monrh on rhe Danmark, and pan wenr ro Anrisubmarine Warfare School. I did rhe larrer, so never sailed aboard rhe Danmark. We rrained on 83-foorers, shown asrern of and alongside rhe Danmark in rhe phoro in your arricle. Igor my commission in July 1943, and was assigned as skipper of an 83-foorer. My ship was nor yer finished, so I had a monrh ro srayar rhe academy. Myclassmares and I were wairing for our ships, and did some insrrucring on rhe very 83s in rhe phorograph. I gor currer 83476 in Seprember, and was commanding officer for abour 15 monrhs before being rransferred ro larger ships-rhe 165-foor currer Calypso, and rhen as an execurive officer on a ranker. Whar we did is pan of Navy and Coasr Guard sea hisrory. LT(JG) ROBERT S.ALLE , USCGR (RET.) Barringron, Rhode Island
and a cup of aromaric, sipping coffee. Savor the coffee, savor rhe wriring. ANGELO CERCHIONE Deep Gap, Norrh Carolina Angelos updates on the Picron Castle and the "tall-ship world" can be found on the web atwww.picton-castle.com.-ED.
Errata & Addenda An error crept inro my letter on the Collins Line ships in Sea History 90. In the antepenultimate paragraph it reads "as once rhe embargo on wood for mail steamers was lifted, Cunard almost at once adopred ir." It was, of course, iron hulls that the Admiralry objected ro. The objecrion was repealed soon after the collision berween Arctic and Vesta, which brought home ro them rhe fact that iron hulls were safer than wooden ones in an accident. PAUL QUI
Stafford, England
"What Better Way than to Live It?" We would like ro rhank rhe Narional Maririme Hisrorical Sociery for making ir possible for our daughrer, Adrienne, ro sail aboard "HMS" Rose. I cannor rhink of a berrer way for any srudenr ro srudy hisrory than ro "live" ir. This opporruniry has given our Marquerre High School students a chance ro work rogether and ro learn what hard work it has raken ro make rhis country. It was a wonderful experience for all, and we are deeply grateful ro rhe Sociery for making ir possible. REED AND PEGGY ASSMANN Alron, Illinois Read more about NMHS s summer "Historyat-Sea "program on page 5.
Are We Blushing? Wirh a ringing "You're hisrory, Angelo!" Justine Ahlstrom, Sea History's ediror, had welcomed me and the Picton Castle ro rhe pages of her magazine ("Ro und rhe World and Home Again," SH90, pp37-8). I didn'r realize at the time what a favor she had conferred. New ro the tall-ship world, I was agreeably surprised when my first issue of the magazine arrived yesterday. Unlike rhe digiral world wirh irs choppy e-mails and fragmented maunderings, here was a publication that actually rold stories. Srories that cover "The Art, Lirerarure, Adventure, Lore & Learning of rhe Sea." And srories always call for a quiet nook
SEA HISTORY 91, WINTER 1999-2000
I am incorrectly credited with researching and identifying the Gold Rush ship William Gray in San Francisco, which was found in a construction sire for a Levi Strauss office complex in 1979. The credit belongs ro historians Roger and Nancy Olmsred, and James P. Delgado, who was then a National Park Service historian. My role was to make drawings ofwharcould be seen and inrerpret the ship, panicularly so that some dimensions could be obrained ro compare rhem with the ship's registered dimensions for idenrification. The significance of what was found is
that we had a fairly inract hull, minus decking, but including the bulwark wirh a pin rail srill in place. This was nor a mere bortom of a burned our hull, as had been rhe case for other Gold Rush ships. Needless to say, it was an exrremely exciring discoveiy. RAYMOND AKER Palo Alto, California In "Musings on the School Ship Danmark " (SH 90, pp 18-19), we incorrectly referred to the American Capt. Gordon McGowan as the chief officer ofthe Danmark. We apologize to Suzanne McMurray Ko and to the old Danmark hands for the error. Capt. McGowan was aboard the Danmark during summer cruises in 1943, 1944 and 1945, and had responsibility for seamamhip imtruction. Suzanne McMurray Ko further reports: No American officers served aboard Danmark; the ship flew the American flag, but all officers were Danish and wore Danish uniforms-a special concession from Presidenr Roosevelr. The chief officer referred to was Captain Knud Langevad. He was trained from boyhood in square-riggers, and had served aboard Danmark since irs maiden voyage in 1933. The academy's superinrendent, Admiral Pine, wanred rhe Academy to acquire a square rigger of its own. Because of Langevad's expenise, Admiral Pine consulted wirh him, and ir was decided that Horst Wessel would be the best choice. Langevad agreed to sail with rhe ship from Germany, along with Capt. McGowan and ,t the German captain and crew.
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