Sea History 122 - Spring 2008

No. 122

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SPRING 2008

SEA HISTORY.:

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

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SEA HISTORY

No. 122

SPRING 200 8

CONTENTS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 16 Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, by Philip J. Webster Host ofthis y ear's NMHS A nnual M eeting, CBMM interp rets the many facets ofthe region's history and examines the issues confro nting the Bay and its people. Trustee Phil Webster gives us a tour ofthis lively maritime center on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

20 Wireless Goes to Sea: Guglielmo Marconi's Radio and SS Ponce,

by Captain Henry Helgesen The history of radio and maritime history are plaited together in the story of Guglielmo M arconi's first successful demonstrations of wireless communications in the US. H is choice of venue? Reporting live the A merica's Cup races of 1899 offSandy H ook, New j ersey.

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24 Benjamin Hiller and the Cutter Pickering in the Quasi-War with France,

by William H. Thiesen W hen a ship was lost at sea with all hands, oftentimes the memory ofthe ship and those on board slipped from our memories as well. USCG historian Bill Thiesen teases out the story of Captain Benj amin H iller and his ship Pickering, lost at sea in 1800, and their role in the Quasi- ~r with France, 179 8-1800.

28 Arden Scott's Life in Art and Boats, by Susan P. Feldman It would be hard to p in down a single qualifier fo r Arden Scott-artist and sculptor, boatbuilder, sailor, bagpip er, maritime history and literature p rofessor. ... In this issue, we get a look at her recent works in sculpture and learn how separating the artist from the sea

COAST GUARD HI STORIAN'S O FFICE

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is an impossibility.

34 HISTORIC SHIPS ON A LEE SHORE: Tamaroa Slugs Her Way Through History

by Bill and Judi Doherty The "Tam" or "Mighty Z" served both the Navy and Coast Guard heroically, at times engaging in and surviving near-suicidal rescues, fo r a half century. In her retirement, those who seek to restore her struggle with the usual challenges fa ced by a small group trying to save an historic vessel but they also have struggled with her dual identities and how she should be represented in her new role as an historic ship.

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42 Maritime History on the Internet: Searching the Web in Languages You Cover: USCGC Tamaroa holds station during "the Perfect Storm, " as her rescue boat is sent out to rescue distressed mariners in the North Atlantic in 1991.

(Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard; see p ages 34-37)

DEPARTMENTS 4 I2

DECK LOG AND LETTERS NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTIO N

38 Sea History FOR Kms 44 OBITUARIES

46 SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM N EWS 51 CALENDAR 53 REVIEWS 56 PATRONS

Sea H istory and the National Maritime Historical Society Sea H istory e-mail: edi to rial@seahistory.o rg; NMHS e-mail: nmhs@seahistory.org;

Web site: www.seahistory.org. Ph: 914 737-7878; 800 22 1-NMHS M EMBERS HIP is invired. Afterguard $10,000; Benefacto r $5,000; Plan kowner $2,500; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Parron $250; Friend $100; Contributor $75;

Family $50; Regular $3 5. All members outside the USA please add $10 for posrage. Sea H istory is sent ro all members.

Individual copies cost $3.75.

34 SEA H ISTORY (issn 01 46-93 12) is published quarterly by the Natio nal Mari time Historical Sociery, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box 68 , Peekskill NY 10566. Periodicals postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and add'! ma iling offi ces.

COPYRIG H T Š 2008 by th e Narional Mari time Hisro rical Sociery. Tel: 914-737-7878.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes ro Sea H istory, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DECK LOG Support Your Local Maritime Organization f there is an historic ship being res tored in your neck of the woods, or a maritime museum in your area, if there is a sail-training ship plying your local waters or a replica vessel being built near your town-support it. The range of maritim e heritage proj ects being carried out today is diverse and rich and needs the support of each of us to survive, from our vo lunteer time to our financial resources. This is our legacy, and with our involvement we can help keep these invaluable programs afloat. Yo u can support yo ur favorite marine artists as well-go see their work, patronize the galleries that display them . Better still, buy a painting or a print.

Sea History's role is spreading the word, letting others know what great work is being done, who's making new strides, and who needs more help from you, our readers. In this issue, we' ll introduce you to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, a jewel on M aryland 's Eastern Shore and host to this year's NMHS Annual Meeting. A former crewman from USCGC Tamaroa will bring us up to date on the battle to bring the "Tam" into the new century with a new mission of education, and a veteran crew member of the sail training world asks us to re-think the balance between traditional sail-training culture and safety practices. In an age where most people you know carry a cell phone, the story of Marconi's first successful demonstrations in the US with wireless communications as he reported the 1899 America's C up races reminds us how far we've come and how the history of technology is also maritime history. Finally, Bill Thiesen's acco unt of the little-known story of the cutter Pickering and its heroic captain, Benjamin Hiller, is brought to the fore.

The skills to restore historic vessels, the fiWith heavy hearts we report on the nancial means to buy supplies and employ deaths of too many friends of the Society: our shipwrights, and the opportunity for the rest beloved trustee Rodney Houghton; stalwarts of us to see and learn about the role these in the American heritage movement Frank vessels played in history are all made posand Doris Braynard; the "Sherlock Holmes of sible through the support ofpeople who feel strongly about preserving our maritime herancient ship reconstructors," J. Richard Stefitage. (above) The skipjack Fannie Daughfy, known to everyone who has ever studied erty is being restored on the Chesapeake Bay nautical archaeology; and longtime editor of Maritime Museum's marine railway.

Steamboat Bill, William Rau. It is also with great sadness that we report on the loss by fire of Skipjack Nautical Gallery and the home of its committed owners. The cover artist of the autumn issue of Sea H istory, Patrick O 'Brien, lost many of his paintings portrayed in the "Civil War at Sea'' exhibition.

Looking ahead, we at NMHS have ambitious plans for 20 08, and we look forward to the Connecticut Maritime Association's conference in March, the North American Society for Oceanic History and the Council of American Maritime Museums joint conference in Florida in May, our own 2008 Annual Meeting at St. Michaels, MD in May (see page 13 for details), and WoodenBoat's fabulous show at Mystic Seaport in June. Check out our web site www.seahistory.org for updated listings on these events and the monthly seminars at headquarters in Peekskill, NY. The opportunities to contribute and be active in the field are many. We look forward to a continued partnership in keeping our nation's maritime heritage alive and growing and to m eeting yo u at many maritime events this year.

- Burchenal Green , NMHS President

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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLISHER'S C IRCLE: W illiam H. W hire

Perer

Aron,

OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. Oswald; Vice Chairman , Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O'Regan, Na ncy Schnaars; Treasurer, H. C. Bowen Smirh; Secretary, Th o mas F. Daly; Trustees, Walrer R. Brown, Dav id S. Fowler, Virginia Sreele Grubb, Sreve n W. Jo nes, Robert Kamm , Richard M. Larrabee, Guy E. C. Mairland, John R. McDonald Jr. , James ]. McNamara, Philip J. Shapiro, Howa rd Slornick, BradfordD .Smirh , Cesare So ri a, Philip J. Websrer, W illiam H. Wh ire; Chairmen Emeriti, Walrer R. Brown, Al an G. C hoate, G uy E. C. Mai tland, Cra ig A. C. Reyno lds, H oward Slomi ck; President Emeritus, Perer Stan fo rd FOUN D ER: Karl Ko rtum (19 17-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM D avid C. Brown; Wa lrer Cronkite, C live C ussler, Richard du Mou lin, Alan D. Hu tchison, Jakob Isbrandrsen, John Lehman, Warren M arr, II, Brian A. McAllister, John Srobart, W illiam G. Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbo urne Sm ith; D. K. Abbass, Geo rge Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Bren, RADM Joseph F. Callo, Francis J. Duffy, John W Ewald , T im o th y Foote, W illiam Gi lkerso n, 1110mas G ill mer, Walter J . Hand elman , Steven A. H yman, Hajo Knuttel, G unnar Lundeberg, Joseph A. Maggio, Co nrad Milster, William G . Mu ller, Nancy Hughes Ri cha rdso n

SEA HISTORY EDITO RIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, Timothy J . Runyan; Nor man J. Brou wer, Rob ert Brown in g, W illiam S. Dudley, Daniel Finamore, Kevin Foster, John Odin Jensen, Joseph F. Meany, Lisa No rli ng, Carla Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Quemin Snediker, W illiam H .

Whire NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; Membership Director, Na ncy Schnaars; Marketing Director, Sreve Lovass-Nagy; Marketing & Executive Assistant, Julia C hurch; Accounting, Jill Romeo; Store Sales & Volunteer Coordinator, Jane Maurice

SEA HISTORY: Editor, D eirdre O'Rega n; Advertising Director, We nd y Paggiotra; Editor-at-Large, Peter Sranford; "Sea Histo ry for Kid s" is produced by D eirdre O ' Regan

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

LETTERS Flogging and the Power of a Good Book In her article, "Flogging Wasn't the Worst oflt," (Sea History 121, pp. 10-13) , E. Kay Gibson has left the impression that flogging was outlawed as a direct result of Two Years Before the Mast being published. I would like to offer the opinion that the situation was much more complex than that. Legislation to ban flo gging had been introduced into Co ngress in 1820, a full twenty years before Two Years Before the Mast was published. The precipitating event for passage of the legislation banning flogging in September of 1850 is often said to have been the publishing of White jacket by Herman Melville in March, earlier that same year.

It was a fictionalized story of Melville's cruise aboard USS United States, of which four chapters were a specific indictment of the practice of flogging. Some biographers have even stated that a copy of White jacket was placed on the desk of every member of Congress, although no evidence to support that allegation has ever been uncovered.

Nonetheless, there is yet a stronger link to Dana with this novel of Melville's. A letter from Dana to Melville has been saved, wherein Dana encourages Melville to write of his experiences in the US Navy. Knowing this, I have always assumed it was because Dana respected Melville's powerful skills as a writer. Melville said it best: " ... we assert that flogging in the Navy is opposed to the essential dignity of man, which no legislato r has a right to violate; that it is oppressive, and glaringly unequal in its operations; that it is utterly repugnant to the spirit of the worst times of a barbaro us feudal aristocracy; in a wo rd we denounce it as religiously, morally, and immutably wrong." (White jacket, chapter 35). Flogging was finally outlawed by Congress six months later.

on to serve in the Revenue Curter Service and in 1897 took part in the rescue of265 men trapped in whaling ships off Point Barrow. In 1933 she was purchased by Admiral Richard Byrd and carried the Admiral to the Antarctic base of Little America.

In 1939, she served as Byrd's flagship on his 3rd expedition to the Antarctic, where she set new reco rds by pushing through the ice field , reaching points no ship had ever reach ed before. In 1963 Bear sank in a gale 25 0 miles off Boston.

GENE BIALEK

Washington, DC

Ask Sea History Researchers often contact us, seeking information, and we do our best to put them in contact with appropriate experts, if it is not a question we can answer directly ourselves. As m embers, as opposed to subscribers, you can assist in our mutual quest to further our understanding of our maritime past by contriburing to the conversation. The fo llowing is an exchange between Graham C umming, who wrote asking for help with his research, and NMH S president em eritus Peter Stanford, who contacted World Ship Review's editor Paul Ridgway and Sea History editorial

PUSSER'SÂŽ "The single malt of rum and the father ofgrog"

Forbes writes, "Pusser s is still made in the same way ii was at the time of Trafalgar - in wooden pot-stills as opposed to modern industrial column-stills. This results in the most fall-flavored rum available any where ".

The original Navy Rum and the father of grog as the rum of Great Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Marines for more than two centuries.

CHUCK HERRING

Gold Medals, London, 21J01

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco, 21J03 & 21JOS

Greely's Rescue Ships Geoffrey Clark's excellent article on the Greely Expedition (Sea History 121, pp.

14-18) states that the relief operation was composed of the former steam whalers Bear and Thetis and the British naval vessel Alert.

Both the Thetis and Bear, in reality, were the USS Thetis and USS Bear. Bear was commissioned in the US Navy and outfitted for the Greely mission, as was Thetis. Bear went SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

usser's isn't for everyone. Some people prefer rums that are almost flavorless when compared to the intensely rich flavor of Pusser's. But if you want a rum that you can enj oy sipping, or still taste through the mix of your favorite cocktail, then Pusser 's is for you. Try a Pusser's and Cola sometime and taste the difference.

P

Pusser's is not always easy to find but your local retailer can order it for you. Or take a look at HOW TO FIND IT on our web site at www.pussers.com

~T~ Charles Tobias, Chairman 5

LETTERS advisor Norman Brouwer fo r their advice.

If yo u ca n add to the conversation, please e-m ail us at editorial@seahistory.org, and we'll put yo u in touch with the respective parties .

CUMMING: The County of Kinross ( 17 19 tons) was, due to its large carrying capacity, "convenience of handling," and seaworthiness, reckoned by many to have been the most successful of 12 four-masted sister ships. It proved a very "cost-effective" competitor with steam for its 28- 1/2 years in the service of its owners, R&J Craig of Glasgow (1860-1943) . An earlier sistership of the County of Kinross (No. 78570) was, of course, the County of Peebles (No. 71 742), launched on 5 July 1875 . She was the very first true four-masted full-rig sailing ship m ade of iron.

My great-great-grandfather, Captain Andrew Miller of Perth, Scodand, was the senior mas ter in the Craig fleet of28 ships.

H e was also the first master of the County of Peebles. That ship has survived as the Munoz Gamero-now a breakwater, but still recognizable, in Punta Arenas, Chile.

I have been researching the R&J Craig fleet, the "Scottish East India Line," for some years. It wo uld be enormously fulfilling to find further material on this sm all fleet of 12 four-masters.

STANFORD: Norman Brouwer, author of The International Register of H istoric Ships, tells us the former County of Kinross was still working as a sandbarge in 1950. No other trace of her is known here. County ofKinross was one of a class of fo ur-masted full-rigged ships, one of which, the Falls of Clyde (1878) survives with o riginal rig restored, as a floating exhibit at the H awaii Maritime Center.

These four-masted full -riggers are very interesting ships. Americans who sailed in Falls of Clyde spoke of the hellish co nfusion of so many mas ts and yards crammed in to ships that never exceeded 2,000 tons. The word I get is that she handled much better as a fo ur-masted barque. Interestingly enough , Alan Villiers tells us that both the great Captains Hilgendorf and Miethe of the big five- mas ted barque Potosi refused command of the five-masted ship Preussen-with those extra yards banging about and also the lack of a substantial spanker

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We Welcome Your Letters! E-mail: editorial@seahistory.org or send m ail to: Editor, Sea H istory, 7 Timberknoll Rd., Pocasset, MA 02559 to help put her abo ut in racki ng. (This contrasts with Villi ers's earlier depi ction of Preussen as the ultimate sailing ship, in The war with Cape H orn (1 97 1). In the fin al chapters, after he m et with Ge rma n captains, he lands on her like a ton of bricks.)

It is interesting that the ships generally credited with opening the ocean wo rld were actually what we today call "barques"fore and main square, mizzen fore-and-aft

County ofKinross

(i.e. Santa Maria, Golden H ind, Mayflower, even Endeavour-con verted from a brig to gain the extra fore-and-aft sail aft). From the late 1400s through the 1700s, these vessels were called "ships." Precisionists in the 1800s started classifying ships strictly by rig, and so the nam e "ship" was restricted to the pure square-rigger. Donald McKay, adding a fourth m as t to the superclipper Great Republic, kept squares on the first three m as ts and added a fore-and-aft fourth mast-what we today wo uld call a four-m as ted barque. But he called her "shipentine," borrowing from barquentine, meaning a ship square-rigged only on the foremast, the rest all fore-and-aft.

1he barquentine was never very popular in the US, but West Coast builders built several, wanting the schooner rig-for sailing north against the wind, and a squarerigged m as t-for the return trip south to give the steadying drive of that rig running down the coast. In conclusion, Villiers also felt the 2, 170-ton mtvertree (So uthampton , 1885), now in New Yo rk, should have been a barque-that is a three-m as ted barque wi th her m izzen simply converted to fore-and-aft rig, which, of course, was done to quite a few fu ll-riggers, to save labor and rigging costs with this simpler rig.

She should have had double topgallants, instead of the "man-killing" single t'gans'ls with their 40-foo t drop. Clearly her Leyland Brothers owners were devoted to the full-r igged ship. Indeed, they had specified a main skysail for the wavertree in 1885 , for which we found the extra bolt-holes for an additional backstay in the sheerstrake but have no proof she ever carried it.

Long after Villiers left us, I noticed that the model of the Tusitala (Scots built in 1882 under the name lnveruglas) in India House in New York was a pure full-rigger, unsullied by any vestige of a fore-and-aft spanker! I've since looked at every photo we have of this gallant vessel, the last fullrigger to carry the American flag in regular peace-time commerce, and none show her rigged with a spanker. Yo u'd have thought somebody wo uld have added this very useful sail to her wardrobe, but eviden tly no one ever did.

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage co mes alive in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient ma riners of Greece to Portuguese navigators opening up the ocean world to the heroic effor ts of sailors in modern-day conflicts. Each issue brings new insights and discoveries. Jf you love the sea, rivers, lakes, and

bays-if yo u appreciate the legacy of those who sail in deep wa ter and their wo rkaday craft, then yo u belong with us.

Jo in 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 ch e Sociery and receive Sea History quarterly. My comribucion is enclosed. ($ I 7.50 is for Sea History; any amount above that is tax deductible.) Sign me up as: $50 Family Member $ 100 Friend $35 Regular Member $250 Parron $500 Donor 122 Mr./M s.

----------------------~ZI P _ Return to: Natio nal Ma ritim e Historical Sociery, PO Box 68 , Peekskill NY 10566

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SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

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LETTERS What's in a Line?

In our "Sea History for Kids" section from last issue (Sea History 121 , p. 37), we tasked you to write in and tell us the seven ropes on a ship. Plenry of over-aged kids (ir's a state of mind, right?) wrote in. H ere's th e consensus-bur, first, a disclaimer. A line sailors like to toss aro und is "different ships, different long splices." How true it is. Over the course of a few centuries, sailors could count on a certain amount of consistency from ship to ship. Thar was a good thing, too. Considering how often sailors moved from one ship to another, it would have been exceedingly difficult if they had to be retrained with each transfer. Nevertheless, sailors will insist that how it was on their ship is the only way it should be. The broad consensus, rallied from more than two dozen e-mails and letters, yields that the seven ropes that can be fo und on a ship are: foot rope, bolt rope, bell rope, man rope, head rope, hand (or grab) rope, and buoy rope. Some runners-up in the voting were: dip rope, wire rope, bucket rope, tiller or wheel rope, back rope, and bilge rope. Jim Skeel noted that rhe Hogging rope was kinder than car-o' -n ine tails. Andrew Mdnryre's entries came directly from Reef Points, "a small reference book issued to plebes entering the Naval Academy, such was issued to me in June of 1944-srill have ir!-ir helped to keep those rotten upperclassmen off my back! " Rupert McLean concurred that there are, indeed, only seven ropes, "rhe rest are all sheets, hauls, lines, etc." Tim Clifford qualified the term "bell-rope" and claims that it should nor be included in the list of seven because the bell-rope is "j ust an extension of the clapper [handle]." Finally, David Jalbert challenges green hands to fetch "six feet of chow line."

If literature has anything to say about it, check our this exchange from James Fenimore Cooper's Home as Found (1838), Chapter 19: "We say 'anchor,' or 'let go the anchor,' or 'dropped the anchor,' or some such reasonable expression, and not 'cast anchor,' as if a bit of iron, weighing two or three tons, is to be jerked about like a stone big enough to kill a bird with. As for the 'cable-rope,' as yo u call it, we say the 'cable,' or 'the chain,' or 'the ground tackle,' acco rding to reason and circumstances.

You never hear a real 'salt' flourishing his 'cable-ropes,' and his 'casting-anchors,' which are altogether too sentimental and particular for his manner of speaking. As for 'ropes,' I suppose yo u have not got to be a commodore, and need being told how many there are in a ship."

"I do not pretend to have counted them, bur I have seen a ship, sir, and one under full sail, too, and I know there were as many ropes about her as there are pines on the Vision."

"Are there more than seven of these trees on yo ur mountain? for that is just the number of ropes in a merchant-man; though a man-of-war's man counts one or two more."

"You as tonish me, sir! But seven ropes in a ship?-I should have said there are seven hundred! " "I dare say, I dare say; that is just the way in which a landsman pretends to criticise a vessel. As for th e ropes, I will now give you their names, and then yo u can lay athwart hawse of these canoe gentry, by the hour, and reach them rigging and modesry, both at the same rime. In the first place," conti nued the captain, jerking at his line, and then beginning to count on his finger-"There is the 'man- rope; ' then come the 'bucket-rope,' the 'tiller-rope,' the 'bolt- rope,' the 'foot-rope,' the 'top-rope,' and the 'limberrope.' I have followed the seas, now, more than half a century, and never yet heard of a 'cable-rope,' from any one who could hand, reef, and steer."

