbers of USflag companies offering overnight coastwise and river passages has grown considerably, and Scull devotes the second part of Watertrips to descriptions of the routes , service and hi stories of nine East Coast companies, six American and three Canadian: American Canadian Cruise Line , American Cruise Lines, Clipper Cruise Line, Exploration Cruise Line , Mid-Lakes Navi gation Co . , Rideau St. Lawrence Cruise Ships, Ontario Waterway Cruises, Marine Atlantic and Prince of Fundy Cruises. Between them , these ships can get you almost anywhere from Florida to Nova Scotia , the St. Lawrence River or the Finger Lakes of upstate New York . Watertrips is a joy to read , e ither to wonder at the innumerable options, to plan a trip or alternate route to a favorite destination , or even to see what the author might have left out (and that, be assured, isn ' t much). Best of all , Scull conveys a real love for hi s subject and a sense of being there , on the watersomewhere accessible to us all. L. PAINE
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