A Viable Return to the Age of Sail Wouldn’t it be ironic if, the further we get with respect to technology and design in the 21st century, we end up reverting back to simpler times that didn’t suck up so much of our precious resources? Sailing ships to carry cargo? What a concept! I want to give a shout out to the folks who are attempting to do just that with sailing freighters. I am referring to the people running the schooner Apollonia on the Hudson River (as mentioned in the article in the Summer 2022 issue about “How Sail Fueled the Industrial Revolution”). In addition to the SEA HISTORY 180, AUTUMN 2022
The retired Staten Island Ferry John F. Kennedy was purchased last winter by Saturday Night Live comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson, who both grew up on Staten Island. Their stated goal is to convert the vessel into a dockside entertainment venue. In an interview last winter, Jost noted that he rode the Staten SV Vega Gamleby Island Ferry every day to commute to high school in Manhattan. He also noted with deadpan sarcasm from his “news” desk on set at SNL, that: “It’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through.” Apollonia, another group—Sail Cargo, Inc.—is building a three-masted topsail schooner in Costa Rica, specifically designed to carry cargo. Sail Cargo purchased an old Swedish sailing ship (SV Vega Gamleby) last spring to carry coffee beans and dry goods between the US and Colombia. I know there is at least one company in
sail cargo inc.
Roles Played by the Staten Island Ferry As a huge fan of Saturday Night Live, I have closely followed the haywire adventures of Colin Jost and Pete Davidson in their unlikely purchase of the Staten Island ferry, John F. Kennedy. But it was only your story in the Spring 2022 issue’s “Ship Notes,” that inspires me to share a chuckle with you all. You see, way back in 2000 CE, your great leader Peter Stanford invited me to accompany NMHS members during New York’s Operation Sail to celebrate the millennium in the best way possible—with tall ships everywhere. I had been introduced to Peter some years earlier by my colleague at Yachting magazine, the brilliant senior editor Dick Rath, when Peter was initiating his program to revitalize South Street Seaport. We found much of common interest in the sea and its mostly floating occupants. We became good friends, and I joined NMHS. But there was a bonus to Peter’s invitation. Because of my authorship of a number of marine books and articles, he wanted me to narrate the event—to name and describe each magnificent vessel over a PA system, as the parade of sail made its way northward from under the VerrazzanoNarrows Bridge into Upper New York Bay, where we were positioned. Of course, the station from which I did the narration, and aboard which numerous NMHS members enjoyed a perfect day at sea, was that very same ferry now turned into a bar and restaurant by two totally nutty but admirable comedians! Jack A. Somer (former editor of Yachting) Stamford, Connecticut
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