Sea History 107 - Spring 2004

No. 107

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SPRING/SUMMER 2004

SEA HISTORY.

75

THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA

LOST AND FOUND: THE STORY OF THE SS PORTLAND

The Maritime History of the Straits of Florida Schooner Sultana: Why Another Replica?

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Historic Ships on a Lee Shore SEA HISTORY FOR KIDS

CHESAPEAKE BAY

Maritime Heritage Cruise October 23, 2004 and May 28, 2005 @ :n American Cruise Lines for a celebration of maritime heritage!

Spend 8 days crwsmg the Chesapeake's smooth waterways from the comfort of the brand new American Glory and American Eagle.

Each day discover fascinating ports of call with specially arranged tours of the Bay's most acclaimed museums.

- { Ports of Call

)~-------

+

Baltimore, MD Baltimore Maritime Museum

N

Yorktown/Williamsburg, VA Mariners' Museum of Newport News and Watermen's Museum Cambridge, MD Brannock Maritime Museum and Richardson Maritime Museum Oxford , MD Oxford-Bellevue Ferry

w

ATLANTJC OCEAN

NORTH CAROLINA

St. Michaels, MD Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Annapolis , MD United States Naval Academy and Annapolis Maritime Museum Solomons Island, MD Calvert Marine Museum

•

=?::-.®

AMERICAN

CRUISE LINES Join us for a truly remarkable journey!

800-814-6880

SEA HISTORY

No. 107

SPRING/SUMMER 2004

CONTENTS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 8 Schooner Sultana: Building an Eighteenth-Century Reproduction for the Twenty-First Century, by Drew McMullen A report detailing the history ofthe original and the decisions and planning to build a reproduction ofan historic ship despite a difficult economy for non-profit organizations. Sultana Projects, Inc. will receive the NMHS Walter Cronkite Awardfor Excellence in Maritime Education in October.

12 Historic Ships on a Lee Shore, by Jack Willard, James Kirk and John

Kochiss, and William S. Dudley From a commanding naval battleship to the unglamorous, unnamed working craft of the oyster fisheries to a mill built from a historic naval frigate-learn about what can be done to save them.

8 MAINE HI STO RI CAL SOC IETY

...

16 Forbidden to Sail: Steamship Portland, 1890-1898, by Deborah Marx lhe SS Portland left Boston in a flat calm in 1898 bound for Portland, Maine. lhe 19th century's "perfect storm" hit that night and the ship was lost with all souls aboard. Read about the ship's history and the controversy surrounding her captain's decision to sail.

19 Lost and Found: The Search for the Portland, by Matthew Lawrence Nearly a century after she foundered, the Portland is located in waters off Boston. Cooperation between the shipwreck hunters who found it and government agencies fostered legal protection of the shipwreck ofone ofNew England's most tragic and legendary maritime disasters.

16 METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

22 The Maritime History of the Straits of Florida: Where Oceanography

Makes History, by Richard J. King Rich King chronicles this busy ocean highway and its maritime history from pre-European contact to today.

30 Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, by Betsy Crowfoot Take a tour through Sea History's first installment in a new series profiling

22

Council ofAmerican Maritime Museums (CAMM) members.

SANTA BARBARA MARITI ME MUSEUM

33 Maritime History on the Internet: Whaling Before the Twentieth Century,

by Peter McCracken

DEPARTMENTS 2

D ECK LOG & L ETTERS

6

NMHS:

A

CAUSE IN MOTION

26 SEA HISTORY FOR Kros

34

38

CALENDAR

40 REVIEWS

48

PATRONS

SmP NoTEs , SEAPORT & MusEuM NEws

30

COVER: Evening Shipping on Boston Bay, 1898 (Year of the coming maelstrom) features the outward bound steamer Portland and the Boston pilot schooner Columbia inbound for Boston under ominous skies. In November the "Portland Gale" wrecked both ships with the loss ofall hands. Painting by William G. Muller is an original oil on canvas, 24" x 40 " in a gold leafframe, which brings the total size to 32" x 48 ''. lhis painting is currently on display at the Cape Cod Museum ofFine Art. To inquire about the original painting, whose sale will benefit NMHS, call 914137-7878, ext 223. For stories on the Portland, see p ages 20-25 and 21.

SEA HISTORY (issn 01 46-93 12) is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box68, Peekskill NY 10566. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add '! mailing offices.

COPYRIG HT Š 2004 by the National Maritime Historical Society. Tel: 914-737-7878.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 .

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

LETTERS

DECK LOG Council of American Maritime Museums-CAMM Our Society is working to develop a closer relationship with the Council of American Maritime Museums. As NMHS and CAMM each work to promote our maritime heritage, we have recognized that our organizations can serve each other well. For the most part, individual museums interpret and depict the maritime history unique to their region. NMHS would like to offer joint membership with the Co uncil of American Maritime Museums so that their members would receive Sea History. NMHS would benefit by increasing our membership to a vital, critical mass, museum members would be exposed to the wealth of maritime history and information found in the pages of Sea History, and an augmented section of "Ship Notes, Seaport & Museum News" would communicate CAMM information. CAMM's president, Jerry Ostermiller, remarked that NMHS could provide a national identification for CAMM, a link between its members, and communicate a national agenda.

CAMM was organized thirty years ago by America's leading maritime museums to promote mutual interests, band together for legislation, and promote the welfare, programs, and activities of maritime museums in North America.

Yearly meetings give colleagues an opportunity for face-to-face discussions, presentations, Q & A sessions, and an opportunity to form strong working relationships that are invaluable in the field. In this issue we introduce our new series of CAMM museum profiles with the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

Connecticut River Museum & the Steamship Portland When Ronald Oswald, NMHS program chairman, visited the Connecticut River Museum's exhibit The Everlasting Sea, Marine Artists Past & Present early February, he was so impressed that he arranged for an NMHS member reception there so we could view the exhibit before it closed in April. Working with curator Brenda Milkofsky and Executive Director Stuart Parnes, we arranged for a reception as part of our outreach program to members around the country. When Ron Oswald first described the exhibit, he noted a painting by our friend, maritime artist William G. Muller, of a scene of the steamer Portland, underway on a September evening in 1898, before the horrific gale of November 26th when she disappeared with all hands. I had just finished reading the drafts of the two stories on the Portland featured in this issue, one on the ship and the other on the wreck, and called Bill Muller to see if we could use this poignant and powerful depiction for the cover. Advisor Thomas Wells, who enchanted us at our Seattle reception last fall with his stories of doubling the Cape as a young man, exhibited a painting S/V Passat in the Trades in the exhibit as well. We were saddened to learn of his death.

Bill Muller also spoke at our reception , discussing his years aboard the sidewheeler Alexander Hamilton on the Hudson River, his love of our seafaring heritage, and the tragic story of the Portland. In addition, Fred Frese presented an overview of our project down the road in Old Saybrook, where Old Saybrook High School students are building a replica of the wooden submarine Turtle.

BuRCHENAL GREEN

Executive Vice President 2

Essex Class Aircraft Carriers In your Winter, 2004 issue (106), in your feature on Ship Notes, you discussed the USS Lexington, referring to her as "an Essex Class Aircraft Carrier, the only ship of its kind still afloat." To my personal

knowledge, the USS Yorktown, the USS Intrepid, and the USS Ho rnet are still very much afloat and being used as museums, as is the Lexington. Is there something special about the Lexington which qualiflies her as "the only ship of its kind" of which I'm not aware?

STEWART WINN

Williamsburg, Virginia I write to ask for clarification on a matter I discovered in the Ship Notes section (Sea H istory 106). The first item deals with the USS Lexington, a famous ship, indeed.

As a veteran of WWII (Captain USMC) I had a number of officer classmates at Sea School at NNYD (need I say Norfo lk Navy Yard?) who were assigned to carriers to co mmand Marine detachm ents. I myself was to be a "plank owner" to USS Franklin but was assigned to other combat dury. One of my comrades went to the USS Intrepid, an Essex class carrier.

I have visited Intrepid, floatin g as a superb museum at her pier in New York harbor and consequently ask why Lexington is described as "an Essex class carrier, the only existing ship of its kind still afloat? " Perhaps it is because Intrepid is CVS- 11 and Lexington is CV-16. Is there a difference between CVS and CV of which I am unaware?

Intrepid proudly Ri es her banners and Rags as an outstanding air and space attraction. Perhaps you would be good enough to clarify this interesting matter for me and for other WWII veterans of the Pacific war who read Sea H istory and wonder if Intrepid is no longer afloat!

CAPTAIN MALCOLM

S.

MACGRUER

Madison, Connecticut

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

From the editor: Error noted. USS Intrepid is most assured/,y afloat as are her sister ships USS Yorktown, USS Hornet, and USS Lexington. The Navy launched ten Essex class carriers, all built in three east coast shipyards: Essex (CV-9), Yorktown (CV10), Intrepid (CV-11), Hornet (CV-12), Franklin (CV-13), Lexington (CV- 16), Bunker Hi ll (CV-17), Wasp (CV- 18), Bennington (CV-20), and Bon Homme Rich ard (CV-3 1). In addition to the ten, the navy also built thirteen more "long-hull, " or Ticonderoga, class carriers beginning in 1944. Most of the Essex class carriers were decommissioned in the 1960s and 1970s.

USS Lexington, however, sailed until 1991 as a training carrier. Lexington served the longest, launched and recovered more aircraft, and was the first Navy ship to embark women crewmembers. CVS was a later designation applied to carriers modified for anti-submarine warfare support. -DO'R Historic Ships on a Lee Shore SS Catalina recalls the many wonderfu l times I had crossing to Avalon before World War II. The welcome at the dock, the kid divers for coins-and singing "I lost my heart in Avalon, beside the bay, and sai led away! " Many thanks for West Coas t articles.

THORNTON THOMAS

Bellevue, Washington

Sea History brightens our days. It tells wonderful tales of Sir Francis Drake's imaginary voyages, of dinner with Capt. Aubrey, of Dr. Webster's passage under sail to Japan, etc. But, an item in "Ship Notes" strikes a discordant note. The M aine Maritime Museum is raising a fund to erect on its lawn a "full-sized reconstruction" of a coal schoon er. The fund will amount to some $1.5 million, and the "reconstruction" will

be an "enormous skeletal representation" of ten steel frames and six m as ts. Better to spend that money to save an Ernestina or a Wtzwona, a time-worn vessel whose intrinsic worth is historic, than to create an "unparalleled and conspicuously visible virtual new Wjtoming." Those words are the museum's own.

Thank yo u, Sea H istory, for showing us history, and what is not history but hoopla, hype, fantasy, and dream. All that makes for a great read .

ROGER

w BRAGDON Bath, Maine

Thank yo u for Sea History 106. Quality is steadily improving, and the variety of articles and departments is fine. I have one observation: has the maritime restoration/ replica business reached its saturation point?

I have long wondered when it would begin to show up, and Sea H istory 106 seems to have signaled its approach. H ere I found an article about the very regrettable loss of funding for Ernestina at one end of the magazine, and at the other I was thunderstruck to read a note about a fundraising effort by Maine Maritime M useum-a museum, mind yo u!-to raise an incredible amount of money to build another (and incredibly huge) wooden ship-to do what? To provide still another similarly huge financial "black hol e" into which the

limited supply of public money and private donations m ay be directed .

Why in the world sh ould this contin ue? Are there not enough repli cas aro und already-and are they nor all increasingly in need of fund s for m aintenance? Do any of them pay their own costs? Are we so naive as to think this can continue, seemingly at the whim of nauti cal dreamers?

This should not continue. There are already doze ns of preservation and restoration projects under way, each of which is desperate for money. Is it a wise use of potential resources to em bark on yet another effort of this magnitude? 1be question becomes even m o re insistent when yo u take a moment to reflect on the enormous maintenance costs (what museum can affo rd such a bottomless pit of finan cial drain?), invo lved in keeping a vessel of that size even afloat in decent condition, let alo ne sailable.

Do we really want more replicas? Let's take a deep breath, slow down, and find a better use for available resources.

CAPTAIN TIMOTHY

F.

MURRAY

Fo rmerly of Schooner Yacht Coronet

From the editor: Captain Murray's letter arrived in late February, ironically, Less than a week after I embarked on a two month voyage teaching maritime history and Literature on board the replica schooner Spirit of

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient mariners of Greece to Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world to the heroic efforts of seamen in this century's conflicts. Each issue brings new insights and discoveries. If you love the

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

sea, rivers, lakes, and bays-if you appreciate the legacy of those who sail in deep water and their workaday craft, then you belong with us.

Join Today!

Mail in the form below, phone 1 800 221-NMHS (6647), or visit us at: www.seahistory.org (e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org)

Yes, I want to join the Sociery and receive Sea History quarterly. My contribution is enclosed . ($ 17.5 0 is fo r Sea Histo ry; any amo unt above that is tax deductible.) Sign me up as: D $35 Regul ar Member D $50 Family Member D $ 100 Friend D $5 00 D ono r 107 D $250 Parro n M r./Ms. - -- - - -- - -- - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -

-----------------------~ZIP _

_ __ _ _

Return to : National Maritime Historical Sociery, PO Box 68 , Peekski ll NY 10566

3

•

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

4

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

MAINE WINDJAMMER CRUISES

-~

3, 4 & 5 Day Cru ises May-October

Grace Bailey 1882, Mercantile 1916, Mistress 1960

www.MaineWindjam merCrui ses.com

888-MWC-SAIL

~

The Dromedary

Historic, antique U.S. , Coast Survey maps . from the 1800s : 0

Original lith og raphs, most American seaports and shores.

Reprints , too. Unique framed ,

great gifts . Catalog, $1.00.

Specify area .

Ship Modeler's Center

SHIPS OF THE SEA MARITIME

We are specialist suppliers for all aspects of the model boating scene.

(Not cars, trains, planes.) We can start you off with basic kits or provide you with plans and materials .

Our range also covers working or static models, and we carry an extensive selection of fittings for all types of ships and boats.

MUSEUM

Exhibiting ship models by William Hitchcock, Mark Wilkins and others, along with paintings and maritime antiques in an elegantly restored Regency mansion.

Free Parkingfar Visitors

Walking Distance from the Visitors' Center Featuring the Largest Private Garden in the H istoric D istrict

Tuesday-Sunday ro-5

Send for our newest Catalog $6 postpaid

41 Martin Luther King Boulevard Savannah, Georgia 31401

(912) 232-15n www.shipsofthesea.org

$7 outside the U.S. J. P. URANKER WOODCARVER AUTHENTIC MARITIME

The Dromedary 6324 Belton Drive El Paso, Texas 79912 (915) 584-2445

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

*SEA CHESTS* HANDCARVED

*

DOVETAILED

1-508-693-5871 1393 County Road , Martha's Vmeyard, MA 02557

WWW.JPUWOODCARVER.COM

5

NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION NMHS Distinguished Service Award Annual Awards Dinner C hairman D avid Fowler is pleased to announce this year's recipi ents will be honored at the New York Yacht Club on O ctober 22 . The coveted N MHS D istinguished Service Award will go to Richard du Moulin and Richard Wilson for inspiring students wo rldwide to study America's seafarin g heritage. Sailing 15 ,000 miles from Hong Kong to New York las t spring aboard the 53-foot trimaran Great American II, they raced against the 74-day, 14-hour record set by the American clipper ship Sea Witch in 1849. They challenged this sailing reco rd with a very different vessel, a high-tech, Left: G reatAmerican II arrives in New York H arbor multi-hull boat agai nst a amid greatfanfare (Photo by Neal Skorka); Above: (l) tradi tional wooden ship Richard duMo ulin and (r) R ichard Wilson at the with a displacement monoj ourney's end (Photo by Billy Black). hull, but along the same ro ute and with the same tough, unpredictable seas and weather. Through the Ocean C hallenge program found ed by Rich Wilson, students had co nstant access to the challenges of Great American II through the sitesALIVE web site and newspaper chronicles of the adventure. Students learned geography, world histo ry, science, math, and sailing skills and witnessed the character traits of perseverance, courage and teamwork by foll owing the successful journey of du M oulin and Wilson. These mariners, the keynote speakers of the evening, will give a slide presentation of their trip and its educational message.

Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Maritime Education Sultana Projects, Inc. will receive the N MHS Walter C ronkite Award fo r Excellence in M aritime Education fo r providing students with h ands-on experience demonstrating the rich historical and cultural heritage of the C hesapeake and Delaware watersheds. The schooner Sultana's program highlights the significance of the region's maritime history through sail training, videos, and supporting landbased educati onal literature. The N MHS Walter C ronkite Award for Excellence in M aritime Education honors individuals and organizations wh ose outs tanding achievements in maritime education bring history alive for young people, providing real-life results in getting yo un g people involved in a continuous process of learning that will have a fundam ental impac t o n their lives. The award recognizes work that teaches m aritime history in a way that conveys the ch allenge, excitem ent, and leading role of our seafarin g pas t in creating today's wo rld.

NMHS's Founder's Sheet Anchor Award William H. White will receive NMHS's Founder's Sheet Anchor Award, give n to recognize extrao rdinary leadership in building the strength and outreach of the Society. Mr. White, as treasurer of the Society durin g these crucial recent years, has provided critical leadership by establishing the Society's budgets, guiding its fin ancial affairs and putting NMH S on a path towa rd economic stability. In addition, his role as trustee delegate to the editorial board has demanded the continuation of edi to rial excell ence.

Maritime Research and Modeling Award Bradford Smith, chair of the NMHS Awards Committee, is working with the Nautical Research Guild on the new joint NMHS-Nautical Research Guild Award which will honor individuals who significantly expand our knowledge about ships through their models, research, and teachings. The criteria for this awa rd are the demonstration of outstanding modeling skills, writings that add to the nautical record, and the candidate's ability and willingness to teach his or her skills to future ge neratio ns of nautical modelers and researchers.

6

The Trustees

of the

N ationa.C Maritime Historic.a.( Sodery corc!iaffy invite you to attend the AmiualAwanfs Dinner

Friday 22 Octo6er 2004 At the New York Yacht C fub 3 7 West 44th Street, New Yor/Z_ City Reception at 5:30 pm - Dinner at 7:00 pm $300 per person; $6,000 sponsors tafi[e for ten Rese1vations: NMHS, PO Bol\'.'. 68, Pe&ski[, NY 10566 Ph.one 800-221-6647-el\'.'.t. O; fa(\: 914-737-7816 e-mail: cfasufo @sealiistory.org Seating is limited. Blad tie optional.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

NMHS BAR~AIN BOOKS Manhattan Seascape, Waterside Views Around New York, by Robert Ga mbee.

The bay, the ships, the bridges, the waterside parks and the fa mous skyline are subjects of this beautiful collection of 180 photos. HC: $15.00 (outer jacket slightly marred).

A Ship 's Log Book II, by Frank F. Farrar. Tales of adventure, mischief, a nd mayhem delightfully narrated by a man who li ved it all. SC: $12.00 A Seafaring Legacy, by Julianna FreeHand. The photogra phs, diaries, letters a nd memorabilia of a Maine sea ca ptain a nd his w ife, 1859-1908. HC:$10.00 An Island to Oneself, by Tom Neale.

This gripping account of the author's years spent alone on a South Pacific isla nd is an unforge ttable tale. HC: $15.00 Rhyming in the Rigging. Over 100 sea poems, his torica l verse, drinkin g songs and sentimental ballads from Shakespeare to Ogden Nash. SC: $8.00 Tall Ships of Newburyport, by George W. Goodw in and Fred a Morrill Abrams. A vivid account of the life on the ships Montana, Whittier and Nearchus by Goodw in, who served as a m a te on those post-Civil War ships. SC: $10.00

SEA CHESTS Museum quali ty, handmade/painted, customi zed, personali zed choice of image/lettering, size, style & colors. Info packet, $2.00 refundable.

O uld Colony Artisans 1170 Wi lson Road# 27, Falls Ri ver, MA 02720 Tel: 800-4 14-7906 web site: www.ouldcolonyartisan.com

Morse Diving, Inc. The world's oldest &finest diving equipment since 1837

The Charles W. Morgan, by John F. Leavitt. The Morgan is the only America n wooden sailing whaleship survivin g from th e gold en era of American whaling. This co mprehensive book, with its crew lists, photographs, and a summary of voyages a nd log books, brings the Morgan to life. SC: $12.00

Helmets Knives Belts Collector's Items Nautical Gifts

The Ship's Bell: Its History and Romance, by Karl Wede. 62p p, illus.

SC: $3.00 To place your order by mail, make your payment to NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 or by credit card by calling 1-800-221-6647 ext.O. (All prices include shipping and handling.)

Serving the US Navy and Fire & Safety Indu stry for centuries

Toll free 1-877-87MORSE

www.morsediving.com

SEA HISTORY I 07 , SPRING/SUMMER 2004

T he Visolette Loupe is a unique combination of condenser and 2. 7X m agnifier. Its ability to bundle ambient light makes the readin g within the glass easier. This 65mm (2.5") diameter lens is precision ground and polished , m ounted in a solid brass ring with anti-slip bottom and enclosed in a solid walnut case. It makes a stunning addition to any chart table or desk and a beautiful and useful gift for any Oat piece collector. $69.00 plus $3.00 shipping per order.

WESTCHESTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 8 John Walsh Blvd.

Peel<sl<ill, NY 10566 9 14-736-1034 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: 914-736-1217

7

SCHOONER

Sultana:

BuILDING AN

I8T'H

by Drew McMullen n 8 M arch 1768, His M ajesty's Royal N avy purchased what wo uld prove to be the smallest schooner ever to see active service in Britain's history. At just 52-64/92 tons burthen, the schooner Sultana was the unlikeliest of warships. Built by American shipwrights at Benjamin Hallowell's South Boston shipyard, Sultana had been conceived as a coastal m erchant schooner.

D estined fo r a life of hard work in relative

O

obscuri ty, Sultana's fate changed fo rever when the British Parliam ent enacted the notorious Townsend Acts or "Tea Taxes" just as Sultana was being framed up in the H allowell Yard in the summer of 1767.

The burden of enfo rcing the new Townsend Acts fell to a reluctant Royal Navy. The larges t, most p rofessional navy in the world at the time, the Royal Navy did not particularly relish its new role as customs collector. Nonetheless, the Navy was the only arm of the British Empire that possessed the experience and resources to enforce the wide array of taxes Parliament had levied on its American colonies.

Initially the biggest challenge faci ng the Navy was a to tal lack of sui table patrol vessels. H aving just vanquished the French in the Seven Years War, the Royal Navy had no shortage of large and powerful warships, bur it lacked small and nimble vessels that wo uld be required to patrol fo r colonial m erchant ships and smugglers in the shallow and constricted waters off the North Am erican coas t. Ironically the solution was found in the upstart yards of their N orth American cousins.

