No.47
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Summer 1988
OPENING THE GREAT LAKES: "In the Landlocked Heart of Our America" Chicago Harbor 100 Years Ago Shipwrecks of Isle Royale Great Lakes Maritime Music The Bermuda Race
Two hundred years ago, George Washington received a fine precision timepiece just lil(e this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HARDWOOD STAND INCLU DED .
The Father of our Country always treasured the precisely calibrated timepiece g iven to him by his close friend and mili tary aide the Marquis de Lafayette. It was The Universal Ring Dial, now a prized collector's item. Re-created in etched solid brass to inaugurate the National Maritime Historical Society's official collection of fine historic instruments.
Pick it up . Tell the time by turning the dial until sunlight focuses on the hour ring. And .experience how Washington must have fe lt as he measured each moment in the birth of our nation. Every numeral and letter- as well as the acanthus leaf desig n is deeply etched into the imported brass. Priced at $69. Available only from The Franklin Mint. ©
THE
NAT IO NAL
MAR I TIME
HI STORICA L
SOCIETY
1988 FM
PRESENTS
THE UNIVERSAL RING DIAL The Narional Mari rime Hi srorical Sociery C/o The Frankli n M inr ·Franklin Cenrer, Pennsylvan ia 1909 1
Please ma il by Seprember 30 , 1988.
SIGNATURE _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
Please handcrafr The Universal Ri ng Dial in prec ision-etched soli d brass expressly for me. And bill me in 4 monrhly insrallmenrs of $ 17.25* each , begi nning prior ro shipmenr. The hardwood base, insrrucrions for use and hi srorical reference will be prov ided ar no additional charge. •Plus my srrire srdes tax and a total of $3. fo r Jh ipping and handling.
N AME _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ PLEASE PRINT CLEAALV
ADDRESS _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ CITY, STATE, Z IP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ 85737-25
ISSN 0146-931 2
No.47
SEA HISTORY
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE WORLD SHIP TRUST
SEA HISTORY is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, 132 Maple Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520. Second class postage paid at Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, 132 Maple Street, Croton, NY 10520. COPYRIGHT © 1988 by the National Maritime Historical Society. Tel. 914 271-2177. MEMBERSHIP is invited. Plankowner $ 10,000; Benefactor $5,000; Sponsor $1,000; Donor $500; Sustaining Patron $250; Patron $100; Contributor $50; Family $35; Regular $25; Student or Retired $ 12.50. All members outside the USA please add $5 for postage. SEA HISTORY is sent to all members. Individual copies cost $2.75. OFFICERS & TRUSTEES are Chairman: James P. McAllister; Vice Chairmen: Alan G. Choate, James Ean , Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr.; President: Peter Stanford; Vice President: Norma Stanford; Secretary: Spencer Smith; Treasurer: Robert W. Elliott, III; Trustees: Henry H. Anderson, Jr. , Alan G. Choate, Robert W. Elliott, III, Karl Kortum , Richardo Lopes , Robert J. Lowen, James P. McAllister, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., Richard I. Morris, Nancy Pouch, Ludwig K. Rubinsky, Spencer Smith, Peter Stanford; Chairman Emeritus: Karl Kortum; President Emeritus: Alan D. Hutchison. OVERSEERS: Chairman : Henry H. Anderson , Jr.; Charles F. Adams, Townsend Hornor, George Lamb, Clifford D. Mallory, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., J. William Middendorf, II, Richard I. Morris, John G. Rogers , John Stobart. ADVISORS : Co-Chairman: Frank 0. Braynard, David Brink; Raymond