LETTERS She was acquired by Captain Mendes from Cape Verde in 1948 and became a Brava packet under the name Ernestina, bringing Cape Verdeans to the ports of Providence or New Bedford-sixteen round voyages-and continued in the interisland trade for many years. She went ashore in Cape Verde in 197 6 while on the way to the first Operation Sail in New York City to represent the newly independent nation, but was rebuilt and in 1982 was presented to "the people of the USA" as a gesture of friendship. Although she was substantially rebuilt, there are several original futtocks and hanging and lodging knees and the main deck is still mostly original 1894 hard pine. She is operated as a training vessel by a commission appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts. We had a successful reunion of Bartlett boys in 1983 , organized by Rick Lopes, a film maker and NMHS trustee. Some of us have discussed another reunion on the ship in July . While I plan to be here for another 50 years, we all may not be so lucky and all of us are well into our seventies or beyond. We would like to invite Bartlett boys and their descendents and friends to attend . Interested parties can contact me at PO Box 224, Chilmark MA 02535 , or call me at 508 645-2220. FRED LITTLETON Chilmark, Massachusetts
Elissa-the Real Thing! I was in Galveston recently and dropped by the Texas Seaport Museum. It is a microcosm of how America 's maritime heritage can be preserved. Alongside a small wharf is the Elissa (1877), which visited this little port several times at the tum of the century. She was in the cotton and banana trade and may have even had a hand in some gun smuggling in those halcyon days of yore! Elissa is a pretty little thing-a gem that has been totally restored. I even peeked into lockers near the fo'c'sle and saloon areas--everything shipshape and Bristol fashion! Alongside the wharf is the work shed with a loft. Scattered about are coiled rope, strops, blocks and tackle, lumber, hand and machine tools, bolts, cable, shackles, paint and tar, giving the feel and smell of the real thingbecause it is the real thing! The slide show in the maritime museum gave me goose bumps. The introduction features a panoramic shot looking down upon an open sea, stark and 4
glaring in the sun. Way off to the right, almost lost in the broad expanse, is the small speck of a sailing ship going about her business. It is the Elissa. Subsequent shots show her in glory as she fills the whole screen under full sail. Little kids in the audience watched in fascination, without uttering a peep. Her setting is perfect-no wind , no fog, no perpetual surge. She rests in the tranquility of a mill pond, overlooking nearby shipping, and tankers and shrimp boats come and go, while commerce goes on along busy city streets . All that is lacking is the clop-clop of dray horses. Volunteers-that's the key. Inspired volunteers maintain the vessel constantly and share camaraderie in keeping the old gal trim. Sail training programs are ongoing to teach landlubbers the skills required to serve as crew when Elissa takes wind and ventures into the Gulf. It would be worth your while to take a trip to Galveston and feel the pulse of a maritime past in which the people share a great civic pride. WILLIAM BURGESS Arlington, Texas
Traverse Sailing Today On a visit to the Ships of the Sea Museum in Savannah, Georgia, an item on display intrigued me: a traverse board. I first learned ocean navigation when 16 years old. We did ded. reckoning by traverse sailing (and I still do). When I saw this device, I immediately was struck with how useful it could be on a small boat at sea today. The board was a piece of suitable wood cut in a circular pattern,
A traverse board of the 1500s (from The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, by Peter Kemp (London, 1976))
six or so inches in diameter, with radials from the center inscribed to the outer edge along each point of the compass or perhaps each quarter point. Small holes were drilled along each radial for noting the speed. To record course and speed, the quartermaster or mate simply put a pin in the hole along the radial corresponding to the course, and on this radial at the position corresponding to the speed. Thus at the end of a watch, the peg would show where changing speeds and courses had brought the ship, in direction and distance made through the water. I intend to make one for use on my own boat, Zubenelgenubi. WARREN NORVILLE Mobile, Alabama
A Welcome for NMHS in Bermuda Thank you for the burgee presented to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club on behalf of the National Maritime Historical Society during your visit to Bermuda in September. It has been added to our display of burgees from all over the world. We are happy to extend Honorary Membership io your members visiting Bermuda. A short letter of introduction on your Society's letterhead, signed by one of your officers, should be sent to us prior to the visit. THOMAS E. C. MILLER, Commodore Royal Bermuda Yacht Club ERRATUM Being retired from the Ford Motor Company, I was particularly interested in the article on the International Fishermen's Races (SH 82), which discusses the race between the schooners Henry Ford and Bluenose. The only Henry Ford that I was familiar with was the ore carrier in the Ford fleet plying the Great Lakes until abo ut ten years ago. While examining her lines in the photograph of her launching, I was bemused by the caption reading" .. . the group in the center, standing firm despite the vessel 's rapid descent." I believe they are standing firm simply because they are not aboard the Henry Ford, but safely ensconced on the stern and taffrail of a vessel adjacent to the Henry Ford. PETER RILEY Poulsbo, Washington Michael Flannery and Fred Hecklinger also informed us of this egregious error. We were so taken up by the excitement and clarity of this historic photograph that we did not examine it as closely as we should have . No excuse!-ED. SEA HISTORY 83, WINTER 1997-98