of sailing vessels that have taken the Atlantic passage to America since Columbus, each transithelpingto build the Americas as we know them today. With this vision in mind, it could be maintained that the most meaningful commemoration of this quincentenary year will take place out there in those waters, aboard these ships. Men, women and youth of over 40 countries will be making their own historic passage to America, like millions who went before them. You can share this spring of international fellowship and sailorly comradeship, in ports along the Eastern seaboard. While many of the tall ships will be participating in the Grand Regatta as one of the annual Cutty Sark Tall Ship Races, thereby limiting their time of stay, many others will break from the fleet and remain in American waters. Two of the world's newest tall ships, Canada's Polish-built 185-ft threemasted barquentine SN Concordia , and the Polish brig Frederick Chopin, will make their maiden Atlantic voyages in the fleet. Recent news is the inclusion of the Boa Esperanza, a replica of the
caravel in which Bartholomew Dias, the Portuguese navigator, rounded the Cape of Good Hope four years before Columbus set sail in 1492. The Grand Regatta is organized by the Grand Regatta Columbus 92 Committee in Madrid, Spain. For a list of vessels scheduled to participate in the Grand Regatta, send $3 and a stamped self-addressed envelope to NMHS, Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. KH
bring her back to New Bedford in April. The Ernestina' s future will depend upon the state rethinking it's responsibility for the vessel, says coordinator Joe Cardozo. In the meantime, the Friends of the Ernestina have reorganized as the new non-profit Ernestina/Morrissey Historical Association to assist the vessel. To renew your support for the vessel contact Austin B. Colgate, E/MHA, PO Box 40333, New Bedford MA 02744.
Ernestina Voyage Off:
New Home for Oldest Shipwreck in the Americas Artifacts from the Molasses Reef wreck, the oldest shipwreck discovered in the Americas , are the central exhibit in the new Turks and Caicos Islands National Museum. Excavated and conserved by staff of Ships of Discovery, a Dallasbased non-profit research institution, the Molasses Reef wreck may be that of a caravel and is thought to have been in the service of an entrepreneurial explorer operating out of Santo Domingo in the early 16th century . Artifacts identified as from Lucayan Tainos, who were believed extinct by 1513, indicate an early
Friends Rallying The Atlantic training voyage of the schooner Ernestina out of New Bedford (reported SH 59) ended prematurely when she encountered Hurricane Grace last October as severe behavioral problems brokeout among a number of her trainee crew. Captain Greg Swansey brought the schooner through Hurricane Grace and safely into San Juan, Puerto Rico, but there the six-month job training voyage for 24 low-income, underperforming youths was terminated. The vessel has been in Miami since and her owners, the State of Massachusetts, will
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COLUMBUS QUINCENTENARY MARITIME EXHIBITS • The Year of Columbus, a series of events and exhibitions at the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York. Includes International Fleet Week '92, May 20-26, featuring naval ships from the seven European founding nations. Intrepid Square, West 46th Street & 12th Ave, New York NY 10036; 212 245-2533. • A Thousand Years of Voyages of Discovery-Exploring the Ocean from Surface to Seabed, September 16, 1991 , through Spring of 1993, examines historic explorations of the sea' s surface and current efforts to understand the ocean 's depths. Includes such topics as the far-flung Pacific explorations of the Polynesians and the North Atlantic Voyages of the Norwegian Vikings. The Hart Nautical Galleries of the MIT Museum, 55 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139; 617 253-4444 •Columbus Quincentennial Series, three slide/lecture/music programs scheduled in recognition of Columbus 's Voyages: May 21 , anniversary of his death; August 3, day he began his voyage; October 12, day he made landfall. North Carolina Maritime Museum, 315 Front Street, Beaufort NC 28516; 919 728-7317. • Hall of Exploration, through 1992, featuring exhibits on navigation and a full-size longitudinal section of the Spanish schooner, Sonora, portraying 18th-century shipboard life. Oregon Historical Society, 1230 S.W. Park, Portland OR 97205 ; 503 222-1741. • Mapping the Northwest, selections of SEA HISTORY 61 , SPRING 1992
maps documenting the early exploration and political evolution of the Pacific Northwest. Museum of History and Industry, 2700-24th Avenue East, Seattle WA 98112. • Currents of Time, a new exhibit at the National Rivers Hall ofFame chronicling the exploration of America through America's rivers. NRHF, 400 East 3rd Street, Dubuque IA 52004-0305; 319 557-9545. • Great Voyages, Apri 11-December 31, an exhibit using ship models that describes the great voyages of the world . Custom House Maritime Museum , 25 Water Street, Newburyport MA 01950; 508 462-8681. • Discovering America, June 15 through March 1993, an exhibition exploring the many and fascinating theories concerning the discovery of America by a variety of early civilizations, including Vikings, Egyptians, Welsh, Phoenicians, Druids, Chinese, Japanese, and American Indians. Jamestown Settlement, PO Box Drawer JF, Williamsburg VA 23187; 804 229-1607. •We Claim these Shores; Native Americans and the European Settlement of Massachusetts Bay, an exhibit of artifacts, paintings and photographs telling the story of two groups of people who desired to carry out their lives on the same land. Peabody Museum , East India Square, Salem MA 01970; 508 745-1876 •The Columbus Legacy, January through December, an exhibit featuring Columbus and the explorers who followed in his foot-
steps to settle Florida. Includes artifacts from contact sites. Pensacola Historical Society, 405 South Adams Street, Pensacola FL 32501 ; 904433-1559. •Columbus Quincentenary and Cabrillo Anniversary Exhibits at the Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego CA, January through December. Themes changing monthly : Age of Exploration: Portuguese Explorers and the Art of Navigation; 1492: Setting the Stage for Discovery; Precolumbian America; Native Americans of Southern California; Role of Religion in the Encounter; Cabrillo : Activities in Mexico and Centroamerica; SeedsofChange:PartI; Seeds of Change: Part II; Cabrillo; History of Columbus Day; San Diego's Hispanic Experience; United States Voyagers. Cabrillo National Monument, PO Box 6670, San Diego CA 92166. • "Age of Exploration" Gallery, a permanent exhibit opening March 21 , 1992, showing how scientific and technological developments in shipbuilding, ocean navigation and cartography made the explorations of the 15th-, 16th-, and early 17th-century possible. The Mariners ' Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 804 595-0368. •New Worlds: North Atlantic Seafaring in the Era of Discovery, an exhibiton of rare world maps and nautical charts, early navigation instruments and archaeological material. Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-1316. 37