On the Trail of Thomas McManus For many Long Islanders of nautical sentime nts, whether former naval persons or c urre nt yac htsme n, who feel deserv ing of a big treat, the writer recommends a day off. Take the Orient Point ferry to Ne w London and drive twenty minutes north on I-95 to the Mystic Sea port Museum. In th e Stillwell Building you will gaze with reverence at Eric A. Ronn berg Jr. 's L.A . Dunton ar Mystic Seaporr great co l lection of schoone r models, principally by McManus. Step outside and go on board the L.A . Dunton , a McManus schooner tied up at a nearby pier. On the way o ut stop at the museum bookstore and buy a copy of Bill Dunne's Thomas F. McManus and the American Fishing Schooners to take home. Believe me, at the end of the day yo u ' II feel as though you ' ve treated yourself well.
/
\
Th omas W. Lawson
On the Naming of Masts American usage is to name the fourth mast of a schooner or square rigger the spanker mast; Eng li sh and European usage is to ca ll the fourth mast the jigger mast. Americans do use jigger for the fo urth mast when there are five o r more mas ts. A fiv e-masted schooner goes: fo re, main , mi zzen, ji gger, spanker. A s ixth mast is call ed pusher or driver. Tradition says the seven-masted Thomas W. Lawson went, abaft the mizzen : jigger, spanker, pusher, driver. In a kill -joy note, however, the Lawson's Captain Crow ley wrote in a le tter to Th e Boston Globe that the masts were named fore, main , mizzen, no. 4, no. 5, no. 6, spanke r. As yo u mi ght im agine, actual usage varies a ll over the place once yo u get more than three mas ts . De Kerchove, autho r of the generall y reliabl e International Maritime Dictionary ( 1948), actuall y records a practice of naming a fivemas ted ship fore-main-middle-mizzen-ji gger, and another instance of fore-fore main-main -mizze n-jigger. So beware any " authoritative" naming system, for it never PS ex isted when these ships were sai ling!
From NMHS member Donald A. Petrie's review ofW.M.P. Dunne' sThomas F. McManus and the American Fishing Schooners: An Irish-American Success Story (Mystic Seaport Museum, 1994) , appearing in The Long Island Historical Journal.
STEVEN
BIEL
It Didn't Happen On My Watch by George Murphy, retired United States Lines C hi ef Eng in ee r and Port Eng in eer. 50 % aut ob iograp hi ca l; 50% sea stories; 100% entertaining. Written from the unique down under perspective of the engine room. Spans over 40 years United States Lines history from WWll and its glory years to its slow decent into bankruptcy. Includes many fasc inating, heroic and humorous sea stories and photos. "Any person who served in th e merchant marin e or military will relate to It Didn 't Happen On My Watch. This book tell s it like it is! Sometimes seriou s, sometim es sad, but mostl y humorous. Recommended reading for all veterans." George Searle, National Preside nt Merchant Marine Veterans Hard cover, 360pp, photos $22.95 incl: s/h, NC res. add $ 1.20 ORDER VISA/MC:
TIIE
OL:O
A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE TITANIC DISASTER
: ISM SM.
MM
0 1. D
es
~~
CA.1'0 E
"Steven Biel's masterful cultural analysis of the Titanic disaster is brimming over with wit and insight... What you will find here is sometimes funny, often outlandish, and always fresh a nd fascinating."- Dan Rather "An intriguing appreciation of how the sociocultural significance of the sinking of the Titanic has been shaped to a variety of ends down through the years. " - Kirkus Reviews
1-800-941-0020
Or send check/mo to:
Visit our Web site at http://www.wwnorton .com
Triangle Publishing, PO Box 1223, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526.
~ N 0 RT 0 N Independent publishers since 1923
SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996
35