In 1768 the Royal Navy faced a challenge that had been ch ronic th ro ughout its existence-a shortage of fundin g. This

8

particular shortfall was precipitated by the her sister-schooner, the HMS Gaspee, was enormous debts amassed in rhe course of captured and burned by rebellious colothe Seven Years War. In an effort to fulfill nists near Providence, Rhode Island, the its new customs m ission while expending Admiral ty concluded that conditions in a minimum am o unt of resources the Navy the colonies had becom e too dangerous chose to ro und out its Beet by purchasing for vessels like Sultana to continue servexisting American vessels rather than by ing there. In autum n 1772 Sultana was building new. This approach had several ordered to sail fo r England where her crew advantages- chief among them being that was paid-off, the vessel was decommisit was cost effective. Labor and materials sioned and sold for 85 pounds at public were far less expensive in the Americas auction . and a vessel of Sultana's size could be obtained "as-is" in Conceiving a Reproduction the colonies for a fraction of The prospect of replicating a vessel such the cost required to build it as Sultana in m odern times is fraught with from scratch in Britain. significant challenges. Foremost am o ng Another factor in the these is th at there is no overriding ecoAmericans' favo r was that nomic m otivation to construct a large the vessels they built were traditional wooden sailing vessel in today's designed for service along the world. While there are isolated examples N orth American coas t. In the of wooden sailing craft that operate sucmid- l 760s American ship- cessfully on a fo r-profit basis (Maine's wrights were Left and Below: Sultana's hull begins to take shape. well o n their way to perfecting what would become the quintessential American design- the schooner. N imble, well-adapted for sailing upwind and easily managed by a sm all crew, the schooner's characteristics fir the Royal Navy's needs to a tee.

Sultana was the sm allest of a handful of American schooners the Royal Navy acquired in the 1760s. The N avy re-rigged, re-fit and re-armed her to make her suitable for her new naval duties.

Sultana was dispatched to No rth America and spent the period from 17 68 to 1772 patrolling for smugglers along the coast from Halifax to Cape Fear, North Carolina. During this time she stopped and searched m ore than a thousand m erchant vessels.

The activities of Sultana and her fellow Royal N avy revenue cutters so infuri ated the Americans that these small and relatively defenseless schooners soo n becam e a favo rite target for the colonists' anger.

Sultana only narrowly escaped destructio n at the hands of irate colonists in Newport, Rhode Island in 177 1 and again off New Castle, Delaware, in 1772. Finally, when

W indj ammer Beet com es to mind) the overwhelming majori ty oflarge traditio nal sailing vessels built and operated today are done so by non-p rofi t organizatio ns. The larger and more complex the vessel, the more likely it is that this is the case.

By its very nature a non-profit undertakin g requires that there is a m otivation other than generating a m onetary pro fi t.

In the case of historic reproduction sailing vessels, the clear identification of a ra tional and sustainable motivati on is the singlemosr important facror in the ultimate success or fai lure of the endeavor. Mo re ofren than no r, a vessel that lacks an obvious and defensible reason for existence will face long term fin ancial , personnel, and, mos t wo rrisom e, safety problem s.

SEA H ISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2 004

CENTURY REPRonucT10N FOR THE 21sT CENTURY Quite frequently the genesis of a vessel reproduction project is the desire on the part of a relatively small gro up of peopl e to see a specific vessel or type of vessel reproduced. "Wouldn't it be fantastic ro build a replica of the HMS Such-andSuch," the co nversation might go.

"What an incredible feat it wo uld be to rebuild her and how amazing it wo uld be to see her under-sail agai n." Only later (often as late as the vessel's launching) is any serious consideration given to a long-term rationale and financial strategy for the vessel's continued existence. In such cases the H er-

business plans, fundraising and marketing strategies.

Fortunately for us and for Sultana, our focus changed almost 180 degrees when we got organized to the point where we formed a Board of Directors. Without

culean efforts required to fund and build a vessel can completely eclipse the equally critical necessity of defining a sane and sustainable reason fo r doing so.

For an historic vessel reproduction to succeed in roday's cashstrapped world, it is criti cal that the planning process proceed in exactly the reverse order as that described above. Specifically, the indi vidual or organizatio n embarking on such a venture needs to justify why any vessel needs to be built, what purpose that vessel will serve for the community 5, 10 and 20 years down the road, and how the vessel will be sustained financially. Ideally these issues should be addressed in extens ive detail prior to laying the keel for any large traditional sailing vessel.

The Example of Sultana In 1997 a small group of people in the historic port of Chestertown, Maryland got it in their heads to build a reproduction of the 1768 colonial schooner Sultana. As a member of that initi al gro up I wish I cou ld say that we approached things from the outset in the calculated, rational manner so easi ly recommended above.

The truth is that to som e extent al l of us in this earl y gro up were sailo rs, and as sailors it was almost impossible for us to remove a sense of romance from the project. In the beginning when we thought of Sultana, we thought first about frames, yards, cannon, and rigging and second abo ut

maintain Sultana? were each considered in great detail.

Indeed the very selecti on of Sultana as a vessel for reproduction was called into question. Educatio n was identified as the only suitable and sustai nable missio n for the type of vessel we were co nsidering. O nce this was established, the parameters of the specific types of programs our vessel would have ro provide were thoroughly investigated and then assessed in comparison with Sultana's hisrorical and physical attributes. Months of research led us ro conclude that a reproduction of Sultana would be viable only if the vessel conformed ro the fo llowing criteria:

1. The vessel wo uld have to have the capacity to sail with at least one classroom of students (approximately 30-35 people) and operate with a crew of no more than 6 people.

2. It must provide educatio nal programs that correspond to statedictated guidel ines for public schools in Maryland and Virginia.

3. To avoid the increased regulatory costs associated wi th larger sailing craft and to make it possible for the vessel to operate from numerous ports in the Chesapeake, it should be no lo nger than 65' at the waterline and have no more than 8' of draft. question the guidance of a dedicated, educated, and professional Board was one of the keys to Sultana's success. Surprisingly, none of Sultana's original Board members were particularly avid sailors. In fact only a small minority actually knew how to sail.

Most were business people or ed ucators and their detachment from the passions of sailing allowed them to look upon the whole project in a more rational light.

Thus, the initial efforts of the project turned away from boatbuilding and towards the creation of a busi ness plan for a completed vessel. Answers to questions like: How much would Sultana cost to sail and maintain? Who would want to use the ship and for what purpose? and Where would the funds come from to operate and

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

If these criteria seem overly specific it must be remembered that they were developed with a particular mission, operational region, and target audience in mind. The actual list of criteria for Sultana was more extensi ve, but these three items were considered deal breakers . Should Sultana be unable to fulfill these basi c requirements, her lo ng-term success would be very difficult to ass ure.

On several points Sultana was right o n the borderline of making the grade. Her draft was 8.5', somewhat deeper than ideal. It also appeared that it would be a challenge to accommodate more than 25 smdents on Sultana's decks o r to operate her with a crew as small as six. The fact that these problems were identified wel l in ad-

9

Left: 24 March 2001, Sultana is /,aunchedas ten thousand spectators cheer on; Middle: 1his close-up stern shot gives perspective as to the schooner's size; Below: Underway in the Chesapeake under full sail.

they have proven to be more so, now that rhe vessel is completed . Sultana's future wi ll only be ensured by rhe continued hard wo rk and generosity of rhe community rhar created and supports her. The fact that this is possible stems entirely from rhe thorough and detailed planning that was insisted upon by a wise group of people who knew very lirde about sai ling. J,

vance of Sultana's construction al lowed us to address them during the design process and not after the vessel had already been launched.

The benefit of having the details of Sultana's ulti mate use laid out before her keel was laid proved to be of immeasurable importance.

The three years of Sultana's construction we re put to good use honing and marketing her educational programs. The teachers and students who wo uld eventually fill Sultana's decks we re invited to co me to the shipyard and assist with her co nstruction. As the word of Sultana's co nstructio n spread by media and word-of-mouth, so too could the message of her educa tional mission, attrac ting to the project teachers and educators who otherwise might not have been reached.

Planning Pays Off Sultana was launched before a crowd of over 10,000 people in Chestertown on 24 March 2001. Thanks to the hefty amount of planning that was accomplished early on, by the date of her launch Sultana's sailing calendar for 2001 was almost completely booked with groups of teachers and students. In the years that have elapsed since, Sultana has remained constantly at work, sailing with more than 11 ,000 srudents from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Now in her fourth year of operation Sultana's programs have proven so popular that almost 80% of her school group 10

Drew McMullen is the President of Sultana Projects, Inc., a non-profit organization in Chestertown, Maryland, that built, owns and operates a full-scale reproduction of the 1768 schooner Sultana. Sailing as the "Schoo/ship ofthe Chesapeake, " Sultana provides under-sail educational programs in history and environmental science for more than 5, 000 students in the Chesapeake region each

clients return year after year.

This is nor ro say thar Sultana exists without difficul ty. As challenging as anyone anticipated Sultana's operations and finances might be,

NMHS NAMES SULTANA PROJECTS, INC. W INNER OF TH E

WALTER CRONKITE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MARITIME EDUCATION

This award honors individuals and organizations whose outstanding achievements in maritime education bring history alive for young people , providing real-life results in getting youths involved in a continuous process of learning that will have a fundamental impact on their later lives. The award recognizes work that teaches maritime history in a way that conveys the challenge, excitement , and leading role of our seafaring past in creating today's world.

Sultana Projects, Inc. will receive the NMHS Walter Cronkite Awa rd for Excellence in Maritime Education for providing students with hands-on experience demonstrating the rich historical and cultural heritage of the Chesapeake and Delaware watersheds. The Sultana's program highlights the significance of the maritime history of the region through sail training experiences , videos, and supporting land-based educational literature. The award will be presented at the Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club in New York City on October 22 . Congratulations!

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

The NMHS Gift Store Short Sleeve Twill Shirts for Spring!

Shop online from over 350 stores like FTD, B arnes & Noble, Best Buy, Gap, Office Max, Hallmark, and many more at:

www.buyforcharity.com!

Washed-Cotton Cap 100% pigment-dyed washed cotton, in soft earthtone colors. Unstructured, low profile cap with adjustable leather strap and embroidered logo. One size fits all. Colors: Navy, White, Stone, Forest, Red , Black, Khaki. #BS2640 $20.00 + $6.95 s/h

Select Sea History as your preferred charity and up to 35% of each purchase goes to support NMHS. So, any time you buy online, whether you are looking for office products, flowers, clothes, electronics, or anything else ...

Buy for Charity!

You can also save money on your own purchases by using the great Coupons & Specials on the site!

.¡ Lee Men's & Women's Denim Shirt Favorites of our staff and customers alike, these denim shirts are 100% cotton, with two-button adjustable cuffs and woodtone buttons. Double needle sti tched.

Women's: Colors: Medium Denim, Stone Bleach Denim Sizes S-XL. #C01760 $41.50 + $6.95 s/h Men's: Colors: Medium Denim, Stone Bleach Denim, White.

Sizes: S-2X #D01460 $41.50 + $6.95 s/h

NEW!

Shor leeve Sanded Twill hirts for Men & Women

4oz. 100% com bed cotton twill v 't h embFeiclered NMHS logo.

So soft and will wear forever. Generous cut. Choose from, Wine, Navy, Hunter Green (Men), White, Stone. Men's: Sizes: S-3X. #E09435 Women's: Sizes: S-XL #F09735 *Women 's shi rt has no pocket, logo on bottom edge of ri ght sleeve. $39.75 + $6.95 s/h

NMHS Mailing Labels Show your support of NMHS with every letter yo u mail! NMHS has created a series

Our NMHS logo features our flagship Kaiulani embroidered in five colors.

ofsix images presented on six sheets oflabels imprinted with yo ur mailing information .

6 sheets fo' $10.00 ~

Order by calling

Men's Outerbanks Pique Polo A time-tested classic. 100% combed cotton, twobutton placket with wood-tone buttons. Hemmed botton with side vents and dropped tail. Colors: Navy, White, Wine, Chino. Sizes: S-3X. #Cl7499 $43.75 + $6.95 s/h

1-800-221-NMHS (6647), ext.O Or mail in your order to NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566 and enclose your check made out to "NMHS." Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.

Histo.-ic

Ships

by Jack Willard

1he H ome Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc. began in 1998 as a coalition of individuals, organizations, and governm ent entities representing the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides of the D elaware River, with the goal of returning the decommissio ned Battleship New j ersey to its namesake state. At stake was the 45,000-ton veteran of World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the most decorated battleshi p in American history.

G ui<le<l by its maxim "Birthplace to Berthplace," this broad-base<l group worked to bring the ship hom e with the sam e fervor shown by the 20,000 m en and wo men who built it at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard mo re than 60 years ago.

The New j ersey was decommissioned in 199 1 after 48 years of service. In 1995, the ship was stricken fro m the Navy Register to await its final disposition . In 1999 , the Home Port Alliance formally submitted its D onation Application for the Battleship ex-New j ersey (BB-62) to the Secretary of the Navy. The two-volume application refl ected fourteen months of detailed planning designed to meet US Navy Donation O ffice criteria, and included financial, technical, curato rial, organizational, m ooring and berthing, shoreside facili ty, maintenance, security, towing, and environmental impact studies.

An outpouring of official public commitments made it possible to secure funding for a $25 million permanent m ooring pier with handicapped-accessible elevators and a shoreside Visitor's Center and to complete $5 million in onboard projects to restore the ship to its 1990 configuration- the ship's last full year of comrr-r--l'{i~:;:;;:lllliii:ll'tmiF.i:.;ll;:lr:::--:;:t;iiii missioned service. Fifty thousand onlookers lined the banks of the Delaware River on Ve teran's D ay 1999 to welcome the Battleship New Jersey home after a fo ur-month tow from Washington State through the Panam a Canal to Philadelphia. Following extensive

12

resto ra tion efforts, the Battleship New j ersey opened to the public in fall 2001. The Battleship New j ersey M useum and Memorial (BNJMM) floats today just two miles from her birthplace at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In January, the BNJMM was offi cially listed on the State of New Jersey H istorical Register.

W hen the BNJMM opened to the public, two profess ionallydesigned museum exhi bitions also opened. Battleship Sailor: Life Aboard the "Big ] " surveys a sailo r's daily life and includes videotaped oral histories of former crewmembers. "The Big]''.¡ America's Most Decorated Battleship covers the extensive history of the ship and her decades of service. In 2003, a third exhibitio n opened, Keepers of the Sea: International Battleship Development, detailing the evolution of battleships around the wo rld.

N ew classroom materials fo r teachers have also been developed and field-tested . The BNJMM's Teacher's C D -RO M incl udes a Teacher's Handbook, already in its third edition. The C D -ROM and other custom-designed classroo m m aterials are mailed-at no cost-to teachers preparing their students fo r field trips to the BN JMM. A four- evening teachers' workshop, offered in partnership with Camden County College, is held onboard three times a yea r.

T he Battleship New j ersey is a self-supported, non-profit museum and memorial with no assistance from the state o r federal government. Admissions, group sales, overnigh t encampment and special events have generated income to m aintain operations. BNJMM also receives ass istance from Battleship New j ersey li cense plate sales, state income tax returns, and contributions made by local agencies, private organizations, and corporate partnerships.

C urrently, legislators in New Jersey are wo rking to get support from the state to assist in the maintenance of the ship and its educational programs.

The H ome Port Alliance dem onstrates how planning and pub1ic interest can serve both the ship and the public. Nonetheless, the ship and its programs are wholly dependent on continued interest. For more information contact j ack Willard, Battleship New Jersey, 62 Battleship Place, Camden NJ 081 03; ph. 856 966-1652

ext. 144; e-mail: j. willard@battleshipnewjersey.org; web site: www. battleshipnewjersey. org. ,!, SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Lee Sb ore Saving The Last New York City O y ster Barge in Fair Haven, Connecticut

by James B. Kirk a nd John M. Kochiss COURTE SY JAMES

l\!!~K

COLLECTION

I

f yo u know anything about the old fl oating oyster markers of New Yo rk C ity and rhe spectacular roofed-over oyster barges that were moored at the foot of C hristopher Street on the Hudson River and Pike Street on the East River, yo u might be inspired to get to Fair H aven, Co nnecticut, as I was, and we nd yo ur way thro ugh a maze of side streets and alleys until yo u ger to Front Street. There rests the o nly remaining specimen of one of those old New Yo rk City arks about which you may have read. D ecaying on the banks of the Quinnipiac River, it is as awe-inspiring as it is somehow infinitely sad.

Sad? Sad because yo u kn ow that yo u and a small handful of others are the only people that care about its being there and having survived, perhaps, 150 years. As an historic vessel ir lacks the fin e lines and beauty of many ships. Yer, historical maritime institutions exist to preserve a unique vessel like rhis-rhe everyday working craft. T ime is running our for this barge. In fact, even as I write this, rime may have run our already. While photographs and glancing histories accomplish a good deal, preservation of the "real thing" must be our goal now, while it is here, or the chance to save it may be lost forever.

A simple search on the Internet fo r the wo rds "oys ter" and "barge" brings only a handful of images that depict a common, flat, square-ended scow. Yer, we're nor talking about just any old oyster barge here, we're talking about the wo rking New York City oyster barge of rhe nineteenth and early rwenrierh centuries. These vessels, owned by M anhattan oys ter dealers, were unique and indigenous to the city's waterfront. The barges evidentl y found rhe origin of their design in the American canal boars of the 1830s, which were, in rum, based on canal boars found all over Europe. Ir is difficult to guess when the first of these oys ter barges in America was built.

We do know rhar by 1862, just as the C ivil War broke our, that rhe oyster basins, depots, or markets dwelling in protected areas along the New Yo rk City waterfront had earned a permanent place on the cityscape. Then, the oys ter industry had grown to a multimillion dollar business and required oyster dealers to be (literally) "on to p" of their markets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. D ealing with weather and the elements led oys ter dealers to house their offices, oyster shucking and packing rooms all inside one roofed-over affair.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

These barges needed access at their sterns for the oysters to come in and egress over their bows for oysters to go our.

Clearly the desire of rl1e present authors is that the Quinnipiac oyster barge be purchased from its present owner, restored to its original state, and preserved fo r posterity. We feel strongly that it should be placed on rhe National Register of Historic Places, preserved, and exhibited where future generations can learn about that old oyster barge's pas t-a pas t which represents the working class and the day-to-day wo rking city waterfront. The oyster barge, as unglamorous as it may appear-even restored- represents the hardworking labor of members of small communities, all across America, without which no big city could have been born. Somehow-and nothing short of a miracle-this one specimen of a New York C ity oyster barge sti ll remains with us and must be preserved before it is too late and we are left with only its shadow. J, James Kirk is a poet and author, with his late father, of Golden Light: 1l1e 1878 Diary of Thomas Rose Lake, a book detailing the 19th-century coasting trade in New jersey. Kirk teaches in the writing program at Richard Stockton College. john M. Kochiss is a former Research Associate at Mystic Seaport and author o/Oysrering From New York To Bosto n. He is currentl.y a Research Associate for the Long Island Maritime Museum in Ulest Sayville, NY.

13

1rlh1 <e JP> lliig ]hut odf

by William S. Dudley n Wickham, near Portsmouth, England, stands an old mill with a Georgian brick ] [ fa'<ade that can be considered an artifact of the War of 1812. The US Navy frigate Chesapeake was one of the first six frigates constructed under the 1794 "Act to Create a Naval Armament." The mill is a handsome three-stoty structure built in the 1820s from the timbers of the frigate Chesapeake. Until only about thirty years ago, the mill was still in use. 1he owner allowed occasional visits by those interested in the building's origins.

When I visited in 1988, I thought I could detect the some marks and shapes of earlier usage, such as camber in the horizontal beams.

Bags filled with grain it milled featured the silhouette of a full-rigged ship, and local legends speak of sailors' ghosts and the eerie sounds of battle emanating from the mill.

The story of how USS Chesapeake arrived in England can be briefly told. Her designer was Josial1 Fox who was under orders to construct a 44-gun frigate based on Joshua Humphreys's original design. Fox, a former naval constructor from England, chose to change the design to that of the relatively smaller 38-gun English frigates with which he was familiar. Completed in 1799, the ship saw service in the latter part of the Quasi-War with France and as the Aagship of Commodore Richard Morris in the Barbaiy Wars. In 1803 she was laid up in ordinaty. In 1807, Chesapeake becan1e the flagship of Captain James Barron, who was destined to command the Mediterranean squadron. Under Barron's overall command, and with Captain Charles Gordon as flag captain, Chesapeake was halted at1d humiliated in June 1807 by HMS Leopard off Norfolk. When Bairnn declined to permit a seai·ch of his ship fo r British deserters, Leopard subjected the unprepared Chesapeake to three broadsides and more before Barron hauled down his colors.

Chesapeake went on, after considerable repair, and later came under the command of Captain Srephen Decatur during the period of embargo enforcemem and the run-up to the War of 1812. It was not until May 181 3 that Captain James Lawrence took command in Boston. One momh later, Lawrence boldly but recklessly challenged HMS Shannon in a battle that rook his life in one of the bloodiest single ship engagements of the war. His dying words, "Don't Give Up the Ship," have lived on as a famous battle cry

14

Right: USS Chesapeake. The condemned frigate was auctioned offfor the value of her timbers and copper. A miller bought the vessel and used the materials to build a mill (above) in Wickham, England. in US Naval history. Royal Navy Caprain Philip Vere Broke, himself severely wounded, brought Chesapeake to Halifax as a prize. The Royal Navy accepted Chesapeake for service at1d had her lines taken off at Portsmouth, England. After only a few yeai·s of service, she was condemned and sold for the value of her copper and timber to a miller from Wickham who built the structure now called the Chesapeake Mill.

The mill's future is today uncertain. The Hampshire County Council purchased it from the estate of the last owner and has recently rented the mill for use as a warehouse.

In July 2003, when rumors spread atnong preservationists of the mill's imminent sale, word spread from Britain to the U nited States at1d trans-Atlantic phone lines hummed with concern about what to do. The Council was awai·e of the building's origins but was then unwilling to consider upgrading its status for preservation purposes. In September 2003, a coalition of British, Canadian, and Americat1 naval historians, nautical archaeologists, and maritime museum directors formed the "Chesapeake Action Group" to urge the Council to consider an alternate use for the mill. They suggested, for example, that the mill could be converted without much alteration to use as a maritime museum for the purpose of interpreting the War of 1812, which heretofore has not had a museum dedicated to this purpose in Great Britain.

The bicentennial of this "Cousins Wai-'' is not fai· off. Preparations for commemorating tl1is conflict are now in the works in both the United States and Canada.