"Well, sir, every man to his trade," said the commodore, who just then pulled in a fine pickerel, which was the third he had taken, while his companion rejoiced in no more than a few fruitless bites.

For a pods take on the question, Nick Baker submitted the poem "Seven Ropes" {see at right) by Thorvald Ross, a "well -respected yachtsman."

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Seven Ropes

by Thorvald Ross

In taproom, when the wind was wailing, Old bo's'ns yarned of serve and splice, Of wagers won by mighry sailing, Of whip and warp, of trim and trice.

No more clippers trade-wind driven; We scarce remember, save in rhymes, The names their rigging all were givenLost lingo of hard-bitten times.

A maze of flax and coir and cotton, Of ramie, sisal, hemp and jute, The very twists and lays forgotten, Since steam and diesel won repute.

We class their halyards, sheets and braces, Their lifts and lanyard s, vangs and guys, As ropes that ran to mystic places And sinewed spars in multi-plies.

But take a full-rigged ship, from m aster Down to the boy, they knew each one.

And how to haul or pay it faster Or reeve or snub or let it run.

Yet "ropes" as such they had but seven In all that lexicon of lines, That cobweb spun from deck to heaven, Which Knight in Seamanship defines:

Man rope, on gangway to the landing; Foot rope, the beckets under ya rd To furl and reef-a risky standing!

They held their swabs in light regard.

The top rope swayed topm'st for staying; The bolt rope edged the cloth for roach; The bell rope was for watch and praying; The wheel rope whirled to save a broach.

There was one more, and it no piker, I'd like to've been it if I could, The back rope of the dolphin striker That rough and trusty stick of wood.

From sheer of bow past bobstay bending, It held the jib boom to its search For new horizons, never ending, And foiled the seas at plunge or lurch.

It's gone the way of all its brothers; It did its job, not least or wo rst, But on the voyage with all the others It led the rest and did it first.

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

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Op-Ed

A Culture of Safety for Tall Ships

by Ri gel C rockett

0

n the night of 8 D ecember 2006, in a gale, 460 miles southeast of Cape C od, heavy seas swept seaman Laura Gainey from the deck of the Lunenburg-based sail training ship Picton Castle into the 72 ° Fahrenheit Gulf Stream water. It is likely that she watched in desperation as her ship groped through a nighttime winter gale in search of her. This image is all the more haunting when one recognizes that her death might have been prevented. The same is true for another yo ung person, Benj amin Sutherland, who was killed nearly five months before, doing a dangerous stunt aboard the M artha's Vineyard-based schooner Alabama.

I have worked with both of these tall ship companies; my experience aboard the Picton Castle resulted in my book, Fair Wind and Plenty of It. Among other to pics, Fair Wind discussed the debate in the tall ship industry over how to reconcile traditional and modern ideas, methods, and materials. I m ade a case that, whenever possible, we need to favor the traditional.

Looking back, I see that I failed to m entio n details from my experience that might have contributed to this debate as it applies to safety.

In July of 2006, I happened to be talking with the captain of the Picton Castle, D an M oreland. At that time, he had skippered four circumnavigations with a respectable safety record-a reco rd he touted to potential voyagers. His ship had been hired to visit Bay C ity, Michigan , and open its decks to visitors. I had been fl own in by the local newspaper, which was a spo nsor of the city's tall ship event, to sell my aforem entioned book, which is set aboard the Picton Castle's first world voyage. It was an uncomfortable position for me. I felt somewhere between a Judas and a sellout- a Judas because my book had been critical of M oreland and the Picton Castle; a sellout because I questioned whether it had gone far enough .

As Moreland and I stood on the dock, overlooking his ship, he asked me if I had heard that there had been a death aboard the schooner Alabama. I had no t, and the news hit me hard because the captain of the Alabama was a good friend from my teens when we had worked together as deck hands on Alabama's sister ship, Shenandoah.

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The deceased, 18-year-old Benjam in Sutherland, had been pulling himself across the spring stay, a nearly horizontal wire rope that spans the schooner's two m asts aloft. H e had no harness, and, for whatever reason, lost his grip. It was reported that he hit the foresail and slid along the canvas at a steep angle, slamming into the deck, and dying soon after of a m assive trauma to the head and chest. There were schoolchildren aboard and the scene was bloody.

There is no practical reason for a sailor to cross a spring stay, with or wi thout a harness; rather, it is j ust'as fast to climb down to the deck and ascend the other m as t. The only reason M r. Sutherland had attempted to cross the spring stay was to prove his bravery within the context of that ship's culture. I know, because I crossed a spring stay myself, aboard Shenandoah, and I witnessed a yo ung m an fall from it, sixteen years before the death of Benjamin Sutherland.

It was August in 1990 and the afternoon wind was characteristically strong.

We were aloft, furling sail, and a sailo r decided to hand-over-hand across the spring stay from fo remas t to m ainmast. H e had traversed almost the entire length, legs wrapped around the stay, pulling with

his arms. Near the mainmast he released his legs so he could claim a fo othold. H e was not near enough and his legs dangled in space. He would have to shift his body closer using tired arms alone. H e released one hand to acquire a new grip. H e reached, but his fatigued other hand let go and he fell. The schooner was heeling hard in the brisk wind, and his falling body cleared the deck, narrowly missing the rail. The ship had no engine, so we tacked back to fetch him. He was conscious and grabbed hold of the heaving lines that we threw as we flew by.

In spite of that scare, in the ship's 28th year of operation, the practice of traversing stays and of "trucking," a daredevil rite of sitting on top of the mast with no hands, was not forbidden.

When Dan Moreland told me about the A labama tragedy, I remembered that I'd left my recollection of that spring stay fall from my narrative, hesitant perhaps to damage the reputation of the ship's owner, Bob Douglas. Moreland was familiar with the stunts that have been a part of that ship's identity, so it is not surprising that he mused that D o uglas would have difficul ty proving to investigators that he fostered a culture of safety.

Picton Castle Able Seamen Peter Greathead and Tom W'ard (at the helm) in heavy weather in 1997. The red belt around Greathead's waist is his harness.

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

I believe that Moreland felt quences in everyday life, yet they his reputation wo uld protect him are ever-present on a ship, and the if a serious accident befell his ship. experience is enormously valuable.

After all, he had been named Sail Officers need to help crew make Trainer of the Year by the American the connection that they serve their Sail Training Association. When I ship best when they take m easures sailed with him, drills were a reguto protect life, and that those mealar and frequent part of his routine, sures must transcend the examples and he never allowed nonsense set during the age of sail. such as trucking or hand-overSome people in the tall ship handing across stays. Yet, as anyo ne industry will be angered that I have wh o saw him aggressively attacked compared the circumstances of Laura Gainey's death to those of in the recent documentary, Overboard (produced by the Canadian Benjamin Sutherland's because, in program , C BC's "the fifth estate") their culture of safety, Sutherland's was due to recklessness and Gaincan tell you, his reputation did not ey's was an accident. In fact, both protect him . Video recordings by a incidents stem from a reluctance crewmember and by the reali ty TV series, Tall Ship Chronicles, underto adopt some simple safety meamined his claims that crew were sures. Even knowing Ms. Gainey may have survived long enough always m ade to wear harnesses in rough weather. Moreland's former for a ship to return to her location and bring her aboard, former shipconfidence in his impunity raises mates-licensed captains-continthe question: if he believed that his ship has a culture of safety, then ue ro dismiss the use of strobes and harnesses o n tall ships. These inwhat do es that say about safety exdividuals are understandably fruspectations within his industry?

Later during my Bay City Fare-paying crewmembers Andrew Suida (in the foreground) trated by the kind of sweeping rules book event, Moreland and I again and Dr. David Sinclair on Picton Castle in the North Atlantic that are so often the reaction to a were talking, sitting on a park in 1997. Both are properly dressed for watch during stormy shipboard accident, which leave no room for personal judgm ent. Why, bench that overlooked the Beet of weather with full foul weather gear and safety harnesses. for instance, on som e ships must I sailing ships, when Laura Gainey and some of her shipmates stopped to talk plas tic dome that housed its xeno n bulb, wear a harness on the headrig, even when the ship is tied to a dock? We must not alto him. I was not introduced, but I now visible up to three miles away.

I felt like the only kid on the block low this sense of frustration to tri ck us into remember Ms. Gainey by the tattooed image of the Picton Castle on her shoulder that with a bicycle helmet and probably would ignoring the central challenge of seamanlater appeared in press photos. As a form er not have bothered wearing the gear had my ship : To identify risks and limit them to a Picton Castle crewmember, I knew the tat- father not made me promise that I would. mm1mum.

The most effective improvem ent in too was a statement of how thoroughly in- H e knew I wo uld not be expected to wear a vested she was in the culture that Moreland harness in rough weather. Yet, with my har- tall ship safety can only come from within had helped to create. I remembered how I ness on, I sensed that officers were confident the industry and fro m the captains themtoo had bought into that culture, been tat- sending m e out to furl sail on the headrig selves, because there is no motivato r more tooed myself, and how I'd looked upon my because they knew I would clip in, and if potent for a yo ung sailor than to prove time on the ship as a rite of passage more the bow dove under, I wo uld return to the him- or herself in the context of the ship's potent than any baptism. Is it possible for deck from that spar, which sailors from an- culture. It's time for all tall ship leaders to modernize their view of safety. J, that powerful culture to also embrace more other age referred to as the widow maker.

Some element of risk aboard sailing modern no tions of safety?

On Picton Castle, in the roughest part ships is to be expected; in fact, it is to be Rigel Crockett is an author and former of the first wo rld voyage, I was one of the desired . This very quali ty defines the tall crewmember of the sailing ships Ernestina, few professional crew ro don a harness (my ship experience and makes them such ex- Shenandoah, Gazela Primeiro, N iagara, and personal harness was the over-shoulder cellent training environments for young Picton Castle. He sailed around the world on type). And I was the only crew member to people. I remember carrying blocks aloft Picton Castle s first circumnavigation. H is carry a strobe light, which was pinned to for my first time, realizing what could hap- book about the experience, Fair Wind and m y harness and was just a bit larger than pen if I allowed one to drop. A person just Plenty oflt, was published in 2 004 by Alfred the D-cell battery that powered it and the doesn't confront these life-or-death conse- A. Knopf, Canada.

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

11

NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION 2007 NMHS Annual Awards Celebrated

I

t was a glorious night last October as the maritime community gathered at the New York Yacht C lub to pay homage to significant individuals and achievements in our field. With distinction and charm, our dinner chairman John McDonald Jr. presided over the lively evening.

John Mecray, America's preeminent artist of yachts and yachting, received the Distinguished Service Award. He was recognized for the outstanding co ntribution his talent as an artist has given to our appreciation of yachting, for using his considerable influence to move forward the restoration efforts of the historic schoo ner Coronet, and for co-founding the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI. So much that the National Maritime Historical Society has achieved is a direct result of decades of tireless work by our president emeritus, Peter Stanford. On this gala evening, he was presented with the David A. O'Neil Sheet Anchor Award to a standing ovation.

'

The prestigious NMHS Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Maritime Education went to the Captain john Smith 400 Project, for retracing the route of Smith's historic voyage in a replica shallop, bringing the story of 400 years ago to many ports, large and small, in the Chesapeake Bay. Drew McMullen and Chris Cerino, president and vice-president, respectively, of Sultana Projects, Inc., were on hand to accept the award and engage the crowd with an energetic presentation.

The US Coast G uard Academy C horale performed, as they have at several of o ur dinners, a repertoire of nautically inspired and patriotic songs. Stephen Lash , chairman of C hristie's Auction House, so brilliantly entertained us as auctioneer that he successfully instigated a water-rights dispute between two of our genero us members who vied over the rights to donate $1,500 to the Society for a glass of tap water. In a Solomon-like decision, both won.

(l-r) Awardees Drew McMullen, Peter Stanford, and john Mecray; guests Kristin Murphy and Lisa McKean; Christie's Auctioneer Stephen Lash.

The Three Queens in New York n 13 January in New York Harbor, 300 members and friends ofNMHS viewed the three Queens (Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Victoria), in their only port appearance together, from the decks of World Yacht's Princess-QE2 is being retired next fall, so this was the only time that they could be scheduled to be in the same port si multaneously. On hand for the historic event were: trustees Ron Oswald, Walter Brown, C lay Maitland, and Bob Kamm; the British Schools & Universities Club of New York; members of the Connecticut Maritime Association; and NMHS members who flew in for the event from England, Germany, Bermuda, Canada, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Virginia, and many other locations . Maritime artist Bill Muller, for whom the era of ocean liners has been a recurring theme in many of his oil paintings, Jean Wort who emmigrated to America aboard QE2, New Yo rk State historian emeritus Joe Meany, and Steamship Historical Society of America president Bob Cleasby regaled our guests with entertaining and informative stories of the Queens.

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SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

NMHS Annual Meeting on the Chesapeake, 31May2008 Ronald Oswald, chairman of the National Maritime Historical Society, invites you to the Society's 2008 Annual Meeting to be held at the Harbourtowne Resort and Conference Center in historic St. Michaels, Maryland. This 153-acre resort offers waterfront guest rooms with sweeping views of th e C hesapeake Bay and the Miles River. The resort is not your typ ical conference hotel, so yo u may want to co me a day earl y and take advantage of their championship golf course or any of the other amenities, from which there are many to choose.

Histo ri c Sr. Michaels is just a short ride from Harbourtowne. Sr. Michaels has a rich maritime heritage-it was a shipbuilding center and trading port from colonial times to the early 1800s. Today it retains th e quiet charm and hospitality of an earli er age. In town, yo u will find brick-lined walkways and colonial homes, stone churches, decorated storefronts, and, of course, the Chesapeake Bay Maritim e Museum. Please refer to our profile of the museum in this issue of Sea H istory, pages 16-19.

Maritime enthusiasts will find the O xfo rd-Bellevue Ferry, believed to be th e nation 's oldest privately operated ferry service, worth the short ride across th e Tred Avon River. For the more hearty, go sailing in an authentic working skipjack. Like to stay dry? Many shoreside entertainment choices abound in the area.

The NMHS Business Meeting starts promptly at 9:30AM, followed by maritime heritage presentations given by experts well-versed in the history of C hesapeake Bay. NM HS trustee, Philip Webster, a local resident who has also served on the boards of the C hesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and of Sultana Projects, Inc., will host the luncheon at the Commodore Room of the Miles Ri ver Yacht Club. After lunch , we'll divide into gro ups to tour the museum and rake to the wate r aboard the skipjack, H. M Krentz, and the replica buyboat, Mister Jim .

In addition, Sultana Projects, Inc., will display the shallop they built for last yea r's re-enactment of] ohn Sm ith's 1608 circumnavigation of the Chesapeake Bay, th e winner of the 2007 MHS Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Maritime Education.

PLEASE NOTE: NMHS members will Annual Meeting Maritime Heritage Presentations vo te on six new trustees and three trustees standing for re-election at our business meeting.

Peter Lesher, C urator of Collections, C hesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, A ballot is provided on the Registration Form "Historic Vessels on the Chesapeake" on page 14 to cast your vote. The three trustees William S. Dudley, former director, Naval Historical Center, standin g for re-election are Howard Slotnick, "Maryland's Maritime Heritage" H. C. Bowen Smith, and Philip J Webster.

Our six new candidates are listed below.

James W. Cheevers, Associate Director/Senior C urato r, US Naval Academy Museum, Charles B. Anderson comes from a family "The Renovation of a Naval Museum" with a long tradition of maritime service. His Drew McMullen, Pres., and Chris Cerino, Vice Pres., Sultana Projects, Inc., father was master of SS United States, and his "Retracing Captain John Smith's 1608 Chesapeake Expedition" grandfather was a steamboat pilot operatin g on the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers in the early Ri ve r Park Trust, Metropolitan Waterfront Al1900s. Mr. Anderson served on destroyers in with a particular affection for catboats. the US Navy and currently holds th e rank of Karen Helmerson has maintained a life- liance, Passenger Vessel Association, and Save commander in the US Naval Reserve. Mr. An- long interest in marine history and culture. She Our Ships.

Peter H. Sharp is th e head of The Windderson serves as head of Skuld North America, serves on the board of American Sai l Training Inc. H e is also the co-author of Shipping and the Association (ASTA) and is an active member ward Group in Providence, Rl, an active and Environment, published in 1998, and teaches of the NY harbor and waterfront community. influential trustee of Mystic Seaport, involved admiralty law at Columbia Unive rsity as an ad- Karen is the Director of Electroni c Media and with th e International Yacht Restoration School, and a wooden boar sailor.

Film at th e NYS Coun cil on the Arts. junct professor.

Richard Scarano is vice president of ScarDaniel W. Whalen is managing director James Carter is the Managing Partner of The Lighthouse Group (TLG). Jim's 25-year ano Boat Building and operates C lassic H arbor an d co-head of th e Loan & High Yield Bond business career has covered marketing and Line and Sai ling Excursions, offering public Syndicate Group at BNP Paribus in New York. general management, cons ulting and entrepre- sa ils on the schooners Imagine, Adirondack I A graduate ofTufts University, he is a life-lon g neurial new business development. H e holds and II and the classic motor vessel Manhat- avid sailor and has competed in many regattas. degrees from TCU and the Un ive rsity of Illi- tan. Richard is associated with many public H e cruises the northeast coast in a 34-ft. 1966 nois. H e's a lover of rraditional small sailboats, programs, including ASTA, Friends of Hudson Morgan sloop.

Accommodations (please reserve under the NMHS block of rooms at each to take advantage of the conference discount) : Harbourtowne Resort and Conference Center-Rares: $189 .99; Best Western, St. Michaels: 1228 S. Talbot St.-Rate: $139 .50. Ph. suites ava ilable at $289.99, check in 30 May, depart 1 June 2008.

410 745-3333; web sire: http://book.bestwestern.com.

Ph: 800 446-9066; web site: www.harbourtowne.com.

We encourage you to book early. Please register for the meeting today by returning the Reservation Form (located on the back side of this page) or by visiting NMHS's web sire at www.seahistory.org or call us at NMHS headquarters at 1-800-221-NMH S.

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

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2008 ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION FORM

D D

D D

I/We will attend the Annual Meeting. Please reserve _ _ places at $65 per person which includes continental breakfast, luncheon at the Commodore Room of the Miles River Yacht Club and all tours. Please check if you would like to ride aboard the skipjack D Herman M Krentz or the buyboat D Mic Jim (first 60 responses for each).

Dress for the weather.

Please make me a Patron of the Annual Meeting. My $250 contribution includes two places at the meeting and acknowledgment in the program.

Please make me a Sponsor of the Annual Meeting. My $1 ,000 contribution includes two places at the meeting and a full-page listing in the Annual Meeting program.

I would like to support NMHS with this donation: _ _ _ _ __

NAME ------------------

D

I am enclosing my check to "NMHS" for $_ _ _ __

ADDRESS

D

Please bill $

---------------~

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -ZIP- - - -

to my D Visa D MasterCard D American Express

---~

N AME ON CARD :

---------------~

Telephone # or e-mail (for NMHS use only): CARD #

-----------

EXP. DATE: ----

SIGN ATURE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

I vote for (Can vote for as many as you like or entire slate): D 2008 SLATE TRUSTEE NOMINEES STANDING FOR ELECTION: 0 Charles B. Anderson 0 James Carter 0 Karen Helmerson D Richard Scarano D Peter H. Sharp D Daniel W. Whalen TRUSTEES STANDING FOR RE-ELECTION: 0 Howard Slotnick 0 H . C. Bowen Smith 0 Philip J. Webster To make a reservation, mail or fax this form or a copy to: NMHS, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566; 914 737-7816 (fax). Or call us at 800 221-6647, x O; e-mail us at nmhs@seahistory.org; for registration information visitwww.seahistory.org.

5108 AM

L---------------- - -----------------------~

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Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

by Philip J. Webster isitors, from stud ents and their teachers to US President George W Bush, have discovered an inspirational place of learning along the Eastern Shore of Maryland-the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM).

Their enthusias m might best be described by one young visitor's farher-"He loves this. I can't get him to leave." The history of the Chesapeake Bay comes alive at the museum through a diverse blend of thirty-five buildings, dozens of local watercraft, interactive exhibits, and creative educational programming played out on an eigh teen-acre point ofland overlooking the Miles River and St. Michael's H arbor.

The museum will be the site of the National M aritime Historical Society's Annual Meeting this 3 1 May, and all members are invited to visit and learn from this unique educational institution.

