$50,000 from a member of NMHS, has been or is to be spent on the effort to save the steam schooner Wapama in California. This expenditure stands in stark contrast to the lesser expense of the hands-on approach carried out in education programs such as sail training aboard the US Coast Guard Barque Eagle for students and similar programs referred to in "All Hands." We recognize that Karl Kortum and others in the Society devoted most of their efforrs to salvaging old ships and that this effort may lie at the very heart and core of the Society's existence. But should it? With an annual budget ofless than 7% of the funds to be spent on rhe Wapama, our museum reaches more than 25,000 people annually with programs on the Pilgrim, Tole Mour and other vessels. Each year we offer more than 5 ,000 grade-school children a marine history/biology program with a half day at sea, cosponsored and supported by the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. We see our goals as similar to yours. Each of our" officer" -level members is given a subscription to Sea History. We have helped the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum set up a similar program, so we are directly responsible for several hundred new members in your Society. HARRY L. NELSON, JR., Chairman Ventura County Mari time Muse um Oxnard, California Bravo! Great job on eve1ythingyou put into this establishment as well as the magazine. I spend a good part of my working career out at sea, and when I get a chance to read my Sea History iris a pure delight. I am a boatswain mare on board the USCGC Dallas. Homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, we conduct law enforcement, search and rescue and other maritime operations. Maritime history is a big part of my life and I soon hope to pursue a career in traditional ship building or crewing aboard a tall ship. But before I leave the Coast Guard I hope to sail aboard rhe USCG Barque Eagle, which I have fallen in love with. She is a wonderful asset ro our country. SAMUEL TRAVER Charleston, South Carolina Adventures in the North Atlantic "The Crystal Project " by Charles Dana Gibson in Sea History 101 (pp 10-13) trig-
SEA HISTORY 102, AUTUMN 2002
gered memories of the transport of fighter airplanes to England in 1942. In October of 1942, I was a cadet on the SS North King, which was loaded with supplies and replacements, headed for Bluie West 8 in Greenland, rhe last refueling base for rhe planes before the hop to Iceland. The North Kingwas a venerable lady built in 1903 in Hamburg, Germany, propelled by a monstrous quadruple-expansion steam engine that purred like a kitten. She sailed under the flag of Panama, since the ship's officers were nor American citizens, and by law she could nor fly the American flag, although she was owned by the US War Shipping Administration and operated by US Lines. The officers and crew of this ancient (even then) ship were from countries taken over by the Axis Powers who made their way to England and then to the United States to continue their own war. The master was Norwegian, a retired sea captain who had sailed a sixteen-foot boar alone from Norway to England when his country fell to the Germans. The voyage in October 1942 was the eighth and last North Atlantic crossing Tom Dennen, as deck cadet, and I, as engine cadet, made on the North King after being on board for seven months. Mr. Gibson's narrative regarding the difficulty anchoring in the Koksoak River reminded me of what occurred when we stopped at Godthab, Greenland. Our captain ignored the instructions from shore and dropped rhe starboard hook in the bottomless fjord.
The anchor derail raced for cover as the chain played completely out, tearing the shackle out of the bulkhead in the chain locker. Good-bye anchor and chain. In the confusion, the ship swung lightly, brushing stem-to-stern against another vessel. This dislodged the antisub smoke floats hanging on the rail. As soon as the floats hit the water they did what they were designed to do. Black fog covered the area. We did get to Bluie West 8, and used the port anchor satisfactorily. We need not have been concerned about swinging, because the next night we were frozen in solid. In a week, with the help of a thaw and an icebreaker tug, we were freed. It was unusual to see icicles hanging from the ship's ribs in the boiler room. Before leaving Bluie West 8, the captain asked the engineers to ballast down since the ship was now empty and he had received word of heavy weather in the Atlantic. The "oil king" did this by filling the double-bottomed ranks with #6 fuel oil from the "deep ranks" midship. This worked well when we hit the Atlantic weather, but no one gave any thought to the Gulf Stream and its warm currents, which we encountered in the afternoon. The appearance of the ship changed overnight. Fuel oil was everywhere, running down the scuppers, leaving the sort of trail that German subs searched for. And we were sailing alone. Fortunately, we did arrive, dirty but safe, in Bosron, and Tom and I returned to
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