Institutions and individuals on both sides of the Atlat1tic participated in a letter-writing cainpaign facilitated by tl1e US Embassy in London. Their letters asked the Council to postpone its imminent sale of the prop-

PA I N TI NG BY F. MULLER, CO U RT ES Y NAVAL l-ll STO RI CAL CENTER

erty for a limited time, until the Chesapeake Action Group could organize plans and resources to purchase and preserve the property for heritage and museum use. Unfortunately, the Hampshire County Council was under no constraint to delay its decided action. Although the Council has rented the Mill, it still has freehold of tlle building. As a result of the Chesapeake Action Group's initiatives and accompanying publicity, many more people, including British government officials, had taken notice of the Mill and its predicainent.

The Hampshire Council is now aware of the preservationists' interest . The 'Listing' of the building has been upgraded making alteration of ai1y features mentioned in the listing significantly more difficult. The council will retain the freehold title to the property and will incorporate existing protection, repairs, and also facilities for reseai·ch and interpretation to visitors imo the intended lease.

These developments caine as a resLJt of mobilizing public and official interest in the fate of the Chesapeake M ill. It is tl1e hope of many who value this unique and historic building that it is now in a safer condition than before, even though it is in commercial use. Appai·encly, those who wish to visit the mill may do so, although this access has yet to be tested under the new arrangement.

Whenever the building's status threatens to change, one can be fairly sure that the Chesapeake Action Group will be mobilized, more prepared to act, and move closer to an appropriate use wicl1 a better protected status. ,!, Dr. William S. Dudley is a professional naval historian and the Past President, North American Society for Oceanic History.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Now Available from Sea History's Art Gallery

LIMITED EDITION LITHOGRAPHS

by Paul Garnett A native of Boston, marine artist Paul Garnett releases two new limited edition images one-of the USS Constitution as she originally apeared in 1798 and one of His Majesty's Armed Vessel Bounty.

Mr. Garnett's work has been seen in Nautical World magazine, Marine Art Quarterly, and Sea History magazine.

His paintings have also been featured on A&E Sea Tales as well as the History Channel's series History's Mysteries.

'Defeat at the Horn" HMAV Bounty puts about for the Cape of Good Hope, Africa,22April 1788 Image: 30"x22"

Trim: 34"x26112"

$65.00

Paul Garnett's limited edition lithographs are signed, numbered and presented with signed and numbered parchments detailing the historic significance that inspired each painting.

NMHS THA KS MR. GARNETT FOR HIS GE EROUS DONATION OF PRI TS, E ABLING ALL PROCEEDS TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE SOCIETY.

"Defeat at the Horn" depicts the Bounty in exactly the conditions that Bligh described so vividly in his Log; mountainous seas, a leaden sky and "lightening crackling down!"

In "Shakedown Cruise", Paul Garnett wanted to show the viewer what the USS Constitution looked like when first commissioned. This painting shows the ship on the evening of her departure from her mooring near Castle Island, Boston Harbor in the summer of 1798.

"Shakedown Cruise" Frigate USS Constitution leaves Boston Harbor by Castle Island, July 1798 Image: 25"x20" Trim: 19 3/4"x30" $65.00

TO ORDER BY PHONE OR CREDIT CARD CALL: 1-800-221-NMHS (6647), EXT., 0

BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO: NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO BOX 68, PEEKSKILL, NY 10566

(Please add $17.50 for shipping and handling charges)

/ /

COURTESY MAINE HISTORICA L SOC IETY

by Debor ah Marx n May 1889 the Portland Steam Packet Company contracted the New England Shipbui lding Company of Bath, Maine, to construct a new vessel for its line between Boston and Po rtland, Maine.

At the time, travel by sea was faster and more reliable than by land. The steam er route between the two cities was not a new one-steamships began runs between the two ports in 1823 and regular passenger and freight service started in the 1860s. The Portland Steam Packet Company was formed from a consolidation of smaller ventures to better service the two ports . As the newly-formed co mpany gained popularity, more

luxurious vessels were added to the fleet to meet the growing demands of passengers.

By 1889, the Portland Steam Packet Company was operating three steamships, the Tremont, j ohn Brooks, and Forest City. Prior to the 1889 season, the company identified the need to replace the john Brooks, which had been in service since 1867. In a

Top of Page: "SS Portland," c.

1891, by Antonio Jacobsen, oil on canvas, 56 x 92 cm. Left: Steamship Portland under construction in 1889 by the New England Shipbuilding Company in Bath, Maine. Above: The ship's wheel washed ashore on Cape Cod twenty hours after the ship foundered.

time when most coas tal lines were building steel-hulled propeller-driven steamships, they chose to build a wooden-hulled, paddlewheeler nam ed Portland. The new vessel was designed, no t for speed and seawo rthiness, but for its ability to accommodate a great number of passengers in fin e style fo r a relatively inexpensive price of $240,000. 1he ship's overall design resembled a typical mid-nineteenth century Long Island Sound steamer. In September 1889 a reporter from the Boston Post toured Portland, still on the ways in Bath.

He described the passengers' accommodatio ns, which totaled 224 stateroo ms: "1here are cabi ns forward and afr of the boilers and engine space .. . The berths are of white pine, with cherry caps in both forward and aft cabins . .. The berths are placed athwarrships and in alcoves, a very pretty and convenient arrangement. The cabin is co mmodious, and will be elegantly finished and furnished, making it one of the most attractive and comfortable cabins possible to imagine."

On 14 October 1889, Portland slid down the ways at Bath Iron Works into the Kennebec River to great celebration and cheer. It m easured 291 feet in overall length with a 42-feet beam , 15 feet

MAINE f..'\ARITi r.'IE MUSEUf.'\

16

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Ifthere was any doubt about the weather, Portland was not to sail. draft, and 2,284 gross to ns. A carved and ous. Passengers also used not be found. Mr. W ilPUBTLAND mAM PACKET CO.'S painted representation of a globe with the the steam ships fo r busiliams got the m essage to seal of the C iry of Portland decorated the ness travel. While Boston Blanchard ro delay their paddle boxes and a gilded eagle and globe was already an established departure until 9 PM so perched atop the pilothouse. After launch- center of trade, by the that more information ing, m echanics from the Portland Com1890s Portland was growcould be gathered about pany install ed the ship's m assive walking ing at a fas t pace and bethe storm. If there was any beam engine with a cylinder diameter of coming Maine's center of doubt about the weather, sixry-two inches and a stroke of twelve manufac turing. Portland's Portland was not to sail. A feet. The single cylinder transferred power tim ely, regular service and second report stated that via a twen ry-foo t long walking beam that, comfo rtable cabins proCaptain Blanchard was ordered ro sray in port in turn, ro tated the thir ry-fi ve-foot diam- vided a relaxing way of ~ :c .A.~~Y.- :....~;}~'7 E ~ - • eter paddlewheels. Fifry pounds of steam traveling along the coas t.

PORTLAND OR TREMONT and strictly forbidden to sail. At 7 PM the ship's enpressure in its two iron boilers could bring For nearly a decade 100aWharf,Borl~~ t.i'~:.:.~ 1 1~~n4;·:.~.1 ~!i·~ ~ r. lll. s.i'~'Fr:.":~"~';.;:~1h•;.~;;;: : 11·~ gineers opened the steam the ship to its top speed of approximately Portland connected Bosn- .. fifteen knots. ton and Portland without ,,.,.;" ~~.~-~ -;~;;~ ~:·'·~~~··;:;~~~·~"~o•ST valves, setting the walking beam in motio n. As the On 11 June 1890 Portland arrived at much incident. None- "";r:::;.~;;::-r.:.~~·;:.::::~~:k~;;==:::r.:::-• ship pulled away from the Bos ton's Indian Wharf to begin service theless, one notable mis- ':;:;;.\'"·! General Offices. Portland. Me. I ' ·;;.:·:~~ ·· between Boston and Portland. The next fo rtune occurred on 8 dock with nearly 200 pasday the Boston Post publi shed that the ship September 1895 when it Advertisemen t in the Portland sengers and crew aboard , City Directory, 1890. entered the harbor "in gay holiday attire. collided with the excurtheir fa tes were sealed. As .. [with] freshly painted hull and pol- sion steam er Longfellow off Rowe's W harf Portland left Boston, the skies were clear ished brass trimmings, and gaily decked in Boston H arbor. Portland continued on and calm. Conditions deteriorated quickly in strean1ers, bunting, and fl ags of all its trip north once the vessels were sepa- offshore, however, as the ship left the safery nations . . . ." Portland remained in Boston rated, but the Longfellow was seriously of the harbor. Two fro ntal system s collided until evening before ir departed for irs first dam aged. off Cape Cod and produced hurricanetrip down east. From W hile Portland was like conditions with w inds whipping over 1890 until 1895 Portland moored to its berth at 90 miles per hour and seas towering over and Tremont provided Boston's India Wharf 30 feet. The las t sightings of the ship were daily service between on 26 November 1898, off Gloucester, Massachuserrs, around 11 the ports. In July 1895 a fierce storm was de- PM . At this point we can only speculate the duo was joined by veloping south of New what happened next. Did the high winds Bay State, a near copy of England. The weather and m assive waves overwhelm the vessel?

Portland. Advertisem ents in Boston , however, Did a m achinery fa ilure cause the ship to in Bosron newspapers remained clear as the Portland underway in 1890. claimed that "The best scheduled steam er's route to sea coas t and seven o'clock deparinterior resorts of New ture time approached, E ngland is via Portland but the wea ther bureau Steam ers." Portland also began issuing storm transported freight along warnings that evening about the impending with passengers.

In the summer months conditions. Portland's the steamships were ofcaptain , H ollis H .

Passengers pose for souvenir photos. ten crowded with vacaBlanchard, whether tioners. The ciry of Portland was the gate- thro ugh negligence or ignorance, m ade way to M aine's popular summer reso rts. a decision to sail as scheduled. N ewspaThe ciry was a transportation hub used by pers gave conflicting acco unts as to what tourists ro reach the mo untains, lakes, and Blanchard was advised regarding the decithe famous Maine coast by smaller steam- sion to get underway. One report stated ers or trains. The Portland Steam Packet that the Portland Steam ship Company's Company and other similar lines prom- general manager, John F. Liscomb, teleised their passengers "The best of care and phoned C. F. Williams, the line's Boston the best of fare." They insured th at each agent, around fi ve o'clock asking to speak of th eir steam ships was clean and luxuri- to Captain Blanchard. Blanchard could

Portland@Boston Steamers

O NE OF T H E

El..EO,..NT NEW ST E AM E RS

1,1<111'vfJu""l"111l•l•llr<>fti.1·1<·"•l..,r,Utt"><>"UJt<:P • ill len"ll""·

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

17

Th e outward-bound st ea msh ip Portland and the Boston pilot schoon er Co lumbia inbound for Boston under ominous skies. I n No vem ber 1898 the "Portland Gale" wrecked bo th ships w ith the loss of all hands.

(Evening Shipping on Boston Bay, 1898, by W illiam G. Muller, oil on canvas, 24" x 40': 2003). lose power, allowing it to swing broadside to the waves? When the steamer did not arrive in Portland the next morning, as scheduled, rumors began to fly abo ut the whereabouts and fare of the vessel. Two revenue cutters were sent to search for the vessel but found nothing. Wreckage and bodies from Portland began washing up on Cape Cod's beaches that next ni ght.

The public did no t yet know of the disaster because telegraph wires on Cape Cod had come down in the storm. Ir was not until the next day that daylight revealed the

horror of the situation. Bodies strapped in life belts with "Str. Portland" stenciled on them were found along Cape Cod. Ir was not until later that day, when Portland's running mate Bay State arrived from Portland reporting no trace of the missing packet, that everyone there was convinced that the ship was lost. Approximately 40 of the 200 individuals onboard the vessel washed ashore. The appropriately-nam ed "Portland Gale" damaged or destroyed many vessels and hundreds of lives .

Portland's African American communi ty felt the ramiSS Po rtland's starboard quarter. fications of the loss acutely. H alf of the ship's crew and many passe ngers we re black and hailed from Portland. The loss of these breadwinners dealt a devastating fin ancial and em otional blow to their fa milies. Most of the passe nge rs o nboard the steamer were res idents of Portland returning hom e afte r spending the Thanksgiving holiday

\

18

in Boston. The events that led up to the ship's demise and the location where it plummeted to the sea floor have haunted the citizens of Portland and Boston for over 90 years. The horrified-yet fascinated- inhabitants of N ew England have speculated about the vessel's final hours.

This sense of mys tery has led explorers to search for the vessel throughout the las t century. In 1989 the Historical M aritime Group of New E ngland discovered the exact position and positively identified the ship within what is now the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Recent expeditions to the shipwreck by the Stellwage n Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Na tion al U ndersea Research Center in 2002 and 2003 have returned with stunnin g image ry. These images allow the public to get a glimpse of th e ghostly remains of a once-gallant vessel that now embodies the unimaginable devastati o n and horror that occurred that wee kend in N ovember 1898. ,t

Deborah E. M arx is a maritime archaeologist with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate, MA and a consultant with Landfall Archaeological Resource Consultants in Weymouth, J\1A.

SE A HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Lost and Pound: The Search for the Portland

by Matthew Lawrence

I

n the nineteenth century, the ocean often swallowed ships with on ly a single newspaper notice marking their non-arrival. These tragedies were felt acutely within the victims' communities but soon forgotten by the rest of the world. The story of SS Portland's loss and what transpired after is different. Certainly, the number of victims set it apart in the minds of New Englanders, but, more importantly, the epic nature in which it sank,

BESIEGED FOR NEWS. Men and Women Gowd the Office to lnquirdor Those Who Went Down With the Portia.rid.

Boston Globe, 1 December 1898 disappearing without giving up most of its passengers and crew, kept it reverberating in the region's cultural history. These factors made rhe event fruitful fodder for storytelling and created a need to find out: What happened to Portland?

The search for Portland's wreck began within rwo weeks of its sinking when the Boston Globe sponsored an expedition to determine if the steamer's remains rested on Peaked Hill Bar, a sandbar running just offshore of the northernmost end of Cape Cod. Using rwo tugboats to tow a length of chain across the bar, Lieurenant N icholas Halpine of the US Navy made a thorough sweep of the bottom without snagging an underwater obstruction. This exercise provided a media co up for the Globe, allowing it to prove what it had editorialized all along-that Portland sank in deeper water north of the cape. Exactly how far north was still up for speculation.

Within months of the steamer's loss, further clues abo ut its final resting place began appearing in fishermen's nets in the waters north of Cape Cod. While not every relic hauled up from the sea bed

proved to be from Portland, several frag- by Snow and George in 1945. HMGNE, ments of electric lighting and cabin items founded by avid shipwreck hunters John P. were clearly identified as belonging to the Fish, H. Arnold Carr, and Pere Sachs, and steamer. These finds were located approxi- associates Wi lli am McElroy, John Ryther, mately rwenry miles north of Cape Cod in and Richard Jones, located Edward Rowe deep water. As pieces of the ship snagged Snow's purporred Portland and found it fishing lines over the years, speculation to have no structural features that would continued to swirl regarding the location identify it as a large side-wheel steamship. of the wreck.

Determined to find Portland's remains, In 1924, Captain Charles Carver of the group began searching the inshore waMaine pulled up pottery, bottles, silver- ters around the northern tip of Cape Cod. ware, and an iron pot attributed to Port- During an eight year period, the group land in his nets roughly nine miles north used side scan sonar to survey the sea floor of Cape Cod. No one followed up on Cap- with in a rwelve-mile radius of Cape Cod, tain Carver's finds until historian Edward turning up several shipwrecks, but not Rowe Snow, author of several co lo rful Portland. Convinced that the vessel lay books on New England's shipwrecks and outside of their previous search areas, John maritime disasters, set out to discover the Fish decided to look in a new direction truth. Snow, confident that Portland rested by plotting where Portland's debris had where Carver had dragged up the galley washed up on Cape Cod. After consulting items, mounted an expedition to settle the Richard Limeburner, a physical oceanogissue. In July 1945, Snow hired Al George, rapher from Woods Hole Oceanographic a hard-hat diver, to descend to the sea bed Institution, who conducted a simulated in 144 feet of water off Highland Light. drift analysis of the debris, HMGNE George crawled around a wreck, encoun- researchers moved their search areas fartering boulders, masts, and buried pieces of ther north. This new area coincided more a ship's hull. Snow unequivocally claimed closely with the location of Portland's last that this shipwreck was the steamer's re- sighting on 26 November 1898, as well as mains. He and m embers of the Portland where fishermen first reported recovering Associates, a group composed of relatives Portland debris snagging their lines. of Portland's victims, erected a plaque After three more years of searching, comm emorating the vessel's loss. Even to- HMGNE's side scan sonar finally returned day it tells visitors at Highland Light on the first aco ustic images of Portland in the Cape Cod that Portland lies seven miles fall of 1988. Upon returning to the site the out to sea from their position. following spring and summer, they again Three decades after Snow made his used side scan sonar to identify construcdeclaration of Portland's location, the tion features that clearly indicated that the Historical Maritime Group of New Eng- shipwreck was a large side-wheel steamland (HMGNE) rook up Portland's case. ship. Ultimately, the team photographed HMGNE had located and identified doz- portions of the ship's outer hull planking ens of shipwrecks along the john Fish(!) and Arnold Carr (r) ofHMGNE. eastern seaboard from New York to Canada, compiling one of the most complete databases on the northeast's shipwrecks. The group's success stemmed from its use of the historical record to predict shipwreck locations and its access to sophisticated marine remote sensing technology to survey the sea Aoor. In 1978, HMGNE set out to investigate the shipwreck explored

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

19

WRECKACIE • 1 939

RE~ORTED FLOT& AM ANO 5EABEO O B&TRUCTION&

RELATING TO THE

L0 9!il 01'" THE:

STEAMER PORTLAND ON

NC VEMBEF;i 27 ,

1 898

Ea

LO CATION OF" Llf"£ !IAVING !ITAT ION B •

~

AT·Hl!A HI HTOR ICAL L OCATIONS

&

9 EA8EO 0BBTAUCTION5

C:=J 147 . 5 HRlil

I B"l!I

!IHIP 9 TRUC::TUR £ ASHORE

I

N UM8ER OF" HOUR S ArTER THE S tNKIN D

The northern portion ofJohn P Fish's chart revealing Portland 's debris field.

This chart caused HGMNE to move their search area farther north.

and decking. More photos revealed rhar rhe engine's walking beam was in irs original posirion atop rhe massive wooden Aframe . HMGNE was recognized in rhe media ar rhe rime for rheir efforrs; however, rhe ream's photos and video did nor convey ro rhe public rhe magnirude of their find. Fish, Carr, and their associates chose not ro publicly disclose the vessel's position for fear that others might attempt ro gain salvage rights ro rhe site.

As HMGNE announced its discovery, the Narional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminisrration (NOAA) unwittingly rook

20

rhe first steps ro provide Portland wirh long-term protection by considering a porrion of Massachusetts Bay for designation as a narional marine sancruary. Tracrs of rhe narion's oceans and Grear Lakes designared narional marine sancruaries embody rhe collecrive richness of rhese aquaric environmenrs and serve as underwarer parks ro preserve ecological diversiry and rhe remains of our culrural herirage. Removal or injury of historical resources is prohibired in sancruary warers. Srewardship of these areas is undertaken by the federal government through the National Marine Sancruary Program, a subsection of NOAA's Narional Ocean Service and in cooperation with state governments if the sanctuary overlaps state controlled waters. In 1992, Congress designared an 842-square mile area of Massachuserrs Bay as rhe Gerry E. Srudds Srellwagen Bank Narional Marine Sancruary (SBNMS). 1his area was

chosen for a variery of factors, mosrly biological in narure. Ar rhe rime, less rhoughr was given ro rhe historical resources on rhe sea Boor. Nonetheless, when the sancruary's boundaries were established, John Fish and Arnold Carr made sure rhar rh ey covered Portland's resring place withour disclos ing rhe sire's locarion ro rhe sancruary sraff. As rhe sancruary matured during rhe 1990s, sanctuary sraff began invesrigaring rhe cultural resources rhey were responsible for preserving and inrerprering.

Because SBNMS was demonsrraring irs commirmenr ro culrural resources, Arnold Carr divulged Portland 's posirion to rhe sanctuary in rhe spring of 2002.

Wirh the hallowed coordinares in hand, rhe sancruary's Program and Operarions Coordinator, Benjamin Cowie-Haskell, began arranging rhe logisrics ro relocare and documenr rhe wreck. Mounring an expedition of rhis narure required access ro advanced remore sensing rechnologies and a sizeable research vessel ro serve as the invesrigarion platform. Forrunarely, one of SBNMS 's srrongesr parrners, rhe Narional Undersea Research Cenrer ar rhe Universiry of Connecticur (NURC) possessed rhese capabilities and could make provide rheir equipmenr and vessel on relarively shorr norice.

A mulri-disciplinary ream composed of archaeologists and scienrisrs from SBNMS and the National Marine Sancruary Program, archaeologisrs from rhe Massachusetts Board of Archaeological Reso urces, researchers, engineers, and remore sensing specialises from NURC, as well as a gro up of high school students and reachers from NURC's Aquanaut Program , left Gloucester, Massachuserrs, early in rhe morning on 27 July 2002, on board R/V Connecticut. Upon arriving ar Carr's coordinares, rhey launched a side scan sonar and Connecticut began rowing rhe insrrumenr on evenly spaced, parallel courses ro locare Portland. Afrer only rwo or rhree runs, rhe shipwreck's side appeared on the edge of the sonar screen. The next pass brought the vessel into fu ll view. The sonar image revealed rhe hull of a vessel displaying rhe characrerisric over-hanging paddlewheel guards of a side-wheel sreamship. Images hinred rhar Portland's hull was inracr bur rhar nearly all rhe supersrructure above rhe

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

main deck were gone.

R/Y Connecticut, owned by rhe Universiry of Co nnecricur, is a specially designed research vessel ourfirred for remorely operared vehicle (ROY) operarions. The crew uses a co mpurer-comrolled dynamic posirioning sysrem rhar uses small rhrusrers and a global posirioning system (G PS) to maimain rhe ship's position on rhe open sea.

Connecticut's ROY is a soph isticared rethered robor equipped wirh lighrs, cameras, and sonar. As rhe NURC crew deployed rhe ROY, rhe research ream sar glued to rhe video monitors watching rhe sunlighr fade as the robor descended. Once on the muddy borrom, rhe ROY moved toward the shipwreck, encountering the vessel's steam escape pipe near rhe bow. Soon rhe ROY came upon a specracular sighr, rhe srill-paimed fifreenfoor high wall of rhe sreamer's ourer hull, covered in brighr red and whire anemones.

Every moment rhereafrer brought new discoveries, such as an anchor srored on rhe main deck and rhe paddlewheel flanges wirh the paddle arms mostly rorred away.