Founded 43 years ago on the sire of commercial seafood packing houses on Navy Point, the museum now has a wide range of exhibits and buildings tracing the geological, social, and economic history of the Bay from its formation (aided by glaciers) to the present day. Its collections range from boars-with 85 vessels, it makes up the largest collection extanr of C hesapeake Bay watercraft-to paint-

V

Waterman's Wharf features a typical shanty used by crabbers and oystermen.

ings, sketches and watercolors, ship models, oyster cans, decoys, guns, and ship's signboards. They also include some larger structures-a Chesapeake screwpile lighthouse and a drawbridge, transported over warer from Hooper Strait and T ilghman Island's Knapps Narrows to the museum's campus. A 10,800-volume library serves as a treasure trove for those researching just abour any topic related to the Chesapeake; it includes ships plans, manuscripts, and sketches from experts such as Cometclass designer C. Lowndes Johnson , boat designer John Trumpy, famed maritime historian Howard I. Chapelle, and marine artist Louis J. Feuchrer.

The museum's three newest exhibits trace the transition of the Chesapeake Bay

In 1966, a year after the museum opened, the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse was decommissioned, removed from its location in the Bay in sections, and taken to the museum on barges.

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from a place of work to a place of play and explain the oystering and crabbing industries that underpin the Bay's maritime economy. These topics are augmented by a constantly changing array of exhibits that spotlight subjects as diverse as marshes, the African-American experience on the Bay, and Chesapeake cultural icons that will look familiar to anyo ne who grew up here and will give perspective to those who are just visiting the region. Other exhibits focus on Chesapeake Bay history, warerfowling, and regional small boats.

With its working boatyard, summer sailing instruction, sleepovers in rhe lighthouse, and trips on the museum's floating fleet, it is a museum one can visit time and rime again. Visitors seeking a more interactive experience can try their hand at ship model building, enjoy outdoor concerts at the bandstand, tour the decks of visiting vessels, attend festivals that honor the oyster and crab, sm all craft and classic boats, or rake a course at the museum's Academy for Life-Long Learning.

Above all, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a people's museum. A full- and part-time staff of over fifty and about 200 volunteers bring the buildings and exhibits to life, supported by some 6,500 museum members and over 70,000 visitors each year.

How the people love this museum!

A four-year-old mans the deck of a reduced-scale skipjack and catches the wind, while her brother stands at the wheel of Thor, a 60-foor buy boat, scanning the waters ahead-all while remaining safe on dry land. A unique birthday parry puts a group of yo ungsters in the Hooper Strait lighthouse to snuggle down for the night, reliving the life of the light keepers who manned the structure years before. Hardy sailors crowd outrigger boards on the Edmee S, the museum's racing log canoe, keeping alive a sailing tradition on the Bay. Visitors slurp down oysters and pound crabs, sometimes in voracious quantities, enjoying the bounty of the Chesapeake made famous by its seafood industry.

Others embark on an early-morning nature voyage on Mr. Jim, the museum's buy boat, awed by the variety of waterfowl they see in a crisp autumn dawn-ducks, geese, mute swans, and eagles-all out for their SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

morning's breakfast. A class of school children tong for oys[ers or bai[ a crab [rap, discovering [ha[ you don'[ ge[ yo ur food wi[hou[ some work. Kids learn [he basics of sailing and small boa[ skills and soon afterwards pu[ [hem to use o n [he wa[er, soloing on a C hesapeake breeze before they know it.

The opportunities for co ntinuing education for adults are equally plentiful. The museum's Academy for Lifelong Learning attracts more than 300 students a semester, offering classes on a broad ran ge of topics relevant to the Bay's history and environment. A yearly lecture series covers subjects as varied as wetlands, the C hesapeake Bay and global warming, collecting Black Americana, and the Underground Railroad. In addition, the Apprentice-fora-Day program offers a hands-on boatbuilding experience in the museum's boatyard, while the members of the CBMM Model Guild work on somewhat smaller craft in their model shop.

The museum's docks are a haven for visiting boats and ships, many of which serve as educational attractions in their own right. It is not unusual to see a pri celess Trumpy yacht from the 1930s berthed near the 1768 -reproduction Schooner Sultana, against a backdrop of vessels from the museum's own floating fleet: Martha, a Hooper Island drake[ail launch ; [he nine-

log bugeye Edna E. Lockwood; the recently restored seven-log crab dredger Old Point; the tugboa[ D elaware; and Rosie Parks, one of the few surviving original skipjacks on [he C hesapeake Bay-now undergoing resto ration on si[e by museum shipwrights. Each June, [he m useum hosts more than 100 antique- and classic boa[s for an annual festival. In October, [he Mid-Atlantic Small C rafr Festival amac[s both ama[eur- and professionally-made skiffs, kayaks, canoes, and sailboa[S to the

museum's docks.

The C hesapeake Bay Maritime Museum interprets the rich story of North America's largest es[Llary and [he people who live, work, and play on or near it.

The issues facing [he Bay area-historical, cultural, and environmental-are ongoing. The museum seeks to represent the past through artifacts, education , and [he preservation of skills once well-used in [he region. As a "living" insd[Lltion, ic challenges visitors to learn m ore fully [he history behind [he issues facing a changing Bay and its people. That learning often takes the form of hands-on activities, such as boat building or sailing. It involves interaction with those who ac[Llally live and wo rk the Bay-crab pickers, skipj ack captains, and watermen. It finds expression in dialogue at meetings tackling subj ects

There's no separating the history of ships and boats from the people who built, worked, and maintained them. (left) Apprentices/or-a-Day learn boatbuilding skills firsthand without having to commit to a major career change. The museum's working boatyard is staffed with skilled shipwrights who work with apprentices to restore and maintain the museum's large fleet of watercraft. (top) An apprentice, in the foreground, and shipwright work side-by-side replacing planks below the waterline on the wooden tugboat, Delaware.

18

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

such as climate change or the disappearances of underwater grasses. Ir includes reading and understanding the issues bro ught up in museum publicatio ns such as its waterways magazine. Ir can be part of a visiting Baltimore third-grade class whose teacher remarked, "You have done

wonderful things at the museum in the past five years. You get better and better with each year. I love bringing the kids to see yo u."

Stuart Parnes, C BMM's president and current secretary general of the International Congress of Maritime Museums,

The museum's docks offer a welcome berth far vessels traveling in the Chesapeake. In season, the museum's waterfront is usually lined with visiting ships and watercraft, offering visitors an extra "exhibit" ofsorts. In this photo, the schooner Sul tana out ofChestertown, Maryland, makes a port stop and allows CBMM patrons to take a look onboard.

summed it up during a visit by President Bush las t October: As yo u can see, this is nor your typical m useum. We are a museum about place-the C hesapeake Bay-a place where human history and natural histo ry are tightly intertwined. For thousands of years, the Bay has shaped the lives and the culture of the men and wo men who have traveled here, worked here, and have been lucky enough to call this place home. And for just as lo ng, we have helped o urselves to the boun ty of the Bay, and left our m ark on the Bay's lands and waters. Today, this magnificent place faces tremendous pressures, and we believe the museum can help. W e are educators, and our goal is serious-to inspire both yo ung and old to value the Bay's unique heritage and to be passionate stewards of the Bay's fragile environmen t. ,!, Philip ]. Webster is a trustee of the National Maritime H istorical Society and a past governor of the Chesap eake Bay Maritime Museum .

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

19

Wireless Goes to Sea: Marconi's Radio and SS Ponce

by Captain H enry N. H elgesen

Rarely do events in history fall cleanly into specialized categories. In our study of maritime history, determining which topics fall into this genre and which do not can be a difficult task. In the story of the great American clipper ships, for example, one finds a maritime story, to be sure, but it is also the story of economics, geography, culture, technology, and even politics. Likewise, in the study of people and events that, at first glance, have little to do with our specialized field, we find the same phenomenon. The article that follows examines one of the heroes of the history of technology, specifically the history of radio, and his first trials in the US. In the story of Guglielmo Marconi's coming to America to demonstrate the success and utility of wireless communications, we find a maritime story. Marconi was brought to the US by a New York newspaper hoping to generate publicity by having the inventor report in live from the America's Cup races that were scheduled to be held in New York waters in the fall of 1899. Readers will discover the place that wireless communications has taken in the improvements of safety at sea, learn about Marconi's coincidental involvement in the grand homecoming for Admiral Dewey after his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay, and how, for author Captain Henry Helgesen, the history of radio, maritime history, and his own family history are inextricably woven together. n an age when forgetting one's cell phone at home is cause for alarm, it is hard to imagine a time when communications between parties co uld take days or weeks, or in the case of ships at sea, months and even years. In the United States, the beginnings of o ur development and use of wireless communications began-where else?-on a ship.

M ore than a hundred years ago, G uglielmo M arconi , an engineer who, with others-notably N ikola Tesla-is credited as having invented the radio (then termed "wireless telegraphy"), sailed for the United States at the invitation of the New York H erald. The newspaper hoped to generate publicity by having M arconi set up his equipment on a ship and report on the America's Cup races, scheduled to be held off Sandy Hook, N J. The event wo uld be two-fold for the newspaper: the first dem onstration of wireless communications in the US would be news in itself, but the reporting of the America's Cup races as they were happening would put the H erald

I

Guglielmo Marconi, 1908 at an advantage over oth er newspapers, then the only form of news outlet, for fans eager to learn about the regatta. The passenger ship SS Ponce, of the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company-

SS Ponce entering New Yo rk Harbor in 1899. Oil painting by M ilton f ames Burns.

20

popularly called The Porto Rico Line, would serve as M arconi's platform.

Late in September of 1899, when the newly launched Ponce had just been deli vered into the hands of the Porto Rico Line and before the brand-new vessel was placed into regular scheduled service, the company accepted a charter from J. M .

Caballos & Co. for the yacht races, and excursions were offered to the public. The N ew Yo rk H erald m ade arrangements for Marconi to come to the US from Europe and place telegraphic signaling equipment on board the Po nce for testing. Coincidentally, the N avy announced that Admiral G eorge D ewey would be arriving in New York aboard USS Olymp ia around the sam e time and that there would be three days of festivities, including a grand parade of naval vessels, to celebrate Dewey's heroic leadership in winning the Battle of M anila Bay. The H erald seized this opportuni ty and sent M arconi aboard the Ponce early to report on the progress of the fleet.

It was during thi s event that the first transmission from an American ship to a shore station took place.

SS Ponce m easured 3,503 gross tons, was 3 17 feet lon g by 42 feet on the beam.

She drew 28 .8 feet of water. The vessel was launched in September 1899 by Harlan & H ollingsworth C o., Wilmington, D elaware, for the N ew York and Porto Rico Steamship Company. She was powered by a 1,650 horsepower triple-expansion engine turning a single screw, which gave a service speed of twelve knots. The vessel had a substantial cargo-carrying capacity and carried one hundred passengers- seven ty in first class and thirty in second class. It was not a particularly large

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

''S. S. PONCE,'' ship, but perfect for the intended trade.

SS Ponce was elegant for the time in style, service, cuisine, and acco mmodations. After the events in New York, for the next forty years Ponce was put into service wirh her sister ship, the San Juan, on the same twenty-eight-day turnaro und schedule between the States and Puerto Rico. About halfWay through her career running between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Jones-Shafroth Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 191 7, making Puerto Rico a United Scates territory. The Act granted US citizenship to all Puerto Ricans.

Marconi's visit to New York was a result of his successful reporting of the 1898 Kingstown Regatta, off Dublin, Ireland.

He had been iss ued his firs t patent in 1897 by the British Parent Office and registered his new business, The Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, that same year. During the Kingstown Regatta, from the deck of The Flying Huntress, he sent the wo rld's first live wireless report of a yacht race to a shore station. With the news of Marconi's successful trials in Europe and an upcoming America's Cup challenge in home waters, James Gordon Bennett, publisher of the Herald, offered to pay M arconi to travel to New York for a Herald exclusive.

Bennett had financed expeditions in the

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name of his newspaper before-in 1869, h e had sent H enry Morton Stanley into Africa to find D avid Livingstone.

In 1899, Sir Thomas Lipton's Shamrock was to challenge J. P. Morgan's Columbia in the tenth Ameri ca's C up race. To Bennett's delight, the D ewey homecoming was to occur at almost exactly rhe same time. Once Marconi arrived in New York, he immediately set off to install his equipment onboard the Ponce and, importantly,

to erect antenna towers at Twin Ligh ts in Highlands, New Jersey, where the H erald had installed a direct phone line to their offices in New York. Just days after his arrival in New York, SS Ponce carried Marconi into the naval procession so that he could report on the progress of the Heer.

It was on 28 September 1899, while the Ponce was steaming in the naval parade, that Guglielmo Marconi sent the fi rst wireless electronic message. It is con-

Aboard USS Olympia, Commodore George Dewey, in charge of the American Asiatic Squadron, engaged and defeated a Spanish fleet at Ma nila Bay on 1 M ay 1898. When news of this first victory of the Spanish-American Ular reached the states, Dewey became an instant hero. The Commodore remained on station in the Philippines for another year before receiving orders to return home. New York was his first American port, and he arrived to a grandiose hero's reception. He sailed into New York Harbor in late September, just as Guglielmo M arconi was preparing to demonstrate his wireless telegraphic equipment for the America's Cup races. USS Olympia was decommissioned in 1922, and visitors can still visit the cruiser at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

R<>cep ion of

ADMIRAL DEWEY PHl<:E

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

25

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21

sidered to be the first US Naval Radio message and also the first paid ship-to-shore radiogram:

Bureau (efJ Equipment, Washington, DC

(l - r) Columbia and Shamrock underway in the 10th America's Cup races in 1899.

Steamship Ponce underway in naval parade, via Navesink Light Station.

Mr. Marconi succeeded in opening Wireless Telegraphic communication with shore at 12:34PM Experiments were a complete success.

Isl Bish, Lieutenant, USN The naval parade continued, with the Ponce participating. On the first day, a procession of naval ships sailed north through lower New York Bay and anchored at the government faci lities off Tompkinsville (Staten Island). On the second day, the parade continued up the Hudson River, where USS Olympia anchored off Grant's Tomb (West 122 11d Street in M anhattan). The rest of the vessels passed Olympia in review before reversing course to sail back down the river toward the bay. The third day was devoted to parades and celebrations ashore for the officers and crews. Each day's events were capped by m assive fireworks displays and decorative displays of electric lighting, which was an exciting novelty at that time.

The Ponce was reported as having transmitted approximately 2,500 words during the first day, at an average speed of abour fifteen words per minute. One speed test produced thirty-one words in one minute and fifty seconds-or about seventeen words per minute.

A few days later, the Dewey events had passed and the first of thirteen America's Cup races began. The races themselves were described as rather tedious events to report because "the winds were light and fickle ." The newsworthiness of the event was not lost, however. While the races were going on, Marconi sent a report to shore of an accident at sea right after it happened.

The advantage of ship-to-shore communication was quickly realized, and the New York Herald and the general public were impressed. During the course of the races it was claimed that 1,200 messages, containing approximately 33,000 words, were transmitted and received.

The US Navy and the Army immediately recognized the value in Marconi's invention; however, the m erchant shipping

22

companies did not. It wo uld take many years and two major maritime disasters at sea, the sinking of the Titanic and the Vestris, as noted examples, before governm ents wo uld pass legislation requiring ocean-going ships to sail with radio equipment and trained operators aboard.

When the RMS Titanic disaster took

place on 14 April 19 12, approximately 1,5 00 our of more than 2,200 persons aboard perished (exact statistics have not been determined). The ocean liner was equipped with radio equipment and trained operators from the Marconi Com pany. Although so m any peo ple were lost in that tragedy, hundreds survived

Lifeboats from RMS Titanic approach Carpathia. Those that made it into the lifeboats would have had Little chance for survival in the cold North Atlantic had Carpathia not heard the distress calls over the radio and altered course for the Titanic's last reported position.

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SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

because they were rescued by SS ship in the best position to have Carpathia, whose wireless o perahelped them.

The loss of Vestris ultimately tor received distress signals from Titanic and relayed the informaresulted in new legislation that required passengers ships and tion to his captain. The Wireless Act, passed by Congress in all freighters of more than 1,600 1910, required ships traveling gross tons to carry radios and to maintain a 24-hour radio watch. more than 200 miles offshore and carrying more than fifty It had taken some thirty-four years, from th e time that radio passengers to carry radio equipwas first introduced in the Unitment on board. The Act, however, ed States by the twenty-six-yeardid not require a 24-hour radio old G uglielmo Marconi from watch-this would not come unthe deck of SS Ponce. til the Radio Act of 1912. PassenSS Ponce's participation in the ger ships that carried radios on first successful Marconi transa voluntary basis primarily used mission in America and in the them for handling message traffic naval parade welcoming Admiral for revenue-continuous radio Dewey in USS Olymp ia are, for watches were not maintained. the most part, long forgottenNot as well known today, but an indicator of how radios but I have not forgotten. My This photo by Vestris crewmember Fred Hanson, printed father, Captai n Nels Helgesen, could improve safety at sea, was in The Baltimore News on 15 November 1928, shows the was a ship captain for the Porthe sinking of the British passendrama ofthe scene as crew and passengers scrambled to Launch to Rico Line and commanded ger ship SS Vestris, which founand board the Lifeboats before the ship roLLed and sank. most of their vessels from 1918 dered in heavy seas 240 miles off the coast of Virginia in 1928. When the Vestris . Chief Officer George H arrison, until 1942, including Ponce, San Juan, Vestris broadcast its first SOS on 12 No- of the Montoso, testified that, at the time, and Montoso-all vessels that had a part in vember, a number of passenger ships and his ship was drifting in heavy seas while this story. He was lost at sea in 1942 when naval vessels received the distress calls and the crew grappled with a crippled steer- his ship, the US Army Transport Coamo, began racing to the liner's reported posi- ing mechanism. The weather was stormy was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in tion, but they were not close by and had to and the seas were rough , but Montoso's the North Atlantic during World War II. buck rough seas through more than a hun- crew was able to fix the problem and get USAT Coamo had just participated in the dred miles to get in range. By the time the underway again. As a cargo vessel, the North African invasion and was returning first of the rescue ships reached the survi- Montoso was not required to sail with a to the US, for more troops, running invors, more than 24 hours had passed since radio installed. When the Vestris slipped dependently. Captain Nels Helgesen was the SOS call had been sent and only two- beneath the waves, the Montoso was back inducted into the National M aritime Hall thirds of the sunken liner's 338 passengers on course, headed towards Boston and of Fame at Kings Point, NY, in 1989.

Guglielmo Marconi's name will aland crew were still alive. away from the location of the sinking ship.

Among the group of passenger ships No calls for help would be heard on the ways be remembered because of his historic achievements in radio technology steaming to the rescue was Ponce's sister and his contribution to the safety of life ship, the San Juan. When it fin ally arrived at sea. He was awarded the No bel Prize in at the scene, her captain, Nels H elgesen, Physics in 1909 . J, radioed, "Have reached position given by Vestris. No signs of lifeboats. Am cruising Captain H enry H elgesen went to sea in 1943 about." Almost immediately, the San Juan as a US Merchant Marine Academy cadet began receiving RCA Radiograms from the midshipman and received his commission in news m edia requesting information and ofthe Coast Guard in 1956 H e is a veteran of fering payment for any photographs of the three wars- World ~r II and the Korean tragedy, but the San Juan never found any and Vietnam ~rs-retiring in 1982. Durtrace of the Vestris. ing his Long career with the Coast Guard, he Federal hearings were held both in served as executive officer and commanding the United States and in Great Britain. officer of the cutter Tamaroa, Sea History During the hearings, it was determined "H istoric Ship on a Lee Shore" in this issue, that SS Montoso, a cargo ship, had been Captain Nels Helgesen only six miles away from the sinking (see pages 34-37).

s

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

23

Benjamin Hiller & the Cutter Pickering in the Quasi-War with France

by Wi ll iam H. Thi esen

B

eginning in 1798, the United States and Revolutionary France fought an undeclared naval war known as the "Quasi-War," just fifteen yea rs after the end of the American Revolution. Angered that the United States had remained neutral in its stru ggle with Great Britain, France issued armed privateers letters of marque, papers permitting them to prey on Am erican merchant vessels sailing the high seas. The fledgling US Navy was hardly equipped to take on this first test on its own, thus, American naval strategists called on the Revenue C utter Service to help battle the privateers. The Revenue C utter Service had been established in 1790 by the US Treasury Department with an initial fl eet of ten cutters to enforce tariff laws. As an armed enforcement agency, the Service's cutters were in a positio n to assist the navy, and they distinguished themselves fighting side-by-side with units of the United States Navy.

