NMHS MISSION:
Where Does Humanity Fit In? Some people sincere in their interest in humanity find it strange to draw on the Native American experience as part of the story of Columbus ' s gallant voyage across the North Atlantic in the Trade Wind belt in 1492. A close and longtime friend of mine commented : " I don't see how the Indians are part of the maritime story. God love them- but where do they fit in?" Unlike jesting Pilate, my friend waited for an answer. Here it is, as straight as I can get it: Maritime history isn't just about ships and their people; it is about the impact of their sailing upon hi story. History is the narrative of humanity ' s experience; humanity includes Indians. History isn ' t boasting about one 's ancestors (a tiresome and self-defeating exercise); it isn't about taking refuge from the realities of the present day or, even worse, tomorrow; it is about mankind venturing, voyaging, hating, loving, fearing, but pushing forward somehow bravely to learn about its world and itself. History loves voyagers, however they fall short of perfection. They are among us to discover and push back the boundaries of the known world . Voyagers bring humanity into contact with its greatest enemy and greatest hope: itself. They are responsible for the clash of cu ltures, the tumult of conflicting ideas. The Indians, who rarely call themselves that, but rather Chippewas, Algonquins, Caribs, and so on , were quick to recognize a more advanced technology and social organization. Most had a kind of awe in meeting their brothers in another state. They quickly learned this was not a god Iike state, but they endured the encounter and , like the Celtic bards who lived for centuries in the hills to escape the Germanic domination of the British Isles, they gave imperishable gifts to those who had taken their lands . It ' s a dusty business at best, beating the rug of history our ancestors wove to thrash out what they did wrong , by our 20th-century lights. Let us be responsible for today . History gives us a second chance at truth . That is all it does. It does not tell us what to do about it. That is up to us. Like one of the spiders that from time to time drop down from the rooftree of the Just Bare! y Managing Editor's and my room in the house where these lines are written, we spin history continuous! y out of our acts, floating in air, with the sense of our own identity, upon its silken cord. What we have that the spider doesn ' t SEA HISTORY 58, SUMMER 1991
is the abi lity to learn from the consequences of our acts. Does some humbleness for the messes we ' ve made inhibit action? Only a weakened spirit could reach such a conclusion. Rather, it should inspire us to be out in the heat and the sun and storm and to be doing, to be learning , to be pushing back those boundaries.
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This reasoning may not convince doubters of the real value of history. If we entertain you , I am happy- and perhaps some light may be set glinting off these sombre rocks of the human experience. The Indian story is part of that experience, but I am on ly here to invite you to discover that experience in these pages. If you find new perspectives or perhaps Rew encouragements to contribute something positive to the experience of mankind, then our purpose is fulfilled.
Annual Meeting, May 18
in 1979. This change ends our representation of WST interests in the United States. We wish the Trust well in its new course and are proud to have been of help in establishing its mission in its first twelve years. Our own program for 1992 will overlap the World Ship Trust ' s in some areas, notably the historic ship conferences to be held next year in New York and San Francisco; we are to conduct these as an integral part of our own US program , underthe aegis oflnternational Maritime Heritage Year, which is sponsored by the World Ship Trust. So we mean to go on, in cooperative and mutually supportive ways. The full NMHS program , designed to help the whole heritage nationwide, will be set forth in the Autumn Sea History. As always, immediate challenges were at hand during the meeting. Bob Rosenbaum spoke of his plans to restore the wooden barkentine Regina Maris , which had coursed the far reaches of the Atlantic and Pacific in the later 1970s and early 1980s under the command of the late George Nichols, after long service as a North Atlantic trader between Denmark and Canada. Several people spoke of sailing in this great old ship, and the Society pledged all help to the effort to restore her. See "Ship Notes," this issue, for an encourag ing report on that. Our own finances were reviewed in the context of a temporary cash shortage which was delaying the publication of Sea History. Without reserves it was difficult to meet such problems; but as audited records showed, 1989 and 1990 had been gaining years , above all in operating revenues for Sea History and other publications of Sea History Press. In keeping with the Society ' s determination to build Sea History into a significant national force, not just as a magazine but as a publishing center devoted to the heritage, it was determined at the Annual Meeting to set up Sea History Trust. This entity, proposed by Bill Winterer and seconded by Bruce McCloskey, may one day be the identity by which the Society and its works are most widely known.
This year's meeting saw about 100 people gathered at the Herreshoff Muse um of Yachting in Bristol , Rhode Island. That ' s less than one percent of our newly expanded membership, numbering over 12,000 after last year' s healthy growthwhich, it was good to report, is continuing this year. This is an aware and committed I %, markedly proud of the Society's achievements and eagerto discuss future courses. Vice Admiral Thomas Weschler spoke for us all in saying that the great thing about the meeting was the people. He said he had rarely seen such upwelling of interest from such a variety of sources. Our plans for 1992-which embrace conferences, a directory of Columbus Quincentenary activities, information centers in New York and San Francisco, a major ed ucational effort in the schools in New York State and elsewhere, and an effort dedicated to some critically important historic ship restorations-were approved unanimously. The appointment of a director for International Maritime Heritage Year (IMHY 92) in the US was announced-but, as it subsequently developed , the World Ship Trust decided to administer this project direct from England, a change in the relationship under which NMHS had administered PETER STANFORD WST affairs in the United States. President This change in policy closes a chapter Norn: Those wishing full minutes of the that goes back to the 1974 US tour of Annual Meeting of 1991 , with audited Frank Carr under NMHS auspices , dur- financial reports for the previous two ing which a cooperative course was first years, have only to write to us to get laid out. It led eventually to the founding them. And please, if you can, enclose $2 of the World Ship Trust five years later, for postage and handling.
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