"Think in Oceans" Surprising discoveries in Sea History's first thirty-five years suggest the importance of the maritime perspective on world history.
by Peter Stanfo rd
S
ea H isto ry celebrated its 35th birthday las t year. The occasion The fi rst issue of the new magazine, appearing in April 1972, led me to reflect o n some thoughts on the course made good, featured m ember museums' collections, gallantly led off by a m odel which I presented last year at the Eighth M aritime H eritage of the French galley M adame from the Crabtree collection at The Conference in San Diego. Your editor asks that I offer them to Mariners' Museum. The foll owing year, the Sea M useums Counour long-time readers and welcome new m embers, together with a cil was replaced by the Council of American Maritime M useums, whi ch, chaired by Waldo Johnston of Mystic Seaport, brough t in thought or rwo about the course ahead. The magazine's beginnings arose, as so m any things have, New England museums, which had stayed out of o ur brash New from the interest of Karl Ko rtum of San Francisco in expanding the York- based outfi t. Most of its initial m embership was m ade up of heritage of seafaring. No rma Stanfo rd and I, wo rking at the newly the o ld Sea M useums C ouncil. We welcom ed Waldo's leadership, fledged South Street Seaport Museum in New Yo rk and needing under which CAMM dropped its affiliatio n wi th Sea History. to educate ourselves in the heritage we'd jumped into, relied a lot So, when the second iss ue of Sea History appeared in Decem on Karl. A few years earlier, we had joined the Na tional M ari time ber 1973, it steam ed ahead under the NM H S banner rather than H istorical Society (NMHS), an o utfi t dedicated to saving Karl's the old Sea M useums outfi t. In that issue, we expanded our museold ship, the 1899 barque Kaiulani. In 1970 the Society had over- um coverage in a primitive version of today's "Ship No tes, Seaport stretched in its efforts to save the old barque & Museum News," and reached overseas to and went bro ke, and Karl, in a deal that o nly cover such far-out schem es as the recovery of he could have engineered- let alone get the James Craig, then a skeletal wreck on a away with-arranged to have me elected as Tasm anian beach (it wo uld take thirty years its p resident. I'd grown used to doing what to resto re her to sailing conditi o n- but it he to ld me to do, and, bes ides, there was no happened at las t! ). All this was capped by a one else to take the job. So that was that. listing of "Square-rigged Sailing C raft in ExNego tiating with its credito rs, NM H S istence," compiled by Norman Bro uwer, who got back on its fee t. We unde rstood the great had done volunteer work for the NMH S in need to generate the public interest that had Washingto n before jo ining the So uth Street been so lacking in the Kaiulani effort. Frank staff. His effort led to the International RegBraynard, one of the founders of the Society, ister of Historic Ships, co-published by the and I felt it was important to get museums World Ship Trust and Sea H istory Press in working together o n this, so we form ed a 1985, just a d ozen years down the long sea Sea Museums Co uncil under the NM H S road on which we had set out. banner. Leaders of eight museums joined, There was a third issue of Sea H istory in including San Francisco, Th e M ariners' 1975, crammed with photos of historic ships Museum , and the Smithsonian Institution's and wrecks in far-distant locatio n s, together m arine division under the redoubtable H owwith John Lyman's re port establishing that ard C hapelle-all people we'd turned to fo r Sea History# 1 (top) featured collections of the Constellation in Baltimore was a sloopassistance in the pas t. People who do yo u a of-war of 1854 rather than a fri gate of 1797. member museums, but by #4 we'd focused favo r then feel a stake in yo ur venture, and on the tall ships of Operation Sail and the John took time from his research to serve as they were as interested in learning how we secretary of the Na tional Maritime H istorical worldwide heritage ofseafaring. Society, adding scholarly weight to our disdid things as we we re in learnin g what they knew. It helped immensely that we enj oyed co urse. one ano ther's company! In 1976 we go t o ut Sea H istory 4, a The Council's first decision was to full-size fifty-page m agazine celebrating Oppublish a magazine to imp rove co mmuni caeration Sail '76, an event which had a transtion amo ng m aritime museums. As Council fo rming effect on an America divided and chairman Bruce Inverari ty of Philadelphia reeling in the wake of the Viem am war and a put it, the magazine wo uld also carry a marigrowing national recess io n. Millio ns of visitime message "to the public who love the tors turn ed out to crowd the streets of New waters of the earth and the vessels that ply York, as Am ericans celebrated the 200th them , fro m canoes and canal barges to great birthday of a nation of nations, bo rn of the square ri ggers and steam ers." sea. Our trustee Frank Braynard had m ade The editorial grandly concluded: "The a trip to Europe in 1974 w ith o ur treasurer, Sea M useums Co uncil and Sea History are Howard Slotnick, to ro und up ships fo r the the beginning of a new era of coo peration ." occasion . Frank was still on the Seaport payWell, not quite-but we are still sailroll in New York, and we gave him an office f"""' l'SA • fU,hvKSh11"1lll S • ing that course, makin g adjustments for set in 16 Fulton Street to run an NMH S O pSail 111fll and drift as we voyage on . Com m ittee until funds were raised to set up
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SEA HISTORY 125 , WINTE R 2008-09