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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLISHER'S CIRCLE: Peter Aron, Donald McGraw, W ill iam H. White OFF ICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman, Howard Slotnick; Vice Chairmen, Richardo R. Lopes, Edward G. Zelinsky; Executive Vice President, Burchenal Green; Treasurer, W illiam H. White; Secretary, Marshall Screibert; Trustees, Donald M. Birney, Walter R. Brown, Thomas F. D aly, Richard du Moulin, David S. Fowler, Virginia Steele Grubb, Rodney N. Houghton, Steven W. Jones, Ri chard M. Larrabee, Warren G. Leback, Guy E. C. Maitland, Karen Markoe, Michael R. McKay, James J. McNamara, Ronald L. Oswald, Bradford D. Smith; Chairmen Emeriti, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitland, Craig A. C. Reynolds; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Karl Kortum (191 7- 1996)
Massachusetts. I have been going to sea on replica schooners and brigs for the Last sixteen years. Replica ships that actively sail versus those used as static exhibits in museums certainly differ in their missions and the ways they are financially supported. Not all depend on public monies and donations. Ocean Classroom Foundation, for example, Left and Below: Educational programs on the replica schooner Spirit of Massachusetts pay for virtually all the ship's operating
OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown ; Walter Cronkite, Alan D. Hutchison, Jakob lsbrandrsen, John Lehman , Warren Marr, II, Brian A. McAllister, David A. O 'Neil , VADM John R. Ryan, John Srobart, William G. W interer ADVISORS: Co-Chairmen, Frank 0. Braynard, Melbourne Smith; D.K. Abbass, George F. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Brett, Norman J. Brouwer, RADM Joseph F. Callo, Francis J. Duffy, John W Ewald, Joseph E. Farr, Timothy Foore, William Gilkerson, Thomas C. Gillmer, Walter J. H andelman , Steven A. H yman, Hajo Knuttel , Gunnar Lundeberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Conrad Mi lster, William G. Muller, David E. Perkins, Nancy Hughes Richardso n, Timothy J. Runyan, Shannon J. Wall NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; M embership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Director of Education, David Allen; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Director ofAdvertising&Merchandise, Lisa DiBenederro; Executive Assistant, Cecile Fasulo; Membership Assistant, Jane Maurice SEA HISTORY Editor: Deirdre O 'Regan Address:
5 John Walsh Boulevard PO Box 68 Peekski ll NY 10566 Phone: 914 737-7878; 800 221-NMHS Fax: 9 14 737-78 16 Web site: www.seahistory.org; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org; and Sea History e- mail: editorial@seahistory.org MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afcerguard $ I 0,000; Benefactor $5 ,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponso r $1,000; Donor $500; Parron $250; Friend $100; Contributor $75; Family $50; Regular $35. All members outside the USA please add $1 0 for postage. Sea History is sent to all members. Ind ividual copies cost $3.75. Advertising: 1 800 22 1-NMHS (6647), x235
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which owns and operates the schooners Spirir of Massachusetts, Harvey Gamage, and Westward, naturally appreciates and accepts private donations, but virtually all of their ships' operating costs are paid for by revenue earned from their sail training programs. Please refer to the article on the building of the schooner Sulrana on pages 8-10 which examines just this question. -DO'R
Remote Sensing: Shipwrecks and the Mob! I was intrigued by rhe report in rhe lasr Sea History showing sonar images of a newly discovered wreck in rhe Easr River near Hell Gare in New York Ciry. The reported survey reminded me of a far less fruirful river search I made in rhis location in 1965. Ir began wirh a phone call made to my office ar Columbia Universiry's LamontDoherry Geological Observatory where I worked as a marine scientist. The caller was an officer in rhe New York Police Department asking for help locaring and recovering a sreel drum from rhe Easr River in connection wirh a criminal invesrigarion. H e was aware of our work in locating rhe remains of rhe US Navy's submarine Thresher a year earlier and wanted to use
our underwarer magnetometer to conduct a search. In October, 1964, Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno (a.k.a. Joe Bananas) was indicted by a New York grand jury, but rhe day before he was scheduled to testify he disappeared. Subsequently, the police obtained information from a "reliable source" who had seen a 55-gallon steel drum containing the body of "Joe Bananas" dumped into the East River. We began our survey of the East River just south of Hell Gate. Our search methods were primitive by today's standards. They involved rowing the magnetometer slowly against the current and when a large anomaly showed up, we anchored rhe boat and lowered rhe magnetometer to rhe river floor, on or near the target. The divers would then make rheir way handover-hand down the cable to the borrom. They had zero visibi liry in the muddy warer and had to identify objects by feel. Invariably, these targets would prove to be some kind of junk like a rusted engine block or an old car door. After 48 hours of surveying, downing gallons of coffee, and locaring dozens of targets rhat did not contain the remains of "Joe Bananas," we called it quits. Although rhe instruments had perform ed well and the area had been fully explored, I was disappointed by our lack of success. The reason for our failure only became known a year later when Mr. Bonanno showed up, alive and well, claiming rhar he had been kidnapped and held captive by a rival mob. SAM GERARD Palisades, New York Kudos to Sea History When I received my copy of Sea H istory (106), I found rhe new formar to be most interesting and informative. The articles were well written and offered little-known events in maritime history. I fo und the "A New Drake Myth" to be most interesting. The article left ir to rhe reader to accept it as true or a myth. ''A Diary from Sea, 189697" provided a look into life at sea by a nonseaman during the late nineteenth century. In closing, the rhrust towards little-known events is a step forward. CAPTAIN WARREN LEBACK
Princeton, New Jersey
SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004