These cutters were des igned to be fast sailers, as th ey needed to be able to catch vessels at sea trying to avo id paying tariffs. By early 1798, the Treasury Department employed the Me rrill Shipyard of Newburyport, Massachusetts, to build a new cutter based on the plans of noted naval architect Josiah Fox, who had been involved with the design and building of the first naval frigates. Named in honor of then-Secretary of State Timothy

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This painting ofthe Cutter Eagle capturing the French privateer Mehitable illustrates the sort ofnaval activities carried out by the cutters during the Quasi- ~r. US Navy ships and Revenue Cutter Service vessels worked together to capture and re-capture vessels held by the French. Most engagements were fought between the Caribbean and eastern seaboard ofthe United States. The ships themselves were often transferredfrom one agency to the other. The Eagle was built in 1798 for the Revenue Cutter Service but was transferred to the Navy that same year for service in the Quasi- ~r. She was officially commissioned as a US Navy ship in 1800. At only 58 feet in length and manned with a ship's complement ofseventy, this little vessel captured or assisted in the capture oftwenty-two French vessels.

Pickering, the sleek two-masted cutter was fitted wi th do uble headsails and double topsails to each of its raked masts.

The ship's considerab le spread of canvas in proportion to h er hull size would provide greater speed and enable the cutter to overtake the high ly mobile privatee rs.

Smithsonian maritime historian Howard C hapelle referred to the cutter's sail configuration as a "jackass brig," but contemporaries just called it a brig. Pickering carried fourteen guns, even though a contemporary rendering shows the brig pierced by ten gunports per side. She was m anned by a crew complem ent of seventy, which included a master, m ates, able seamen , ordinary seamen, and boys.

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(left) In addition to playing an important role in designing the US Navy's first frigates, naval architect Josiah Fox (1763- 1847) produced the plans for US Revenue Cutter Service cutter Pickering.

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New Englander Benjamin Hi ller, captain of the Pickering for the final year of its career, was born in Boston in the 1770s. Before joining the Revenue C utter Service, he was most likely an unmarried itineran t mariner, so few records document his early life in that city. Birth and marriage records indicate, however, that he was a member of the H iller fami ly of Boston, known locally for fine silversmithing work. Benjamin Hiller's uncle, Revolutionary War hero Major Joseph Hiller, served as Salem's collector of customs from 1789 to 1802. Major Hi ller's close ties to the Washington and Adams presidential administrations and his position as customs collector most likely helped his nephew win a mate's commissio n onboard Pickering when the cutter set sai l on its maiden voyage in 1798.

Aboard Pickering, Benjamin Hi ller served under two successive sh ip's masters early in the war. Revenue C utter Service Master Jonathan C hapman commanded SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

the brig through the end of 1798 before resigning. In January 1799, at a time when Revenue C utter Service mas ters typically commanded the Service's cutters, the Navy gave distinguished lieutenant Edward Preble co mmand of Pickering to occupy him temporarily while shipbuilders completed the 32-gun frigate USS Essex.

Meanwhile, Hiller advan ced through the ranks, serving as a Revenue C utter Service mate through 1798; in late January 1799 , he received a US Navy lieutenant's commission. After seeing nearly a year of action under C hapman and Preble, the Revenue C utter Service transferred control of Pickering to the navy in late May of 1799 and n ewly-co mmissioned Hiller assumed command a month later.

Hiller established quire a reputation for himself in this capacity. During his command, between the summers of 1799 and 1800, Pickering captured (o r recaptured) fifteen vessels. This included one armed merchantman and four armed privateers, a few of which rivalled Pickerings own fighting strength in weapons and crew. Pickering's battle with the priva teer l'Egypte Conquise serves as a testament to Hiller and his crew's bravery in the face of tremendous odds. In October 1799, France sent its most powerful privateer in

(right) This portrait depicts Benjamin Hiller's uncle, Major Joseph H iller, who had become a friend of George Washington during the American Revolution. As customs collector for Salem in the 1790s, Joseph Hiller likely had a hand in getting Benjamin a mate's position onboard the new Revenue Cutter Service cutter.

the West Indies on a mission to capture Pickering. With at least fourteen nine- and six-pound guns and double-manned with between 175 and 250 men, the privateer out-gunned and o ut-manned Pickerings defenses of fourteen four-pounders and a crew, including marines, that numbered

Cutter Pickering

I

no more than a hundred men. Described by witnesses as "severe," the duel occurred on 8 October 1799. Ir continued for five hours, ceased for an hour and re-commenced for three more hours, after which the privateer struck its colo rs and surrendered. As often happened with reports

This contemporary rendering shows the 1798 Revenue Cutter Pickering pierced by ten gun ports per side, even though sources indicated that the cutter carried only fourteen guns. Congress, guided by Secretary ofthe Treasury Alexander H amilton, established the RevenueMarine (later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service) in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service.

The agency began with a fleet often cutters. The term "cutter" refers to a specific type ofsailing vessel 'asmall, decked ship with one mast and bowsprit, with a gaff mainsail on a boom, a square yard and top sail, and two jibs or a jib and a staysail. " 1 All the vessels built for the Revenue Cutter Service were designated as such, regardless of number of masts. The cutter Pickering, for example, stepped two masts and was rigged as a "jackass" brig.

A 1915 Act of Congress combined the Revenue Cutter Service and the US Lifesaving Service to create the Coast Guard. Today a cutter in the Coast Guard is any USCG vessel over sixty-five feet in Length.

1 (Peter Kemp, ed. The Oxford Companion ro Ships & the Sea; London: Oxford University Press, 1976; pp. 221-222.)

COAST GUA RD HISTORIAN'S OFFICE

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

25

from rhe Cari bbean rhearer, ir rook rhe news a full monrh ro rravel norrh, and inirial reporrs misrepresented aspecrs of rhe barrle. Even som e of roday's accepted hisrories of Pickering claim rhar Preble commanded rhe ship during rhis capstone achievemenr despite rhe facr rhar Hiller had raken command of Pickering rhree months before. In addition ro capruring privareers, Pickering re-caprured more dun ren American merchant ships rhe French had raken in earlier acrions.

Caprain Hiller grew ro be highly esteemed by the American public, the press, and his superiors. In March 1800, New England newspapers printed the following: "We learn, that complaints are made in rhe West Indies of our naval commanders lounging at St. Kitts; except Lieut. Hiller, in the Pickering, who bears rhe reputation of an enterprizing zealous officer." After Pickering returned ro port in May, another paper reporred, "The greatest praise is due ro this enterprising commander, both for his vigilance in protecting rhe convoys under his care, in scourging rhe spoliators of our commerce, and in the excellent management and discipline of the ship and crew under his command. The

This contemporary rendering shows the French frigate l'Insurgente (on the left) during its duel with USS Constellarion off Nevis in the Caribbean in 1799. Llnsurgente became a prize vessel and was subsequently refitted and put in service to the US Navy as USS Insurgent. She was last seen on 8 August 1800 when she left Hampton Roads, Virginia, and sailed for the West Indies. It is presumed that the ship and all hands perished in the hurricane of20 September 1800, along with the cutter Pickering and her crew.

crew wi rhout exception of an individual , are all returned in perfect health ." A later

Ships Captured by Cutter Pickering Name

T;ÂŁFe

Activi!)'.:

Date

Fair American Francis Cynthia

Brig Schooner Schooner English Sloop Schooner Brig Danish Ship Privateer (1 4 guns) Brig Privateer ( 10 guns) Armed merchantman Brig Brig Brig Schooner Privateer (4 guns) Privareer (1 2 guns) Ship

re-cap ture re-capture re-capture re-capture re-capture re-capture re-capture capture re-capture capture capture re-capture re-capture re-capture re-capture capture capture re-capture

1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1799 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800

Helen Brothers l'Egypte Conquise Helen La Voltigeuse Atalanta Hen rich Mary Eliza H arriet Fly !'Active Portland

Captain Preble Preble Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller Hiller

Source: Dudley Knox, editor, Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-Wtzr between the United States and France, vols. 1-V (Washington: Govt. Printing Office, 1935- 1937) .

26

arricle claimed th at "The acriviry of her commander is warmly spoken of at the sourhward- ir deserves praise all around rhe compass." Navy Secretary Benjamin Srodderr was also aware of Hiller's qualiries, wriring ro orhers thar "the Commander is an acrive and enterprising m an , and well qualified ro do good Service." In porrending Hiller's furure, Srodderr wrote ro him, "The President is sensible of yo ur merit, & will not be unmindful of it." By June of 1800, the m erchants of Bosron had asked Captain Thomas Truxtun ro lobby Secrerary Srodderr for a captaincy on behalf of Hiller, and Hiller received a promorion ro master commandant soon afterward.

Late in the summer of 1800, Hiller steered Pickering out of its an chorage in Delaware Bay to set out on ye t another Caribbean rour. In late September, a hurricane brewed along the equator and swept up rhrough the Bahamas with devastating winds and rowering waves that threatened even the American fri gate Insurgent, recently captured from the French. Onboard the cutter Scammel, the crew jettisoned guns and anchors in

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

an effort to ride out the hurricane. O ver on the Pickering, a similar scene of bravery and desperation likely played out as Benjamin Hiller and his crew fought to save their ship.

As the deadly hurricane moved on, it left only one of the US warships afloat. It was the Scammel, however, that survived to fight another day. The winds and sea conditions must have been horrific to have swallowed up the 148-foot frigate Insurgent and her 340 men without leaving a trace. With the sudden disappearance of Pickering, rumors spread in the papers that Hiller and his crew had been captured and massacred in a French takeover of Cura<;:ao.

The massacre never happened, and by the time newspapers printed this rumor in October, the ship, skipper and crew had been gone for a month. A newspaper article printed in December probably provided a more likely account. It noted that a merchant vessel sailing through the hurricane's track, after it had passed, reported "a large copper-bottomed brig, with quarter-boards and a range of ports, was seen bottom upwards."

The case of Pickering underscores the naval figures, such as Thomas Truxtun, obstacles to documenting the early history of Stephen Decatur Jr. and Edward Preble. the Revenue Cutter Service and of an y ship With the loss of his ship with all hands, that put to sea never to return. When Pick- Benjamin Hiller is a forgotten leader and ering went down in that September storm, warrior from a forgotten war. No portrait it took with it many documents, including or rendering commemorates his existence, bookkeeping records, letters, logbooks, and and no obituary or grave stone memorialm emoirs. In addition, the sacking of Wash- izes his death. Captain Benjamin Hiller is ington by the British in the War of 1812 one of the many unrecognized heroes of and fires at the Treasury D epartment in the the Coast G uard and its predecessor servearly 1800s destroyed much of the archival ices who have sacrificed their lives in the material that was left to document the sto ry line of du ty, each of whom is worthy of of this historic cutter and crew. Today, only our attention and respect. ,t contemporary acco unts from newspapers, a few Treasury letters, and som e naval records William H. Thiesen, PhD, is the Atlantic can trace Pickerings distinguished history.

Area historian for the US Coast Guard and The Pickering's story is one of many currently serves as vice president ofthe North lost chapters in the history of the Coast American Society for Oceanic H istory. H e Guard and its predecesso r services. During is the author of Industrializing American his day, Master Commandant Benjamin Shipbuilding: The Transformation of Ship Hiller was co nsidered quite the hero by Design and Construction, 1820-1920, both the general citizenry and wi thin the published in 2 006 by the University ofFlorRevenue C utter Service and the US Navy. ida Press. His articles on naval history have Had Pickering survived that September appeared in several maritime periodicals. For hurri cane, it is possible that Hiller could more on the history of the US Coast Guard have achi eved even greater feats of heroism and its predecessor agencies, visit www. uscg. and joined the pantheon of early Ame rican mil/history.

.,.

It was common for distinguished naval figures, such as Edward Preble (righ t), to sit for several portraits, such as this. Half a dozen naval ships have been named in his honor as well. There are no paintings, renderings, or monuments that commemorate the service ofdistinguished cutter captain Benjamin Hiller.

Unlike many of our naval heroes ofthe period whose paper trails allow historians to retrace their lives completely, gaps in the records for Captain H iller leave room for some guesswork. H e was not registered in any ofthe census records and city directories for the Boston area at the time, but they do list his brother Thomas, who was a stevedore. There are no birth or marriage records for him and his estate records show that he never married; however, it is indicated that he spent a little time in England. Based on his incredible record as a mate and then captain aboard Pickering, there can be no doubt that he was a skilled leader and marinerhe was no older than 3 0 years. That would indicate that he had made a living on the sea for some, if not all, ofhis previous career-but no one knows where he sailed during that time.

(Preble portrait courtesy ofthe Naval Historical Cente1)

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

by Susan P. Feldman

P

m her definin g years growing up n Port Chester, New York, at the mo uth of the Byram River on Long Island So und, to her mo re recent years living in Greenpo rt, New York, Arden Scott has always had a deep connection to water and the sea. As a child, she spent much of her time in or aro und water and daydream ed about what it might be like to take a raft down the M ississippi . Sco tt's love of boats is discernable in almost every aspect of her life, an d her accomplishments are m any-including several professorships, artist grants, gallery and museum exhibitions, and the constructio n and launch of her two-masted 28-foot M urray Petersondesign schooner, Annie. Arden Scott's passion fo r her art and sailing radiates from her presence, and her personality is equally affected by said pass io n. She has a vivacio us and tenacio us spirit that is reflected in her daily life and in her wo rk.

Scott began her jo urney as a sculptor in the 1960s and fully embodied her fascinatio n fo r the water into her artwo rk by utilizing abstract fo rms and silhouettes of boats. Scott wo rks with a variety of materials-cotton, wood, resin, steel, lead, and bronze-to create her sculptures. Although her early wo rks fo llowed the abstract anistic movem ent, q uite popular am ong artists in the 1960s and 70s, Scott's artwo rk even tually took a turn towards more realistic vessels as she began to learn m ore about the actual construction and history of boats. Examining her recent works, it is clear she has a solid understanding of shipand boatbuilding principles and m aterials.

Growing o ut of a life time of sailing and experimenting with watercraft of all kinds, her art also reflects her tho rough understanding of how a boat moves through the water and responds to stresses of wind and sea state.

After raising four children in New York C ity, where she made art in between voyages on the wa ter and the mundane tasks of earning a living (So H o artists revered her as much for her plumbing skills as for h er art), Sco tt m oved to G reenport, a seapo rt village on Lo ng Island's North Fork in th e 198 0s.

There, she and her husband Keith McCamy could live close to the wa ter and be able to m aintain a large r studio space

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After spending years repairing and restoring old boats so she and her family could get out on the water, Arden finally decided to build her own boat-a new boat. Annie, her 28-Joot Murray Peterson schooner was designed with perfect proportions. It allows a Jew people to sail a schooner, with all the big ship parts, but on a more manageable scale. Annie is fitted with leathered gaffjaws, deadeyes and lanyards, and is maintained with enough pitch to leave those who have sailed aboard smelling Like proper j ack Tars.

than her Manhattan apartment co uld afford her. In G reenport, Scott developed h er sense of boat construction as she embarked on repairing and wo rki ng on small discarded fis hin g boats along th e docks. M any of her repair attemp ts

resulted in som ewhat sea-worthy vessels that she and her husband wo uld take o ut on the water, recruiting their child ren and fri ends fo r crew. Eventually, a fellow sailor and close fri end enco uraged Scott to build her own boat from scratch. She wo rked in two boatyards-o ne do ubled as her lawn and garage/s tudio, the other was Annie Barstow's boatyard in town . Eigh t years later, Annie, nam ed fo r Ms. Barstow, was launched-a perfec tly proportion ed little schoon er, pro perly rigged with deadeyes (Left) Arden's adopted hometown has a Long history with the sea, first as a whaling p ort and Later as a fishing community. In 1986, the Village of Greenport commissioned the artist to design and create a monument to the mariners.from Greenport who went to sea and never returned. She found her inspiration fo r its shape in the sleek sterns of the America's Cup boats. The Maritime Monument reads: "Erected by the People ofthe Village of Greenport 1986 To H onor Those Who Have Lost Their Lives at Sea"

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

an d lanya rds and a ciny Ad anric Fisherm an swve in the galley. Twem y years lacer, Arden and Annie have sailed on m any voyages o uc of Gree nport, down eas t w New Englan d and Canada, w po ints so uch, or wherever che mood scrikes h er owner.

Sean's ab ili cy w conscrucc bo th her boat and her scul ptu res fro m the gro u n d up is a fu rther testam em w her vivacio u s perso nality and rema rkab le talem in executing such projects.

Scott's studio is much like a boatyard: completed sculpcures are susp ended fro m

the ceiling by block and tackle; sm al ler sculptures hang along che walls; and wo rks in progress are scan ered abouc che floor, surrounded by workbenches overflowing w ith vario us maceri als and wols. Amidsc che cluner of her scudio, individual sculpcures can be appreciated fo r their simplicity, elegance, and embodimem of real-life characceristics of ships and boats underway. H er m ore sparse silhouettes gracefully creace oudi nes of vessels with curved m ecal or wood pieces welded wgecher, suggesting billowing sails or the buoyancy of a boac at

"Ancestros II" A fascination and respect for the history of ancient boatbuilding is reflected in Arden Scott's "Spirit Boats"

sea.

By the mid- l 990s, Arden was a seasoned seafarer on sm all- w mid-sized boacs.

When her son sailed in w port as mate o n a 125-fooc wooden schooner charte red w run a semester-at-sea program, Arden was taken by rhe idea of going w sea on a bigger vessel. W hen rhe Sourhampwn College adminiscrawrs, who ran the SEAm esrer program, learned about the treasure in their own backyard, they offered Sco tt a job teaching mari time hisw ry, literacure, and d rawing o n the next semester's voyage.

As rhey sailed alo ng the eastern seaboard and through rh e Caribbean w rhe coast of Venezuela, their pro fessor d id what she always had do ne-she gathered m aterials others had w ssed aside and starred making sculp cure. D iscarded skins from fish caught off rhe ship becam e hull materials fo r abstract ship models. When the marine biology class caught and dissected a shark in the Baham as, she salted the skin and made another boar model sculpture.

She and her srudems investigated,

Old Salts. Arden Scott (right) joins Gloria Kim berly for a morning "mug up" on the deck ofthe schooner H arvey Gam age during SEAmester in 1995. An experienced teacher, Arden understood the value in exposing students to people who have spent their lives sailing the world's oceans and passing along the skiffs most people can only read about in books. "Mrs. K" and her husband Captain Arthur Kimberly sailed their brigantine Rom ance on two circumnavigations and several extended voyages to the South Pacific and the Caribbean between 1966 and 1989. Mrs. Kimberly died in Novem ber of2006

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRfNG 2008

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am ong m any to pics, the history of ancient boats. As she learned mo re about their history, design, and co nstruction m ethods, she becam e inspired and implemented historical practices of boat construction and design in the execution of her sculptu res . As a result, she has created a series of mixed-med ia sculptures, where she incorporates the use of clo th o r m etal wrapped aro und an in frastr ucture to emulate a solid hull of a boat. O ne such example is her sculp ture entitled Moira, 1998.

Forry-eight inches in length and eighteen inches high, Moira's hull is made of clo th sewn aro und a welded steel fram e. Its lines are graceful and the long bowsprit carries the sheerline far fo rward. The deck, like the hull, is covered in a canopy of cloth

"Monk Riff4" 2006, steel, 17 x 84 x 10 inches

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"Moira " 1998, steel, cloth, 18 x 48 x 9 inches

that outlines and opens around the center where smaller minimal masts rise into the air. M any of Scott's sculptures maintain this level of minimalism , while exuding an elegant presence that hints of the sculpture's abiliry to sail away on an adventure at any time.

An even more simplistic version of this idea is Mo nk Riff 4, 2006-a steel sculpture mounted on its own base. Mo nk Riff 4 has a strong and dominant structure that is seemingly a delicate essence of a boat. It's easy to see the effects of those studies of ancient seafaring in this sculpture's sweeping line, extending from stem to stern, emphasizing both the grace of the boat's sh ape and its strength to power through wind and waves.

M oira and Mo nk Riff4 are freestanding examples of Scott's sculpture. Hardly one to stick to one rype, she also creates a variery of smaller works that are easily mounted to the wall, such as the work entitled Small D rop Tar, 2006, a small bronze work with rwo sails and a more intricate hull. Scott clearly and effectively emulates an array of shapes and characteristics found on fun ctional boats througho ut her various forms of sculpture. Her work serves as an interpretation of boats out on water; and although her sculptures are n ot sea-worthy, they float on pedestals, m o unts, or in the air, suspended from the ceiling. Inspired by the lo ng history of seafaring, Scott's works inspire those who see them to seek adventures of their own on the water, in the gallery or library, or in

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

"Small D rop Tar" 2006, bronze, 13 x 27 x 2 inches

"Ule're Here " 2007, steel, 54 x 159 x 19 inches

"Errand Upon the Bay " 2007, steel, 30.5 x 43 x 9 inches

Arden Scott pauses for a moment in her Greenport, NY, studio. their imaginations.

