It also conducted early wo rk plotting the m ovement of the G ulf Stream along the Atlantic Coast. Twenty-on e m en perished when the Walker sank in ro ugh seas in the early morning of 21 June 1860, 10 miles off Abseco n Inlet on the New Jersey coas t. The crew had fini shed its lates t surveys and was heading tO New York wh en the Walker was hit by a commercial schooner. The
1852 painting of the Robert J. Walker by WA. K Martin. side-wheel steamer, carryin g 66 crewmembers, sank w ithin 30 minutes. The sinking was the largest single loss o f life in the history of NOAA or its predecesso r age ncies. Built in 1847, the Walker was one of
th e US government's first iron - hulled steamers, and was intended for the US Revenue Service (predecessor of the US Coas t G uard). Instead, the Walker and
Jersey wreck divers and government and university maritime archaeologists. NOAA does not plan to make the wreck a sanctuary or limit diving, but to work with New Jersey's wreck diving com munity tO better understand the wreck and the srories it can t ell. ( www. n a u ti ca lchart s. n oaa.gov/ RobertJWalker/) .•. Google Maps developers recently made available an animated map of 261 million weather observations made by ships, weather ships, and weather buoys spanning the years 1662 to 2007. The digital database was crea ted by the Intern ational Com prehen~ s ive Ocea n -Atmosp h ere Data Se t z (ICOADS) and, accordi ng tO NOAA, is The dimensions of the paddlewheel hubs "probably the most co mplete and heteroand their spacing helped NOM confirm geneo us collection of surface marine data the Wa lker's identity. in existen ce." Paul Saxman and Brendan so me of its sister steamers were sent tO the Kenny of Google M aps created the map, Coas t Survey, established by Pres ident which can be viewed online o n You Tube. Thomas Jefferson in 1807 tO survey the co m by typing "Part 5: Google C hrome coas t and produce the n ati o n's nautical Ships In Canvas Layer" or at www.yo urube. charts. Last year, NOAA and its partn ers co m/ wa tch ?v= b_ oaah 7 kdP E . O n th e co nfirmed the Walker 's locatio n and iden- video, ships and vessels are colored redtity as part of a private/ public collaboration yelluw, an d oth er observing platforms that incl uded research provided by New (buoys, etc. ) are colo red blue-cyan .
The art ofjohn A. Noble • The history ofSailors' Snug Harbor and New York Harbor
To plan your trip to the museum, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org SEA HI STO RY 147, SUMMER 20 14
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