NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION NMHS travels from Tahiti to Tacoma pring 2008 has been a whirlwind of exciting activity for rhe Society, a constant reminder of the innovative work being done to further the cause of preserving our maritime heritage. In April, NMHS trustees Bill White and Captain Cesare Sario led a group of our members aboard the Star Flyer, sailing around the Society Islands. As we sailed across the very waters of rhe original adventure, Bill White gave a riveting acco unt of the 1790 voyage of HMS Pandora to capture the Bounty mutineers. As you might
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expect, sailing around the South Pacific in a large, modern square rigger with all the amenities is indeed paradise. We were enamored of Captain Szalek and his crew, the maj estic islands reaching dramatically from the water, the multi-national and diverse ship's company, our search for black pearls, and the incredibly beautiful and lush vegetation we encountered everywhere. Immediately upon our return, we traveled to Pensacola, Florida, to attend the North American Society for Oceanic History and Council of American Maritime Museums joint conference. CAMM challenged member museums to reexamine how they present their stories to their visitors. NASOH presenters updated us on rhe progress and results of some extraordinary new research projects underway in the field. We were delighted to hear a significant percentage of graduate student presentations this year. A few weeks later, it was on to Maryland's Eastern Shore for our own annual meeting. This year's NMHS annual meeting in Sr. Michael's underscored rhe significance of how our rich heritage is being kept alive in the C hesapeake Bay. Stuart
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Parnes, executive director of rhe Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM), gave a thought-provoking welcome by focusing on the Society's national role in a sea-change of leadership within the maritime field and our ongoing challenge to keep our heritage relevant and engaging to yo unger participants. The leadership of Chesapeake-based maritime institutions were well represented in the series of maritime heritage reports: Pere Lesher, of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum; Bill Dudley, editor of The Naval Wtzr of 1812 and past head of rhe Naval Historical Center; Jim Cheevers, of the US Naval Academy Museum; and Drew McMullen, of Sultana Projects. Our hosts at the CBMM gave some informative behind-the-scenes tours of their facilities, in between squalls of a violent rainstorm rhar blasted the peninsula char afternoon. As prudent mariners, we kept a weather eye and adj usted our course accordingly. The Whaling Heritage Symposium, held 15-18 June at Mystic Seaport and the New Bedford Whaling Museum and New Bedford Whaling Historical Park, brought together a superlative meeting of scholars who traveled from all across the wo rld to participate in this first symposium of its kind, representi ng the global heritage that the history of whaling bonds together. Dr. Hans Van Tilburg, maritime heritage coordinato r for NOAA's Office of
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Natio nal Marine Sanctuaries in the Pacific Islands Region, chaired an inspired panel, which examined the broader cultural aspects of historic whaling and how it impacts our relationship with rhe sea. NMHS was honored to host the symposium with NOAA's Office of Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program and NOAA's Marine Fisheries Service. On 25 June the Down Town Association in New York served as the venue for a magical evening, as representatives from dozens of maritime organizations joined to honor the renowned artist John Stobarr. As he recounted tales of his early days as an artist and how he came to paint and love rhe fledgling South Street Seaport Museum (SSSM), many of the early leaders and supporters of SSSM reminisced
Peter StanfordpresentedJohn Stobart with the NMHS Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Stobart then surprised Mr. Stanford, presenting him with a painting ofthe Wavemee.
with their own stories. NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald presented SSSM executive director Mary Ellen Pelzer with 1,000 copies of the new NMHS booklet, john Stobart and the Ships of South Street, to use z ~ in their campaign to restore South Street's ::; flagship, Wtzvertree. :S We attended the WoodenBoat Show iJ ~ at Mystic Seaport the last weekend in June, >= and finally, over the Fourth of July weekend, NMHS Trustee Brad Smith and his Ronald Brower Sr. and his coLLeagues tour the wife Stephanie staffed an NMHS table in whaling ship C harles W Morgan at Mystic the American Sail Train ing Association's Seaport. Brower traveled to New England "National Mari rime Educatio n" rent in Tafrom the lnupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, coma, Washington, where 400,000 people Alaska, to give a presentation on the Inuit visited as part of ASTA's impressive West whaling traditions at the Whaling Heritage Coast Tall Ship C hallenge this summer. Symposium. -Burchenal Green, President
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SEA HISTORY 124, AUTUMN 2008