Arden Scott creates art in her studio in Greenport, New York, and continues to sail on Annie at every opportunity. ,!,

Susan P. Feldman is a graduate ofNew York University and holds an MA in visual arts administration. She has a background in art history from Willamette University in Oregon. For more information on Arden Scott and her art, visit www.ardenscott.com. Scott is represented by Kathryn Markel Fine Arts in New York, www.markelfinearts.com.

"Live Steam Voices "

Among her many pursuits, Arden is also a talented musician. H er instruments of choice aren't the easiest to learn. She plays a mean bagpipe, and an earfor the beauty in the sound of an old steam whistle led to a unique concert tour in the late 1980s. "Live Steam Voices Salute The Empire State" paid homage to the Erie Canal. The tour was a collaboration between Arden Scott and composer William Varick Basset and gave concerts along the 505-mile barge canal from New York City to Buffalo, using a collection of 24 steam whistles as their musical instruments. The 3-week concert tour and steam whistle exhibition used a barge for its stage.

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRJNG 2008

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Marit1e Art News: Uisaster Strikes at Marit1e 0-allery

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kipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery, a maritime antiques and fine art gallery located in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia, was damaged and subsequently demolished afte r an early morning fire broke out in a nearby church. On 20 December 2007, the historic 142-yearold Zion Baptist Church was completely destroyed after a fire that started in the main sanctuary quickly spread to the adjacent building, located next to Skipjack Nautical Wares. An explosion caused by a buildup of trapped heat and gas blew up the neighboring community center and caused damage to the second floor residence of Skipjack owners Joe and Alison Elder. Later that same day, the City of Portsmouth condemned the building and demolished the structure out of concern for public safety.

Nearly the entire collection of maritime antiques and marine art in the showroom was destroyed in the demolition, as well as all of the owners' personal belongings-the building housed the owners' residence above their place of business. Skipjack Naurical Wares & Marine Gallery represenred over 35 conremporary marine artists wo rking in various media including paintings, etchings and prinr, sculpture, photography, scrimshaw, sailor art, folk art, wood carvings, ship models, custom furniture and furnishings. Artists that have lost works in the disaster include: Bill Allen, Susan and Mike Bade, George Bell, Eric Peter Black, David Boone, Jim Campbell, Richard Carpenter, Gentry Childress, Constance Fahey, Bud Fisher, Greg Fortner, Michael Goodwin, Allen Graves,

Skipjack Nautical Wtires & Marine Gallery

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Steve Hutchinson, Dorothy Hudgins, Jae & Patricia Johnson, Capt. Peter Labyak, Sam McDowell, Joe McNelis, Richard C. Moore, Fran Morey, Erick Marshall Murray, Donna Lee Nyzio, Patrick O 'Brien, Will iam Barth Osmundsen, Norris Padgett Jr., Norris Padgett III, Everett Peterson , Pauli ne Ross, Stella Schreiber, David Timm, David M. Weiss, and Jim Boll and.

A small number of antiques and artist's works were recovered from the debris. Few items chat were located in the Eider's residence survived. The future of the gallery is still in question at chis time, but you can stay up to date by visiting www.skipjacknaucicalwares.com.

You can read articles concerning the disaster and make financial contributions by visiting www://friendsofskipjack.com/.

Sea Histo ry readers will recognize the damaged painting (bottom left) , from the cover of the autumn 2007 issue, no. 120.

According to its creator, Patrick O'Brien: "My solo exhibition 'The Civil Wtir at Sea' had ended three weeks before the fire, so many of my paintin gs, which depicted a tragic era in our nation's hisrory, narrowly avoided a tragic Artist Patrick O'Brien carries this surviving fate of their own. I did lose painting back to the safety ofhis studio. some paintings, but, thankfully, someone managed to rescue my favorite, 'Charleston Harbor Under the Blockade,' (in photo above right) just before the demolition . This painting has taken on a special meaning to me as a lone su rvivor, plucked at the last minute from sure destruction." j:,

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

Tamaroa Slugs Her Way Through History

by Bill and Judi D oherty

T

hey came because she needed them. They were exCoasries, swabbies, civilians, engineers, businessmen , fri ends-volunteers all. She was the fo rmer USCGC Tamaroa (ex-USS Zuni), the hero ship immortalized in Sebastian Junger's best-selling book, The Perfect Storm. D ecommissioned in 1994, the "Tam" had been unceremo nio usly te thered to a New York C ity pier and left to languish , untended and exposed to the elements for six years. By aurumn of2000, her hull and deck were rust-stained and peeling; she was raki ng on water th ro ugh ro tting gaskets.

Those who rallied aro und the ship felt she deserved better.

For mo re than fl fry years, the Tamaroa had sheltered her own crews and snatched co untless o thers away fro m an ocean perperually starved fo r so uls. Sons, bro thers, husbands, and fa thers made it home fro m sea because the Tam did her job.

First commissio ned by rhe US Navy in 1943 as USS Zuni, one of seventy in her class, she began her service ro the country as a salvage rug, handmaiden to other shi ps more glamoro us than she. Immediately, she distinguished herself in th e Pacific theater of Wo rld War II. Ir was the 205-foo r Zuni that rowed the crippled USS H ouston (CL-8 1) to safety after the cruiser rook two rorpedo hits during a Japanese aerial blitz to answer raids o n O kinawa and Formosa in October 1944. A m onth later, it was USS Zuni's srurdy hull, lashed to the side of the listing USS Reno (CL-96), that kept the wo unded cruiser upright and afloat as it was drawn from battle. Agai n, it was the Zuni, in a desperate maneuver to

USS Zuni alongside USS Reno in 1944 in the Pacific. Z uni kept the torpedoed cruiser up right so she could be stabilized fa r towing. offl oad munitio ns and cargo to a beached LST at Iwo Jima, that was herself deliberately beached o nto th e sho re beside the stricken vessel. Later, in yet another salvage o peratio n, her rowing cable parred and wrapped aro und her pro peller shaft, killing two men.

Unable ro maintain propulsion or steerage, she dri fte d as hore o nto Iwo Ji ma's Yellow Beach . Holed and with a broken keel, the salvage ru g was salvaged herself and rowed off the beach and taken to Saipan and on to Pearl H arbor fo r extensive repairs. While she was still in shipyard, the war ended .

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USS Z uni was renamed USCGCTam aroa when she was transferred to the US Coast Guard. In this Novem ber 1946 photo (above), she had recently switched ownership but had yet to go through the physical transformation reflecting her new identity. (below) With a black hull, no. 166, Tamaroa began her work with the Coast Guard and would serve another 48 years before being decommissioned in 1994. _,

After earning fo ur battle stars in WWII, she was decommissio ned in 1946 and transferred to the US Coas t G uard, where, as custom dictated, she was ren am ed in hono r of a Native American tribe. Tugboat Zuni was reborn USCGC Tamaroa. Th e Coast Guard painted her hull black, designated her as a WAT, and gave her rhe hull n umber 166. H er designation was changed to WATF in 1956 and to WHEC in 1966.

In her new role in service to the Coast G uard, Tamaroa fo und herself off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1956 on the scene of the in fa mo us ramming and sin king of SS Andrea Doria. There, the Tam served as somber escort to rhe Swedish ship held respon sible for rhe tragedy, M S Stockholm. She continued on to perfo rm honorably in fish eries law enforce ment and drug traffi cking control, making twelve d rug busts and carrying our countless search-and-rescue missions.

Never o nce did she tire of wresting souls away fro m the sea.

In the 1980s, sh e even helped New Yo rk C ity cope with a san ita tion strike when she rowed garbage barges to other po rts.

Ultima tely, however, it was rhe "Perfect Storm" of 1991 , the deadly meteorological event made fam ous by writer Sebas tian Junger, that immortalized Tamaroa to the rest of the nation .

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

First on the scene after the Andrea Doria (a bove) had collided with the ship M S Stockholm in 1956, Tamaroa and another USCG cutter, W-91 (in photo below), escorted the Swedish liner back to New Yo rk. The Stockholm suffered severe damage in her bow section but was able to make it to port under her own power.

I.

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In that Atlantic storm of storms, Tamaroa had just come to the rescue of three distressed sailors from the sailboat Satori off N antucket when she was sent back seaward to rescue the crew of a New York Natio nal G ua rd HH-60 helicopter, which had run o ut of fuel during its own rescue missio n and plunged in to th e sea with five crewmen onboard. Tamaroa slugged her way thro ugh monstrous waves to battle for the lives of fellow rescuers. Thar rime the sea blinked first- the near suicidal effo rt of the Tamaroa and her crew saved the lives of four of th e fi ve crewmembers.

The cutter and her crew we re awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation and the Coas t Guard Fo und ati o n Award.

Again and again , like a sea-going version of the "Little Engine Thar Could," the Tam and her crews thought she co uldand she did. Countless peo ple had depended on and used her fo r half a century, but, with the dawn of the new millennium , it turned out that the battered old ship was the one in need. So when the call for help went o ut, people remembered her tireless efforts and came. Ir was payback time.

I had served as Seam an o n the Tam's D eck Force in 1967-68.

Spo tting my old ship rusting away at a dock in lower M anhattan, I began researching her status and broadcasting her plight. I wrote to newspapers, pos ted notices on the web, called dozens SEA HISTORY 122, SPRJNG 2008

of people, and sent letters to military leaders and politicians. I discovered that, after her decommissioning in 1994, Tamaroa had been turned over to the Hudson River Park Trust fo r use as floating offices. She fo und a temporary haven at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum o n M anhattan's lower west side, which allowed her to berth at their pier for a sho rt while. The Trust's plan was ultimately abando ned and, along with it, the Tamaroa.

The cutter's ownership reverted back to New York State and was eventually turned over to th e Government Services Administrati on (G SA), the federal agency charged with auctioning off surplus government property. In September of 2000, I wrote an Op-Ed letter to the New York Daily News, expressing my dismay at the poor treatment the Tamaroa was receiving. Al most immedi ately, any agency which had been involved (Intrepid M useum , Hudson River Park Trust, N ew Yo rk State) wanted nothing to do with her.

This plea for help, however, did not go un answered.

Individuals and groups heeded the call: the crew of rhe fireboat john J H arvey, who had experience with acquiring and restoring an historic vessel, the M etropolitan Waterfront Alliance, former C oas t G uardsmen, fri ends, and family. O n a co ld, gray Veteran 's D ay in 2000 , a new type of rescue parry boarded the Tam. Joining m e onboa rd were members of the H arvey and a trio of I.U.O .E. (International Union of Operating Engineers) Local 94 engineers: James McC lellan, Fred Va rone and D o m Vezza. U nsure if we could save her from the razo r blade factory, at the ve ry least, we wanted to get the water our of her bilges and keep her sound while we wo rked on a plan . Equipped with portable generarors and pumps, these unlikely bilge rats pumped her dry, cleaned and sealed the hatches, studied her blueprints and m ade a promise not to abandon her.

Th e tiny coalition of Tam admi rers continued the fight right up until the las t day of the GSA auction . W hen wo rd was received that she had been sold, instead of despair, we held on to hope and sent word to the winning bidder offering our help.

That strategy paid off. M onths later, the new owner contacted me and Serge Obolensky, who had served on the ship in 1983 as the Independent Oury Corpsm an and was now my partner in working to save the ship from the scrap heap, inquiring as to the This p hoto shows Tam aroa painted with the red slash, which was adop ted in 19 67 far Coast Guard vessels, vehicles, and aircraft.

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Tamaroa' s rigid-hull inflatable rescue boat is sent to help the crew ofthe sailing vessel Satori during the "Perfect Storm" in 1991. Crewmembers from the sailboat had issued a mayday call about 75 miles south ofNantucket. After the three Satori sailors were safely aboard the cutter, Tam aroa s job wasn't finished. She was sent back seaward through monstrous seas and hurricane-force winds to rescue the crew ofa downed National Guard helicopter, which had run out of.fa.el during its own rescue efforts and crashed in the North Atlantic. possibili ry of serring up a nor-for-profi r gro up to rake over and restore rh e ship. A meering was sec up in Balrimo re early in 2001 to meer wirh rhe currenr owner, a pros pecrive owner, and several inreresred parries, including a number of form er crewmem bers.

We presenred our case, rhen we nr home to wair fo r rhe verdicr.

Afre r weeks of nail-bi ring, wo rd was broadcas r over rhe inrern er- "rhe Tam is o urs! " The newly form ed Tamaroa Maririme Fo undarion had succeeded in nego n ar mg a

parmership wirh an inreres red owner w h o acquired rhe vessel's rid e and had already begun rhe search for inves tors to help raise rhe $300 ,000 needed to make h er seaworrhy again. Thar spring, rhe Tam aroa M aririme Fo undario n held irs firsr work day.

Fo rmer crewm embers wo ndered if rhey mighr see old shipmares again and were anxious to see how much rheir ship mighr have changed over rhe years. As for mer shipmares showed up on rhe dock, m em o ries of yo unger days insrandy rushed forward.

The original volunteers, the "bilge rats" who answered the call to stabilize Tamaroa as she sat neglected at a pier in New York City, pumped her bilges, sealed her hatches, and began to plan for the ships recovery in the face of overwhelming odds. /

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SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

Manning her decks made us young again-forger the extra of them might consider joining the Navy, Coast G uard, or pounds gained or h air lost! We had a lot to worry abo ut as well. Merchant Marine.

So many setbacks and disappointments over the past few years Returning the ship back to her original name was initially had made us leery. Would we do right by her? For the moment m et with a lot of skepticism and even anger by several former Coast we were just grateful that someone else was joining the fight to G uard crewmembers. By doing so, we hope the ship will generate restore her. more publicity through her first life as USS Zuni. As it turns out, On a Saturday morning, this gang of over-aged teenagers she is the last surviving naval ship from the Iwo Jima invasion fleer, was gearing up to get to work. While I was getting organized and the US Navy has been extremely helpful in donating surplus for the day's tasks, I looked up and saw old shipmates Richie parts. Many of the people who have worked hard to get her this Cunningham, Bob Leonti, far are pleased that she will be and Tom Kocan walking saved-period. One Tamaroa USS Zuni - USCGC Tamaroa Awards toward me, ready to lend veteran told the Board that he • USCG Unit Commendation with Three Stars a hand. 1hrty-five years didn't care what color she was, • USCG Meritorious Unit Commendation with Four Stars that he just wanted her to evaporated in an instant and • Navy "E" Ribbon with Three Stars the representatives from the survive so he could walk the 1967 crew reveled in the • Bicentennial Unit Commendation decks with his children and moment before getting down tell them abour his service on •American Campaign Medal to business . this ship. Ironically, as soon • Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with Four Battle Stars We had plenty of work as we changed the name to • World War II Victory Medal to do, but it seemed that Zuni-Tamaroa, we received • National Defense Medal with Three Stars everywhere we stepped, the clearance to leave Baltimore.

• USCG Humanitarian Service Medal with Three Stars slightest thing would bring The ship is now in Newport • USCG Special Operations Service Ribbon memories bubbling up to the News, Virginia, and we are surface again. SAR (search negotiating for dry-dock space and rescue) cases were suddenly remembered with clarity. Even and with organizations for all manner of equipment to reinstall something as mundane as forming a human chain- from the on her decks. dock up the gangway through the mess deck and two decks We hope she will soon see fair winds ahead and following down-to load dry stores brought smiles to our faces again. As seas with her new persona. To represent her long dual history, joyful as it was to reminisce, a huge job still lay ahead. We divided plans call for a small museum dedicated primarily to her Tamaroa up according to our skills. While engineers and former safety years (1946-1994) to be built on board in place of a section of her officers punch-listed all of her blemishes, leaking pipes, rust, after berthing. Right now, funding is our biggest priority-we and corrosion, in the engine room, her former MKs (Machinery need money to get her hauled out so we can check the condition Technicians) and Electricians Mates were attempting to bring her of the hull. Individuals and organizations interested in helping in back to life. We listened as the main engines fired up, coughed, any way should visit the web site for more information. J, faltered, and started up again. Each engine had a couple of problems here and there, but eventually we heard that throaty Bill Doherty served aboard USCGC Tamaroa (1967-1968) as rumble and understood that she was waking up after a nine-year Seaman (E-3) for his first ship assign.ment out of boot camp. Today, sleep. Every time the MKs fired up an engine, crewmembers all he serves his former vessel as historian for the Zuni M aritime about the ship paused for a moment and just listened. Ir was as if Foundation (formerly the Tamaroa Maritime Foundation.). a heart was being resuscitated.

In the task of reviving the physical structure of the ship, we h ave also sou ght ro revive her history. With that pursuit, the question was raised and debated about which of the vessel's two identities-USS Zuni with the US Navy and USCGC Tamaroa with the Coast Guard-sho uld take precedence. After much discussion , the name of our organization was recently changed to the Z uni Maritime Foundation (web sire is now www.zunimaritime.org) . We publish a quarterly newsletter, "The Mighty Z Tribune,'' and have launched a Yahoo! message board where former crewmembers can visit and look for long lost shipmates. Modest dues have been established for those that wish to join our cause.

The Z uni Maritime Foundation seeks to make the ship seaworthy and then send her ro sea as a training ship and educational platform for yo ung people with the hope that some

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

37

SEA A

rchitects who design buildings make technical drawings, called blueprints; naval architects who design ships create ships' plans. Drawing ships is a lot of fun , and there are a lot of ways to draw chem . While sh ips' plans can be beautiful

in ocher pares of the world. This sharing of information led to a gradual improvement in the way ships were designed. For example, before the time of Columbus, sailors from Western Europe sailed east on square-rigged ships through the Mediterranean Sea and saw Arab sailors in their boats, called dhows, with fore-and-aft, or lateen, sails doing a much better job The sailing vessel in of sailing into the wind than they were. this photo and these Square sails were great for going off the drawings is the wind, but the fore-and-aft laceen sails Kathryn, a skipjack were much better for tacking upwind . In built in Maryland time, ships in Western Europe were putin 1901 for oyster ting these laceen sails on their ships too.

When Columbus sailed in 1492, his three dredging in the ships were rigged with both square and Chesapeake Bay. lateen sails.

Over the years, as people learned more about how and why ships float, move through the water, and how sails work with the wind, they began to use a lot more science in designing watercraft.

The earliest naval architect historians know abo ut was named Matthew Baker. to look at, there's a whole lot more yo u H e designed an English warship's hull in can do with them-you could build a the 16th century based on the streamlined

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Matthew Bak~r's 16th-century warship straight down, you'll get the lines for the sheer plan; cutting cross-sections from the top going straight down yields the body plan; and coming in fro m the side, making slices straight across will give you the curves for the half-breadth plan. (For the half-breadth plan, you can ass ume chat th e ship is symmetrical, so you don't have to draw the other side.)

Naval architects need to be good at drafting as well. The plans they produce are loaded with scientific information, but they also have to be easy for the shipbuilder to read. Sailing ships also have sail plans. These are usually simpler to look at because, most of the time, they are simply drawn with the perimeter dimensions to the proper scale, but the science going into their design is just as complicatedit is up to the sailmaker to construct the sails with the proper curves and materials

50' Recorded Length at Sheer Top of Deck

4

9

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Sheer Plan

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ship from chem. People who design ships are called naval architects, and they use a lot of mathematics and science to do their jobs. Hundreds of years ago, people who designed and built ships (usually the sam e person) , usually didn't even know how to read. Apprentices learned from m aster shipbuilders, and valuable experience was gained from a lot of trial and error. Because ships traveled aro und, (that was the whole point of building a ship in the first place!) , sailors got to see how people designed ships

J8

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shape of a fish. By the late 1800s, engi- so chat they work efficiently. Naval archineers were taking over the job of design- tects work closely with shipbuilders and ing ships, leaving the master shipbuilder sailmakers to deliver the best ships they to do just chat-build ships, not design can. !, them.

Because ships are threedimensional, plans are made with three types of views-the sheer plan, half-breadth plan, and body plan. Basically, imagine slicing a ship in three ways and then pulling our the slices to trace and measure them. If you BO DY PLAN make lengthwise slices from the top go ing

ailors are some of the most superstitious people on earth. No whistling on the ship!

Don't cut your hair or nails at sea. Don't leave port on a Friday. When you do put to sea, make sure there aren't any flowers or bananas aboard. Beware of Davy Jones's Locker; instead, when the time comes, head for Fiddler's Green.

S

So, who was Davy Jones and what was so awfu,/ about his locker?