During rhe rwo-day expedition, rhe ream made four ROY dives videoraping porrions of the ship's porr side. Ir was even possible to look at Portland's rudder, which hung in place and appeared

Above: Pordand s steam escape pipe; Left: Fragile tea cups and saucers from the ships galley lie undisturbed on the wreck; Below: Cargo winch on the freight deck.

to be undamaged. Fishing ners proved an ever-present danger on the sire, preveming rhe ROY from exploring the engineering areas of the ship that mighr have yielded clues abour rhe steamship's final moments. eo camera system from rhe Woods Hole These unexplored areas beckon for explo- Oceanographic Insritution. During rhis rarion on a furure mission. Once SBNMS time, rhe ROY vemured into previously researchers analyzed rhe informarion , they unseen areas, filming irems as small as a held a press conference on 29 August 2002 teacup in what is lefr of rhe sreamship's to anno unce that SBNMS and its parmers galley and irems as large as rhe rwenry-foot had confirmed HMGNE's locarion of walking beam srill in place forry feet above Portland from 1989 . The intacr hull had rhe sea floor. been observed, but its cabins and superEven the relarively limired field of vision structure above rhe main deck had been provided by rhe ROY's camera conveyed ripped off during the storm. This rhe sheer magnirude of the disaster that finding explai ned rhe amoum of befell Portland in November 1898. The debris rhar had washed up on Cape vessel's missing supersrructure hints at whar its passengers and crew must have exCod shortly afre r irs sinking.

Continuing with irs mission to perienced in rhe final momem s before rhe assess and interpret culrural resourc- ship foundered. While rhe exact cause of es for rhe public, SBNMS drafred Portland's loss has not yet been idemified, plans and secured fundin g to return the culmination of a disastrous chain of to Portland in Seprember 2003. events sirs upright on the sea floor in rhe NOAA's Office of Explorarion pro- Stellwagen Bank Narional Marine Sancruvided supporr for ship rime on the ary where researchers are cominuing to R/Y Connecticut and improvemems shed light on rhe mys tery of Portland. ,!, to rhe ROY used rhe previous summer. Along with the cominuing Matthew Lawrence is a maritime archaeoloparmership with NURC, rhe Sci- gist working for Stellwagen Bank National ence Channel joined the ream and Marine Sanctuary and Landfall Archaeobroughr along a high definirion vid- logical Resource Consultants.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

21

The Straits of Florida:

by Richard J. King

C

ertain bodies of warer, because of rheir geography and oceanographic character, play significanr roles in hwnan hisroiy. Consider rhe Srrairs of Gibralrar, rhe Grand Banks, and Cape Hornareas that shape our endeavors because of currenrs, winds, underwarer topography, and vicinity or access to valued land masses. From rhis perspective, few bodies of water along rhe coasts of rhe United Stares have as diverse and crucial a maritime history as the Strairs of Florida.

The Srrairs of Florida is rhe body of water rhar separares Florida from the Bahamas and Cuba. 1he Florida Currenr, rhe surface ocean current rhat flows through rhe Straits, is one of rhe beginning branches of rhe Gulf Stream and is one of rhe fastesr smface ocean currenrs in rhe world. Benjamin Franklin and Captain Timorhy Folger's circa 1768 chart, rhe one usually credired wirh rhe first mapping of rhe Gulf Stream, illusrrates th e srart of rhe Stream in the norrhbound secrion of the Strairs of Florida. Besides rhe currenrs, the Srrairs of Florida has other oceanographic elemenrs rhar influence hwnan endeavor.

The prevailing winds of rhe Su·airs vary by season bur are generally from rhe somheast and east, conrrary to rhe current, making rhe sea choppy and confused off rhe Florida Keys. The easterly and sourheasrerly breezes make rhe offshore shoals and reefs, from the D1y Tortugas up to Miami, a lee shore.

Before navigational lighrs, this lee shore was especially dangerous because the land is low

and difficulr to see. The highesr point in the Florida Keys is jusr over 20 feer. To make the Strairs even more challenging, northerly cold fronrs can occur once or rwice a week in the winrer. These norrherlies tear up rhe sea, particularly if sailing in the northbound secrion of the Srraits where a vessel would ride the currenr into rhe wind. Tidal currents also impacr navigarion, and, if this were nor enough, the Srrairs of Florida runs directly on the rrack of Caribbean hurricanes. Three of the five deadliest hurricanes to hit tlle United Srares in rhe rwenrierh cenru1y plowed directly rhrough rhe Strairs of Florida.

1he hurricanes, the lee shores, tl1e reefs, rhe shifting shoals, the contrary winds, and the powerful currents all mix within rhis small body of water. Yet the Straits of Florida, from its westernmost D1y Tortugas to its most norrheastern cays of Little Bahama Bank, is less rhan 350 nautical miles long and averages about 70 nautical miles wide.

z

"'

Arem of Detail

•·

"'

"·.

FLOR TD Depth 0

0

Key West

~

Tortugas

EUROPEAN CONTACT

Most historians credit Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon and his pilot Anton de Alaminos as the first documented Europeans to discover Florida and the Gulf Stream. Ponce de Leon's fleet set sail from Puerro Rico in 1513, bound to explore Bimini, then a vague name for all of the Bahamas and Florida. After landing in Florida, rhe fleet sailed sourh and "Whale Hunt offthe Florida Coast" encountered rhe Woodcut by Theodore DeBry, c. 1600.

Gulf Stream. A 1601 account of tlle voyage by Antonio de H errera y Tordesillas describes rhe small fleet's interacrion with rhe Srream: "On rhe next day (11 April 15 13] rhey fo llowed rhe coastlineall three ships-and rhey encountered a current rhat rhey were unable to sail against even rhough rhey had a strong wind. The rwo ships

22

"f 0

'

b

,,,. -

nearest to the shore anchored but rhe current was so strong tl1at it made the cables quiver.

The rhird ship, which was a brigantine, was farther out to sea and eirher could not find bottom or did not recognize the current. Ir was pulled our to sea and they lost sight of it, despite the fact that it was a clear day and rhe wearher was good." Eventually the rhree ships sailed around the Florida Keys, explored parr of the Gulf of Mexico, and doub led back to land ar the Dry Tortugas. They named rhe Florida Keys Los Mirrires, "The Martyrs,'' because rhe rocks looked like suffering men .

Herrera's account says rhar rhe name continued to be used "for the many men who have been lost there since." Ponce de Leon had sev-

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Where Oceanography Makes History SO' W

gold and silver that had been lost there."

Fontaneda recommended a fort on the Straits to protect shipwrecked men and property from the Native Americans.

I I

l I

A t l a n t 0 c e a n

' 1 I

West Palm• Beach

Miami

._

k.:·J ~~ ~7

I

.,.,....·"' Cay Sal Bank

25

5ri

Na utical Miles

MAP BY BRI AN D. AN DREWS

eral encoumers with the Native Americans of the Florida Straits. The coastal natives included the tribes of the Tequestas, Calusas, Ais, and Jeaga. Some tribes had lived in the area for over 2,000 years, using the Straits and local waterways for fish, shellfish, and marine mammals. Hernando D 'Escalante Fontaneda, who lived in the area for over fifteen years, gave a circa 1575 account describing Calusas hunting whales in the Straits with a lasso. Fontaneda also explains that the natives canoed across the Straits at times, some settling in the Bahamas and in Cuba. He tells of how tl1e Ais were poor, but salvaged Spanish wrecks: "[The Ais grew] rich from the sea by the reason of the many ships laden with

SIRFAM OF Gow, SILVFR, & CoMMERCE

grow1d, and in 1628, the Dutch pirate Piet Heyn, with 30 ships, raided a Spanish Beet off Matanzas, Cuba. In total, Heyn captured 18 vessels and 46 tons of silver. In 1822, the US established a naval base at Key West to mow1t a campaign against West Indian piracy and to protect American commerce. Key West is only 90 nautical miles from Havana.

Commodore David Porter led the Beet and wrote of Key West's geography in 1823: "The arrivals and departmes of the American vessels from the port of H avana alone average about thirty a week, and those from Matanzas about twenty. Not a day elapses but that great nwnbers of American vessels are to be met passing through the [Straits]."

Even afi:er the age of Spanish galleons and pirates, the Straits of Florida was still a path of gold. The preferred route, though more expensive, to and from California during the Gold Rush was overland at the Isthmus of Panama or Nicaragua. Steamers, stopping in Havana to reload coal and replenish supplies, regularly made the run from New York to Central America, from where gold seekers crossed by road, or later by rail, to catch another steamer bound to San Francisco. From 1849-1869, nearly a half million people sailed on steamers westbound through the Straits of Florida and 370,000 passengers sailed back to New York. Passengers, mail, government intelligence, and at least $757 million dollars in gold traveled through the Straits during that period.

The Dutch cartographer Herman Moll, in his 1720 map of Norili America, is possibly the first to write "Straits of Florida" on a map. He also wrote, in a long sweeping line starting in Veracruz, across the Gulf of Mexico: "The Tract of the only Passage of Flota from Vera Cruz to ye Havana occasioned by ye Trade Winds."

His line stops in Havana and continues northbound ilirough the Straits of Florida and out beyond the Bahamas, saying "TI1e only Passage of the Gallions for Spain." In the 16th and 17th-centuries, Spain sent Beets filled with riches from Central and South America, primarily from Vera Cruz, Portobello, and Cartagena. In 15 51 alone, 84 vessels returned to Spain from the New World, most by sailing through the Straits of Florida.

Because of the dangers of the Straits, Spain lost dozens of ships. The most famous excavated shipwrecks of the Straits of Florida include the Santa Margarita and the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which wrecked in 1622 in a hurricane.

Spain also lost galleons in the "Fleet of 1715" and the "Fleet of 1733." Twentieth-century treasure hunters have earned millions of dollars finding and salvaging these wrecks.

SUGAR & SLAVES The vessels sailed in company for Afi:er the European settlement of Cuba and protection, as flora, because their cargo the Caribbean, gold was not the only source of attracted pirates and privateers. The wealth. When the Spanish moved on to CenSpanish strung a chain across the harbor of tral and South America to find more gold and Havana for defense, and to protect the floras silver, settlers planted sugar in the Caribbean. they established St. Augustine in Sailing into Key West on a clear day-from one 1565, the first permanent European mile out, the land is barely visible. settlement on the US East Coast.

For pirates, the intricate islands and shallow coves of the region provided hidden anchorages as well as areas where small vessels could escape deeper drafi: ships. Pirates could careen and re-provision their vessels on uninhabited islands.

Privateer John H awkins sailed the Straits in the 16th-centwy, stopping at the Dry Tortugas for food. In 1555, pirates burned Havana to the

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

23

The sugar industry began in Hispaniola, but rushing warm current carries Cuba soon also hosted plantations. By 1800 species from the Caribbean, more than 600 American ships visited Cuban mixing with nutrient-rich ports and after the 1804 Haitian Revolution, run-off from the Florida EvCuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, be- erglades and the local gyres came the central sugar island in the region. that suspend w oplankton At the peak of its production, in 1894, Cuba for feeding. New Englanders was producing a million tons of sugar- the sold their fresh fish in H acrop valued at over $62 million. Thar wealth vana, and some of these fishflowed into H avana and our the Straits of ermen serried there and in Florida, often to American investors. Havana Key West, where they took remained the principal economic port of the advantage of the treacherous waters and the shipwrecks Caribbean until the 1960s.

With the sugar plantations came slavery, of the Keys to establish lufirst of the Amerindians of the area and then crative salvage businesses. of Africans. H avana became an international After the War of 1812, the slave-trading port in 1789 and established it- US government embarked self as a major entry fo r African slaves. The on a broad military plan to Straits often became the final leg of the Middle protect and control this viPassage as was the case for the smuggled Af- tal shipping lane and built ricans aboard the schooner Amistad. In 1839 fortresses at Key West and the captives arrived in Havana aboard the the D ry Tortugas. In 1829, slave ship Tecora, years after the international Lt. Josai Tatnall said, ''A na"The Gulf Stream" by Winslow Homer slave trade had been abolished. The smug- val force to control the Gulf gled Africans were purchased at a H avana could desire no better position than Tortu- of the Panama Canal in 19 14, the Straits of marker and put aboard rhe coasting schooner gas." By 1846 when the construction of Fort Florida's military importance increased still Amistad, which sailed east in the Straits until Jefferson began on the Dry Tortugas, the further. Vessels bound for the West Coast of the United States the captives revolted. At the cut their trip dramatitime of the Amistad, Cuba cally, and vessels bound USS Maine entering Havana harbor in January 1898. was importing over 10,000 for the Far East now illegal Africans annually to ~i turned west through slave on sugar plantations, ~'°"'"".:..-:~ ~ the Straits of Florida to most traveling on the Straits · ~ go through the Panama of Florida. § Canal. With the CaGIBRALTAR OF 1HE WFST ~ nal, American warships American vessels sailed the ~ could now steam beStraits and called on Cuban ~ tween the Atlantic and pons for sugar and a variety '---..;;;..-~-------.;...__ _ _..;....__ _ _ _ _ _ ___:_;__"'"-'"..;...._..:....:..----.J g the Pacific with greater of other goods-products speed. Dming World such as coffee, cocoa, and fruir. New England US held all the territories around the Mis- War II, Americans patrolled the Straits for fishermen came to the area in winter to fish. sissippi and had long been trading through German submarines. Since the 1960s, miliThe Straits of Florida is a haven for both big the Straits from this crucial inland river. The tary tensions with Cuba, notably the Bay of game fish and schools of food fish because the country had vo ted Texas into the Union, just Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, acquired California, and was implementing a have added still more military tension.

Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas plan to build a railway across Central AmeriTHE ARTISTS ca. In January of 1898, the USS Maine, part of the US Navy's new fleet of bartleships, The climate, the wealth, the diversity of culcrossed the Straits from the harbor at the Dry tures, and even the fishing of the Straits of Tortugas. She anchored in Havana Harbor, Florida have attracted an extraordinary colwhere she exploded on 15 February, killing lection of writers and poets. Robert Louis 266 men . The US government blamed the Stevenson, James Fenimore Cooper, and blast on Spanish forces and subsequently Stephen Crane all wrote of the Straits, depushed the Spanish out of the Caribbean re- scribing piracy, shipwreck, and the wrecking gion by the end of the year. W ith completion business. Poets Elizabeth Bishop, John Dos

.

24

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

lies prostrate but resigned on his dismasred Key West smack: sharks, blood, and white caps scar a confused ocean, while a waterspout whirls on the horiwn; a vessel under full sail travels unaware in the distance.

The area's most famous son, however, is Ernest H emingway. Hemingway set The Old Man and the Sea, a few short stories, and Islands in the Stream in the Straits. In The Green Hills ofAftica, Hemingway explores similar themes to Homer's, writing of human impermanence m comparison to the ageless Gulf Stream: it "has gone by the shoreline of that long, beauc o uaTESv METROPOLI TAN M US EUM O F ART tiflll, unhappy island since before Columbus sighted Passos, Robert Frost, and Wallace Stevens it. ... Those that have always lived in it are spent time in Key West, as did the playwright permanent and of value because that stream Thorton Wilder and the ornithologist, art- will flow, as it has flowed, after the Indians, ist, and writer John James Audubon . The after the Spaniards, after the British, after the painter W inslow Homer made several visits Americans, and after all the Cubans and all to the Florida Keys, Cuba, and the Bahamas the systems of governments, the richness, the from 1885 through 1906. On his first trip to poverty, the martyrdom, the sacrifice and the Cuba in 1885, he wrote: "Ir is certainly the venality and the cruelty are all gone as the richest field for an artist that I have seen." In high-piled scow of garbage, bright-colored, his 1899 painting, The Gulf Stream, H om er white-flecked, ill-smelling, now tilting on demonstrates man's meekness before the its side, spills off its load into the blue water, Straits. In The GulfStream a fisherman or lo- turning it a pale green to a depth of four or cal trader of African descent, perhaps Cuban, five fathoms."

THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA TODAY

This small body of water now hosts more than forty percent of the wo rld's shipping.

Commercial vessels seek the Gulf Stream to save on fuel and rime. Whether sailing from Galveston, New Orleans, ports in the Caribbean, Central America, or even bound east from the Panama Canal, the Straits of Florida is the most prudent route for tankers, rugs, car carriers, bulk carriers, and container ships bow1d for the US East Coast or Europe.

Meanwhile, tankers deliver oil across the Gulf of Mexico to Port Everglades, and cruise ships parade across the Straits of Florida from Miami and Key West, bound to the Bahamas and other Caribbean ports to make short, profitable voyages and release the vessel from SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING /SUMMER 2004

US registry caborage laws.

Environmentalists have significant 111rerest in this merchant traffic. A 2004 nautical chart reveals that not only are the Florida Keys designated as a National Marine Sanctuary, bur the International Maritime Organization has recently declared the Keys a Particulary Sensitive Sea Area, one of only five in the world, and the only one in the Uni red States. These designations seek to protect the area from damage by commercial ships.

Since 1984, at least ten large vessels have run aground within the boundar·ies of the Keys.

The US Coast Guard has its hands full patrolling the Straits of Florida. Intercepting illegal immigration has been their concern for forty years. Since 1964, more than 200,000 emigrants have shoved off from Cuban beaches in all manner of craft. In 2003, the Coast Guard reported 4,333 emigrants from Cuba, Haiti, ar1d the Dominican Republic interdicted at sea, most of them pulled from the Straits of Florida. In February 2004 eleven Cubans tried to cross the Straits in a boat converted from a green 1959 Buick automobile.

The US Coast G uard patrols drug traffic smuggled in through the Bahamas and is in char·ge of inspecring vessels engaged in all the diverse uses of the Straits, including recreational sailors, treasure hunters, scuba divers, commercial and recreational fishermen, marine science and archaeology researchers, and all of the commercial merchar1t traffic.

The Coast Guard enforces the Cuban trade embargo in coalition with the US Navy that also has a base in Key West. The Coast Guar·d tries to keep an eye on all vessels, protect the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, and be vigilant about customs policies of containers and immigrants by sea. In addition to all this, an Exclusive Economic Zone, allocating ocean resources, is drawn directly through the middle of the Straits.

Today, because of the currents, the winds, the hurriCaI1es, the reefs, the shifting sands, the fis h- in short, the oceanography-the Straits of Florida is, as it has been since Europear1 contact, an active commercial highway and a strategic, contested border. j;

Richard J King is the Teaching Fellow for the Maritime Studies Program o/Williams College at Mystic Seaport, an undergraduate interdisciplinary semester based at Mystic Seaport, CT 25

n a co ld December day, little Francis Billington surely didn't realize th at he had in his hands the potential to alter America's (and maybe the wo rl d's) history. Two weeks before the Mayflower landed its passengers, Francis was playing in the gunpowder storage area be low decks on the sh ip. He was making sparks with a piece of f lint and lighting twisted-rope fuses. Fra ncis found his father's loaded fl intlock pistol and fi red it off nea r a ha lf-keg of powder. This ign ite d fl ames t hat might have sparked an enormous explosion. It w ould have destroyed the ' ship, her crew and the all the Pilgrims onboard. Fortunately, his shipmates became alarmed and the fire was extinguished . The boy was severely scolded, but it didn 't take . For years afterward he and his older brother continued to create mischief for the struggling Pilgrim settlers.

0

'Il1 e 5tl1 day 5 GDec. i 62 0 Qreat dan9cr by tlie foo l isl111 ess of a boy wli o in Ii is fa tli ei·'s abseu ce liad 901.911npowdei·, and li ad sli ot off a pi ece or two, and 111ade squibs, and tliere being aJi ri n9 pi ece cliarged in 11 is Jatli er's cabin sli ot lier off i11 tl1 c ca bi il ... A Ji re being wit/1 i11 Jo i~ r f eet of tli e beds. Qod's 11i ei·cy no lia.r111 don e.-Ji·o11i C lironicl es of t li e GFilgri 111 Fat li ers by A Icxa 11dei· Yo1.i i1g

in a Storm of Confusion =====

I

n the days before big-rig The Portland failed to arrive trucks and multi-lane highin Maine, as scheduled, the ways, the seaway between next morning. Rescue ships Boston, Massachusetts, and searched the waters, but Portland, Maine, was very found nothing . Within days, busy. A new 291-foot-long bodies and items from the side-paddle steamer, the sh ip began to wash ashore w ooden-hulled Portland, was on the beaches of Cape Cod. built in 1889 to help keep up Until then, no one even knew with the traffic. In October of of the wreck, because the that year, the majestic storm had downed telegraph Portland set off upon the lines along the Cape.

Kennebec River to great celeHardest hit by the tragedy bration, and headed out for Boston. was the community of Portland .

For ten yea rs Portland carried summer Most of the passengers were tourists to the coast of Maine, mostly withreturning home after spending out incident. Then in November 1898, a sudThanksgiving in Boston. Many of den change in weather would sea l its fate. them, and about half of the DAILY SERVICE, SUllDAYS INCLUDEO Portland's crew, were African The weather was calm as Portland left TB.11 NICW A.KD P.&.L..A.TIA.L 8T8AllJIR8 Boston carrying about 200 passengers and BAY STATE AND PORTLANn. Americans . This part of Portland's crew. History is unclear on whether the Alternately leave F1u.1o::Ltlf w;....,.P, Portland community was devastated by the very eventng at 7 o'olook, arit~lng In aeaao captain received a warning about a gatherloss of so many breadwinners . or oonneotlona with earlloaâ&#x20AC;˘ tralna rorpoln be ond ' ing storm . It is possible that he ignored a The mystery surrounding the command not to set sai l that evening. ship's loss led many to search for Soon the weather worsened, clocking winds of over 90 it throughout the 20th century. In 1989 the steamer's miles an hour and 30-foot seas. The ship was last sighted remains were finally located in the Stel lwagen Bank around 11 o'clock that evening. After that, we can only National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay. guess what happened.

Mykee Saki/off

The Portland Resurfaces ... and Stays at the Bottom of the Sea

T

~-...--

-

he steamer Portland had barely settled into its Maritime Group of New England (HMGNE), which had locatwatery grave when a search for the sunken vessel ed dozens of shipwrecks, found the wreck that Rowe and began. More than 100 years wou ld pass before that others had described . Using the sonar equipment, they realsearch proved fruitful. ized that this ship could not possibly be the Portland. There Some people believed that the steamer was no paddle wheel. had gone down near Peaked Hi ll Bars, a HMGNE moved its search farther sandbar just off Provincetown at the north . This area was closer to the reportnorthern tip of Cape Cod. The U.S. Navy ed last sighting of the Portland and neardragged the sea bottom with a large er to where fishermen had first pulled chain secured between two tugboats. up debris from the steamer. In 1989, the They found nothing. Still, the large group found signs of a ship that was a amount of bodies and debris that paddle wheel steamer. Further investiwashed up on the beaches suggested gation showed that it was, in fact, the Portland sank not more than a few miles Portland. off the shores of Cape Cod. For months, Instead of going public w ith the details Launching the updated ROV from the RIV Connecticut. SBNMS fishermen netted fragments from the of their find, HMGNE wa ited. ship's cabins and other debris .

