the American flag fleet. I wish it were an upbeat story indicating good health , but I ' m afraid the barometer is about to dip a bit lower. Texaco, Inc., has a long and proud hi story of a tanker fleet. At one time it had a true maritime force moving refined products and crude oil to meet domestic and world demand. Texaco vessels served in World War II and more recently in Desert Storm. Thi s corporate entity is about to become a bit of history, as Texaco sells off all of its fleets, foreign and domestic. No one doubts the real cause. Journalists, politicians and environmentalists have united to make a corporate giant tremble in its boots. These factions have succeeded in yet another victory against big business, through the threat of ecologybased lawsuits. Yes, the product will still be moved by someone. The third world will always answer the call to do the dirty work at a cutrate price. The Exxon Valdez fiasco makes it difficult to argue a case for the superiority of a US flag ship with a US crew. ART HALL Pownal , Maine
Memories of Shoesmith I enjoyed the Spring '95 Sea History, especially the arti c le on Ke nneth Shoesmith. Here is an authentic postcard of his depicting the Cunard White Star Line 's Samaria for your co llection! As a child in Bermuda in the earl y 1930s, I always enjoyed the Royal Mail/ Pacific Steam Navigation Co. large wall calendar. Each month there was one of Shoesmith ' s excellent renditions of one of their many passenger liners, usually in tropical waters. C. SPANTON ASHDOWN New York , New York
Don't Forget Peter the Great One of the more than 60,000 Russ ian speaking emigres came to me at the Russian American Cultural Center in Boston with a copy of Sea History. He asked me to read Walter Cronkite ' s appeal for membership and yo ur descripSEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995
tion of the Mi ss ion of the Society. After reading the journal in the light of the hi storical underpinnings of the Russ ian American Cultural Center, of which I am the founder and president, I decided to respond to yo ur sa lutation as a "Friend of America' s Heritage." For several years now I have been documenting the post-revolutionary maritime trade between Boston and the North Shore Cities and St. Petersburg, Russia. We have very close to me, in Salem, Massachusetts, the premier museum of the China trade, but nowhere is there any mention of the Russ ian trade. I have participated in two International Conferences on Peter the Great and the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Navy , and ex pect to be in Russia in June of 1996 for the third and final conference. Anyone interested in information about the conference can contact me at the address below . I am sending Sea History's Guide to American and Canadian Maritime Mu seums to the organizers of the Conference, The Ship Building Uni versity of St. Petersburg, and am notify ing some of the listed museums of the Conference. Thanks to a donation from an interested associate, I am initiating a membership in NMHS forthe Russ ian American Cultural Center. MARGAR ET COLEMAN, Director The Russian American Cultural Center at Russia Wharf, Inc. 78 Tyler Street Boston , Massachusetts 021 1 1- 183 1
New Help in an Old Art As the Rigging Instructor at the Phil adelphia Navy Yard for the last decade and a half, I've taught more than a few miles of knots. I have seen many wonderful examples of fancy work and have wondered why it is so rare. The only answer I can come up with is that folks don ' t know the wheres , hows and whats of the art. So, through the readers of Sea History, I'm hoping to spread the word about an interesting group of folk s who have a love of one of the oldest arts known-The International Guild of Knot Tyers. If yo u would like some more information about the Guild , send me a SASE at the address be low. At the very least the Guild will give yo u a use for all that old manila you have in the basement! DAN CASHIN 1335 Harrington Road Havertown , Pennsylvania 19083
Peking Battles Cape Horn Again! It ' s good to hear you 're getting out a new edition of my favorite book , Irving Johnson's Peking Battles Cape Horn. I would be honored to be a patron for the new edition. My son Will, age 16, will be a crew member aboard the frigate Rose for the first part of the summer before heading to Norway for two weeks in Sorlandet. I think he has caught the ship bug (for better or worse). I plan to be on board Rose for three weeks of the Maritime Festivals in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, so it should be a suitabl y watery summer. Aux THORNE George's Mill s, New Hampshire
Patrons and other supporters of the new edition of Captain Johnson's classic are welcome, with contributions (after publication costs are met) going to an Irving and Exy Johnson Fund to get disadvantaged youth to sea. Drop us a line for more information, or call 1-800 221-NMHS. See ad, page 11 , to order the book at the pre-publication price of $9.50.-ED. ERRATUM Your review of Simon Foster's 0 kinawa 1945 places the wreckage of the Japanese battleship Yamato " in 200 fathoms at 128 째04'W 30째43 'N." If correct, that would put her about 700 miles off the coast of northern Baj a. Not likely. You ' ve put her in the wrong hemisphere! L 30째43 'N, Lo l 28째04 'E (navigators normally li st the latitude first) puts her some 240 miles due north of Okinawa, where, in fact, she went down. In the spring of 1945 I was in Navy boot camp at San Diego. Part of our training was recognition- identifying the silhouettes of enemy ships and aircraft. I vividly recall the day our instructor ripped the poster of Yamato with her towering profi le from the wall and announced, " We sunk the SOB the other day. " (Actually , hi s words were considerably more colorful. ) With Yamato gone, we boots reali zed with mixed emotions that our war was nearing its end. By the time I got to the South Pacific, it was all over but the mopping up. ROBERTF. MAXFIELD Grapevine, Texas
Several readers alerted us to this gaffe. The incorrect position is quotedfrom the book-but we should have caught the error. - ED . 5