Sailors of yesteryear believed that the evil Davy Jones was a fiend who lived at the bottom of the sea. He, like all sailors, kept a locker, or sea chest, for his belongings. While a normal sailor might stow it with a change of clothes, a razor, a knife, a journal and something to write with, Davy Jones collected whatever came his way at the bottom of the sea-a knife or some coins that fell overboard, entire sunken ships, and, of course, the unlucky souls who died at sea.

Davy Jones was not a real person. The expression is thought to have come from the words dufljt and Jonah. "Duffy'' (or "duppy") comes from West Indian folklore, probably originating in West Africa, and is a word they used to mean ghost or devil. Jonah was of course the biblical Jonah, of Jonah and the whale fame. If your shipmates called you a "Jonah" onboard a ship, that meant that you would bring bad luck to the vessel.

Fiddler's Green

~

All You Can Eat Buffet

Now, providing a sailor had the good luck to die ashore in his ripe old age, where would he go? Sailors' version of heaven was called Fiddler's Green-where the weather was always fair, the fiddlers were always playing a lively tune for dancing, and an endless supply of good food, drink, and pleasant company was always at hand.

Sailors standing watch in the cold and wet would pass the hours dreaming about a place like Fiddler's Green ... wouldn't you? In 1966, a folk singer named John Conolly wrote a song called "Fiddler's Green." It's not a traditional sailors' song or chantey, but it expresses perfectly how sailors think about this heavenly place.

f iddfer's Greeri by John Conolly As I roved by the dockside one evening so fair To view th e salt waters and take in the salt air I h eard an old fish erman singing a song O h, take me away boys me time is not long

Now when you're in dock and the long trip is through There's pubs and there's clubs and there's lassies there too And the girls are all pretty and the beer is all free And there's bottles of rum growing on every tree.

Wrap me up in m e oilskin and blankets No more on the d ocks I'll be seen Just tell me old shipmates, I'm taki ng a trip mates And I'll see you someday on Fiddlers Green

W here the skies are all clear and there's never a gale And the fish jump on board with one swish on their tail Where you lie at your leisure, there's no work to do And the skipper's below making tea for the crew

N ow Fiddler's Green is a place I've heard tell Where the fishermen go if they don't go to hell W here the weather is fair and the dolphins do play And the cold coast of Greenland is fa r, far away

Now I don't want a harp nor a halo, not me Just give me a breeze and a good rolling sea I'll play me old squeeze-box as we sail along W ith the wind in the riggin to sing me a song

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

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39 .... .

Man-o~-W~r e.J!Jl.J(lb UU ~ /7--~c:-., ~0 ~ rvnr~ ~:h7:1~foh::::~e::;::,:, N '- ./ ~ \ -~~-7f?!o)17!l!} /J;7(2 0

after the has died. Flanders and Swann wrote this dmy:

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Particularly ... Portuguese.

• ""-'•":',..'"'<-.,,!J-.~z;:;Jr-v c. -.....,_~ --:::.--- . :-._~-;s-~;:;;;_ l) ""if~?(~!N~ ?.0\ '-~ The Man-of-War's "sail" is a float filled with gas. ,lf"'r~?<.e>V~i1v' 1 1) 'v"-$ · ::·~ ~7 . I.' · ' 't In 1853, a traveler onboard a ship commented that ack in 1883, a young man named Morton MacMichael the float collapsed when to uched. A sailor onboard, III traveled on a merchant ship from Philadelphia to San who had no respect for the Portuguese Navy, explained Francisco. One morning, as they were sailing in the tropi- to him that the Man-of-War deflates in heavy weathercal Atlantic Ocean, they steered through "vas t numbers" of which is how they got their name. The sailor said that the strange animals. MacMichael wrote: "Passed through a fleet sea jelly "takes in all sail, or goes chuck to bottom, when it of. .. those renowned little creatures of the jelly-fish species, 'gins to blow a spankin' breeze." Others believe they got their that spread their tiny film-like sails in delicate shades of pink name because their floats look like helmets of Portuguese conand blue, and cruise about over the waves .... The sunlight quistadors or like the old Portuguese ship known as a caravela playing on the thousands of risin g and falling sails made a redonda.

The By-the-Wind Sailor grows no larger than the palm pretty picture." With a bucket, MacMichael caught one of the delicate jellies and brought it on of your hand. It eats tiny animals and fish eggs. Like deck. Whenheturnedaway from Po g.TVbVCS~ MA1'-l- o f-\NAf!_ the Man-of-War, its sail is at one of two angles for its his catch for a moment, the ship's (rH YS A. L-I P... \:>\..\'{SAL-\ s) whole life. It can only sail in on e direction away from _ -} 1 S the wind, while its "sister,'' cat darted over, dipped her paw in 0 h bk d .h o'( n-\cWl)-1\) Al\..OR .h. ·1· h h d.

JI( ( vel.-E'.:.L-L..A VcL-EL-l..A) wit 1ts sa1 mt e ot er it e uc et, an ran away wit the sea jelly. The cat "dropped( ~ .;.L_ 7 ,;; - /) v rection, can only travel the it with a terrified yowl, and .,. , - ·/~ opposite way. There are regular reports vanished into .. . the galley, as ' . ., > r,. '\•AIL-'' from all over the world of millions of though a dozen dogs were at her '<--~.

By-the-Wind Sailors washed up on beaches ~ __/ when there's been a change in the wind heels. During the rest of the day ~ she sat in a co rner, uttering plaintive ~ ~ c ·---=:..~ ...,., /. .

- '~ direction and currents. The little / ~ 1 ~ \ ( (~ \\\ \ , . . meyows, and alternately rubbing her /, '~).1~ .-.,~ ~sea jellies couldn't steer off the cheeks on the deck or scraping h er _,.,.;~ ,. ~ rocks!

3 GAS -f'!L-L-E:D Scientists, however, think swollen tongue with one of her front · paws."

F LoA-"C that both the Man-of-War and the MacMichael's animal was a Portu61\-S-f l 1.-L-to"O By-the-Wind Sailor do have some con trol Tue es in how they adjust their bodies to the weathguese Man-of-War, which is one of rwo types of sea jellies with parts that act as _ _ I er. By-the-Wind Sailors have also evolved an IEtlTACLf:S W\11-t amazing structure to their sails. To survive sails to move them across the water. The second kind is much smaller and is called (NEl</\,1\-\ocys Ts in heavy winds, th ey . .

STi~GlNbC~L. tS 'I .

'J a By-th e-Wmd Sailo r. We find them both .1 are tnangular (so the in warm waters, but they can float to colder latitudes when pressure is closer- - ·, _.. _ _ strong currents and winds push them there. to the surface), slightly flexible Sea jellies have no bones, are 95% water, and are mostly (consider how a tree bends in clear. Both the Man-of-War and the By-the-Wind Sailor are a storm), and shaped in an actually colonies of different individuals that act as one unit. "s" (to increase its strengthThe Man-of-War can be tinted pink, blue, and purple. try this with a piece of paper).

Though By-the-Wind Sailors Some people call it a "Blue Bottle." It can grow up to one foot long and has tentacles that can spread down into the water don't sting nearly as much as the well over fifty feet. On these tentacles are stinging cells, Portuguese Man-of-War, if yo u do fi nd which capture and kill its food-mos tly fish. These them on the beach, it's best to not handle them with your-....''·-..... , stingers are powerful enough that they can kill bare hands. And maybe keep yo ur cat away from them , too! a grown man and can be poisonous even Next issue: a huge white gobbler of shrimp-like things. !,

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10

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15

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3

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17

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10. one of three views on ship's blueprints made from cross-sectional slices 11. subject to study in school before studying how to design ships 12. don't bring this fruit aboard your ship 13. person who designed ships before it became a science 14. early type of Portuguese sailing ship 15. this crewmember is bad luck 16. blueprints for ships 17. West Indian folk word meaning ghost or devil 18. bad day of the week to start a voyage

9

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1. type of architect who designs shi ps 2. fore-and-aft sails on Arab boats 3. Chesapeake Bay sailing oyster boat 4. first known architect of ships 5. sea jellies are made up of 95% of _ __ 6. sailor's heaven ~~~7. sea chest 8. Arab sailing vessel 9. smaller cousin of Portuguese Man-of-War

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MARITIME HISTORY ON THE INTERNET

Searching the Web in Languages You Don't Speak ometimes, surfing the world wide web, it's easy to forget that When you do find a potentially interesting piece of foreign some people speak languages you don't know, considering that text, the web offers many impressive automatic translation servicthe majority of hits you'll get on any given search will, most times, es. Of course, none will convince anyone yo u're a native speaker, be in English. In fact, of course, there are millions of internet sites but they are effective at conveyin g the intent of text in a different in foreign languages. Researchers in maritime history, or any other language. Try Babel Fish (http://babelfish.altavista.com), which subj ect, will find accessing these sires useful, bur locati ng them can offers dozens of language o ptions-and not just translations be difficult. If English is yo ur native tongue, how do you go about into-or from-English. You can also put in a URL and Babel searching and readi ng pages in other languages? Not surprisingly, Fish will translate the results, as well as the results of each link on the web offers some extraordinary tools for doing just that. that page.

One first step for finding foreign-language resources, parGoogle, nor surprisingly, has an impressive set of tools at the ricularly when you're familiar with the country and its language, Language Tools page, mentioned above. Like Babel Fish, it can is to search Google's 'local' version. Start at http://www.google. translate text between languages or do translations on the fly. You fr (France), http://www.google.vn (Vietnam), http:// r;:;;;:;:;;;:;;;:;;;:;~=~~jl can also search in more than a dozen languages from this www.google.lv (Latvia) , or any of about 170 locapage, defining both the language you speak and the different language in which you want to search. As results rions. All of rhe locations are listed towards the bottom of Google's Language Tools page at http:// are returned, Google translates them for you . www.google.com/language_tools.

For more language help, say, some assistance Often, the default search will still come with a language that you haven't used in a whileback in English. You may see a link that reads: try http://www.freelang.net/, a sire that offers "Google.de offered in: Deutsch" (or as appro115 different foreign language dictionaries that yo u can download to your computer or use directly pri are; for example, Switzerland's sire, http:// online. YourDictionary (http://www.yourdictionary. www.google.ch, offers a range oflanguage options).

When you click on that link, you'll automatically change com) offers standard- and translation dictionaries in hundreds the default search language. of languages. WorldLingo (http://www.worldlingo.com) offers Many other top-level domains exist, including .name (for free human translations of small bits of text, in addition to many individuals), .pro (for professionals), .travel, .aero (for the airline specialized, industry-specific translation services.

If all of these language- and translation-related sires have industry) , and .museum. See, for example, http://aimm.museum, the Arkansas Inland Maritime M useum. In addition, there are sub- piqued your interest in the the ropic of language itself, it is worth levels based on the type of museum, such as garden.museum or a look to visit Omniglot (http://www.omniglot.com), a fascinarmaritime.museum. Only about a dozen maritime museums have ing sire that describes writing systems and languages of the world.

Suggestions for other sires worth mentioning are welcome registered these names (for example, http://wgmather.maritime. museum) and most actually don't work properly. Perhaps, over at shipindex@yahoo.com. See http://www.shipindex.org for a rime, more and more maritime museums will identify themselves compilation of over 100,000 ship names from indexes to dozens of in this manner. books and journals.

-Peter McCracken

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OFF TO FIDDLER'S GREEN Rodney Norman Houghton (1938-2007)

A

t first light on 14 October 2007 our dear friend and devoted NMHS trustee Rodn ey Houghton died at age 69. Rodney was a great advocate for preserving o ur seafaring heritage and an avid reader of historic sea stories. He devoured Sea H istory and particularly enjoyed reading biographies of the great hero-sailors written by NMHS stalwarts Peter Stanford and William H . White.

Growing up, he summered with his family in Sandsend, just a short tack up the coast from Whitby on the Yorkshire Coast. Whitby, of course, was made famous by Captain James Cook, who became Rodney's hero. Rodney avidly collected and studied books about the famous mariner-explorer, and he also traveled, from England to Hawaii to Australia, to visit the seaport homes, landfalls, and death place of his hero.

A sailor himself, he and his wife Penny sailed their boat Sandsend on many voyages out of Newport, Rhode Island, sailing the waters from Maine's Penobscot Bay to Key West, out to th e Abacos, and back to Vero Beach, FL, where they spent their winters. Rodney relished every minute at sea.

Rodney Houghton was formerly commodore of both the Rumson Yacht Club in New Jersey and the Moorings Yacht C lub of Vero Beach , Florida. In addition, he was a member of the New York Yacht Club, the Quail Valley River Club, and the Shelburne Harbour Yacht C lub of Nova Scotia. A meticulous and dedicated trustee, Mr. Houghton worked to help the Society gain fiscal stability and to promote the importance of maritime history. He counted many dear friends among NMHS trustees. John McDonald remembers, "I first met Rodney and Penny years ago, but really got to know Rodney at the Rumson Yacht Club. I had just purchased m y boat and we were slip neighbors. As a new boat owner, I needed lots of help and advice, which Rodn ey provided with patience and skill. He was always a perfect gentleman in every situation. H e was an inspiration, which is how I will remember him." Bill White adds, "Rodney and I used to sit for hours, sometimes over a glass, sometimes not, and swap stories and tales of the sea. He never lost his accent, which I thought added a great deal of dignity to his persona. He was a good friend."

Rodney was born on 27 April 1938 in London, England, and, during his life, he lived in Newport, RI; Rumson , NJ; Vero Beach, FL; and Avon, CT. He was graduate of All Hallows School, Devon, England; Rutgers College of Business; and Columbia Law School. He was a senior partner and head of trusts and estates at McCarter and English in Newark and New York City. After he moved to Vero Beach he became of co unsel with the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart. Mr. Houghton served as president of the American College of Trust and Estate C ounsel and was a former member of the Council to the American Bar Association section of Real Property Probate and Trust Law. H e is survived by his wife of 42 years, Penelope Pearse Houghton, his mother, sister, son and daughter and their famili es.

J. Richard Steffy (1924-2007) Richard Steffy, a man whose nam e is indelibly imprinted in the brains of all students and practitioners of nautical archaeology, died in ] Texas, on 29 November. He was 83. His is an inspiring story to anyone who has ever fantasized about tossing away a secure, but unfulfilling, job for the chance to pursue a true passion. Not until middle-age did he leave his career as an electrical contractor to study shipwrecks and ancient shipbuilding full-time. In 1976, when nautical archaeology was still in its infancy as a formal discipline, Steffy co-founded the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A & M University. He stayed with the program until, and even past, his retirement in 1990. At the university, he established the Ship Reconstruction Laboratory and created the program's history of shipbuilding classes -the building blocks of the discipline. His vast knowledge in shipbuilding, from ancient ships to more modern vessels, gave his students and colleagues the depth they needed to properly conduct significant excavations that established the Texas A&M program as a leader in the field . He participated in archaeological field work on sites all over the world, finding a particular interest in ancient and early medieval watercraft.

Di ck Steffy is credited with bringing scientific principles to shipwreck analysis. Despite never having graduated from college, he was made a full professor-the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded him a "genius grant" in 1985. He is well known for the great gift he gave his students, and students he never met, with the 1994 publication of Wooden Ship Building and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks. At Texas A&M, it was called "the Good Book." To everyone else, it was worth another dip into the student loan acco unt to be able to purchase it and keep it on hand.

How does a 48-year-old succeed in making the transition from electrical contractor to archaeologist? It started with a magazine article he read and a letter to its author. In 1963, Steffy wrote a letter to George Bass, who had been wo rking on the famous shipwreck at Cape Gelidonya, and offered to build a model of the Phoenician ship to help him in his research. Steffy's shipmodels were no ornaments- they were heavily researched and highly detailed so that archaeologists could examine and test shipbuilding methods and materials. It was the start of a long and mutually respectful relationship. Steffy, Bass, and archaeologist Michael Katzev joined forces to found the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, initially located in Pennsylvania, where Steffy and Bass lived. INA moved to Texas A&M in the early 1970s, and, fro m there, Steffy and his colleagues dragged graduate students halfway across the world to study, excavate, and document wreck sites in Europe, Asia, and closer to home in North America.

Aside from his professional accomplishments, his fri ends and co lleagues rem ember him for his integrity, meticulous work habits, and especially his sense of humor and wit. The Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M has established a scholarship program in his name.

For information on how to contribute or how to apply, visit their web site, http:// nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/steffy_scholarship.htm.

44

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i\ HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

Frank 0. Braynard (1916-2007) and Doris Braynard (1922-2008) rank 0 . Braynard, rhe long-rime chairman of rhe NMHS Advisors C ommircee and a legend in rhe maririme herirage field , died in D ecember ar rhe age of 91. H e was a fo under and organizer of che OpSail parades in 1964, 1976, and 1992; a co-founder of Sourh Street Seaport M useum, and curato r of the American M erchant M arine Museum at the US M erchant Marine Academy in Kin gs Point, NY, fro m 1979-2000 . An artist, histori an, and author, who from childhood was infa ruaced wirh ships and rhe sea, Braynard wro re more than forry books on ships and maririme history, many of them illustrated with his own arrwork. His six-volume history of the liner SS Leviathan is one of che best known of his historical works. Frank Braynard had a major impact on the maritime heritage move ment. For his memori al service in January, his wife of 58 years, Doris, planned a service thar would include Rh oda Amon, Bill Miller, Captain C harles Renick, and Captain Jim McNamara to speak for the m aririme communiry. It was a great shock when Reverend Constance Pak announced ac che beginning of the standing-room-only service that Doris had suffered cardiac arres r and died rhe night before, ac age 85, and char rhe service would celebrate both their lives .

Ar rhe service, Captain Jim M cNam ara, president of the Na tional Cargo Bureau, said he m et Frank in 1955. Ir was the start of a lifelo ng fri endship, and it was Braynard's encouragement of his interesr in che U S-flag m erchant m arine and maritime history, whi ch resulted in his atrending New York Sta te Maritime College at Fo rr Schuyler and a career in the shipping industry.

Fo rmer Sea H istory editor Lincoln Paine was among those who said it was Frank Braynard who inspired him to becom e a m aritime historian.

Braynard's passio n for the sea and maritim e history began in childhood when globetro tring relatives brought back souvenirs to a boy stuck at home with crippling as thma. His collection grew over the course of decades, and much of it he donated to the American M erchant Marin e M useum ar Kings Point, with whom he had such an active associarion.

Frank Braynard was a native of Sea C liff, N Y. H e graduared from Duke Univers iry in 1939 wirh a degree in history and from Columbia Universiry with a MA in m ari rime history.

O ne of his first professional experiences was writing about maririme topics as a ship reporter fo r rhe New York H erald Tribune in rhe 1940s. H e lacer worked as a publi c relations director fo r the Am erican M erchant M arine Institute and also for the Moran Tugboar and Transportation Company.

O rganizing the 1964, 1976, and 1992 OpSail events was a m ajor achievement that had wo rldwide consequences. Then, "tall ships" were a dying breed and the public's awareness of rheir existence was minimal. The 1964 OpSail event was po rtrayed as rhe lasr garhering of rhe few rall ships left in the world. The 1964 event was modesr co mpared to the wildly successful 1976 O pSail event, where 300 large ships fro m mo re rhan 50 n a tions sailed together up the Hudson River. An estim ated five millio n people cam e to the New York area to witness ir and millions more watched o n television . The 1976 OpSail event is ofren credited wirh nor only rhe revival of rhe world's tall ship fl eer, but also with the economic and social turnaround of New York C iry.

NMH S chairman em eritus Howard Sl otnick, who traveled around rhe world with Frank ro invire ships to rhe OpSail 76 event, said thar leading up to the event Frank was full of enthusiasm fo r every new idea. "H e never mer a proj ect that he didn't say yes to. Consequently he became known as 'M r. Yes' and the title stuck to him ." Mr. Yes spearheaded America's Sail and is also credited as the fa ther of the Around Long Island Regatta. H e was instrumental in the relighting of the Statue of Liberry and saving the Fire Island Lighthouse.

F

William M. Rau, (1929-2007) W illiam M. Rau, of New Ciry, New York, passed away on 22 July 2007 . H e was a Na tional M aririme Historical Sociery member who had a lifelong interesr in ships of all rypes-particularly rhe sreamboats and towing vessels of the Hudson Rive r. Many of us will rem ember him as the editor of the Steamship Historical Sociery's jo urnal, Steamboat Bill, from 1989 to 1996.

