LETTERS
O FFICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman , Craig A. C. Rey nolds; Vice Chairmen, Richardo Lopes, Guy E. C. Ma itl and, Edward G. Zel insky; President, Peter Sta nford; Vice President, Norma Sta nfo rd; Treasurer, Wi ll iam H. White; Secretary, Ma rshall Screibe rt; Trustees, Wa lte r R. Brown, Fred C. Hawkins, Jakob Isbrandtse n, Steve n W. Jones, Robert La Banca, Warren Leback, Karen E. Ma rkoe, Warren Ma rr, ll , Harry W. Ma rshall, Brian A. McAlli ster, David A. O 'Ne il , Charl es A. Robercso n, Howard Slotn ick, Bradfo rd D. Smi th, John Ta lbot, Dav id B. Vieto r, Ha rry E. Vin all , Ill, Jea n Wo rt, Alexa nde r Zagoreos; Chairman Emeritus, Alan G. Choate FOUNDER: Ka rl Ko rtum (19 17- 1996)
crea[ion (Oxford English D ictionary defini 6 on: "crea[e over again") or even reconsuuc6 on (" build or fo rm again"). We research, we look closely a[ ma[erials, methods, clima[e, nuui[ion, and everything pertinen[ to [he original construction, and the n des ign a vessel which can be built by modern craftsmen and safel y sail ed by present-day crews lacking the practical experience of those originally involved. T his kind of vessel has been un kindly referred to as a "floating hypothes is." We prefer to [hink we are creating so mething over again which hopefully people can look at and sail in to understand and admire [h e high levels of skill reached by our forebears.
OVERSEE RS: RADM David C. Brown, Chail"man; Walter Cronkite, Jo hn Lehm an, J. Wi lliam Middendorf, rT,John Scobart, Wi ll iam G. Winterer
C olin Mudie N aval Archi[eC[ Lymington, Hants, England
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ADVISO RS: Co-Chairmen, Fra nk 0. Braynard, Melbo urne Smith; D. K. Abbass, Raymond Aker, Geo rge F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Brett, No rma n] . Brouwer, RADMjoseph F. Callo, W illi am M. Doe rAinger, Francis J. Duffy, John Ewa ld, Joseph L. Fa rr, Ti mothy G. Foote, Wi lliam Gilkerso n, T homas Gill mer, Walter J. Handelma n, Cha rles E. Herdendo rf, Steven A. Hyman , Hajo Knuttel, Gu nn ar Lundeberg, Co nrad Milste r, Wil liam G. Mul ler, Dav id E. Perki ns, Na ncy Hughes Richardson, Timothy J. Run yan, Ralph L. Snow, Shanno n J. Wall , T homas Wells SEA HISTORY &NMHSSTAFF:Editor, Justine AJ1 lstro m; Executive Editor, Norma Sta nfo rd; Contributing Editor, Kev in Haydo n; Editor-at-Large, Peter Sta nford; Editorial Assistant, Shelley Reid; Chiefo/Staff, Burchenal Green; Director ofEducation, Dav id B. Al len; Director of Marketing and Mernbmhip Development, Blaire Bel li veau; Membership Secretary!Merchandising, Erika Kurtenbach; Membership Assistant, Irene Eisenfeld; Advertising Secretary, Ca rm en McCall um ; Accounting, Joseph Cacciola; Secretary to the President, Ka ren Ritel l; Editorial Intern, Ann a Melma n
R OSEMARY M UD IE
I wo rk on the Elizabeth !Jin M anteo, No rth Carolina. T he Elizabeth II represents one of the flee[ of seven ships [ha[ carried Sir Walter Raleigh 's first colony to Roanoke Island in 15 85 (not the famous Lost Colony - that expedi[ion arrived in 1587). I am careful to describe the ship as a "representation," since a "replica" is an exact copy of something and the only descrip[ion we have of the original Elizabeth is diat she was a bark of 50 tons. W illiam Bakerand Srnnley Potter, who designed [he Elizabeth II, did a good job of represeming a small mercham ship of the Elizabe[han peri od, bm how much she resembles d1e original ship is anybody's guess. I think that "represem ation" is a better way to describe ships like the Elizabeth II or [he Mayflower, and it rolls off [he to ngue a bi[ more eas ily than "represen[a[ion of die type" or "reco nstruc[ion of the appearance of. " J OSEP H M. GREE LEY
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Mermaids, Yes-Figureheads, No Ri chard Humer, the English fig urehead carver who has done such wonderful wo rk on bO[h sides of th e Adantic, has w ritten to me saying he is putting toge ther a booklet of poems aboU[ fi gureheads. When he as ked whether I could offer any, I told him , ''.Mermaids, yes-figureheads, n o." I did pass on to hi m a Wo rld War II sto ry of some airm en who were resc ued by na[ives of a small, remO[e island in the Pacific. T here they fo und a fe male figurehead being revered as a goddess fro m [he sea.
I have known Richard Humer for aboll[ 20 years now, through his correspo ndence with N MHS, and I wo nder if any fello w members have stories or poems [hey could send me to pass on to Ri chard . M ARIE LORE
Ridgewood, New York Marie Lore really exists as a person, although her name is so close to "marine lore" that at least one person believes to this day that shes a typographic invention. Letters to Mrs. Lore clo NMH S will be forwarded to her. - ED. Casualties after War Was over Ahhough my sea experiences were limi[ed to WWII ac[ivity, I enj oy reading Sea H istory. I was panicularly imeres[ed in [he anicl e "USS Kearny and USS Reuben James: Earl y Cas ual6 es of an U ndeclared N aval W ar," by William H . Langenberg (SH8 7). The article reco unts ve ry accurately the history of events prior to our offi cial entry into WWII, [he torpedoing of Kearny and the sinkin g of Reuben James. Ameri can merchant marine casualties did not end with V-E D ay or V-J Day. Seven [een US-flagged merchan[vessels were lost or damaged after V-E D ay in the European arena and one after V-J Day in the Philipp ine Islands as a resuh of striking Allied or Axis mines, with a loss of seven lives. RAYMOND C. RHOD ES Roanoke, Virginia ERRATUM
T he photo in d1e upper righ[ hand corner on page 35 of Sea H istory 89 is identified as the Spirit ofMassachusetts. h looks a 10[ like [he Roseway to me-righ[ down to [he pine u ee on [he foremaS[, a Roseway signarnre. T he Spirit is a modern vessel buil[ on [he lin es of a la[e-nineteenth-century G louces[erman of [he Fredonia type. The Roseway was built as a priva te yach[ in 1925 in Essex, M assachusetts, at the James yard on the lines of a then- modern fishing vessel. While on a Roseway "dude" cruise, I had a rad1er long [rick a[ her wheel. She is well balanced and handles like a yacht. It is no wonder tha[ the Boston Harbor pilots liked her so much when [hey had her into the fifties. MIKE FLANNERY
Syracuse, N ew York I ndeed, the schooner pictured on page 35 is the Roseway, and not the Spiri[ of Massachusetts, as we had it. -ED. SEA HISTORY 90, AUTUMN 1999