Within a few years, the federa l governFrom 1924 unti l 1945, searchers continued to find evi- ment designated the entire area in wh ich the Portland sank dence of a wreck north of the Cape. Some, including his- as the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. torian Edward Rowe Snow, were so convinced it was the Removing or damaging historical resources (l ike the wreck Portland that they erected a plaque on land pointing to its of the Portland) is prohibited in sanctuary waters. No other location some seven miles out to sea. salvagers could try to claim the shipwreck. In 2002, once Then, in 1978, new equipment including a side scan sonar, HMGNE knew that the shipwreck would be protected, pointed the search in a different direction . The Historical they let the world know the details of the discovery.

Lewis and Clark (and Smith?)

M

\

~ .

~

.

.

I

ost Americans think of Captain John Smith as the stingray, the pain was so intense that he instructed his men Jamestown soldier who was captured in 1607 by where to dig his grave-he was sure he would need it by Powhatan Indians but was saved from decapitation by the suppertime. But by nightfall Captain Smith was feeling just beautiful Indian princess Pocahontas . fine and toasting the offending stingray over a fire on the However, Captain Smith participated in an even more island . As they departed, the crew christened their camping exciting adventure when he, and fourteen handpicked crew, site "Stingray Island" . It is still called that today.

Now, an adventurous group of 21st-century explorers has set out in a small boat the next spring . Their mission was to explore the region surrounding Jamestown, launched the John Smith 400 Project. make peace (or war) with the local natives Organized by the folks at Sultana Projects and map the Chesapeake Bay for future Inc.. with the help of professional boat English settlers . Smith built a 30-foot-long builders , educators, historians, nativeboat- powered by sail and oars-for travel American scholars, and even local school up the streams and rivers that emptied into kids, they are planning to construct a replica the Bay. of Smith's 30-foot-long craft and re-trace the The crew lived aboard the boat through1608 voyage . The goal of the John Smith out the summer of 1608 and traded trinkets 400 Project is to shed light upon the cultural with the natives for information about the and ecological significance of Smith 's hisregion . They sailed or rowed their vessel up toric voyage . The group wi ll start building the every major tributary of the Chesapeake, vessel in downtown Chestertown , mapped the major geographical features, Maryland, during the spring of 2005, at the and even "discovered" Washington, D.C. small shipyard where the Schooner Sultana The expedition ran low on rations so the was constructed. The crew of this 21 st-cenCourtesy Plimouth Plantation men anchored their little ship near a small tury expedition hopes to set sail (and oars) in island and tried to capture fish with the only the summer of 2007. fishing gear they packed onboard-a frying pan . Smith Is there anything they can learn from studying the in-depth became frustrated when the fish wouldn 't cooperate. He journals kept by Smith and his crew duri ng the 1608 voyage? waded into the shallow water and began to spear them with Why, yes! " When you are on an expedition, always keep his sword . When he was stung on the arm by an impaled your head-and remember to pack the fishing equipment."

I

~1~· li1 I

•

III I I II

0

~-

i! .

1r

-

Across 2 The place Columbus was trying to reach in 1492 ......--.--..----+--+----.

5 An act of rebellion against the captain of a ship. 7 7 The day after the Santa Maria was wrecked 12 The occupation of Columbus's father.

13 The name Columbus gave to the first island he landed on in the New World.

9 15 The word which means "the captain's daily journal of events and distance traveled".

16 Name of the fort built from the wreckage of the Santa Maria.

17 Name of the peoples that Columbus first met in the New World.

18 Number of Columbus's brothers and sisters.

19 City from which Columbus departed for his second voyage.

20 Number of ships on Columbus's second voyage.

Down 1 These brothers helped Columbus gather crew for the first voyage.

3 The first name of Columbus's mother.

4 6 8 9

The king of Spain during Columbus's voyages.

Last name of the sailor who first sighted land.

Italian mapmaker for whom America is named.

Columbus and his men sighted America on October , 1492.

10 First name of Columbus's wife.

11 Columbus's brother. He commanded a ship on a later voyage.

13 This ship was wrecked on Christmas eve 1492.

14 Columbus's oldest son.

21 Smallest of the three ships on the first voyage.

Answers (Hold the page up to a mirror to see) wsmolorlhs8 n nsstnsvsa OS snsilT a 2smt2i1rl:J 'I shs\111 slnsc £ r ogsiO M sni\/\ rs

sibs:) er

iuol Br svlswt e sqils-=J or

bnsnib1s'11' snnsau2 f. nosni9 r lilWOO

~SW61A 'I r '(nitum c bsbivslil ar snirl:J S golcr 220ROA 1obsvls8 ns2 £ r ogilsmA8 1svssw sr

Sea History for Kids is sponsored by the

JAMES

A. MACDONALD FOUNDATION

THE HISTORY CHANNEL Questions? Write to: David Allen david@seahistory.org

The Council of American Maritime Museums is pleased to work in close co-operation with the National Maritime Historical Society to present a profile of CAMM" member museums in the pages of Sea History. We are delighted that the first museum highlighted in this series is a relative newcomer. The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum exhibits and interprets the maritime heritage ofCalifornia's Central Coast. Enjoy your tour!

- Jerry Ostermiller, President, CAMM"

A

1rhough rhe Santa Barbara Maririme Museum opened irs doors jusr four years ago, ir embraces a maririme hisrory rhousands of years old.

1he rich herirage of Cali fornia's Central Coasr is reflecred in exhibirs spanning rhe ancient Chumash culrure ro roday.

The museum is housed in a grand whire suucrure ar rhe sourhwesr corner of Santa Barbara Harbor, and rhe building irself has unique hisroric significance. In 1942 rhe City of Sama Barbara sold rhe building ro rhe US Navy for jusr $1. 00 , ro support rhe new war efforr. Nearly fifty years larer rhe city boughr back rhe building, which had served as rhe Naval Reserve Center, graming rhe museum's foun ders

rhe righr ro esrablish rhe Sama Barbara Maririme Museum.

The foundarion of rhe museum was laid , figurarively speaking, in 1994, when one dozen "old salrs and sralwarts" drafted rhe concepr. "The Sama Barbara coast has a rich maritime hisrory,'' nored C lyde Kirkparrick, founder of the Maririme Society of Santa Barbara. "It is a natural outgrowth for our community ro have a maririme museum, given Sama Barbara's long-time and ongoing relationship with the sea."

The museum's mission statement was immediately expanded ro cover the maritime herirage of the emire Cemral Coast, with an emphasis on imeracrivity and edu-

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, housed in what was once the Naval Reserve Building, overlooks the picturesque harbor.

30

cational programs. The quesr, Kirkpauick said, was ro make the museum, "an importam culrural asser for our community."

As plans were made on paper, the museum received its first floating exhibir, Ranger, a 191 7 moror yacht built by Fellows & Stewart. Donated by Mr. Jack Morehart, this 4 1-foot classic sportfisher became the flagship of the museum: "a jewel in the crown of this exci ting new enterprise," according ro Robert Kieding, one of the founders .

Fundraising geared up roo, and initial backing for infrasuucrure was in place by 1997. Before rhe museum could open its doors, rhe Naval Reserve Building required a major refir. The museum's "Serring Sail" campaign reached $2.7 million jusr rwo years larer and interior consrrucrion began in 1999.

On 29 July 2000 rhe Santa Barbara Maririme Museum welcomed the public ro irs present home ar 113 Harbor Way for the first rime. 1he founders' inirial plans had come ro li fe with a wide range of exhibits and content represeming the rich hisrory of rhe Central Coast, appealing to visirors yo ung and old.

The unique maritime heritage of the Central Coast began thousands of years before any European settlers ever landed.

The native Chumash people thrived on the mainland and islands here, as portrayed in a 'living exhibit' that includes a 23-foot hand-made wooden tomol (canoe) and

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Chumash tools, plus a video documentary on the historic re-enactment of a tomol voyage across the Santa Barbara Channel.

port. Year-round, the museum houses a collection of ship models and an exhibit on supply ships and the range goods that

Public & school sails aboard the sch oo ner Spirit of Dana Point are some of the highlights at SBMM each year.

In 1786, Santa Barbara was founded with the establishment of the mission of the same name. Santa Barbara was isolated, however, from rhe rest of Alta C alifornia by steep mountains to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the so uth. Shipping was critical to settlers in this region, and every year the Maritime Museum celebrates this rousing period in history with a Tall Ships Sea Festival .

Each year at the Sea Festival, crafts, entertainment, and activities surround the arrival of Spirit of Dana Point, a replica of an 18th century privateer operated by The Ocean Institute. This year the museum expanded its popular education program s on Spirit of Dana Point and hosted 360 sn1dents durin g o ne dozen overnights aboard the schooner.

Public sails are also offered on Spirit of Dana Point durin g its two-week stay in

shipwreck and underwater archaeology displays that bring the drama and intrigue of exploration to life with interactive exhibits and video.

Unique to the Central Coast is a rich history of deep sea di ving, stemming from the 1800s when abalone-a gourmet delicacy-was harvested . From this initial application, local di ve rs have continually pushed the limits of technology to advance the science of diving.

From diving for food sources to diving on oil platforms and pipelines, Santa Barbara has become a leader in diving technology and education. The museum's comprehensive exhibit features historic diving helmets, suits, compressors, and more. At various festivals and events, the Maritime Museum hosts diving demonstrations, with a diver rigged to communicate with the audience from the waters right in front of the museum .

Education is a n intrinsic part of everything the Maritime Museum does,

settlers would count o n the ships to bring to these remote villages.

No t every vessel that traversed the Central Coast made its destination, though. The No rth Pacific was often vio- Mother and daughter enjoy the interactive C uba shipwreck exhibit. lent, stung with strong winds, and shrouded with fo g. Commercial, recreational, and military vessels all fell prey to the inhospitable co nditions surrounding the C hannel Islands and Point Conception - often call ed "The Graveya rd of the Pacific."

Some of the museum's most fascinating exhibits are

SEA HISTORY l 07 , SPRING/SUMMER 2004

31

Schoof children are Linked via sateffite communications with D r. Bob Baffard and his exploration team, at the museum's Munger lheater, during a Jason Project telecast. and nowhere is this more visible than with the museum's participation in the Jason Project. This annual interactive sciencebased education program was founded

by Dr. Robert Ballard, the oceanographer and explorer who discovered the wreck of Titanic.

For the past several years, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has been one of th e telecast hubs for the Jason Proj ect, providing area students with the opporcuniry to communicate with yo ung scientists aro und the wo rld, via satellite technology in the museum's state-of-the-art Munger Theater.

As the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum approaches its four-year milestone, several exciting new programs and exhibits appear on the horizon.

Reflecting the diversiry of the region and its visitors, the museum opened both a George Greenough Surfing Exhibit (on loan from the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach) and the new Barry & Jean Schuyler Environm ental Exhibit in April.

The latter, entitled Troubled Wtiters: lhe Impact of Civilization on California's Central Coast, features photographs, graphics, video, and hands-on interactive displays to illustrate the effect of hundreds of years of human interaction on local A young visitor is dwarfed by 'Jim''-a one-person waters. atmospheric diving suit used in the mid-l 970s. Like Barry Schuyler, who with his a personal mini-submarine, this pressurized suit has wife Jean (President of SBMM a hard magnesium sheLL that withstands the crushing force of water up to 2, 000 feet deep and carries Board of Directors) has underwrita 72-hour supply ofoxygen. The suit alone, which is ten this powerful and illuminating on Loan courtesy of Oceaneering International, Inc. , exhibit, noted, "Humans are very weighs 800 Lbs' much part of the ocean, and we are

32

using it to an extent that we m ay be h arming it." One of the founding members of the Maritime Museum, Schuyler added that he hopes this exhibit will give visitors, "a better idea of what we can do to preserve the ocean and our environment in general."

A gallery of interactive exhibits on "Safery at Sea" is slated for completion in late autumn 2004.

Recently the Museum's Board of Directors commissioned a pre-eminent interpretive design firm, Davis Edquist D es igns of Seattle, Washington, and George P. Johnso n, of Torrance, California, to help develop a Master Plan which will provide a framework for educational program development and ensure thematic and visual uni ry among the museum's diverse exhibits. Said Norma Bishop, Executive D irector of the museum, "We are wholeheartedly committed to serving area visitors, residents, and the schoolchildren of our tri-counry area with exhibits that engage the imagination. We're not just a place to com e and see 'scuff ' but a place where .t maritime history com es alive."

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is situated at 113 Harbor Wtiy facing the marina in Santa Barbara, California, 100 miles west/northwest of Los Angeles. It is open every day except Wednesday, from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. For more information visit the web site at www.sbmm.org or caLL (805) 962-8404.

Ycru 're If'tA/i;ted!

Trustees of both National Maritime Historical Society and the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum are pleased to invite our members and their friends to a special reception to get acquainted with this exceptional faciliry.

On Monday, 20 September 2004, from 5:30 - 7:30 PM, join trustees and staff from both the Museum and NMHS to share some wine and hors d' oeuvres, see the exhibits, and hear about the shipwrecks in the Santa Barbara Channel.

RSVP to 800 221-6647, ext. 0.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Maritime History on the Internet: Whaling Extracts

by Peter Mccracken his issue's column will focus on whaling before the 20th century. Many sides of current whaling controversies can be found at sites like Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org), the International Whaling Commission (http: //www. iwcoffice.org/), or the World Council of Whalers (http://www. wo rldcouncilofwhalers.com/) , but I'll revi ew free resources that explore issues surrounding 18th- and 19th-century whaling, primarily from the United States.

Several museums in the US have strong web sites devoted to whaling; the most comprehensive is likely TI1e Kendall Institute, at http://www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/index_KI.html. The Kendall Institute is now a part of the New Bedford Whaling Museum (http: //www.whalingmuseum.org), and together with the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, at http://www. nps.org/nebe/, they provide a valuable collection of resources.

Kendall's "Overview of American W haling," at http://www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/amwhale/am_index.html, and their "Whaling-An Introductory Bibliography" at http://www. whalingmuseum.org/kendall/amwhale/am_ index.html, are especially useful. A personal site at http://www.whalecraft.net/Links.html links many other whaling-related museums. Another interesting personal site is Amy Stimac's "America's Whaling History" at http://web.simmons.edu/ ~stimac/proj ect/ ; this graduate school project focuses on American whaling befo re 1925 .

When doing research on specific aspects of whaling, consider the Whaling Collection Archives at the New Bedford Free Public Library, at www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/SERVICES/LIBRARY/ library2.htm, click "Whaling Voyages C rewlist" which contains a searchable database of crews, vessels, ports, and more. TI1e Whalers' H eritage Project at http://www.explorenorth.com/

T

whalers/ is a growing site with crew and ships lists, plus a forum for discussing and researching issues. (Note: yo u need to register and provide personal data in order to post messages.)

For southern Pacific whaling, Tasmania's Natural Resources Management Commission posts information about shore-based whaling from Tasmania at www.parks.tas.gov.au/historic/swhaling/index.html, while the site at http://www.hawkesbay.com/ places/mahia/whaling describes off-shore whaling by Maori and Europeans in New Zealand.

The State Library of Tasmania has a fantastic collection of images at http://images.statelibrary.tas.gov.au / . Use the "Search" box to search by various terms, or click on "Explore by Subject," then 'W', to get to their many whaling-related images.

Of course, the best way to learn about 19th-century whaling is to read Moby-Dick. If yo u don't have a copy lying aro und , or want to search the full text of the book online, you can find it and many other free tides at Project Gutenberg, http://www. gutenberg.net. The Melville Society, at http://www.melville.org, provides a central point for Melville studies online.

Finally, as an example of what the Internet can offer from people who deeply care about an esoteric subject, take a look at http:// www.netstrider.com/documents/ambergris/, for all yo u could want to know-and more-about ambergris, "the fragrant raw material for perfumery produced in the gut of the sperm whale."

Suggestions for other sites worth mentioning are welcome at shipindex@yahoo.com. See http://www.shipindex.org for a compilation of over 100,000 ship names from indexes to dozens of books and journals . .!...!...!..

National Maâ&#x20AC;˘Âˇitime's Selection of''Great Reads" I \/..'il

,,,,,,

j1v1111v1I<

A MOST FORTUNATE SHIP A NARRATIVE OF OLD IRONSIDES

ANTON OTTO FISCHER, MARINE ARTIST

by Katrina Sigsbee Fischer and Alex A. Hurst

by Tyrone G. Martin

A comprehensive and loving look at the artist's lile and work as seen by his daughter. Beautifully produced on art paper with many personal photos, the artist's preliminary sketches and 200 of his finished works, 103 in full color.

HC: $40.00

A fascinating book that gives shape to the men who sailed this famous ship. "This marvelous book is a must for naval history buffs, for readers who love the era of iron men and wooden ships, and for anyone interested in the period of history when American courage and ingenuity seemed to succeed in almost every endeavor the country attempted." Book-of-the-Month Club

L-- ---

HC: $40.00 THE SCHOONER PILGRIM'S PROGRESS A VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD 1932-1934

by Donald C. Starr This book is more than just a seafaring adventure. It is one sailor's reminiscences of an era gone by, never to be recovered, as viewed through the eyes of an optimistic young man with the entire ocean to explore and all the time in the world in which to do it.

HC: $16.00

SHIPS AND MEMORIES

by Bill Adams

__

Much of Adams' work is in this one volume. It includes his grea t epic Ships and Women of his early life and his time on the Silberhorn at the turn of the century.

Memories include many of the letters and articles which he wrote in retrospect long after his tragic severence with the sea, besides the most renowned of his stories and several of his poems.

HC: $25.00

,.,,,,.,,_,..,.,

.SHIP NOTES, S~~~~!= & MUSEUM NEWS The Mariners' Museum and the National O ceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reached a n historic milestone ea rli er this spring with the completion of conservation work on the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor's 4,600-pound cast-iron propeller. Recovered by NOAA in 1998, the propeller was the first major artifact from the vessel received for conservation and future exhibition by The M ariners' Museum . Likely the only John Ericsso n propeller in existence, it is currently displayed at th e new special exhibition Ironclad Evidence. Never-before displayed artifacts, images, and documents provide a unique look at the first naval battle between two ironclad warships, USS Monitor and C SS Virginia. Numerous historic im ages, personal items and letters fro m the m en who sailed both vessels are displayed in a manner that provides an authentic, firsthand experience of the naval battl e between two ironclad warships. A $30 million addition to The Mariners' Museum, USS Mo nitor Center will be the eventual

home to the pri celess artifacts recovered from the ship and a worldwide resource for exhibitions, conservation , research, and education related to Mo nitor and the larger story of th e naval history of the Civil War. O ver the next two yea rs, as Mo nitor artifacts are conserved, they will find a temporary home in the special exhibition Ironclad Evidence for viewing by the public. Visitors can still view larger M onitor artifacts, such as the turret and engine, as

34

they are being preserved within the Monitor Conservatio n Area. (The Mariners' M useum 100 Museum Drive, Newpo rt News, VA 23606; 800 58 1-7245; web sites: www.mariner.org; www.mo nitor. noaa.gov; www.mo nitorcemer.o rg) . â&#x20AC;˘ .

Nineteen students from Long Island U niversity spem this spring on a semesrer-atsea voyage aboard the Los Angeles M ari-

rime lnstitute's (LAMI) brigantin e I rving Johnson. SEAmester West 2004, an undergraduate semester sponso red by LIU 's Southampton College, began in San Pedro , California, on 7 January and sailed into the Sea of C ortez before crossing the Pacific to the H awaiian Islands. The nineweek trip was the first Pacific passage for the Irving Johnson, one of the twin brigantines launched by LAMI in 2003 . After the successful SEAmester voyage, the Irving Johnson carried o ut week-lo ng educational trips in the H awai ian Islands befo re journeying to San Fran cisco and returning to home port in San Pedro. (Los Angeles Maritime Institute, Berth 84, Foo t of 6 th Street, San Pedro CA 9073 1; 3 10 83360 55; web sire: www.lan1itopsail. o rg) ...

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) is launching the canal schooner Lois McClure in Burlington, VT on 3 July 2004. More than 60,000 visitors have visited the shipya rd where crafts men and volunteers have been co nstructing the 88-foot canal schooner over th e pas t three years.

After the July launch, Lois McCLure will go th ro ugh a series of sea trials befo re beginning her inaugural to ur of Lake C hamplain in September. A professional crew, led

by Captain Roger Taylor, along with volun teers who helped build the vessel, will travel aboard Lois McClure to towns alo ng the lake. The museum has also published a companion book, Lake Champlain's Sailing Canal Boats: An !lLustrated j ourney from Lake Champlain to the H udson River, by LCMM executive director Arthur B. Cohn. Richly illustrated, with both histo rical and contemporary ph o tographs and d rawings, the volume rakes th e reader on a jo urney th ro ugh history fro m before the region's first exploration by Europeans to ilie presem day, culm inating w ith the schooner's constructio n. (4472 Bas in H arbo r Rd. , Vergennes VT 0549 1; 802 4752022; web sire: www. lcmm .org) â&#x20AC;˘.. 2004 marks the l 50th Anniversary of the sloopof-war USS Constellation and acri vites will take place througho ut the summ er and fall commemorating the vessel's 1854 launch . This year, the Sail Baltimo re Festival Oune 30 to Jul y 5) includes July 4 th Fireworks dedicated to the USS Constellation . Also on June 30 th , th e US Postal Service will release the USS Constellation l 50th Anniversary co mmemorative stamp.

Festivities com inue in August w ith the USS Constellation l 50rh Anniversa ry Festi val-of-the-Sea on Pier 1 (August 28 - 29) .

The event features nautical and fo lk music, activities, and gam es, official Naval cerem onies, Constellation crew/descendant reunio n, and historical reenactments (USS Constellation Museum, Pier 1, 301 East Pratt Street, Baltim ore MD 2 1202; 4 10 539-1 797; web site: www.constellatio n. org) ... The Michigan Maritime Museum is building the Friends Good Will, a replica to psail sloop. Friends Good Will is scheduled to sail into her new hom e port at the South H ave n, M I museum this summer and undergo rigging and sea trials in preparatio n for her firs t commercial season in 2005. The original Friends Good WiLL was a m erchant sloop that served in both th e Royal and US Navies in the U pper G reat Lakes. Friends' dram atic service reco rd and her associa tio n with notable perso ns such as O liver H azard Perry and W illiam H enry H arrison offer

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

CLASSIFIED ADS The Henry B. Hyde, by Roger W. Bragdon.