Bill was bo rn in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1929 . At an early age he discovered the marine world, wa tching the constant parade of Atlantic liners arriving and departing from rheir New Yo rk piers. N ormandie and Queen Mary, Washington and M anhattan, Bremen, Europa and all the rest, were feascs for his yourhful inquisitive eyes. The huge oceanliners were easy to admire; however, the lesser crafr did nor escape his view. Staren Island ferries passed Bayonne almost co ntinuously, and Bill soon found that they made a superb grandstand from which to warch the m aritime world. H e was hooked, and rhe ships and sm aller vessels of the world were never o ut of his rhoughts. But Bill had many orher interests, which we re rarely a part of his co nversations. In his yo unger days he played in a band thar specialized in German-fl avo red marches, and this hidden aspect of his personaliry was o ne of many that were only evident to a handful of his close fri ends.

While he clearly had a love of sream-powered vessels, the Hudso n Ri ver brick indusrry and shipbuilding at N yack were bur rwo of rhe many subj ecrs rhar drew his interesr in his later years.

Bill never lost his interest in ocean-going vessels and those of his beloved Hudson River. America and Mary PoweLL were favo red subjects, but he co uld calk ofLiberry ships, Hog Islanders, che Cornell Sceamboat C ompany, or che little H averscraw sceamboat Emeline with an equal measure of passion. In sh ort, he was che consummate ship lover-and we shall miss him.

- Barry Thomas

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2

45

@>sHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Big money for the Mary Rose and the Cutty Sark! Late last month, the Heritage Lottery Fund in Great Britain annou nced it is awarding tens of millions of dollars to

the Dunkirk 'Little Ships') in Kent; the Swan, a small fishing boat in Fife, Scotland; HMS Gannet in Chatham; and HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool. The Mary Rose is one of three historic ships (the ochers are HMS Victory and HMS ~rrior 1860) based at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in England. (See www. historicdockyard.co. uk). The Cutty Sark is berthed in Greenwich. (See www.cucrysark.org. uk) . . . Did you know that www.seahistory.org is home to the NMHS Maritime History Forum? The forum was launched recently to serve as an

Mary Rose undergoing conservation two of the UK's most famous historic ships-the 16th-century Ma ry Rose and the famous tea clipper Cutty Sark, which suffered a devastating set-back in her restoration last spring when the ship caught fire in the night. Mary Rose, the world's oldest surviving warship, will be getting a grant of £2 1 million (approximately $41.6 million USD). The £10-million grant increase for Cutty Sark will be added to the original HLF grant of £11.75 million, which was awarded in September 2006 for a major restoration project. When the ship

caught fire last May, the success of the restoration was in jeopardy and more funds were drastically needed to save the ship and continue moving towards their original goal. The National Lottery was set up by the government in 1994 with a remit to raise money for good causes, including heritage. Since that time, the HLF has awarded over £4 billion to more than 26,000 projects across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland-£63 million of chat sum has been invested in historic ships, large and small. These include: HMS Cavalier in Chatham; HMS ~rrior in Portsmouth; the Medway Queen (one of

46

online venue for exchanging informatio n among those interested in the history of seafaring. This is a place to share experiences, great reads, resources, explore issues, post events, and engage in conversations with other marmme history enthusiasts. Join in! As it grows-with your participation-it is sure to be a lively and informative resource in the field. The forum is accessible from the NMHS web site homepage. Click on the logo (depicted above) at www.seahistory.org. . . . The North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) just announced the establishment of the Clark G. Reynolds Award to be presented to the author of the best paper by a graduate student delivered at its annual conference. The prize will consist of assistance in publishing the essay in The Northern Mariner, the peer-reviewed journal co-sponsored by NASOH and the Canadian Nautical Research Sociery, membership in NASOH, a plaque, and the author's choice of ten books published by the Universiry Press of Florida. (Information on the award crite-

ria and on the an nual conference in May can be found at the NASOH web site: www.nasoh.org) ... The Museum of Underwater Archaeology has announced its release of a newly revised web site, which incorporates several new features including the "Worldwide Site Map." Viewers can pan across the map of the earth to find out where underwater archaeo logical projects are being conducted (projects chat have a web site, that is). If your underwater project has an associated web site, and you'd like it to be included, e-mai l MUA the link. All submissions must adhere to the Society for Historical Archaeology's code of ethics. (www.uri. edu/m ua) ... The Maryland Dove celebrates its 30th birthday in 2008. The sh ip is a recreated 17 th-century cargo vessel, des igned by naval architect and historian William Avery Baker and built

by James Richardson. The Maryland Dove was launched in August 1978 for the living history museum, Historic St. Mary's City, which occupies the site of the 4th permanent settlement in British North America and Maryland's first capital. The ship serves as a dockside educational platform and makes voyages in local waters a few times per year. This year, she will be making a return visit to her birthplace,

Happy Birthday Maryland Dove/

SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

Cambridge, MD , and a trip to Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert County for the War of 18 12 re-enactm ent. (H istoric St. Mary's C ity, POB 39 , St. M ary's City, MD 20686, Ph. 240-895-499 0, www. stmarysci ry. org) . .. This year will be the last year that the 82-year-old M ississippi steamboat D elta Queen operates as a p assenger-carrying vessel in the service of the M ajestic America Line. The 285-fr. vessel has been operating under an exemption of the International Co nvention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) law (Public Law 89-777), which prohibits any vessel, primarily constructed of wood, from operating from a U S port if it carries more than 50 overnight passengers. That exemption expires in November. The

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steamboat was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. A group has assembled to "Save the Delta Queen." Information on the ship and the effort to keep her in operation can be found at their web site at www.save-the-delta-queen.org; web site fo r M ajestic America Line is www.majesticamericaline.com) . . . Vice Admiral Evan Chanick, Commander, US Second Fleet, and Director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence, spoke last fall to the Navy League of the United States-NY Council about the role of today's US Navy. In his talk, he presented some statistics and thoughts that Sea H istory readers may be interested in learning about fo r perspective on today's naval forces. According to Admiral Chanick, approximately 340,000 people are serving in the Navy today, with 270 ships in operation. A pproximately one thi rd of those ships are curren tly overseas and another one-tenth are in trai ning. Admiral Chanick considers one of the navy's great strengths is in providing "access."

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SHIP NOTES, CLASSIFIED ADS Thousands of century-old ship postcards, ephemera-in San Francisco; Ph. 415 586-9386; kprag@planeteria.net.

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(left to right) USS Winston S. Churchill, USNS Arctic, and USS Harry S. Truman deployed overseas in January 2008.

SEAPORT,

&

tells us that the image printed on the bank note was created from a photo taken in the late 1980s by Capt. Jan Miles of the schooner Pride of Baltimore fl For those not well-versed in Ernestina's long history, in 1948, after a career as a Grand Banks fishing schooner and another career as an Arctic exploration vessel, the ship was sold to Henrique Mendes of Cape Verde.

It was Capt. Mendes who changed the name of the ship to that of his daughter, Ernestina, in 1949. The people of the Republic of Cape Verde gave the ship to the US in 1982 as a good-will gift. In Cape Verde today, people still revere the schooner even though the ship has not returned

yo u can visit www.navy.mil and click on "US Navy Today," then click on "Status of the Navy." For the complete coverage of Admiral Chanick's talk, check our the Navy League's 20th anniversary ed ition of The Log, Volume 20, Issue 3, Fall 2007; www.nynavyleague.org) .. â&#x20AC;˘ The Library of Congress's Thomas Jefferson building is undergoing a transformation of its public spaces to provide a high-tech interactive experience for visitors. One of the first exhibitions that demonstrates their new approach towards exhibits and collections is the recently opened "Exploring the Early Americas," which features items from the Jay I. Kislak Collection and Martin Waldseemiiller's 1507 World Map. Among the most significant elements of the exhibition are the 1507 map, the first document of any kind on which the name ''America'' appears and the first map to depict a separate and full Western Hemisphere, with the Pacific as a separate ocean; and his 1516 Carta Marina or Navigators' Chart, another large wo rld map.

(Library of Congress, Thos. Jefferson Bldg., 10 First St. SE, Washington, DC; www. loc.gov/exhibits/) ... Captain Dan there since she was repatriated to the US Moreland of the barque Picton Castle 26 years ago. In 2 005, the Cabo Verde alerted us recently that the 200 escudo 200 escudo bank note was released with bank note from the Republic of Cape the image of their beloved schoo ner prinrVerde (2005) features an image of his ed clearly on the front. How much is this former command, schooner Ernestina, worth ? In today's c urrency, 200 escudos is ex-Effie M. Morrissey. Capt. Moreland worth approximately $2.62. How much is the actual schooner worth ? Priceless. . . .

In January, the US tall-ship fleet witCLASSIFIED ADVERTISING with Sea nessed a major shift when Ocean ClassHisto ry: To place your classified ad at $1.60 per word, mail yo ur complete message along room Foundation's executive director, with payment, ro: Sea History, Advertising Bert Rogers, left the helm of the organiDesk, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566. zation he helped build from the keel up SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

MUSEUM NEWS to take the con at the American Sail Training Association. Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF) owns and operates three schooners, rh e Sp irit ofMassachusetts, H arvey Gamage, and Westward. Twen ty years ago, I mer Bert when I signed on a schooner as a green hand and he was the skipper. Bert is a fo rmidable mariner and he likes ro sail hard. H e kn ows how ro push a ship to get the maximum performance out of her for rhe conditions, and he did the same fo r h is crew an d students. In 1993, when Bert announced he was leaving the sea ro rake over m an age ment of the programs and ship's operations, it came as a huge shock to most everyo ne he knew.

N o one could understan d it then , bur how lucky so many have been that he made that move. Since that rime, Bert has worked with Alix Thorne, president and fo under of OCF, and a couple of generations of "schooner bums," to create strong educational shipboard programs fo r students, while nor neglecting rhe care and maintenance of the crewmembers and their experience as well. As most p eople involved in wooden ship ownership and nor-for-profit educational programming could arrest, it is nor an easy job. Nonetheless, Bert Rogers has thrived and so have rhe sh ips and programs he has nurtured. His dedication is unsurpassed. Ocean C lassroom's loss is, of course, ASTA's gain, bur he has left O cean Classroom in a good place. They recen rly announced they have hi red a new

executive directo r, Jeffrey Parsons, whose credentials are too lengthy ro stare here, only ro say rhar he is eminenrly qualified and is expected ro rake O CF in some new directions, while contin uing ro support rhe programs and goals his predecessor has set

Captain B ert Rogers

up. Alix Thorne has stated that the transition is going well and rhar she and rhe rest of the crew there wish Bert and ASTA the best of luck, and rhar they are expecting great things. O CF recenrly moved its operations ro mid-coast Maine (29 McKown Sr. , Boothbay H arbor, ME 04538; Ph. 800-724-7245; www.oceanclassroom.org) .

O ver at the American Sail Training Association, Bert has jumped into that organization ready ro work- they had been a full year without an executive director. ASTA chairman Mike Rauworth explained their decision in hiring Captain Rogers as executive director after a long search : "Bert is recognized as a visionary leader in sail train-

