DECK LOG Ranking Historic Ships
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aptain Walter Rybka's article in Sea History 148, "Ranking of Historic American Ships," has galvanized the maritime heritage community to tackle the way we look at historic ship preservation in this country. John Brady, president and CEO of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, organized a panel of experts to debate the topic at the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM) conference at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in April. The panel invited discussion among CAMM members on how to help ensure that ships of great historic significance get the attention and funding they need to survive. Following Captain Rybka's lead, the panel sought to create a list of ships in order of their historic significance. John tasked me with bringing a list of ships to consider; I combined the 24 from Walter Rybka's article and 50 from a list provided by Norman Brouwer, author of the International Register of H istoric Ships. John would moderate the panel. Dana Hewson, vice president for watercraft preservation and programs at Mystic Seaport, and Kurt Voss, formerly of the barque Elissa and recently the maritime operations manager for the Charles W Mo rgan's 38'h voyCAMM Historic Ships Panel: (1-r) Paul DeOrsay, john Brady, age, researched what Burchie Green, Dana Hewson, Kurt Voss, and Ray Ashley. criteria would q ualify a ship for the list. Paul DeOrsay, CAMM past president, looked at possible ranking systems, and Ray Ashley, director and CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, reviewed how a ranking of historic ships relates to efforts already underway regarding UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In advance of the session, the panel met and grappled with m any issues. We needed to avoid negative unintended consequences for the hundreds of vessels that are being restored and cared for, vessels that are worthy of preservation but might not m ake a top-ten list. Should national significance outweigh regional importance? Would CAMM create the list on its own, or should organizations have to apply to CAMM for recognition? Is CAMM even the right organization to undertake this sort of effort? We also struggled with the question of criteria: Educational value? Place in American history? How much original fabric still intact? These are just a few of the questions we knew would have to be addressed before a list could be assembled. As Ray As hley pointed out, perhaps it wo uld be of more value to ships to get listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; other CAMM members suggested getting listings on state websites or on the National Register of Historic Places, if not on there already. Since many ships are listed on these registries, there was som e debate as to whether that would help ships with fundraising, but it would help keep them from being destroyed. After much debate, we did not ask CAMM to rank ships, but presented our discussion and research. It was concluded that the goal of saving our inventory of historic ships-those threatened by the elements, neglect, and lack of financial support- is an important one, and that the maritime heritage community has to wo rk together to ensure that ships of m ajor historical significance are saved . We will ask for a consortium of maritime organizations, if not to rank ships specifically, then to figure out how to designate ships of national and regional significance. We will also review the process of adding ships to the UNESCO list of World H eritages Sites. The mission goes on, and NMHS will continue to play an active role in the effort . Ir was an honor to work with such a knowledgeable and careful group, and I applaud John Brady and the panel for leading the way. -Burchenal Green, NMHS president 4
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NATIONAL MARITIME
'V' HISTORICAL SOCIETY PU BLISH ER'S C IRCLE: Peter Aron, G uy E. C. Ma id and , Ronald L. Oswald OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. Oswald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal G reen; Vice Presidents, Deirdre O 'Regan, Wendy Paggion a, Nancy Schnaars; Treasurer, Howard Slornick; Secretary, Jean Won; Trustees: C harles B. Anderso n; Walter R. Brown; Thomas Daly; William S. Dudley; D avid S. Fowler; W illiam Jackso n G reen; Karen Helmerson; Robert Kamm; Richard M. Larrabee; G uy E. C. Maitland; Capt. Brian McAll ister; CAPT Sally C hin McElwreath, USNR (Ret.); Capt. James J. McNamara; Michael W Morrow; Richard Patrick O 'Leary; ADM Robert J. Papp Jr., US CG (Ret.); Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scarano; Phi lip J. Shapiro; Capt. Cesare Sorio; Roberta Weisbrod; Chairmen Emeriti: Waker R. Brown, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitland, Howard Slornick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Karl Kortum (191 7-1996) OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown, USMS (Ret.); RADM Joseph F. C allo , USNR (Ret.); C live C ussler; Richard du Moulin; Alan D. Hutchison; Jakob lsbrandtsen; Gary Jobso n; Sir Robin Knox-Johnston; John Lehman; H. C. Bowen Smirh; John Sroban; Philip J. Webster; W illiam H . W h ite; William Winterer NMH S ADVISORS: Chairman, Melbourne Smi th; George Bass, Oswald Bren, Francis Duffy, John Ewald, Ti mothy Foote, W illiam Gilkerson, Steven A. Hyman, J. Russell Jinishi an , G unnar Lundeberg, Conrad Milster, W illiam G. Muller, Stuart Parnes, Lori Dillard Rech, Nancy Hughes Richardso n, Ben Rogers, Joyce Huber SEA HISTORY EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chairman, T imothy Runyan; Norman Brouwer, Robert Browning, W illiam Dudley, Daniel Finamore, Kevin Foster, John Jensen, Joseph Meany, Lisa Norling, Carla Rahn Phillips, Wal ter Rybka, Quentin Snediker, W illiam H . Wh ite
NMH S STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; Membership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Accounting, Peter Yozzo; Marketing Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Communications Director, Jess ica Macfarlane SEA H ISTORY: Editor, D eirdre O 'Regan; Advertising, Wendy Paggiona; Copy Editor, Shelley Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanfo rd Sea History is printed by The Lane Press, Sourh Burlington, Vermom, USA.
SEAHISTORY 151 , SUMMER2015