Third edition, revised. This book portrays that beautiful down -easter and recounts her remarkable Cape Horn career. 167pp., photos, paintings, drawings, plans. $23.95, DB Publishers, 84 South St., Bath, ME 04530 FREIGHTERCRUISES.COM. Mail ships, conra inerships, trampers ... Find the ship and voyage that's perfect for yo u. 1-800-99Maris.

1812 Privateer FAME of Salem, MA sai ls daily May - October. 978-729-7600. www.SchoonerFame.com Model Restoration/Construction, Captain Norman Smith, Great Island Model Shipyard, 106 Lombos Hole Road, Harpswell, ME 04079, 207-833-6670, E-mail: dys mith @gwi.net Beautiful Marine Paintings. Any type ship in moderate or heavy sea. Samples of work available by return mai l. Call Capta in Dukeshire for details. 860-779-9387

educational opportunities to bring the region's maritime histo ry to life. (260 Dyckman Ave., South Haven MI 49090; 800 747-38 10; web site: www.Michigai;iMaritimeMuseum.org) . . . The classic American coastal steamer SS Nobska needs to move from its current location at the Charlestown Navy Yard to make way for the USS Constitution, which needs the space for future restoration. Owned by the non-profit New England Steamship Foundation, the Nobska has already undergone over $3 million in hull repairs but needs an additional $ 1-2 million to make the vessel seaworthy. Heralded as the last of the coastal steamships in America, the steamer Nobska will be scrapped if her owners are unable to find a way to Roat her away from the Charlestown Navy Yard by midyear. The New England SS Nobska

Art Prints. NYC Fireboats 16x20", $18 each. Also available for commissioned work.

Call Steve White 718-317-5025, E-mail: fdnyanist@ao l.com To place your classified ad at $1.60 per word, mail your complete classified message along with payment, to Sea History, Attn: Advertising Desk, PO Box 68, Peekskill

NY10566.

14 Hand Crafted Wooden Ship Models Ready to Display

Steamship Foundation continues aggressive fund-raising efforts to save the ship.

(New England Steamship Foundation, PO Box 1642, Edgartown MA 025 39; 508 999-1925; web site: www.nobska.org) ... HMCS Haida and the Canada Marine Discovery Centre are scheduled to open on 25 June in time for the 1st annual Hami lton Port Days June 26-28. HMCS Haida is the last remaining example of the 27 Tribal class destroyers built for the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Australian Navy between 1937

31/2 Center Street (sh) Newburyport, MA 01950 978462-7012 Cata log upon Requ es t or visit:

www.pielcraftsmen.com SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

and 1945. Once a mighty fighting ship, roday Haida is an irreplaceable historic artifact and her significance has been formally recognized by the Canadian Historic Sites and Monuments Board. After being dry docked for resto ration, Haida arrived in Hamilton in August 2003 where restoration continues in prepara tion for her public opening thi s summer. (658 Catharine St. N., H am ilton ON L8L 4V7; 905 523-0682; web site: www.hmcshaida.ca) ... The Hudson River Maritime Museum of Kingston, NY has recently acquired an extensive collection of maritime memorabilia relating primarily to Hudson River transportation in the steamboat age. The collection was amassed by the late Donald C. Ringwald, a Kingston native, and was donated to the Museum by the late Douglas L. Haverly. The collection consists of photographs, lithographs, and paintings documenting the fl eet of steamboats and towboats that maintained the commerce of the river for well over a century. There is also an extensive libra ry of books, pamphlets, timetables and other publications relating to the river boats as well as to other waterways in the Northeast. Finally, there are many artifacts and ephemera relating to the vessels which sailed these waters. An associated exhibit, Ringwald's River: River Steamboats from the Donald Ringwald Collection, will open 1 May 2004. (1 Rondour Landing, Kingston NY 12401; 845 338-0071; web site: www.ulster.n et) . . . The San Diego Maritime Museum has initiated an at-risk youth program called Californian Challenge that will use the museum's topsail schooner Californian to give disadvantaged young people a chance to learn to sail a tall ship and beco me better equipped to deal with the challenges of everyday living.

(1492 N. H arbor Drive, San Diego CA 92101; 619 234-9 153; web site: www.sdmaritime.org) ... On 6 March 2004, The Navy Museum re-opened to the public on weekends and federal holidays, but a reservation is required for entry to the Washington Navy Yard. Reservations must be made by the preceding Friday at noon. After September 11 , 2001, the Washington Navy Yard limited access to the general public for securi ty reasons. As a result, The Navy Museum was forced to shut its doors

35

SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT AND MUSEUM NEWS on rhe weekends. Afrer working wirh rhe securiry force ar rhe Navy Yard, rhe M useum may accepr visirors on Sarurday and Sunday who call by Friday noon . (Washingron Navy Yard, 805 Kidder Breese Sr. SE, Washingron DC 20374; 202 4336897; web sire: www.hisrory. navy. mil) ...

Confederate submarine HL. Hunley's crew made their final journey this past April. The eighr-m ember crew of H.L. H unley, after 140 years, was fin ally laid ro resr 17 April 2004 ar rhe Magnolia Cemerery in C harlesron, SC. The submarine, under preservarion by rhe Naval Hisrorical Center (NHC) for rhe lasr rhree years, disappeared during rhe C ivil War and was nor discovered until 2000 and raised in 2001. The shipmares were laid ro resr wirh fu ll milirary honors alongside crew members who had perished on previous H unley missions. An eighr-day-long memorial period fo llowed rhe burial, each day represenring one of rhe crew members. Tours of the submarine at the Warren Lash Conservation Center are available daily and in clude an actual view of the Hunley in the Conservation Lab, an animated simulation of the H.L. H unley recovery, and a life-size model from the movie "The H unley." (Warren Lasch Conservation Center, 1250 Supply Street, Building 255, Former Charlesron Navy Base, No rth C harlesron SC 29405; 843 722-2333; web site: www.hunley.org) ..• It was an "Uncommon" evening for one Hollywood veteran on Saturday, March 27th, 2004, as Oscarwinning actor Cliff Robertson helped raise more than $70,000 for Battleship Cove's educational programs. The event, Uncommon Valor, which was held in tribute ro the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for valor in action against an enemy force, was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bosron, Massachusetts.

Nearly 300 guests enjoyed access ro the museum's Renaissance, Chinese and Himalayan Galleries, and Gund Gallery, featuring the new Ga uguin Tahiti Exhibit (the only No rth American srop); a gala dinner and dancing. C li ff Robertson is widely known for his portrayal of John F. Kennedy in the movie PTI 09 and has starred in more than 70 feature films and narrated the acclaimed six-part documentary Medal of Honor. Battleship Cove

36

serves as the Com monwealth's official memorial for Massachusetts citizens who lost their lives on September 11, 200 l , in

World War II, and the Korean , Vietnam and Persian G ulf Wars . Preserving five National Hisroric Landmark naval vessels, Battleship Cove also delivers educational programs that expose a national audience of 60,000 yo uths ro a mission that promores Dury, Hono r and Country. (Battleship Cove, 5 Warer Sr., Fall River MA 02722; 800 533-3 194; web sire: www. bartleshipcove.org) . • . The American Merchant Marine Museum opened a new Maritime Hall of Fame gallery in November 2003 ar rheir faciliry ar rhe US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Poinr, NY. The museum also rededicared two galleries, rhe Sperry Navigation and rhe Na urical Insrrum enr Galleries, whi ch were recently refurbished . (US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point NY 11024; 516 773-55 15; web site: www.usmma. edu/abou r/Museum) . • . In Seprember, rhe US Navy announced it would donate the decommissioned nuclear submarine USS Narwhal to be used as a museum on the Ohio River in Newport KY. The receivi ng organizarion, rhe Narional Submarine Science Discovery Cenrer (NSSDC), now has ro complete an extensive yearlong applicarion process ro bring rhe submarine ro rown. If the application is accepred , ir will be rhe firsr time rhar a former Navy nuclear submarine has been donated. The proposed $22-$25 million NSSDC would combine an hisrorical atrracrion, inreracrive educatio nal exhi birs and a reaching program. The cenrer is scheduled ro open in 2007 wi rh ro urism officials specularing rhar rhe artracrion could draw 200 ,000 visirors a year, which wo uld carry an economic impact of at least $20 million. (National Submarine Science Discovery Cenrer, 421 Monmouth St., Newport KY 4 107 1;859 655-7700; web

site: www.nssdc. us) .•• After years of planning and anticipation, communiry members and National Park Service officials wished the 1895 schooner C.A. Thayer "Bon Voyage" in December 2003. The Thayer departed the San Francisco Maritime National Hisroric Park on a two-year "voyage of resroration." The vessel will be essenrially disassembled down ro so und material. Her keel will be straightened and rehabilitated, and then she will be built back up again using new materials in the exact form and manner of her original construction. The enrire deconstruction/ reconstruction process will be meticulously documented with drawings, still phorography and digital video. CA. Thayer's 1895 schooner C.A. Thayer departs San Francisco for a refit.

repair is expected ro rake two years, during which rime rhe projecr's progress will be rracked in rhe Park (wirh exhibits and panels) and on the web, and regular rours of rhe vessel will be offered ro rhe public. Afrer the vessel rerurns ro Hyde Srreer Pier, Park riggers and shipwrights will finish ourfirti ng and rigging rhe vessel. (San Francisco Maririme NHP, Building E, Fort Mason Cenrer, San Francisco CA 94123; 415 56 1-7006; web sire: www. maririme.org) . . . The Antique Boat Museum is displaying Presidenr Ulysses S. Grant's rowing skiff ar rheir Clayron, NY faci li ry. The boat was donated ro rhe Museum in 197 1 by Florence Lowden Miller of Chicago and is on display in rhe Gaffney Skiff House. President U lysses S. Grant was a friend of rhe Pullman fam ily and a frequent visiror ro rheir island "Casde Rest" near Alexandria Bay. It was President Grant's visits ro the Thousand Islands thar helped create major interest in this region in the late 19th century and bring it ro wider attenrion as a rourist desti narion .

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/S UMMER 2004

Geo rge Pullman, the Chicago businessman who created the PullMaritime H istory Summer Schools man railroad sleeping car, is said to have had the skiff built fo r President Grant by builder Aime Guerin of Ogdensburg, New York. The skiff is 13'6" long with a beam of 3', m ade of cedar planks over steam-bent oak ribs. Its hull is a unique combination of a skiffs bow with a rounded fantail stern, an elaborate shape more often seen on steam launches and larger vessels. The Grant skiff is one of more An intensive two-week maritime history summer school in the un ique environment of histori c Greenwich, than 100 historic a World heritage site. watercraft on disMonday 5 July - Friday 16 July 2004 play at the Antique 01ganised h)': Boat Museum.

Gree nwic h Marit ime Institut e, Kin gs College London Ulysses S. Grant's rowing skiffon and Th e Op en Mu seum, Nat io nal Marit ime Muse um (750 Mary Street, display at the Antique Boat Museum Keynote speakers: Clayton NY 13624; Prof esso r A nd rew Lamb ert, Prof esso r Sarah Palme r 3 15 686-4104; web site: www.abm.org) ... The New Bedford For further dt!tails, please contact: Whaling Museum has acquired the extensive and exciting colT he Open Museum, Nationa l Maritime Museum, Greenwich , London SE10 9NF, UK T : +44 (0) 20 8312 6747/6648 F: + 44 (0) 20 8312 6521 E: openmuseum@nmm.ac.uk lection of professional photography created by New Bedfordwww.nmm.ac.uk/openmuseum born Norman Fortier during the period from 1947-2003. The INGS collection includes more than 100,000 negatives surrounding his HATIOHAL ROYAL GREENWICH College MARITIME BSERVATORY ARITIME LONDON INSTITUTE interests of yachting, aerial views, coastlines, hurricanes, landMUSEUM GREENWICH â&#x20AC;˘ Unlversityoflolldon scapes, boat building, the fishing fleet, and local scenes. He concentrated on photographing vessels in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. (18 Johnny Cake Hill, New * J.P.URANKER WOODCARVER* Bedford MA 02740; 508 997-0046; web . site: www.whalingm useum.org) . . . The Fulton Project, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to planning, developing, Subscribe to SEA HISTORY implementing, and supporting an alternamagazine. tive maritime-based educational program Become a member of the for the emerging adolescent (grades 5-8) at National Maritime Historical the Marine Museum at Fall River, MassaSociety. chusetts, will be at the WoodenBoat Show A Liberty Ship Share your thoughts with other in Newport, RI this summer, July 23 - 25.

Odyssey people interested in maritime Several examples of Starting Points: Vessels-, history on our bulletin board.

People, Places, Innovations, and Maritime Artifactsâ&#x201E;˘ will be available for viewing to Browse through our Marine Art Prints. demonstrate how maritime history will be used as the foundation of the curri culum .

Shop for NMHS merchandise.

Starting PointsTM is an encyclopedia being Learn about educational and created by The Ful ton Project, which will maritime events on our be digitally archived, providing students calendar. with a resource to stimulate research and Visit our advertisers on the develop individual courses of study based web. on the maritime content fo und in the Marine Museum's artifacts plus those in area Advertise in SEA HISTORY magazine and museums and historical societies. (The FulMail orders to: your company's website will be linked on ton Project, Marine Museum, 70 Water Don Shoemaker S EAHISTORY.ORG 1924 E. South Mountain Ave. Street, Fall River, MA 02721; 781 784Phoenix, AZ 85042 Advertising information: 8710; email: rogerbourassa@fultonproject.

1-800-22 1-6647 Ext. 235 org; web site: www.fultonproject.org). .t

THE SEA AND HISTORY,

1700-1800

M

K

O

Visit us on the web at

~-

SEAHISTORY.ORG

..t

..t

..t ..t

..t ..t ..t

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

37

CALENDAR FESTIVALS, EVENTS, LECTURES, ETC.

•The 40th Annual Antique Boat Show & Auction: Antique Boat Museum, 6-8 August 2004 (750 Mary Street, Clayton NY 13624; 315 686-4104; web site: www. abm.org) •Tall Ships Challenge: American Sail Training Association, 10 June - 15 August 2004, Atlantic Coast (ASTA, 240 Thames Street, PO Box 1459, Newport RI 02840; 401 846-1775; web site: www. tallshi ps.sail training.org) •Fall River Celebrates America: Battleship Cove, 5-8 August 2004 (5 Water Street, Fall River MA 02722; Ph. 508 6781100; web site: www.bartleshipcove.org) •Boston Antique & Classic Boat Festival: 28-29 August 2004, Sponsored by Lowell's Boat Shop of the Newburyport Maritime Society (Hawthorne Cove Marina, 10 White St., Salem MA; 617 666-8530; web sire: www.by-the-sea.com/bacbfestival).

•Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival: Center for Wooden Boats: 3-5 July 2004, (1010 Valley Street, Seattle WA 98109; 206 382-2628; web site: www.cwb.org) •Antique and Classic Boat Festival: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum: 1820 June 2004 (Mill Street, St. Michaels MD 21663; 410 745-29 16; web site: www.cbmm.org) •Maritime Festival: East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, 18-19 September 2004, Greenport, NY (PO Box 624, Greenport NY 11 944; 631 4772100; web site: www.eastendseaport.org) •Hamilton Port Days: Hamilton Port Authority, 26-28 June 2004 (Pier 8, Hamilton ON; 905 525-4330) •Antique & Classic Boat Show: Inland Seas Maritime Museum, 26 June 2004, in Vermilion OH (480 Main Street, Vermilion OH 44089; 800 893-1485; web site: www.inlandseas.org) •Lake Champlain Small Boat Festival: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, 1718 July 2004 (4472 Basin Harbor Rd., Vergennes VT 05491; 802 475-2022; web site: www.lcmm.org) •23rd Annual Classic Boat Show: Michigan Maritime Museum, 10 July 2004 (260 Dyckman Ave., South Haven MI 49090; 800 747-3810; web site: www.

MichiganMaritimeMuseum.org)

38

•Sail Baltimore Festival, 30 June - 5 July 2004 at Baltimore's Inner Harbor (1809 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231; 410 522-7300; www.sailbaltimore.org) •Sail Rhode Island Festival, 15-20 July 2004 (Quonset Point, Davisville, Rl; 888 767-7223; web site: www.sailrhodeisland2004.com) •Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Water Ways-The Past, Present, and Future of Maritime Communities in the MidAtlantic: 1he Smithsonian Institution, 23-27 June & 30 June - 4 July 2004, on the National Mall, Washington DC (The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, 750 9th St. NW, Suite 4100, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560; 202 275- 11 50; web site: www.folklife.si.edu) •Thunder Bay Maritime Festival, 4 July 2004 in Alpena MI (NOAA Tirnnder Bay Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, 145 Water St., Alpena MI 49707; 989 356-8805) •USS Constellation 150th Anniversary Festival of the Sea, 28-29 August 2004 (Pier 1, Baltimore MD; 4 10-539- 1797; web site: www.constellation.org) •Victoria Real Estate Board & Monday Publications Classic Boat Festival: 3-5 Sept. 2004, Victoria BC (3035 Nanaimo St., Victoria BC V8T 4W2; 250 385-7766; web site: www.classicboarfestival.ca) •2nd Annual Lakeshore Maritime Heritage Festival & Lighthouse Walk: Wisconsin Maritime Museum: l 0-12 Sept.

2004 (75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc WI 54220; 866 724-2356; web site: www. wimaritimemuseum.org) CONFERENCES

•"The Battle of Leyte Gulf," 18-19 September 2004, Annual Symposium. The National Museum of the Pacific War (origin ally named The Admiral Nimitz Museum), PO Box 777; 340 East Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624; 830 997-4379; web site: www.nimitz-museum. com) •Maritime Heritage Conference, 27-30 Oct. 2004 in Norfolk, VA (see notice p. 38) •Maritime Museum of San Diego and Mains'/ Haul: A journal ofPacific Maritime History, "Spain's Legacy in the Pacific During the Age of Sail," 24-26 Sept.

2004. Presentations relating to Spanish exploration and colonization and its aftermath, including military, commercial, fishing, scientific, and recreational developments. (Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 N. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92116; web site: www.sdmaritime.com) EXHIBITS

•New Bedford Whaling Museum: 16 April 2004 - Spring 2005, Yankee Whalers, Manjiro, and the Opening of japan.

(18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; 508 997-0046; web site: www. whalingmuseum.org) •Australian National Maritime Museum: 3 June - 20 October 2004, Sailor Style - Art·Fashion·Film (2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia; 02 9298 3777; web site: www. anmm.gov.au) •Great Lakes Historical Society: 27 June - 26 August 2004, 1st Annual Photography Contest & Exhibit. For guidelines and contest information, contact the museum.

(Inland Seas Maritime Museum; 480 Main Street, Vermilion OH 44089; 800 893-1485; web site: www.inlandseas.org) •The Mariners' Museum: from 5 March 2004, Ironclad Evidence: Stories .from the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 800 58 1-7245; web sire: www. mariner.org) •Hudson River Maritime Museum: from May 2004, Ringwald's River: River Steamboats from the Donald Ringwald Collection (1 Rondout Landing, Kingston NY 12401; 845 338-0071; web site: www.ulster.net) •Hampton Roads Naval Museum: from March 2004, A National Emergency: The US Navy in the Cold W'ar (1 Waterside Drive, Suire 248, Norfolk VA 235 1O; 757 322-2987; web site: www.hrnm.navy.mil) •Naval Undersea Museum: from 27 March 2004, Missions ofMercy: Navy Hospital Ships (1 Garnett Way, Keyport WA 98345; 360 396-4148; web site: wwwnum.kpt.nuwc.navy.mil) •Wisconsin Maritime Museum: from March 2004, Hot Boats on Cold W'aterRacing to Win on Wisconsin's Inland W'aters and Great Lakes (75 Maritime Dr., Manitowoc WI 54220; 866 724-2356; web site: www.wimaritimemuseum.org)

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Seventh Maritime Heritage Conference October 27-30, 2004 in Norfolk, Virginia A dozen maritime heritage and o ther o rganizations in the Hampton Roads, Virginia regio n are hos ting the next maritime heritage conference in the histo ri c so uthern seaport of Norfolk. Among them are the Hampton Roads Naval Museum with the battleship USS Wisconsin, The Mariners' Museum, Nauticus, Monitor National M arine Sanctuary, Ports mouth Naval Shipyard Museum and the H ampton Roads Maritim e Association.

The Conference will open on Wednesday, October 27 with a reception at Nauticus and aboard the USS Wisconsin. Program sessio ns will continue through Saturday, O ctober 30. They w ill cover the entire range of maritime and naval heritage topics, with reports on the CSS H L Hunley and USS Monitor preservation projects. Some 45 concurrent 90- minute sessio ns and three pie- N nary sessio ns are planned. Although the program is nearly complete, if yo u have a presentatio n yo u would like to have considered, contac t Program Chair Joseph C. Mosier by e-mail at: jmosier@chrysler.org, phone 757 664-6205 as soon as possible.

The co nference banquet speaker will be Mr. Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the best sellers In the Heart of the Sea and Sea of Glory, America's Voyage ofDiscovery: The US Exploring Expedition 1838-1842. Mystic Seaport M useum Director Em eritus J. Revell Carr wi ll also speak o n his new book All Brave Sailors.

O n Friday, October 29, anendees will board the Spirit of Norfolk for lunch and a fully-narrated cruise of H ampto n Roads. The ship will pass by the various naval install ations and commercial port facilities, and then proceed to the site of the battle between S USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.

Jeff Johnsto n of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary wi ll describe the battle of the ironclads as the Spirit circles the location of the skirmish.

Conference headquarters will be the Sherato n No rfolk Waterside Hotel overlooking the harbo r and adjacent to Town Point Park-just a short walk from two other co nfere nce venues, Nauticus and the Wisconsin. Reserva tions may be made online at the conference rate of $89 plus tax.

The World Ship Trust and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have recently joined the following natio nal and international organizations as co-hosts fo r the event: the American Li ghthouse Coordinating Committee, the American Sail Training Association, the Co uncil of American Maritime Museums, the Historic Naval Ships Association, the Museum Small C raft Association, the National Maritime Alliance, the National Maritime Historical Society, the National Park Service, the Nautical Research G uild , the Naval Histo ri cal Center, the Naval Historical Foundation , the North American Society for Oceanic History, the US Life-Saving Service H eritage Associatio n, and the US Lighthouse Society. The Conference will serve as the annual meeting for seven of these organizations.

NMHSMugs for your home for your office for your friends

Treat your coffee to something fresh !