ing, with virtually the whole of his wo rki ng life in rhe field . H e was rhe original executive director of Ocean C lassroom Foundation, which grew ro a three-schooner fleer during his tenure and is now relocating from Rhode Island to Maine." ASTA is based in Newport, RI, and organizes sail training events across rhe country each yea r. Bert seeks to put ASTA on a steady course by keeping rhe focus on "people, ships, and programs," and by wo rking to make rhe organization useful and relevant ro rhe more-than 250 ships rhar are registered as member vessels. (ASTA, 240 Thames Sr. , POB 1459, Newport, RI 02840; Ph. 401 846- 1775; www. rallships. sailtraining.org) We at Sea H istory and the National Maritime Historical Society congratulate both organizations on their new leadership and wish Bert the best of luck with his new command. We look fo rward to working with ASTA and O CF to fur- DO'R ther our mutual goals.)

~~~

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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT, & MUSEUM NEWS

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Whaling Heritage Symposium, 16-18 June 2008 NOAA's Narional Marine Sancruaries, Maririme H eritage Program is sponsoring a three-day event, hosted by Mysric Seaport, the New Bedfo rd W haling Museum, and the New Bed fo rd W haling Narional Historic Park. The firs t two days of the symposium will be held at Mystic Seapo rt, and participanrs will travel to New Bedford fo r the thi rd day, approximately a 90-minure drive.

The symposium will be organized along th e themes: "Indigenous Whalers and 19th - Early 20th-Century C ultural Interacrions," "The History and Archaeology of Whaling-Where the Heri tage Trails Meer," and "New D irectio ns in Whaling H eritage Research." Experrs in histo ry, archaeology, museum collections, m arine resource m anagem ent, and literature will gather together to explore these themes and create a plan for further investigations and educatio n. Historic whal ing and whali ng heritage encompass a broad spectrum of m arine knowledge. Elements of ocean explorario n, cul rural srudies, m arine biology, and oceanography will be included. For m ore informatio n o n the program, contacr Dr. H ans Van T ilburg, maritime heritage coordinato r for NOAA's N ational M arine San ctuary in rhe Pacific Islands Region , at hans.vantilburg@noaa.gov. Look for conference updates to be posted at: http://sanctuaries. noaa.gov/maritime/whal ing/.

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SEA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

CALENDAR FEsTNALS, EvENTS, L ECTURES, ETC.

•6th Annual Tribute to the 14th District of the US Coast Guard, 13 March in Honolulu (Coast G uard Foundation, 394 Taugwonk Rd., Ston ington, CT 06378; Ph. 860 535-0786; www.cgfdn .org) •"Rum Runners, the Prohibition, and a Sip of the Real McCoy," 5-7PM, 22 March at the Seamen's Inne at Mystic Seaport. (www.mysticseapo rt.org, click on "member programs." Fee charged for members and non-members) •"Big Guns in War" by Norman Friedman, at the US Navy Museum, noon-1 PM, 15 April. Free and open to the public, reservations to 202 433-6897 are required.

If yo u are not a member of the D efense D ept., contact the Senior Historian, no later than 13 April, with yo ur name, social security number, citizenship, and institutional affiliation, if any. (US Navy Museum, MEC, Bldg. 76, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC; www. history.navy. mil/nhc7.htm) •Charleston HarborFest, 16-18 May, Charleston, So uth Carolina. (www.charles tonmaritimefes tival.com) •29th Annual Sea Music Festival at Mystic Seaport., 13-15 June. Symposium offered, see listing under "Conferences." (75 Greenmanville Ave. Mystic, CT 06355; www.mysticseaport.org) CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS

•Call for Papers, deadline, 10 M arch, "Music of American and the Sea," annual symposium to be held o n 14 June at Mystic Seaport. Speakers will receive lodging, meals, and free admission to the festival weekend. (Send proposals to: Dr. G lenn Gordinier, Williams-Mys tic Program, Mys tic Seaport, 75 G reenmanville Ave. Mystic, CT 06355 ; e-mail: glenn. gordinier@mys ticseaport.org) •New Researchers in Maritime History Conference, 14- 15 March 2008 at the Univ. of Salford, Greater Manchester, UK. E-mail g.j. milne@liv.ac. uk for details.

•National Popular Culture & American Culture Associations 2008 Joint Conference, 19-22 March in San Francisco, CA. Topics include early maritime literature, contemporary works on seafaring, maritime themes in film , music an d television, and histo rical events. (www. pcaaca.org) •Classic Yacht Symposium, 4-6 April in

SEA HISTORY 122 , SPRING 2008

Bristol, RI. Organized by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Registration required. (HMM, 1 Burnside St., Bristol, RI 02809 ; Ph. 401 253-5 000; e-mail: j.palmieri@herreshoff.o rg; www. herreshoff.org) •6th Annual Material Culture Symposium for Emerging Scholars, 12 April, at the Winterthur M useum & Country Estate in Delaware. The symposium provides grad uate students and other emerging scholars with a venue for interdisciplinary dialogue relating to the study of material life and culture. (For information, e-mail: emerging. scholars@gmail.com or visit: www.udel. edu/ materialcul cure/ emerging_ scholars.html) •"TheAtlantic as a Theatre ofWar, 15001825," 8-10 day seminar, early August, at H arvard University. Intended for PhD's or advanced doctoral students; seminar is directed by Professor Bernard Bailyn.

(Application deadline is 30 April; forms and information at www.fas. harvard.edu/ ~a tlanti c/sempack08 . html)

•"From the Amphora to the Container: Packaging and Stowage on Ships, Past and Present," 3 1 April, Univ. ofBretagneSud, Lorient, France. (Contact Sylviane Llinares by e-mail: sylviane. llinares@univubs.fr; www.univ-ubs.fr/solito/) •"Defining the Maritime Edge: History and Archaeology of Inland Environments, Coastal Encounters and Blue Water Connections," North American Society for Oceanic History and the Council of American Maritime Museums 2008 Annual Conference, 7- 11 May in Pensacola, FL. (Info: visit the NASOH web site at: www.nasoh.org) •Oceanic Popular Culture Association Conference, 23-25 May, Honolulu, HI. (Info, contact: Dr. Cheryl Edelson, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Honolulu, H awai'i; cedelson@chaminade.edu) •National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) Annual Meeting, 3 1 May, in Sc. Michaels, MD . (see pp. 13- 14 for details) •2008 Conference on New York State History, 5-7 June, at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Sessions intended for teachers will be applicable for in-service credit. (Info: Field Horne, NYS Histo ry co nference chair, Box 215 , Saratoga Springs, NY 12866; e-mail:

conference@nyhistory.net) •Great Lakes Regional Lighthouse Conference, 11-13 June, No rthport, MI. Covers aspects of owning and preserving historic ligh thouses. (For more info: contact Sally Frye, Ph. 23 1 590-4004; e-mail: lighthsesally@charter. net; www. lighthousefoundation.org) •"Needle Work and the Sea" Symposium, 12- 15 June at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. (NBWM, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; www.whalingmuseum.org) •IMEHA2008 Fifth International Congress of Maritime History, 23-27 June at the O ld Royal Naval College, Greenwich, UK. (www.imeha2008.com) •"Winston Churchill and the Middle East," week-long seminar, 10-16 August, at Churchill College, Cambridge, UK. Of interest will be access to C hurchill's papers. (Registratio n and details, visit: www.Churchill@cont-ed.cam .ac. uk ) •Steamship Historical Society of America Annual Meeting, 22-24 June in Baltimore, MD (SSHSA, 1029 Waterman Ave., East Providence, MA 02914; Ph. 401 274-0805; www.ss hsa.org) ExHIBITS

•A Legacy of Ships: Ihe 400th Anniversary of Shipbuilding in Maine, at the Maine Maritime Museum, through 4 May. (MMM, 243 Washington Sc., Bath, ME 04530; www.mainemaritimemuseum.org)

•Needle/Work-Art, Craft, and Industry in a Port City, at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. (NBWM, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740; www. whalingmuseum.org)

•North Atlantic Seas, Schooners and Fisherman: Ihomas Hoyne's Paintings of the Grand Banks, at Mystic Seaport (75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT; Ph. 888 973.2767; www. mys ticseaport.org)

•Magnificent Maritime, Paintings by Richard DeRosset, through June 2008 at the Maritime Museum of San Diego (1492 North Harbor Dr. , San Diego, CA 9210 1; Ph. 619 234-9 153; www.sdmaritime.com)

•Stationary Voyages: Ihe Boat in Photograph, through 7 Sept. 2008 at the Mariners' Museum. (MM, 100 Museum Dr., Newport News, VA 23606; Ph. 757 5962222; www.mariner.o rg) 51

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Reviews The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker (Penguin Gro up, N ew York, 2007, 448pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 978-06700-1823-9; $27.95) Marcus Rediker's new book, The Slave Ship: A Human History, is imporram, wellwritten, and an eye-opening look into the day-to-day reality of the human trafficking that helped create the society we live in today. Creating a chronicle of the life of the enslaved, the enslavers, and those who profited TH E from capturing Africans and transporting them to a new wo rld greedy for their labor was clearly not an easy task. Even at the time, slavers did their best to con ceal the reality of what they were doing. 1he enslaved were only rarely permitted a voice at all, much less the education to put their own stories down on paper, and the slavers' crews were as often as illiterate as their captives.

Rediker mines what records exist- the abolitionists' investigations, confessions by reform ed slavers, and the few memoirs written by slave-ship crewmen, as well as the financial records and writte n orders from the ship owners to their captains to tell the human story of the trade whose ramifications linger to this day.

Dr. Rediker, a professo r at the University of Pittsburgh, has made a name for himself as the kind of historian who can bring alive the experiences of ordinary people caugh t up in momentous historical evem s. His previous wo rks examine the lives of seamen , pirates, "commoners" and "working peopl e." Records from hundreds of years ago were kept, naturally, about nobles and heroes, but were rare for regular folks. Because of this dearth of primary source material, such recounrings are often left in the hands of historical novelists, who have the freedom to confect the characters the casual reader seeks. The Slave Ship: A Human History proves that true sto ries can be even more co mpelling than imagined ones.

The Man Who Challenged America: The Life and Obsession of Sir Thomas Lipton

by Laurence Brady (Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, UK, 2007, 240pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 978- 1-84 158-578-9; $34 .lOhc) Early in this biography of Sir Thom as Lipton, Laurence Brady tells how tourists to Egypt in the 1880s discovered the following inscription on the Pyramid of the Cephrenes: "Lipton Scotland." The many generosities of Sir Thomas Lipton-including gifts to hosp itals, vast sums for the relief of the poor, trophies for imernational soccer marches, and the many Lipton Cups for yachtsmen-extended even to the preservation of an Egyptian pyramid. Here was the Tommy Lipton everybody loved. Because he destroyed his private papers, there seemed to be nothing else to know about him except what his publicity machine spat out. Lipton himself was constantly rewriting his own biography, for example, by providing a birth date three years later than the actual one.

(Brady beli eves, however, that Lipton was being truthful in saying he did not marry.

His sexuality remains a mys tery.)

Brady shows us a somewhat different Lipton , looking at the man as a man and not a monument. While his focus is largely on the fi ve unsuccessful America's C up challenges between 1899 and 1930, he traces the life ashore, from Lipton's yo uth in Glasgow, through his tutelage in America and the founding of his first store in 187 1, and then onward. Brady persuasively argues that the real Tommy Lipton was no cheerful robot of benevolence m arching along to the beat of publi c expectations. H e disagrees with the noti o n that Lipton used philanthropy so lely to enhance his reputation. "In truth, his phi lanthropy was spontaneous and reactive for much of his life," he writes, adding, "He gave generously to those in need who crossed his direct path ."

His willfulness could be self-destructive. Lipton's America's C up failures can be traced to an acute inflexibility that blocked him from taking the advice of experts, and his prideful sense of entitlement disRICHARD O 'REGAN couraged others from challenging fo r the Toronto, Ontario cup and at times unduly undermined his

¡ EA HISTORY 122, SPRING 2008

relationship with the New York Yacht C lub.

These characteristics harmed his business, too. In 191 3 there was a scandal concerning Lipton company bribes of army officials. When the company almost collapsed, the shareholders threw him our in 1927.

Like a Lear, Lipton never seem ed more truly hum an than he did at the end of his life. "I canna win, I canna win," he muttered after Shamrock Vlost the las t race in 1930.

Ar that very moment, the winning skipper, Harold Vanderbilt, handed the helm to a shipmate and went below to reflect sadly on Lipton's disappointment: "Our hour of triumph, our ho ur of victo ry, is all but at hand," Vanderbilt wrote in the log, "but it is so tempered with sadness that it is almost hollow." Tommy Lipton was dead in a year, and, Brady tells us, was quickly forgo tten in Britain.

JottN Ro usMAN IERE New York C ity

Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Lives and Legends of the Pirate Charles Gibbs by Joseph Gibbs (Columbia, SC, The University of South Carolina Press, 2007, 211 pp, ill us, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-157003-693-4, $29.95hc) Joe Gibbs's title, Dead Men Tell No Tales refers to the pirate practice of murdering their prey to eliminate witnesses. There is, however, a subtle double-em endre in this title. C harles Gibbs (a.k.a. James D. Jeffers, 1798-1831), the subject of this biography, is dead- -hanged after confessing to a series of hei nous crimes that, although plausible, are difficult to corroborate through hi storical evidence. Vague timelines and bewildering aliases turn chronological analyses of evems of his life imo co njecture.

The only clear truth is that G ibbs/Jeffers was cut down from an Ellis Island gallows on th e afternoon of 22 April 183 1, having suffered an agonizing public death as a convicted pirate and murderer.

Dead Men is skillfully written in a very readable style. The book examines the tales of notorio us crimes committed during a difficult life at sea through the self-aggrandizing confessions made by the pirate Gibbs from his prison cell. While awaiting the hangman, he noted that the punishment

53

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for piracy and murder are the same, and that, if they were different, perhaps there might have been fewer murders at sea-an observation about justice worth thinking about in his day. The author presents many particulars about the sometimes-subtle distinction between pirating and privateering.

In some ways Gibbs's Dead Men resembles Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm and his treatment of the loss of the Andrea Gaileach presents factual data tangential to the central event and both authors speculate to fill in the details and come to some sort of logical conclusions, keeping the reader's attention by conjuring up what likely happened to the principle characters.

In the last twenry years or so, dozens of books have been written about piracy, but Dead Men is among the most scholarly.

Readers interested in beginning or continuing their studies on the topic have a lot to choose from, and this title should be among their list of books.

LOUIS A. NORTON West Simsbury, Connecticut

Cochrane: Ihe Real Master and Commander by David Cordingly (Bloomsbury USA, New York, 2007, 420pp, illus, maps, appen, notes, biblio, gloss, index, ISBN 9781-58234-534-5; $32.50hc) Unlike other naval heroes from the age of sail-some who went to sea as boys or young teens, Thomas Cochrane was already eighteen when he joined his first ship as midshipman. His late start did not seem to hold him back in his career, however, and by 1799 he had assumed his first command.

Cochrane's career at sea spans the years of the Napoleonic Wars, which has provided naval fiction writers with a wealth of background characters and events for their novels. Since the publisher insisted on making the book's subtitle, "the real master and commander,'' I will address the comparison with Patrick O'Brian's famous character, Jack Aubrey. The reference, I assume, is simply a marketing ploy, for it is unnecessary.

Cochrane's naval exploits and hot-headed personaliry, on their own, make for terrific reading, and it is one case where the real history outshines fiction on its own as entertainment. That said, I loved reading the Aubrey/Marurin series, so if it makes O 'Brian fans eager to pick it up, all the better for David Cordingly and, of course, the publisher.

David Cordingly can really write. His topic, in Cochrane, provides plenry of action, quirkiness of character, and historical context. Cordingly masterfully maintains the flow, from action at sea through the contentious years of Cochrane's time in parliament to his service with the foreign navies of Chile, Brazil, and Greece. Readers will come away feeling entertained and more knowledgeable about an important time and figure in history, but not without a little effort on the side. I found that keeping Whos Who in Nelsons Navy by Nicholas Tracy (2006) close by was very useful, as Cochrane's relationships with other notable figures in the Royal Navy were many and are worth looking up.

For fans of naval histories in the age of sail, both real and imagined, Cordingly's latest effort should be your next book.

BRIAN ANDREWS

Monument Beach, Massachusetts

Scots and the Sea: A Nation's Lifeblood

by James D.G. Davidson (Mainstream Publishing Co., Edinburgh, UK, 2005, 352pp, appen , gloss, biblio, index, ISBN 184018-977-0; $15.95pb) Every town in Scotland lies within fifty miles of salt water. The country's territory includes 790 islands, including the Orkneys and Shetland. Scotland's major cities are seaports, and the brine drips from their very names: Glasgow, Edinburgh's Leith, Dundee, and Aberdeen. In Scots and the Sea, James D. G . Davidson, a retired naval officer, capably surveys the country's vast relationship with the ocean. He is well organized and writes clearly, beginning with the original Romans and Norse settlements, then summarizing the significant aspects of Scottish fishing, whali ng, exploration, piracy, naval action, merchant shipping, shipbuilding, lifesaving, and the modern North Sea oil industry. Davidson reminds us that James Cook had Scottish blood flowing through his veins, as did Captain Kidd, Alexander Selkirk, John Paul Jones, James Weddell, James Watt, Robert Napier, Sir Andrew C unningham, and Ellen MacArthur. Davidson makes a convincing case that the Scottish Admiral Lord Cochrane was every inch the mariner Nelson was, if not a few feet more. Scottish engineers and shipbuilders have made enormous contributions to navigation and SEA HISTORY 122, SPRJN( WO P.

steam technology. The first purpose-buil t and the like-the decisive events that have Jon Latimer, 1812: war with America facto ry trawler, the Fairtry, slid off Scottish shaped the history of just about everything (Cambridge, MA, The Belknap Press of the ways, as did the Cutty Sark, the Q ueen Mary, else. The writers of this volume, in an effort H arvard University Press, 2007, 637pp, ilthe Lusitania and Robert Falcon Sco tt's to condense 400 years of Ameri can m ari- lus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-674D iscovery. time history into fewer than 500 pages, 02584-4, $35 hc) Yet, because Davidson covers so much, have removed the naval as pects altogether The War of 18 12 was said to be a sechis book ends up a bit d ry. Even the dedi- and foc used solely on the co mmercial side ond war of independence that defin ed the cated reader might struggle through the of this history. Even so, there is little room, United States. W hen the smoke cleared, march of kings and queens and the rise and even in 500 pages, to offer mo re than the however, the result was rhat it defin ed Canfall of shipping lines . In his preface, David- significant highlights. The authors have ada. Jo n Latimer's 1812 examines this conson explains m at Scots and the Sea is "not a done a credible job, elabo rating on some fli ct that, when it fin ally ended, few were wo rk of original historical research ." D espi te face ts and simply m entioning others. The able to defin e what it was about. Latimer's the discl aimer, a couple questionable fac ts book is sponso red by the Ame rican M ari- book is unique in that it is largely written are difficult to overlook, and he occasion- time History Project, a no n-profit organi- from the Canadian and British viewpoints, ally mounts a somewhat rando m soapbox, zation in N ew York, and was underwritten arguably the fo rgo tten "winners." such as a digressio n on drug smuggling. by a host of maritime interests and individ1812 is a blow-by-blow tale of a misuals, which might understood war, a series of campaigns Th e reader of the paperback edition w ill be disappointed because help to explain why fo ught on tidewater land, frontier fo res ts, it has no maps, photographs, or so me areas received vas t oceans and freshwater lakes. The auillustratio ns, and the editor n emore attention than tho r largely describes the war's innumerable glected to remove a few refe ren co thers. raids and blockades through the eyes of its es to them that must have been Starting with generals and priva tes, admirals and seam en, printed in the hardcover ve rsio n. the premise that wa- and the people involved on all sides of the ter transport has al- conflict. His tightly constructed narrative These very minor complaints aside, however, D avidson has d eways been the leas t leads the reader through seemingly dispalivered an exceptionally val uable expensive method rate political and military actions in studi reference text, a perfect startof moving freight, ous detail, but sometimes, unfortunately, in ing point for any work of Scotthe book follows unexpected superficiality. La timer's sentenctish-or British- m aritime histhe development es in the earlier chapters are overly complex to ry, or even fo r understanding of the commercial and excessively long, and they distract from contem porary m arine policy in maritime industry, the impact of his points. H e frequently the U nited Kingdom. By confro m the Pilgrims' mentions combatants, who appear once or tras t, it too k over a dozen auth ors to create trading along the coast to the ultra-large on ly briefl y in the book, giving the reader Mystic Seaport's tome, America and the Sea. container- and oil transports of today and the un co mfo rtable feeling of drowning in Their text is not meant to be read cover-to- the infras tructure they require. Much at- historical minutia. Finally, while 1812 covcover either, and it is nearly twice as long as ten tion is paid, appro priately, to the build- ers the histo ry of that war in detail, Latimer Scots and the Sea- which must m ake Mr. up of the American shipping industry as focuses heavily o n the lake battles o n the D avidso n smile, since Scotland has several a result of both Wo rld Wars and the sub- Canadian border. His descriptions of the hundred years more recorded m ari time his- sequent decline to "also-ran" status in the clashes at sea are not nearly as thorough. tory than any wee bairn of a country like present times . O ne of the most interesting If ship battles on salt water are mo re what the U ni ted States. points the autho rs make is that, for most of yo u are after, perhaps Ian Toil's excellent Six RrcHARD KING our history, so-called "brown-water" ship- Frigates is a m ore appropriate choice. BetSt. Andrews, Scotland ping exceeded oceanic shipping in bo th ter yet, the pair combined will give readers volume and value. They refer to America the two-p ro nged approach towards underThe way of the Ship: America's Maritime as a "brown-wa ter nation with a blue-water standing the theaters of this conflict.

History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000 by Alex conscio usness."

In spite of some quibbling points, 1812 Roland, W. Jeffery Bolster, an d Alexander I would no t reco mmend the wo rk as is full of scholarly insights. A selected bibKeyssa r (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., H obo- light, "bed-time reading;" it was not de- liography of fifty-six pages and 14 1 pages ken, N J, 2008, 52 1pp, illus, gloss, biblio, signed or intended to be such, I am sure. As of notes are val uable to anyone interested notes, appen, index, ISBN 978-0-470- a reference book, however, and, as a place in further research. W ith all these points in 13600-3; $35hc) to start if o ne is seeking information re- mind, Latimer's book stands as an excellent When most people think of "mari time garding a specifi c segm ent of the shipping resource about an important misunderhistory," they think of the whole spectrum ind ustry's history, this nicely produced vol- stood war, a worthwhile addition to your of human interaction with the sea, ships, ume is the one to use. mari tim e library. and events. For m any of us, this means the WILLIAM H . WHITE LOUIS ARTHUR N ORTON study of naval engagem ents, fleet actions, Bellevue, N ew Jersey West Simsbury, Connecticut ~ EA 11STORY 122, SPRIN G 2008

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R OBERT W. SCOTT

JAMES H . BAKER

DR . JOHN FI NERTY

MICHAEL J. K RIEGER

PORT AUTHORI TY OF N Y & N J

JERRY SCHWAB

L ANE

M R. & MRS. CHARLES M. ROYCE

D AVID G. GREEN

G EORGE T. H ATHAWAY

CA PT. G .M . M US ICK Ill , USN ( RET)

JA IES G . SARGENT

V. Z.

SHARON M CILNAY

D OM IN I C A . D EL AURENT I S, MD

RI CHARD ELLISON

D ANIEL J. M CCA RTHY

ER NEST E. PEA RSON JR.

EDWARD

SEAN H. CUMM INGS

RICHARD H . GRAVES

FREDER ICK G . K RAFT

ROBERT G . M ORR IS

0.

JOHN C. COUCH PETER H . GH EE

GEORGE BOOMER

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L OOMIS Fou 'DATION

J AMES

TI M COLTON

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PHILI P B . PERSINGER

TERNAT I ONAL S HI PHOLD I G CORPORAT I ON

D

TH ORNE

M RS . D . L . FLEISC HMA 1 N

K ARL G. ANDRE

C HRISTIAN E. CRETEUR, MD

WI LLI AM ELLIOTT

JOHN W. M e l 'TY RE

T.

JEAN W ORT

JOH ' A. AMORY

LARS H E NING H A SEN

K ITCHli GS JR.

ALI X

l N MEMORY OF VI CTOR W. H EN INGSEN JR.

SKULD NORTH A MERI CA INC.

M R. & M RS. JAMES G. B ROWN

ROBERT P. JOH1 SO ' I MEMORY OF STEPHEN H. JOH SO

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RI CHA RD C . B REEDE

ROBERT FIS HER

C HARLES H AMR ICK

MRS. ELEANOR F. BOOKWALTER

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D . M CB RIDE

H EW ITT FOUNDAT ION

PHI LIP E . STO LP

T HOMAS H . CARRUTHERS

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H ENRY T. CHANDLER

C R.AYCROFT

M R. & M RS. JOHN D ARM IN

CAPT. D WIGHT GERTZ

STEVE

JAMES W OODS

JAMES CART ER Ill

CA PT. W ARREN D . CLARK l AN D A IC

REYNOLDS

RADM D AVID C . B RO\\

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W ELLEHAN JR.

H OWLAN D B . JONES JR.

D AV ID J. & CAROL

O'CON OR &

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PUSSER'S RUM

J.

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JAKOB ISBRAN DTSEN

EW YORK YACHT CLUB

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ROBERTS. H AGGE JR.

MR. & D R. STEVEN

JAMES E . BR EEN

IN MEMORY OF JOHN W ORT

JOHN R. SA IPSO ' D AN IEL

PAU L GA RNETT

PETER D . PRUDDEN

A RTH UR A . B I RNEY

B URCHE AL GREEN

EDWARD A. D ELMAN

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J.

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D AN IEL G REEN

M s. PATR ICIA A. JEA

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ANN C. & C. H AMILTO

IN MEMORY OF H ARRY E. Y i ALL

SCARANO B OAT B UILD ING, 11 C.

PHILIP&. IRMY WEBSTER

A LICE DADOURI A

K ATZENSTE IN

T HE B ETTY SUE & ART PEABODY FUND

PETTIT SR.

LI BERT Y M ARI TIME CORPORATI ON

ROBERT F. K AMM

WOODE 1 B OAT PUBLICATIO

TH E RUTH R. H OYT/A NNE H. JOLLEY FOUNDATION, INC.

M R. & MRS. ElLICE M CD ONALD JR.

J.

ESTATE OF WALTER WILLI AM H. WHITE

TH ORTON D. & E LI ZA BETH S. H OOPER FOUNDATION

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IN MEMORY OF JOE R. G ERSO

THE EDGARD & G ERA LDI NE FEDER Fou DATION, INC.

B ENJAM I

D o ALD C. M cGRAW Fou DATION

IN MEMORY OF SHANNON & L UCY WALL

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c. MCGRAW JR.

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SPONSORS

H ENRY L . & GRACE D O HERT Y C HARITABLE FOUNDATI ON

MEMORY OF D ONALD

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JOHN R. M CD ONA LD JR.

PLANKOWNERS

C.

M R. & MRS. H .

TH OMAS F. D ALY

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IN MEMORY OF ROD EY G UY E . C . M A I TLA

I

EW YORK STATE O FF ICE OF PARKS, RECREATION & H ISTORIC PRE ERVATION

RICHARD RATH M EMORIAL Fu D

BENEFACTORS

J. ARON CHAR ITABLE Fou DAT ION

MCALLISTER T OWING & T RANSPORTATI01 , INC.

W.

TI MPSON JR.

US NAVA L A CADEM Y N IM ITZ LI BRA RY

M RS. CAROLL V INALL

56

SEA HISlfORY 122, SPRING 2008

,,

~EEN MARY2 CUNARD®

~EEN VICTORI!\" CUNARD® Tf ll MOST fAMOlJS OClAN LINERS INTH{ WOALO•

Queen Mary 2®departs New York for transatlantic crossings and special roundtrip holiday sailings to Canada and New England. Queen Viaoria®will explore the southern part of the European Continent offering a wider range of fascinating itineraries in the Mediterranean than Cunard has ever done before.

Sail with Queen Mary 2 or Queen Viaoria and experience their wonders for yourself.

Transatlantic Crossing 6 Days - May though October 2008 New Yo rk to Southampton, England (OR) Southampton, England to New Yo rk

Legends of the Mediterranean 12 Days - August 25 & October 24, 2008 Barcelona to Rome

prices starting at $2, 4 18

prices starting at $ 1,099

Canada & New England 5 Days - May 22, 2008 Roundtrip New York

Greek Isles & Aegean Shores 12 Days - September 6 & 30, 2008 Rome to Venice

Memorial Day Getaway prices sta rting at $1 , 19 5

prices starting at $2, 703

Canada & New England 6 Days - July 2, 2008

Ancient Wonders of the Mediterranean 12 Days - November 5 & 17*, 2008

Roundtrip New York

Independence Day Geta way prices starting at $1 ,495

Rome to Athens *Athens to Rome

prices starting at $2,261

For a FREE brochure and information about these and other voyages contact:

Pisa Brothers Travel Service 630 Fifth Avenue• NewYork, NewYork 10111 (800) 729-7472 • mgr@pisabrothers.com fares are per person, non-air, baied on double occupancy, and apply to the first two passengers in the stateroom. fares do not apply to single, shares and upper-berth passengers. Fares are capacity controlled and based on space availability. Government fees and taxes are additional. Offer may not be combinable with other discounu, promotions or shipboard crediu. Fares are quoted in U.S. dollm. See applicable Cunard brochure for terms and defini· tions that apply to your booking. Other restrictions may apply. \hip's registry Great Britain. ©2008 Cunard.

Exclusive LIMITED Offer from NMHS ...

The legendary Cunard liner Mauretania ofl 907 steams outward-bound through New York Harboronan autumn afternoon in 1933 in the cruising-white liveryofherfinaldays.

Mauretania

by WILLIAM G. MULLER Just released. Exclusive limited edition of only 50 signed and numbered giclee prints, from the original oil painting.

Image size: 13 1/4" x 20"; Sheet size: 17 1/2" x 24" Printed with archival inks and paper. $275.00 plus $10.00 s/h.

Order your print from : NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO Box 68, Peekskill, NY 10566

Or phone in your credit card order to:

1-800-221-NMHS (6647), xO NYS residents add applicable sales tax. For orders sent outside the US, call or e-mail nmhs@seahistOJy.org for shipping.