DECK LOG We sail in the wake ofmen before our time ...
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hi s is an exciting time for the National Maritime Historical Society, as we plan our future in the digital age and as we reflect on who we were 50 years ago, what we have accomplished, and what our goals are for the next 50. As we celebrate our half-century, we are also reviewing the forty-one years of publication of our flagship journal, Sea History, to revisit some of the early stories we've covered. We can learn from our own history as a Society by studying the issues that motivated the Society's founders to organize, and what challenges they tackled along the way. In this 142"d issue of Sea History, we are featuring the story of our flagship, the barque Kaiulani. The last American-built square rigger to sail around Cape Horn, Kaiulani was the ship the National Maritime Historical Society was founded to save, and she is the ship represented in our logo. Her history and the story of the effort to save her still have relevance today, as we continue to keep the stories of our maritime heritage alive and the fates of so many other historic ships hang in the balance. In the summer of 1978, our then-president Peter " Stanford wrote, "We sail in the wake of men before ourtime, " ¡~. a. nnd it is a proud and challenging heritage they've left ~~"" us. It is with that whole heritage that the National , ¡. ?'_.. ~ Society is concerned: the watch turning out on "' a black night on icy seas to work th e ship, the hard-learned skills of mastering a wi ld element to make a voyage,. .. and all the learning we have from man's experience at sea . . .. Will you join us for our voyage into history?" Today, the message is the same. We are still making that voyage into history, only, through the years, tens of thousands of you have joined us in the mission. At the end of the day, it is not the ships we have helped save, the maritime organizations we have founded , nor the events we have organized or the young people we have gotten out to sea that matters most, bur how you-o ur membershave joined us in the cause. As members of NMHS and readers of Sea History, you have sought to further your own knowledge of our maritime history, shared your knowledge and experiences, and, through our collective passion, strengthened the voice of the maritime heritage community to ensure that this important part of our history is not lost to this and future generations. The stories we tell are as varied as our heritage. Some are one-offs, and others have turned our to have recurring themes. In 1978, we featured an article on Captain Cook written by marin e artist Oswald Brett, and in 2012 we featured a cover story on O s Brett's life and art. In Sea History 18, William Burgess penn ed th e article, "Sea Letter: Aboard the US Coast Guard Bark Eagle at Sea, Jun e 1980," where he commented: "Think, these pictures are not 100 years old, but 100 days old, and from the decks of an American ship." In 2011, our editor, D eirdre O'Regan, wrote a cover feature, "Crossing the Pond in Eagle." If you look at her photos, I wonder if you could tell from which voyage they were taken, thirty years apart-or if they were indeed from 100 years ago. We are excited to select some early Sea History articles to revis it and to report on the current state of ships and organizations we have featured in years past. In this process, we will also bring you a report of where we, as an organization, are today and who we plan to be when we are a century strong. Now that we are in the digital age, we will also be putting some of these early issues of Sea History online at www.seahistory.org, so you can enjoy them completely as we are doing. Learning the stories of the men and women before our time helps us prepare for our sail into the future. - Burchenal Green, President 4
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLISH ER'S C IRC LE: Peter Aron, G uy E.
C. Maitland OFFICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ro nald
L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O'Regan, Nancy Schnaars; Treasurer, Howa rd Slotnick; Secretary, Jean Wort; Trustees: C harl es B. Anderson; Walter R. Brow n; RADM Joseph F. Callo, USNR (Ret.); Jam es Carter; Tho mas Daly; William S. Dudley; David S. Fowler; William Jackso n G reen; Karen Helm erso n; Roberr Kamm; Ri chard M. Larrabee; Guy E. C. Maidand; Capt. Brian McAllister; CAPT Sally C hin McElwreath, USN R (Ret.); James ]. McNamara; Mi chael W. Morrow; Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scaran o; Philip J. Shapiro; Bradford D. Smith; Cesare So ria; Philip ]. Webster; Daniel W. Whalen; Trustee Elect: Richard Patrick O'Leary; Chairmen Emeriti: Wal ter R. Brown, Alan G. C hoate, G uy E. C. Maitland, Howard Slotnick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Ka rl Kortum (19 17-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown , USMS (Ret.) ; C live C ussler; Ri chard du Moul in ; Alan D. Hutchi so n; Jakob fsbrandtse n; Ga ry Jobso n; Sir Robin KnoxJohnsro n; John Lehman; H. C. Bowen Smith ; John Stoban; W illiam H. White; W illiam Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smith; D . K. Abbass, Geo rge Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis J. Duffy, John Ewald, Timothy Foote, W illiam G ilkerso n, Steven A. Hym an, ]. Russell Jinishi an, G unnar Lundeberg, Co nrad Milste r, Wi lli am G. Mull er, Stuart Parnes, Lori Dilbrd Rech, Na ncy Hu ghes Ri chardso n, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber Smith SEA HISTORY EDITO RIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, Timothy J. Runyan; Norman]. Brou wer, Robert Browning, William S. Dudley, D ani el Finamore, Kev in Foste r, John Odin Jensen, Joseph F. Meany, Lisa No rlin g, Ca rl a Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Quentin Snediker, W illiam H. W hite NMH S STAFF: Executive D irector, Burchenal G ree n; Membership Director, Nancy Schn aars; Communications Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Accounting, Peter Yozzo; Volunteer Coordinator, Jan e Mauri ce; Executive Administrative Assistant, Kel ley Howard SEA HISTO RY: Editor, D eirdre O 'Rega n; Advertising, Wendy Pagg iotta; Copy Editor, Shell ey Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanfo rd
SEA HISTORY 142, SPRING 20 13