The following optional tours will be available: •O ld Cape H enry Lighthouse, O ld Coast G uard Station and Virginia Beach Tour •Visit to Po rtsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum and Portsmouth Lightship Museum •Welcome to N orfolk tour, including histo ric city sites and Norfolk Naval Base •C hartered lunch cruise o n board The American Rover •No rfo lk Botanical Gardens, C hrysler Museum, and historic Ghent shopping tour •Colo nial Wi lliamsburg overview and Yo rktown Visitors Center and battl efi eld tour • No rfo lk commercial port fac ilities In depth conference information is o n the Nauticus Web site at www.nauticus.org.

C lick o n the conference logo at the bottom of the home page. The Co nference brochure with detailed information will be issued in June, available via postal mail and on the web site. Both commercial firm s and no n-profit o rganizations are welcomed to exhibit.

Fo r further information contact Conference Chair Captain Channing M. Zucker by e-mail at hnsaOl@aol.com, ph. 757 499-1044. 1-

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Order by Calling 1-800-221-NMHS $18.50 (price includes s/h) or Mail your orders to NMHS PO Box 68, Peekskill, NY 10566

39

A new book ent itled

We Were There The USS Indianapolis Tragedy

By L. Peter Wren, a resc ue offi cer who pulled the men From the sea.

Thi s is th e rest of th e story-a compilati on o f never before told oral histori es-as told by airmen, sa ilors.

and others who were there.

Soft Cover: $ 15.95 Hard Cover: $25.95

Make Checks or 111011ey orders payable to:

WREN ENTERPRIZES 1011 Ridge<op Road. Richmond. VA 23229-6733

"OS ELVER"

The Arrival of the Packet 24" x 30" oil on canvas

irca 1600- 1870

"WORKSBYJEFF ELDREDGE

In 1 750 , 2 brothers from Os , Norwey built boets in " boot house on the Os river, hence nrime 'Oselver' . Seiled in Norwegien regottas today. In structions. Kit is wood plank on frame construction. Scale: 1 : 15 , Length 16 .3 ' #W90 ..... $72.99 plus $6 . ship.htmd.

Orig inal works in oi l @ the Crump McCole Gallery, Boston , MA

617-330- 11 33

Jeff Eldredge, P.O. Box 8, North Carver, MA 02355

tel: 508-946-9834

www.jeffeldredge.com

<*TALL SHIPS B OOKS *>

Traditional maritime working knots in a genuine mahogany display case. Write for a free brochure or call 1-860-767-3146 .

P.O. Box 133 Essex, CT 06426

WWW.TALLS H IPS B OOKS .COM TOLL FREE 1-888-4 6 5-2080

NAUT ICA L FICTION & MARITIME/ NAVAL HI STORY LIMITED EDITION NAVAL PRINTS

ACROSS THE POND P.O. Box 153 SH, Marblehead, MA01945, TUse Toll Free for orders : 1-800-469-3957 acrossthepond @ comcast.net www.a cross thepond.net Send $6.00 for web catalog!

Old & Rare Maritime Books Bought and Sold

• Exp loration and voyages by sea • Shipbuilding, seamanship and navigation • Naval histo ry • Whaling • Yachting and Cruising • Co mmercial fi sheries • Lighthouses, pirates and shipwrecks • Logbooks, documents and manuscripts • Sea charts • Books relating to marine art, antiques and ship models

Pro1•i1u·dow11 I !arbor alii •t with ,1ail...

We are eager to purchase single volumes or entire collections in these subject areas.

Ten Pound Island Book Co. 76 Langsford Street, Gloucester, MA 01930 (978) 283-5299 e-mail: tenpound@s hore.net web: www.tenpound.com Catalog available on request.

SINCE 1976

40

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of D iscovery, The US Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, by Nathaniel Philbrick

eminently "readable," interspersing passages from contemporary letters, journals, and logs with his narrative. W hile not an(Viking Penguin, New York, 2003, 452pp, notated per se, rhe text includes notes on illus, maps, notes, biblio , index, ISBN 0- each chapter, which serve to amplify and, in some cases, explain how certain conclu670-0323 1-X; $27.95hc) Perhaps the greatest "voyage of discov- sions and outcomes came to be. ery"- even greater than the well-known For anyone with an interest in the and still celebra ted Lewis and C lark voyage saga of American exploration, political of discovery-was the relaclimate (not that much differe nt from today!), and tively unknown, and surely, not celeb rated , voyage of the human behavio r, both at US Exploring Expedition its worst and ar irs best, this Ju lhtâ&#x20AC;˘ Heart of the Sett of 1838- 1842. A group of book is a must. It is revelasix ships, under the comtory and fasci nating while maintaining th e easy style mand of an ego-maniacal of for which Philbrick has beand brash young lieutenant named C harles W ilkes, set come known. out upon the western seas to W I L LIAM H. W HITE discover, claim, char t, and Rumson New Jersey catalogue the lands of the Pacific Ocean from the CoThe Barbary Corsairs: lumbia River in the north Warfare in the Mediterto the ice fields of the south. They accom- ranean, 1480-1580, by Jacques H eers, plished this amazing feat and much more, translated by Jonathan North, (Stackpole rerurning to rhe Unired Srares fo ur years Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2003, 272pp, larer, to a co untry whose political agenda illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-85367h ad changed and where controversy and 552-0; $34.95 hc) It is difficult to write a comp rehencriticism mer them at every turn.

W ilkes had so alienated his officers sive book about the Barbary corsairs who and crews that he unquestionably under- provided the O tto man Empi re with naval mined his incredible acco mplishments. fo rces to harass its Euro pean rivals in the His unquenchable need fo r recognition, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Such a constan t self-aggrandizement, his self-de- task is burdened by limited sources on the structive secrecy regarding his prodigious complex politics in N orth Africa, shifting feats and discoveries guaranteed rhat rhis European alliances, and the patchwork of fo ur-year odyssey wo uld be relegated to a Venetian, Genoese, Catalan, and Ottoman "back shelf " where few wo uld be allowed bases in the Mediterranean and Aegean . access.

H eers, an eminent medievalist, does a masNathaniel Philbrick, best known fo r terful job weaving these various threads his splendid tale of the whaleship Essex (In into a colorful and in telligible historical 1he Heart of the Sea), has stayed true to narrative. Heers's co nclusions are sound. fo rm in presenting rhis amazi ng picture H e notes that no Barbary corsair could of not only the man, Charles W il kes, but flourish on the No rth African coast withrhe environment in which h e fo und him - our rhe Sultan's favo r, and that Suleiman self, and the thrilling discoveries (Wilkes skillfully deployed corsairs like Babarossa is credited for discovering Antarctica) he to raid the southern coast of Europe while and his ships made. W hile at times a bi t he was expanding in to central Euro pe. tedious, Sea of Glory points up rhe ex- Some surprising revelations emerge; fo r haustive research Philbrick has done on example, a number of oppressed people in his subj ecr, finding not only the archived Europe looked with favo r upon the co rmaterials from the "Ex. Ex.," bur previ- sairs and even joined rheir forces during ously unknown and , in one case, secret piratical raids. Not all C hristians living in journals and letters from a parti cipant. the Barbary Coast were captives, not all His style of writing is comfo rtable and captives became galley slaves, and life was

NATHANIEL PHILBRICK A.Tl'"._ ...

W''-"1 l '"

'nl

!\ATltl,AI llOOK A\\'ARO

SEA

GLORY

SEA HISTORY 107 , SPRING/SUMMER 2004

not necessarily harsh fo r either free or slave Christians who wound up in No rth Africa. The victory of Christian fo rces againsr the Sultan at the Battle of Lepan to in 157 1 had no long-term effect on the course of history.

A few items needed further attention .

Though there are several illustrations of vessels, historians interested in naval matters will fi nd details regarding ships and naval engagements insufficient and sometimes confusing. H eers noted, for example, that in 1534 eleven triremes conveyed a Turkish embassy to France. H e seems unaware that this type of vessel disappeared in the third century AD . Surely, the sudden appearance of an alleged squadro n of Ottoman tri remes, whatever these ships really were, needs some explanation. Furthermore, he generally neglects the wideranging operations of Barbary corsairs in the Aegean . O ne should, however, not quibble about such minor points. H opefully, one day a scholar of H eers's srarure will write a multi-volume study on the Mediterranean in the Age of Suleiman.

For now we should be grateful fo r th is excellent book from which both scholars and the general reader will profit.

ANTH ONY

J. P APALAS

Greenville, Nor th Carolina

Horatio Lord Nelson , by Brian Lavery (N ew York University Press, New York, 2003, 144pp, illus, photos, maps, glossary, index, ISBN 0-8 147-5 190-3 ; $2 1.95h c) I have read several books on Bri rai n's greatest hero, but this is by far the most concise in its clari ty and brevity. Illustrated with period documents, maps, pai ntings and drawings, Lavery's book gers to the point and stays there, offering a very human portrait of a larger than life character who was both flawed and magnificent, and in the end, a man of flesh and blood, not a sainted deity. Bringing Nelson down to earth only makes his sto ry more compelling because it lets us fully appreciate that this man acted our his incredible life in the real world not on some predestined storybook course to fame and glory. H e made mistakes and evoked controve rsy both in his professional and per41

REVIEWS sonal life, yet he delivered to G reat Britain as tonishing victori es at critical m oments, and m ore importantly, left the Royal N avy with an indelible aura which still inspires his co untrym en to this day. In his own words, "Thank God I have done my du ty."

If yo u know anyone who doesn't know this m an, or perhaps has shied away from more lengthy and daunting biographies, give them this book. Brian Lavery's credentials as C urator of Naval History at Britain's Na tional Maritime Museum, Greenwich , speak fo r themselves, and his book speaks well fo r Nelson , the sailor, the romantic, the hero, the human being. ] ERRY ROB ERTS New Yo rk, New Yo rk

The Story of Sail, by Veres Laszlo and Richard Woodman (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1999, 360pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 1-5575 0-896-8; $57. 50hc) Rarely do we open a book and feel compelled to look at every page befo re putting it back on the shelf. Richard Woodman and Veres Laszlo's lhe Story of Sail is one of these books. Within the pages are 1000 extraordinarily detailed scale d rawings and sixteen colo r plates. Organized chronologically and by them e, the authors have covered well 6,000-years of sailing history.

Woodman and Laszlo include drawings of the earliest known and most primitive craft. They begin with prehistori c bladder-floats and the earliest craft of ancient M esopotamia and Egypt and advance th ro ugh the entire hisrory of sail to the fin al surviving sailing ships of modern times. The authors have illustrated region-specific types of vessels such as junks, dhows, sampans, tartanes, and shures. There are also illustrations of com m on working vessels, auxiliary craft, ships' boats, catam arans, modern racing yachts, rigged warships, clipper ships and experimental sailing vessels. Laszlo, who has illustrated a number of o ther works, is a skilled illustrator and has meticulously produced his line drawings in m etric and imperial measures for ease of use. Woodm an , a well-known maritime historian, provided the readers with clear, concise and insightful text.

M aritime historians, modelers, tea42

chers, and ship enthusias ts will all find this book invaluable. The d rawings of small craft th ro ughout the book are excellent and extremely usefu l because they depict standing and running rigging in fin e detail. Modelers will find the drawings of sh ip's boats particularly interesting because they include the seating arrangem ents.

,(

THE STORY OF SAIL OOI '><

n

1his wo rk is the most detailed and the only general evolutional history of sail in print. 1 h e drawings and the acco mpanying text provide a trem endous level of comparative informatio n for maritime histori ans and enthusiasts alike. Readers will want to pour over these d rawings fo r hours. In short, it is simply delightful to peruse, read and digest.

ROBERT M . BROWNING ]R D umfries, Virginia

A Captain from Cape Cod: The Merchant Fleet of Crowell and Thurlow,

by Paul C. Morris (Lower Cape Publishing, O rleans, MA, 2002, 192 pp, illus, photos, appen, biblo, ISBN 0-936972-203; $40hc) A Captain ftom Cape Cod is indeed both a biography of Captain Peter Crowell of West Dennis, Massachusetts and a history of his fi rm, C rowell & Thurlow.

It is a large-format book, profusely illustrated with photographs of the firm' s schooners, steam vessels, and facilities.

Paul M orris writes in a plain, straight-forward style that complements the downto-earth work-a-day people and vessels he describes, just as he has done in his eight previous boo ks. Peter Crowell was born in 183 7, the son of a schooner cap-

tain , went to sea at 13, and at 19 began his career as a coasting captain . H e came ashore in 1887 at age 50 and began acquiring ownership interests and m anagement contracts in a variety of vessels.

As his business developed, his daughter persuaded him to take in Lewis Thurlow as a junior partner in the fi rm of Crowell & Thurlow as it was being organized in 1900 . Thurlow was fro m Maine and had some yea rs of experience in the ship brokerage and manage ment business. Started at a time when shipp ing was just emerging from the depress ion of the 1880s and 90s, and coinciding with the industrial expansio n in New England, the firm p ros pered. At its peak, Crowell & Thurlow managed at least 82 vessels, many of them huge multi -m as ted schoo ners. By 19 10 steam was m akin g serious inroads in the coas tal trade, schooners were being cut down into coal barges, and in 1912 the firm' s first steam vessel was launched.

World War I bro ugh t high freight rates and the business continued to flourish.

W ith Peter C rowell's retirement, the end of the war, and a drop in fre ight rates, cargos became scarce, crews fo r the larger sch ooners were hard to find, and Thurlow was clearly no Crowell. C rowell died in 1923 at 87 and was spared the bankruptcy in 1924 of a major part of his former firm . Thurlow was a survivo r and hung on with a few ships until he died in 1940.

Alo ng with the great number of photos mentioned earlier, there are ample descriptions of launchings, strandings, and other happenings-all of which make excellent reading fo r the coastal historian or schooner buff A very wo rkmanlike and interesting book that presents a significant cross section of the coas ting trade, A Captain ftom Cape Cod is also a good read!

TOWNSEND HORNOR Os terville, Massachusetts

Exploding Steamboats, Senate Debates, and Technical Reports, The Convergence of Technology, Politics and Rhetoric in the Steamboat Bill of 1838, by R. John Brockmann (Baywood Publishing Com pany, Inc., Ami tyville, NY, 2002, l 56pp, illus, tables, appen, index, notes, ISBN 0895 03-266-X; $34.95hc) Before the mid- l 800s, most peop le

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

SHIPS on banknotes, postcards, stocks, bonds, yachting medals. Nautical books, and objects relating to the sea.

See us on line, or visit us in person at our downtown Manhattan sales g»llery.

•

l::EI l= I

2 Rector St., 12th Floor New York, NY 10006

MODEL GALLERY 12SH·DERBY SOUARE SALEM, MA 01970

978-745-5777 wall@shipmodel.com

artists.

(YACHT & HISTORIC)

!IEJI l! lilll

smytheonline.com 800-622-1880

AMERICAN MARINE

CUSTOM MODELS

. . l?I

L:.t~

Offering an extensive selection of documented, one-of-a-kind ship models by internationally acclaimed

212-943-1880

APPRAISALS RESTORATIONS DISPLAYS UNITS Illus. catalog $10.

($15. overseas) or free brochure

We buy, sell and auction coins, paper money, stocks, bonds, autographs.

FIDDLERS GREEN MODEL SHIPS & YACHTS SHIP MODEL BROKER I will he lp you Buy, Sell , R c1>ai r o r Co mmi ss ion a mod e l

www.FiddlersGreenModelShips.com 201-342-1220 Fidd l er s G ree n Model Ship s

245 Pros ect Avenue. Suite 198. Hacke nsack. NJ 07601

Nautical

Research

Guild

Association of modelers and researchers formed to pursue the mutual interest in ships of all er as and types Membership incl udes the qua rterl y Nautical Research Journal with arti cles by know ledgeab le writers featurin g shi p model bu ilding and resea rch of all periods, merchant, nava l and maritime hi story. Book re views , queri es, replies. and shop notes are other features, including techni ca l draw ings and photographs. Other services include the Maritime In stituti on Su rvey, Shi p t1odel Repair & Restoration Service and the Techni ca l A ~si sta n ce Network. \

Yearly Membership

·

s~rou~ $ 40.00 Canada

~-;..

1

'

$ 43.00 Overseas

Pilotage Under Sail and Oar Pilot boats were un ique among the working craft. Their task was to transport small numbers of men to ships, in any season, in whatever weather came their way. All aspects of th is previously unpublished maritime tradition are considered. Both books were edited by Tom Cunliffe.

Volume 1, hardcover, 344 pp., $69.95 Pilot Schooners of North America and UK Volume 2, hardcover, 347 pp., $69.95 Schooners and Open Boats of the European Pilots Order one of each pav just $124.90 The WoodenBoat Store, PO Box 78, Brooklin , Maine 04616 1-800-273-7447 www.woodenboat.com

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

A -ROVIN' SHENANDOAH DRUNKEN SAILOR LEAVE HER, JOHNNY..

19 Songs

I

•

Comp act Disc ... $1 S. Tape ... $10. Includes postage. Rmex / UI SR/MasterCard 97th, P. 0. Box 2208E, Largo , FL 33779-22 08 . Allow 6- 8 weeks .

Phone:727 -3 91-4565 . FRH:407 - 737 - 6093 . the97th @aol .c om

43

Extraordinary!

fmll -

NAVAL HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

1306 Dahl gren Avenue SE, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5055

NAVY HERITAGE • NAUTICAL GIFTS

• LONE SAILOR STATUE

• HI STOR IC PHOTOS

• CRUI SE BOOK COPIES

•N AVY BOOKS

• NAVY CALENDAR

lllr:-111

."11111111'•. . . . . . : : . .. .r.w. .IDl. .lllr.l. . . .:llll. .l:m. . .~. .

0 NAVY For the finest in custom instruments, choose Downeaster. For more than 35 years, Downeaster's U.S. workshop has turned brass, aluminum, glass and the precision movements into works of maritime-inspired art.

Visit our web site at www.navyhistory.org or contact the Navy Museum Gift Shop in Washington, DC

Handbuilt, fully customized weather stations (nearly r billion possible configurations!)

An array of clocks, including ship's bell and radio silence Ten different models of tide clock, including our bestselling Fishing Tide Clock Many of our instruments priced under

www.Downeaster.com

Phone: 202-678-4333 Fax: 202-889-3565 Email: nhfwny@navyhistory.org

$IOO

Toll-free 888-806-6300

DESKTOP COMPASSES

The Greater The Honor T:::.:==z;::.:_~_;; ....,.. . ,,.,..foM:Ulorfr""fflol!liO•~

...... "'~ ,,__~,.._c_.p..~-'..,.._..,

u.~.,....,...~o.f-.w-

...

..... -.,~

,._,.........,..,

~ I--·,...,..__--.,._-

::.r.:.-:;:.::::t::::::;~-~ '.;=.,.,~ '

.--

The

G reater ~

The H onor

COMMODORE HB

SHIPMATE COMMODORE BXH o il filled br.1s~ wmpass suspt:ndcd in br,m g1mbal nng, mounted 111 a rn.1hog.111} box wn h .1 lungt:d lid l ngrnvcd br.tss pl.nc opuon.11 $h O

RECOGNIZE A JOURNEY, RETIREMENT, PROMOTION, OR THE COMPLETION OF SERVTCE WITH A DESKTOP COMPASS. THREE MOD ELS STARTING AT JUST $70, ALL FIRST CLASS CONSTRUCTION AND MADE IN THE

ROBERT

E.

USA.

WHITE INSTRUMENTS, INC. Exclusive Distributors www.robertwhite.com

Easrern , MA (61 7) 742-3045 • Toll Fre" (800) 992-304 5 • Fa" (61 7) 742-4684

all major credit cards accepted • dealer inquiries welcome

44

New from William H. White, the author of the War of 1812 Trilogy Read this thrilling saga of America's first encounter with the Corsairs of the Barbary Coast. Told by a 14-year-old midshipman who sails with Stephen Decatur in 1803 to fight the pirates of T1ipoli, this carefully researched and crafted sto1yis more than a "sea story"; it is a coming-of-age sto1y of both a young man and the fledgling navy he serves. Sea battles, storms, duels, and more challenge his maturity and encourage his personal growth. Meet Stephen Decatur, Edward Preble, and other soon-to-become-famous participants in thislittleknown conflict, th e "testing fires" for the new American navy.

Available at 1-vww.Am azon .com, your neigh borhood bookseller, www.tillerbooks.com or www.seafiction .net.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

REVIEWS believed it unreasonable for the federal government to regulate industry. In the era of States Rights, slavery debates, and a host of other national and sectional difficul ties, the federal gove rnment rarely even considered this type of legislation. Yet, Congress could no longer ignore the growing problem of steamboat explosions, which caused the deaths of over 2,000 Americans. With national attention focused on these catastrophes, Congress passed the Steamboat Bill of 1838, the first piece of interstate commerce legislation.

R. John Brockmann, a professor at the University of Delaware, tells us how this legislation evolved and eventually passed in Exploding Steamboats, Senate Debates, and Technical Reports, The Convergence of Technology, Politics and Rhetoric in the Steamboat Bill of 1838. The flaws of early steam technology and the industry's inability to regulate itself provide the impetus for his story. Brockmann examined how the legislation progressed and depi cts a complicated web of political alliances and parry politics . The bill eventually passed due to the groundswell of the public's concern over the loss of life. Industry's appeals to C ongress, however, succeeded in watering down the final ve rsion.

Brockmann argues that the Steamboat Bill was "erroneously passed" and in essence failed to solve the problem.

The 1838 bill, not stringently enforced, later forced C ongress to pass new legislation that imposed stricter regulations with more "teeth."

Brockman n's book is not for the casual reader. It is a well-documented argument rhar traces the system atic development and missteps that led to the writing of this importan t legislation . The passage of the 1838 bill represents a watershed event in the regulation of industry by Congress and was the first of m any laws passed which guard the safety of the American public.

ROBERT M. BROWNING ]R. Dumfries, Virginia

All Brave Sailors, by J. Revell Carr (Simon & Schuster, N ew York, 2004, 363pp, photos, map, appen, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-7432-3837-0; $26hc) le was rhe summer of 1947 when I first visited Mystic Seaport Museum with

my fa ther. His particular objective was to see the Charles W Morgan once again, bur I was more impressed by a simple display of a gray, scruffy, 18-foot clinker-built boat described by the label as the jollyboat of the British steamer Anglo-Saxon.

ALL BRAVE

~-s~ -'~ . .¡ .. .._... -. ¡-

>

To my barely teen-aged sense of hisrory, here was a boat that had brought two young men from perdition to salvation; a boat that had "lived" history. Now, Revell Carr, the much-respected fo rm er curator and director of Mys tic Seaport, brings the tale to life, especially fo r the benefit of those "youngsters" born long after the harrowing events of Wo rld War II and rhe Bartle of rhe Atlanti c-the longest campaign in that global war.

The pri ncipal characters in this story are two ships and a number of men whose lives converged briefly in August 1940.

