photo by joseph rudinec
photo by allison lucas photo by allison lucas
tions in the service to a ship and its mission. Captain Rogers, she explained, was indeed a devoted shipmate, the kind who would dash from his bunk in the dead of night when he heard the watch on deck striking sail and knew they might need a hand, the kind of shipmate first to scramble aloft to wrestle in a topsail flogging in a squall. As captain, Bert Rogers would just as eagerly show you how to splice and set up the rig or drill his crew and students on coastal piloting. He could be a demanding captain, but one dedicated to his crew and students in every capacity. In his role running sail training programs from ashore, she acknowledged that Captain Bert Rogers has an unwavering passion for sailing ships and the sea, and keeping the experience of shipping out under sail assessable to all. Captain Rogers was gracious in acknowledging Swapping out Carhartts for formal wear, the tall ship sailing community turned the many people who helped him in his career, from out in force to celebrate Bert Rogers (front row, far left), who was being honored Captain Arthur Kimberly, with whom he first went to for his many years at the helm of sail training ships and of Tall Ships America. sea and around the world in the brigantine Romance, to Alix Thorne of Ocean Classroom Foundation, to Michael Rauworth, chairman of Tall Ships America and a decades-long shipmate and collaborator, and so many others. Sail training, he mused, is a cornerstone of the maritime heritage movement. When a young person goes aboard a sailing ship run by a competent and organized captain and manned by a ready and able crew, when the lines are cast off and everything you knew before recedes beyond the horizon and everything you are about to discover comes from the horizon ahead, that’s when maritime history comes alive for the student. Dinner chairman George Carmany, the most experienced member of the NYYC regarding Americas Cup protocol and diplomacy, presented the David A. O’Neil Sheet Anchor Award to Philip J. Webster. He called Mr. Webster’s contributions to the Society and to the field of maritime heritage and education practically endless, from working to save USS Massachusetts to serving leadership roles at Sultana Education Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the Miles River Yacht Club Foundation, USS Sequoia Preservation Trust, Scholarship America, and, of course, the National Maritime Historical Society. Carmany pointed out that everyone who had served as chair of the National Maritime Awards Dinner in Washington, DC, of which Mr. Webster was the founding chairman—Irmy Webster, Donna and Dr. William Dudley, CAPT Jim Noone USN (Ret.), and Dr. Timothy Runyan—were in the room to honor him. Mr. Webster comes from a long line of mariners; his great grandfather was a clipper ship captain, his grandfather was the author of the 1927 Old Sailing Ships of New England, and his Phil and Irmy Webster father served as a military officer in World War I, searching for German U-Boats in the North Atlantic. Love for the sea was a strong motivating factor in his life, and the benefits to our maritime heritage have been enormous. Finally, Linda and Admiral Papp presented a surprise award to Dr. Robert G. Newton, director of the US Coast Guard Academy Cadet Chorale, who for decades has brought the cadets to perform at the NMHS awards dinner. He was recognized for his extraordinary talent, unwavering dedication, and selfless inspiration to America’s future leaders. The dinner was such a success thanks to our chairman, George Carmany; dinner vice chairman, Christopher J. Culver, who gave a compelling introduction of the New York Yacht Club and its history to our guests; master of ceremonies Richard T. du Moulin; Richardo Lopes, who manages each year to mesmerize the audience and bring the history of the recipients to life with the video tributes of the awardees he so masterfully produces; and our chairman, Ronald Oswald, who somehow manages to condense all the projects and yearly accomplishments and goals of the Society into a three-minute presentation. No mean feat, that. —Burchenal Green, NMHS President Dr. Robert Newton (at right) and the USCG Academy Cadet Chorale perform for guests in the fabulous Model Room of the New York Yacht Club.
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