courtesy tyler putnam
Ryan Szimanski, Director of Cultural and Educational Affairs for Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, demonstrated that his knowledge of the nation’s most decorated and largest battleship is extensive and his delivery captivating. USS New Jersey (BB-62) earned distinction in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and conflicts in the Middle East. With an overall length of 887 feet, 7 inches, and a maximum waterline beam of 108 feet, 2 inches, she was able to fit through the Panama Canal locks with barely a foot to spare on either side. The New Jersey is considered a technological, scientific, engineering, and military marvel from the time of her launch through evolutions across decades of service. As a memorial and museum, the ship and her dedicated staff educate the public about the role of the United States Navy on the world stage. Ryan has been named the new executive director of the Historic Naval Ships Association, which he will take on while retaining his position with the New Jersey. Tyler Putman, Gallery Interpretation Manager of the Museum of the American Revolution, described the importance of the collection’s original objects displayed with their stories. With exhibits such as rare American flags, the letters of Betsy Ross, and Washington’s tent, the museum brings to life the trials of Washington’s army and the lives and sacrifices of those who lived during the Revolution and continue to inspire our nation today. Joining us from California, Marifrances Trivelli, Council of American Maritime Museums president and Los Angeles Maritime Museum executive director (right), Amy Lent, new co-chair of the National Maritime Awards Dinner in Washington, and Sea History editor Deirdre O’Regan (left) enjoy a moment of levity aboard the 1904 fourmasted barque Moshulu, the ship made famous in Eric Newby’s The Last Grain Race.
courtesy john brady courtesy patrick flynn
Patrick Flynn, Superintendent of Ships & Drydocking Manager of the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild reported on the 1901 barquentine Gazela Primeiro. Having fished the Grand Banks for seventy years under the Portuguese flag, in 1971 Gazela arrived in Philadelphia, where she has become the official Tall Ship of Philadelphia. The wooden sailing ship retains much of her original fabric, but the ship, which Alan Villiers called the “ideal sail-training vessel,” is in need of major work. The ship is berthed right at Penn’s Landing, where the Guild engages the public in the city’s working waterfront and actively trains young craftsmen and women. Of the skills training program they instituted last year, Flynn told us that they “use the ship to teach practical job skills and set young people on a career path.”
courtesy ryan szimanski
Susan Gibbs, president of the SS United States Conservancy, met with us to talk about the remarkable ocean liner berthed just down the waterfront from where we were standing. Gibbs’s grandfather, the ship’s designer William Francis Gibbs, was a Philadelphian, and his magnum opus returned to his home town 25 years ago. The United States was the pinnacle of ocean transportation in her day, beating all transAtlantic passenger liner speed records—even on her maiden voyage, running at two-thirds power. Today, she is fighting against time, and the Conservancy is dedicated to saving this important American treasure.
courtesy deirdre o’regan
courtesy susan gibbs
John Brady, president emeritus of the Independence Seaport Museum, gave an impassioned presentation on why we need to save the 1892 protected cruiser USS Olympia, the ship that brought the Unknown Soldier back from WWI, and arguably the ship that persuaded the world to recognize the United States as a world power, following her role in the Battle of Manila Bay. An engineering marvel of her day, Olympia still has so much to teach us, not the least of which is the price we have paid—and continue to pay—to uphold our democracy.
SEA HISTORY 176, AUTUMN 2021 9