O ne ship, the British freighter AngloSaxon, was traveling bound for Argentina with a cargo of coal to exchange fo r grain to help feed the beleaguered British Isles.

H er complement included 4 1 merchant offi cers and seamen, bur only two-Bob Tapscott and Roy Widdicom be-would make landfall at the end of this voyage.

The other ship was the German armed merchant ship (AMS) Widder, disguised as the neutral Spanish merchant ship El Neptuno. Commanded by H ellmuth von Ruckreschell and manned by a crew of nearly 400 officers and men, rhe Widder's mission was w seek our and destroy British shipping in areas outside of the normal operating areas of the Nazi submarines .

The author writes nor just of rhe excruciating tale of survival of two men cast adrift in a ship's boat with five others who, one by one, perish fro m wo unds, starvation , dehydration, and despai r, bur of their dif-

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

fe ring backgrounds and reactions. H e writes eloquen tl y of the German skipper of Widder, vo n Ruckreschell, who wo uld have been a complex character in a G reek tragedy, neve r mind an acco unt of an all-too-routine murderous war with its tragic effects upon those who survived . About the only complaint this reviewer has is the lack of specifi c reference numbers in the text to guide the reader to the particular citati on in the endnotes. No n-academic publishers have increasingly reso rted to this technique of "uncluttering" the text, presum ably to avoid turning-off non-academic readers.

Those of us inclined to check sources and who deligh t in exp lanato ry endnotes are nor please with this trend. Nonetheless, the book is thoroughly researched and well-written-a wo rthy addition to any library.

RALPH LINWOOD SNOW Woolwich, M aine

Evolution's Captain: The Dark Fate of the Man Wbo Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World, by Peter N ichols (H arper Collins, New Yo rk, 2003, 336pp, illus, sources, ISBN 0-06-00 8877-X; $24.95 hc) The co urse of history takes many tacks, occasionally toward an unexpected destination-so it is with Evolution's Captain . A captain of HMS Beagle rakes his life at sea. Under command of his successor, Robert FirzRoy, a whaleboat fro m the Beagle is stolen near T ierra de! Fuego.

The search fo r the boat leads to rhe abduction of native Fuegians who are sent w Britain to be civilized. W hen the natives are returned, a then unknown natu ralist, Charles D arwin, acco mpanies them on the start of a five-year expedition. This voyage changes natural science forever and calls to question a closely-held belief of wes tern religion, a triumph presaging tragedy- a philosophical clash between FiczRoy and Darwin. These events and rhe figures who participated in them transcend what, on rhe surface, may appear to be a mundane acco unt of historical voyages of exp lorati on. Evolution's Captain is far more refin ed, eruditely addressing an impo rtant segment of the history of science, a social 45

REVIEWS hisro ry of V icrorian Brirain and rhe srarr of rhe dispure berween crearionism and Old Tesrament rheology. Added ro rhis unusual mix are important glimpses inro anrhropology, geography of Cape Horn, the origin of oceanic meteorology, and the clini cal course of a calamirous episode of pathopsychology. The shortcomings are a lack of primary source notatio ns o n rhe many quorarions throughour rhe book and need of an index. In spire of rhese minor fl aws, rhe concise wriring and scholarship of Evolution's Captain make ir enjoyable and very informative, a highly reco mmended addirion ro any maririme hisro rian's library.

LOUIS ARTHUR NORTON Wesr Simsbury, CT

Florida's Vero Beach, Caprain Srron g, recognizing he is rhe o nly ship rhat can help, makes rhe decisio n to risk his career, his ship, and Florida's beach being fou led by his cargo, in an effo rt to save the smaller vessel, irs crew, and, if poss ible, the barge.

All in rhe height of what is now, very nearly a hurricane.

While a bir pedanric ar times, Captain Strong tells his sto ry in a clear voice

In Peril: A Daring Decision, A Captain's Resolve, and the Salvage that Made History, by Skip Srrong and Twain Braden (The Lyo ns Press, G uilford, CT, 2003, 288pp, phoros, diagram s, biblio, index, ISBN 1-59228- 105-2; $22.95) Caprain Skip Srrong and his writing parrner, Twain Braden, provide rhe ideal march ro rell this srory-S rrong was masrer of rhe 688' Cherry Valley, the oi l tanker which he skippered ro glory in the rale, and Braden, also a deep warer sailor wrires for several maritime publi cations and is a former ediror of Professional 1\1ariner.

The srory rhey rell is ar once compelling and enthralling. In November 1994, the oi l tanker Cherry Valley took on ten million gallons of oil for transport from New O rleans to the east coas t of Florida.

Ar rh e sam e rim e, the ocean-go ing tug, ] A. Orgeron picked up a barge at the Martin Marietta plant a few mi les up the Mississippi River from New Orleans; on the barge was secured the external fuel tank for the space shuttl e Atlantis which would be rowed to Cape Canaveral for use in th at vehicle's 1995 fli ght. The tank had cos t in excess of $5 0 million and would naturally be crucial to lifting the shuttle into orbit.

Add to this combination a late-seaso n tropical sto rm , which formed qui ckly off Central America and moved uncharacreristically, confounding the weather forecasters ar rhe Narional Hurricane Cenrer.

When rhe rug's engines fai l and she is in danger of being swept onto the lee shore of

46

without a bir of grandsranding. His m otivations are the morivarions of a mariner in a position ro help another at sea, not o ne seeking accolades, though he and his crew surely received their share, as well as a share of the salvage fee. While modern sea sto ries are not generally in my realm of interesr, I fo und In Peril to be riveting and exhilarati ng. Anyone who loves the derring-do of real life heroes is sure to feel the sam e way.

WILLIAM H. WHITE Rumson, New Jersey

Out of the Fog: The Sinking of the Andrea Doria, by Algot Matrsson, rranslation edired by Gordon W Paulsen and Bruce G. Paulsen (Cornell Maririme Press, Centreville, MD, 2003, 184pp, illus, appen, biblio, ISBN 0870335456; $24.95) After 48 years, the public is still learning new details abour rhe Andrea DoriaStockholm collision. This book by an information officer on rhe corporate sraff of Swedish America Line (Stockholm's owner) recounrs the incident as seen by an insider.

More importantly, the editors (maritime lawyers) have supplemented rhe original rext wirh previously unpublished documents and opinions. These finally shed lighr on the our-of-courr sertl ement rhar broughr the public inquiry to an early end

in January 1957. Thar agreement was possible because borh sides wanted to avo id a lengrhy and expensive rrial, neirher side was eager to see a judicial assignment of "blam e" and borh wanted to minimize the bad publiciry rhar could affecr rhe fu rure of the lin er trade-a future rhat was already being rhrearened by rransAtlantic airlines.

The fac ts show thar the preponderance of fa ulr for rhe collision lay with Andrea Doria, and rh e terms of rhe sertlement confirm that view. The editors cover rhis ground nicely in a succincr legal brief. Out ofthe Fog derai ls, for the firsr time, the design and construction defecrs rhar adversely impacted the Andrea Doria's srabili ry and wa rerrighr integriry-facts rhar were ar the time well known to rhe ship's owners, Iralian Line, and to rhe caprain who commanded her on rhar fareful evening.

This book deserves a place alongsid e Alvin Moscow's classic accounr, Collision Course, because ir goes beyond thar analysis and ill uminates issues abour which Moscow had little information.

CAPTAIN HAROLD J. SUTPHEN Kilmarnock, Virginia

Fury Beach: The Four-Year Odyssey of Captain John Ross and the Victory, by Ray Edinger (Berkley Books, New York, 2003 , 279 pp, maps, illus, index, biblio, ISB N 0-425- 18845-0; $22.95hc) Throughout the 19th century, numerous explorers traveled to the Arcric on expeditions searching for a Northwest Passage. In their attempts, sailors braved harsh co ndirions, faced insurmounrab le odds, and struggled for survival. The sto ry of the Victory recounts one of the more norab le voyages and presents a more accurate acco unt of the captain, the often-disparaged Sir John Ross. Using primary sources, such as Ross's personal narratives, Edinger relares rhe srory of rhe Victory's voyage and rhe sm all gro up of men behind rhe derogato ry campaign agai nsr Caprain Ross. In his vividly descripri ve work, Edinger inrerweaves sh ipboard policies and rhe fare of rhe Victory and her crew. Through rhe colorful descriprions of rhe Arcric landscape and rhe Inuir of Boorhia Peninsula, a barren world of rock, ice, and snow comes to life. The reader feels rhe pain, ago ny, and

SEA HISTORY I 07, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

bo redo m of rhe Victory's crew as they face icebergs, disease, starvation , and the dark Arctic w inter. The tedium and misery are broken, however, with dange ro us overland voyages of scientifi c discovery and with th e peaceful and close relationship with the Inui t. Th ro ugh Edinger's portrayal of th e significant and often inco nsequential mo ments of the 1829- 1833 voyage, rhe reader is co nnected to the mo tley assortme nt of sailo rs and nomads. Edinger, while providing an accurate and clear ponrayal of the controversy surro unding Captain Ross, excites th e imagination of the reader, whether Arcti c novice o r polar historian.

E LI ZABETH W HITFIELD

G reenville, No rth Carolina

The Silent Landscape: The Scientific Voyage of HMS Challenger, by Richard Co rfield (Jose ph H enry Press, Washingto n , D C, 2003, 285 pp., map, illus, deck plans, ISBN 0-3 09-08 904-2; $24 .95hc) The "S il ent Landscape" is the ocean's bottorn. The HMS Challenger, launche<l in 1858, was a 200-foo r, three-m as ted

corvette with an auxiliary steam engine.

The book is the story of an English sciemific expedition that ci rcumnavigated the world covering 68,900 miles in almost fo ur years between 1872 and 1876. The Royal Society's missio n srarem em was straightforward- the Challenger was ro: investigate the physical conditio ns of the deep ocean, determine the chemi cal compos ition of seawa ter at va rious depths, determine physical and chemical co mposition of deep-sea deposits, and inves tigate distribution of organic life at different depths.

In his research , eanh scientist and writer Richard Corfield waded th ro ugh fatho ms of official documents produ ced by rhe vessel's offi cers and expeditio n's "scientifics." In addition, he had the benefit of unofficial journals, one produced by a co mmon crewm ember, a steward 's assisran r. While The Silent Landscape could have better humani zed the event, the book does succeed in readably linking the Victorian expedition's extrao rdinary findin gs and efforts ro 2 1st century science and public issues. Mo re extensi ve use of reports

CRUISE ABOARD THE WWII LIBERTY SHIP JOHN W. BROW

and jo urnals might have more greatly humani zed rhe expedition. The Silent Landscape is science history. The book, however, will delight the reader seekin g the genesis of man y of today's eanh sciences and marine biology issues. The activities and findin gs of the Challenger are linked to calcite compensation, coral survival, global warming, plate tecto ni cs, and continental drift.

Corfield identifies the "most tangible" legacy of the voyage as the ocean drilling program s of the late 20th century. A "less tangible,'' bur nevertheless equally impo rtant, expedi tion outcome relates to the q uestion of God and Science. Stares Co rfi eld , ''Although the Scientifics, officers, and bluejackets mi ght never have perceived it themselves ... they put God and the C hurch in their rightful place: arbiters of spiritual questions rhar can never be answered by the m ethods of science, while showing clearly that scientific questions are properl y the province of science."

P ETER SORENSEN

O ld Mys tic, Co nnecticut Ad vertise in SEA HISTORY magazine and your company 's web site will be linked on

WWW.S EAH ISTORY.ORG Advertising information: 1-800-221-6647 Ext. 235

TAKE A SIX HOUR "Voyage into Hfsi~-;,; featuring music of the 40's by a live "Big Band! " See reenactors demonstrating military equipment and vehicles. Watch an exciting air show with flybys by several WWII aircrafts. Enjoy a continental breakfast and a great all-you-can-eat buffet lunch.

Tour the whole ship, including the engine room, museums, cargo holds, crew's quarters and bridge.

MARITIME

OUR2004 DAY CRUISES

BOOKS

May 22, June 26, September 11, October 9 All cruises depart from Baltimore, Maryland

Cost for each guest - $125. Inquire about Group Discounts.

Restrictions & penalties apply to cancellations.

Mail ticket orde rs to P.O. Box 25846, Highl and Stati on, Baltimore, MD 21 224¡0546. !Please inclu de name, address and phone number.)

Phone Orders: (410) 558-0164 â&#x20AC;˘Fax Orders (410) 866-5214

www.liberty-ship.com

1806 Laurel Crest Madison, Wisconsin 53705-1065 (608) 238-SAIL FAX (608)-238-7249 Email: tuttlemaritime@charter.net http:/ / tuttlemaritirne.com

We accept VISA, MasterCard and Discover. Cruise profits maintain this liberty Ship Memorial. A portion of your payment may be tax deductible. Officers and crew licensed and documented by the U.S. Coast Guard.

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

47

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY AFTERGUARD

J. ARON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

AMERICAN MARITIME OFFI CE RS

]AMES A. MACDONALD FOUNDATION

DAVID S. FO\VLER

DONALD

C. M CGRAW, JR.

NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION AND HI STORIC PRESERVATION RICHARD RATH MEMORJAL FUND

BENEFACTORS

ELIZABETH

SPONSORS

FUND, I NC.

DONORS

ANN

)OE G ERSON

RICHARD w BESSE

PETER H. GHEE

MR. & MRS. ERNEST E. PEARSON, ) R. PETER D . PRUDDEN

ROBERT

STOLT PARCEL TANKERS INC.

L. RANDALL YATES

PATRONS

CAPT. j. HOLLI S BOWER, ) R.

C. COOK

) ACK CREIGHTON

HOWARD H. EDDY

CAPT. FRED

MR. & MRS. T. E. LEONARD

CALEB LORING, JR.

CAPT. PAUL W. SIMPSON EDWARD A. T AFT

DWIGHT GERTZ

H UGH M. PI ERCE PHILIP E. STOLP RAYNER WEIR

W ILLIAM A. HOOD

MARINE SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

RUSSELL & ELLEN NEWBERRY

RI CHARD J. SCHEUER

MR.

SPIRIT & SANZONE DISTRIB UTORS, INC. RALPH N. THOMPSON

NICK VAN RE ESEMA

ALEXANDER W EINTRAUB

QUESTER GALLERY, LLC

&

O SWALD STEWART CARL W. TIMPSON, JR.

G ILBERT VERNEY FOUNDATION ROBE RT W EX LER

ROBERT M. JOH NSTON

) ACK SOMER

WILLIAM SUMMERS T ISBURYWHARF COMPANY

WARREN MARR, II

]AMES ]. MOORE

]SMC A. MORRIS

O 'CONNOR & HEWITT FOUNDATION MR. & MRS. LAWRENCE K. RACHLI N H . ALEXANDER SALM

LCDR ROBERT B. SPEEGLE, USN (RET) CAPTAIN H AROLD J. SUTPHEN WILLIAM R. T OWER, JR.

MR. & MRS. ALEXANDER W VIETOR

ALFRED ) . WILLIAM S

NEILE. )ONES

CAPT. WARREN G. LEBAC K

G EORGE F. RU SSELL, J R.

MRS.JOHN R. SHERWOOD, Ill

BRUCE GODLEY

ROGER A. HASKI NS

MARITIME H ERITAGE PRI NTS

O CEAN CLASSROOM FOUNDATION

ROBERT 0. PH ILLIPS

) AMES P. FARLEY

GEOFFREY GLEASON

COL. & MRS. HARRISON W. MOORE

EDWARD RITTEN HOUSE

O R. D AVID R. DAMON REYNOLDS DU PONT, JR.

FREDERIC H . HARWOOD

MR. & MRS. W ILLIAM ) ETT

D. BUCHANAN

RUSSELL P. CHUBB

RICHARD E. EVANS

MR. & MRS. RICHARD C. LAW RENCE

MRS. PAUL MELLON

0 . PHI LLIPS

MORGAN DALY ANDRES D UARTE

CDR. LELAND F. ESTES, JR.

RI CHARD KURTZ

JACQUES M EGROZ

SEAN H. CUMM INGS

H . SPENCER HART

STEVE B. BATTERMAN H ELE

COCHRANE CHASE

LCDR BARBARA GILMORE, USNR (RET)

)OHN E. H ERZOG

D ALTON MANN, JR.

JOHN 0. BARNARD FREDERICK H. BRUENNER

HENRY T. CHANDLER

DOMINIC A. DELAURENTIS, MD

R!CHARD j. GREENE

DONALD W. PETIT

JOH N G. TALBOT MEMORIAL

JOH N D lX W AYMAN

PHI L PERSINGER

THOMAS L. STARK

W ILLIAM M. WATERMAN

THOMAS BURKHOLDER

WILLARD I. CROWLEY

MRS. NE IL ]SB RANDTSEN RI SING

CAPTAIN H ARO LD VANDERPLOEG

ALFRED TYLER, II

RAoM DAVI D C. BROWN

DAVID G. GREEN

DAVID H . NELSON

CHARLES PAYMENT

SCARANO BOAT BUILDI NG, I NC.

) AMES P. LATHAM

TH E BETTY SUE & ART PEABODY FUND

CAPT. CESARE SORIO

CAPT. NED CHALKER

WILLIAM ELLIOTT

H ENRY KEENE

RAY MOND A. REM ICK , J R.

) AMES H. BRANDI

EDGAR T. CATO

JOHN GAUGHAN

D R. & M RS. DAVI D HAYES

HOWARD H . MCCLURE, JR., M O

)AMES E. PALMER

PAUL F. BALSER

KARL G. ANDREN

DIBNER MARITIME AsSOCIATES LLC

TIMOTHY FOOTE

CAPT. G.M. MUSICK Jll , USN (RET)

H OLLAND & KNIGHT

HOWLAND B. JONES, JR.

MR. & MRS. FRANKE. PERRELLA

KIMBALL SMITH

MARTIN TOYEN

CHRISTIAN E. CRETEUR, MD

JOHN DEANE

MR. & DR. STEVEN W. J ONES DIANA MAUTZ

HOWARD E. H IGHT

NIELS W. JOHNSEN

SUSAN & ANDREW MULLHAUPT

CAPT. DAVID E. PERKINS, USCG

ANTONY R. BRADY

MR. & MRS. EDWI N H. GRANT, )R.

C. HAWKINS

WILLIAM G. MULLER

CLIFFORD A. SM ITH

MR. & MRS. LI NCOLN EKSTROM

MRS. 0 . L. FLEISCHMANN

CARL W HEXAMER, II

JAKOB ISBRANDTSEN

DANIEL R. SUKJS

CADDELL D RY DOCK & REPAIR CO., ]NC.

MR. & MRS. JOHN DARM IN

ROBERT E. M ORRIS, JR.

ALIX THORNE

EDWARD G. ZELINSKY

MR. & MRS. ALBERT R. AHLSTROM

JOHN M. BUTLER

] ACK GOODIER

MARSHALL STREIBERT

ROBERTS YOUNG

JOSEPH P. BENN ETT CAPT. ) AMES

Ross E. ROEDER

ALICE DADOURJAN RICHARDO R. LOPES

JESSE M. BONTECOU PETER). P. BRICKFIELD KARL L. BRIEL C. COUCH JOHN WELDER ) AMES H . FRANCESCHI D. HARRYW GARSCHAGEN

CAPT. ) AMES E. HEG, USN(RET)

MRS. GODWlN ]. PELJSSERO

s REGA N

JOHN

FRANKL. H USSEY, JR.

ROBERT G. MORRIS

WALTER C RON KITE

MRS. M . RHODES BLISH

T IM COLTON

ROBERTS. HAGGE, JR.

DR. DAVID B. MICHAELS

HOWARD SLOTNICK

LTCOL WALTER E. JORGENSEN

MR . & MRS . ELLI CE M CDO NA LD, )R.

BRADFORD D. & STEPHANIE SMITH

ARTHUR A. BIRNEY

THOMAS H. CARRUNTHERS

THE RUTH R. HOYT/ANNE H . JOLLEY FOUNDATIO , I C. NORMAN Liss

INA SHAPIRO

WILLIAM G. WINTERER

LAMMOT COPELAND, JR. ROBERT L. )AMES

D AV ID j. M CBRIDE

PETE R MANIGAULT

BENJAM IN B. BAKER

) AMES E. BREEN

RODNEY N. H OUGHTON

C. & C. HAMILTON SLOAN FOUNDATION

MR. & MRS. NICHOLAS CARLOZZI JOHN W GERHART

McALLISTER TOWING & TRANSPORTATION, INC.

MARY & STEPHEN H. J OHNSON IN MEMORY OF IRVING J OHNSON AND IN HO NO R OF EXY J OHNSON

PATRICIA A. J EAN BARILE

LEONARD J. BALABAN

TH E MACPHERSO

DAVID M. MILTON TRUST

ESTATE OF WALTER j. PETTIT, SR.

TI SBURY T OWING &TRANSPORTATION, I NC.

RICHARDT. DU MOULI N

A. H ERBERT SANDWEN

s. H OOPER FOUNDATION

) AMES H. BROUSSA RD

MCA ASSOC I ATES, I NC .

THOMAS F. DALY

C. MCGRAW FOUNDATION

RONALD L. OSWALD

DAVID A. O 'NEIL

WILLIAM H. WHITE

CLARK GROUP

PLAN KOWNERS

HENRY L. & GRACE DOH ERT Y CHARITABLE FOUNDATIO N

DONALD

CAPTAIN JEAN WORT

ROBERT J. TYo

THEODORE VINCENT T HOMAS H . WYSMULLER

ALEXANDER ZAGOREOS

48

SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

'l

(

I

The Artistic Legacy of

John Prentiss Benson

\!!!~!!!!!~!!!!!~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~!!~!!~!!~,,~,,~,,~,,~,,~,!a!!a!!!!!!'!!!!~!!~!!!~,,~,,~,,~,,~,a~a!!!!~a!aaa~aaaa!~'!!!!!as

A beautiful, gold-foil stamped, hard-covered copy of

The Artistic Legacy of John Prentiss Benson .

Highlights include: +Hard-covered, gold-foil stamped. +Measures 6"x9" with 366 pages. + Biography of John Benson with over 30 black and white photos of the artist and his family. + More than 140 black and white photos of the artist's paintings of which 100 are reproduced in full-color plates in the center section of the book. +Each painting's description includes its date, size, signature identification, medium and a paragraph "of interest."

John P. Benson in his Kittery, Maine, studio in 1931 , painting a Junette titled Whaling Scene, now in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

+ Lists arranged chronologically by date and alphabetically by title of more than 600 known John Benson works of art.

"Penobscot Bay" (oil/canvas, 26" x 54", 1927)

John Benson Book P.O. Box 171 Pocasset, MA 02559-0171

Price: $40.00

www.johnpbenson.org info@johnpbenson.org ISBN: 0-9749016-0-1