Aker, George Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Brett, George Campbell , William Main Doerflinger, Harry Dring, John Ewald, Joseph L. Farr, Timothy G. Foote, Richard Goold-Adams, Walter J. Handelman, Mel Hardin, Robert G. Herbert, II, R. C. Jefferson , Irving M. Johnson , John Kemble, Conrad Milster, Edward Muhlfeld, William G. Muller, George Nichols , David E. Perkins, Richard Rath , Nancy Richardson, George Salley, Melbourne Smith, Ralph L. Snow, Albert Swanson, Peter Throckmorton, Shannon Wall , Robert A. Weinstein , Thomas Wells, Charles Wittholz. American Ship Trust , Hon. Secretary: Eric J. Berryman. WORLD SHIP TRUST: Chairman: Frank G. G. Carr; Vice Presidents: Henry H. Anderson, Jr. , Viscount Caldecote, Sir Rex Hunt, Hammond Innes, Rt. Hon. Lord Lewin, Sir Peter Scott, Rt. Hon. Lord Shackleton; Dep. Director: J. A. Forsythe; Hon. Treasurer: Michael C. MacSwiney; Mensun Bound, Dr. Nei l Cossons, Maldwin Drummond, David Goddard, Richard F. Lee, Alan McGowan , Arthur Prothero, Peter Stanford. Membership: £12 payable WST, c/o Dep. Dir. , l29a North Street, Burwell, Cambs. CBS OBB, Eng land. Reg. Charity No. 277751. SEA HISTORY STAFF: Editor: Lincoln Paine; Senior Editor: Peter Stanford; Managing Editor: Norma Stanford: Advertising Manager: Barbara Ladd; Production Assistant: Joseph Stanford; Accounting : Veronica Gnewuch; Membership Secretary: Patricia Anstett; Membership Assistant: Grace Zerella.
SUMMER 1988
CONTENTS 4 5
6 8 11 12 17 24
28 30 32 35
39 40 44 46 48
LETTERS QUERIES & CORRECTIONS NMHS PROJECTS: A TASK THAT HAS TO BE DONE, Talmage E. Simpkins WINNING THEIR WAY TO BERMUDA, William Robinson SAIL TRAINING NEWS THE GREAT LAKES: CHICAGO HARBOR A CENTURY AGO, Theodore S. Charmey OPENING THE GREAT LAKES, Philip Robert Elmes A BLUENOSE ON THE LAKES: THE J. T. WING, Robert Fraser-Lee GREAT LAKES MARITIME MUSIC, Chris and Tom Kastle THE SHIPWRECKS OF ISLE ROY ALE, C. Patrick Labadie THE SEAPORT EXPERIENCE MARINE ART: "IN THE LANDLOCKED HEART OF OUR AMERICA," J. Gray Sweeney MARINE ART, NOTES AND COMMENT SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT AND MUSEUM NEWS THE CHIEF WAWATAM MUST BE SAVED, Stephen Heaver, Jr. GREAT LAKES MARITIME MUSEUMS REVIEWS
COVER: Radiating the industry and optimism that characterized the development of the Great Lakes, the tug Champion tows eight topsail schooners on the Detroit River in 1878. Chromolithograph by Seth Arca Whipple. Courtesy the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
The National Maritime Historical Society is saving America's seafaring heritage. Join us. We bring to life America's seafaring past through research , archaeo log ical expeditions and ship preservation efforts. We work with museums , historians and sail training groups and report on these activ iti es in our quarterly journal Sea Hisro ry. We are al so the American arm of the World Ship Trust , an international group working worldwide to he lp save ships of historic importance .
Won ' t you join us to keep alive our nation 's seafaring legacy? Membership in the Society costs only $25 a year. You ' ll receive Sea History , a fascinating magazine filled with articles of seafaring and historical lore . You'll also be eligible for di scounts on books , prints and other items. Help save our seafaring heritage . Join the Nationa l Maritime Hi storical Society today '
TO: National Maritime Historical Society, 132 Maple St. , Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
YES
I want to help . I unde rstand that my co ntributi on goes to for wa rd the wo rk of the Soc iety ' and that 1"11 be kept in fo rmed by rece iving SEA HISTORY qu arterl y. Enclosed is:
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Contribulions 10 NMHS art lax deductible.
NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
47
~\s\tThe
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•2-year Apprenticeships •6-week Intern and Volunteer Programs •Summer Workshops •Fine Wooden Boats for Sale •Exhibits and Visitors Loft Open June to October PO Box 539T, Sea Street Rockport, Maine 04856 207. 236-6071 Established 1982 • Lance R. Lee, Director
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The British Navy and the American Revolution BY JOH N A. TILLEY
Illustrated with contemporary paintings, drawings, engravings, specially execu ted maps and battle diagrams, this book deals with a vital, but neglected, aspect of the American Revolution. Cloth, 340 pages, $24.95
Admiral of the New Empire: The Life and Career of George Dewey BY RONALD SPECTOR
This biography takes Dewey from obscurity in 1898 through the victory in the Battle of Manila Bay until his dea th in 1917. Focuses on Dewey's public life, concentrating on his tenure of service from the Manila Bay victory onwa rd and on his influence on the American naval establishment in the early 20th century. Cloth, 227 pages, $24.95 Paperback, 227 pages, $12.95
A Maritime History of the United States: The Role of America's Seas and Waterways BY K. JACK BAUER
A pioneering study of the role of civilian maritime activities in the development of the U.S. Stresses the crucial role played by the ocea ns, rivers, lakes and canals in the history of the natio n. Concludes with a discussion of the reasons for the current decline of the American merchant marine and the dangers which that implies. Cloth, 340 pages, $24.95
Sloops and Shallops BY WILLIAM A. BAKER
Traces the development of shallops along the Atlantic seaboa rd and the Chesapeake Bay from open work boats to fully decked vessels. Illustrated with sketches of the various types of sloops and shallops as well as line plans showing the development of hull forms. Cloth, 192 pages, $24.95
Sa il for two weeks with 38 other trainees to various ports in Great Britain and Europe. Limited financial aid poss ible. Non profit org.
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Further Information Write:
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA PRESS Columbia, SC 29208
SCHOONERS FOUNDATION 16 East 69th Street New York, N.Y., 10021
or call (803) 777-5243 Visa or MasterCard
Antique Maps • Coastal Charts Marine Pai ntings & Prints
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LETTERS 25 Years Old, Thank You!
NEW FROM THE NAVAL INSTITUTE "" I" ' "" ' 'I' " PRESS sf \
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By Basil Greenhill A British classic now available to U.S. readers that portrays a way of life completely vanished, this is a beautiful, large-format book with over 200 photographs and line drawings. It is the story of the small fore-and-aft rigged merchant ships of England and Wales that worked the seas from 1870 to 1940, and includes firsthand accounts of voyages and daily shipboard life. 1988/ 320 pages/ 210 photos and 25 line drawings/ Apps./ Index;S 29.95.
FAST SAILING SHIPS, 1775 - 1875 Revised Edition By David MacGregor An award- winning study of merchant ships in the
great age of sai l written by one of the world's leadin g au thori ties on sailing shi ps, this text charts the development of ship types, changes in shipbuilding technology, and the vagaries of the shipbuilding industry. It includes 135 ship and sail diagrams and lively anecdotes. 1988/ 320 pages/ 300 illus./ /ndex/ Apps./ Bib/iog;S29.95.
THE SHIPS OF THE GERMAN FLEETS, 1848 - 1945 Second Edition By Hans Jurgen Hansen This lavishly illustrated, large -format book presents the only comprehensive view currently available of Germany's famous warships. Covering the fl eets in operation from 1848 ri ght up to the close of the Second World War, it offers an outstanding selection of art from museums. archives, and private collections. some of which is reproduced in color, some never before published. 1988/ 192 pages/ Over 150 illus.//ndex/ Bibliog.;S24.95.
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4
It 's hard to believe that the National Maritime Hi storical Society is celebrating its 25th anniversary . Despite all of the probl ems, the Society is alive and well-and a defi nite power to help preserve the maritime heritage of not only the United States of America but the entire world. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to those who worked to convert a one-project group into a respected international organization. I wi sh I could be with you at the 25th anniversary meeting. Please thank Karl Kortum for entrusting hi s priceless collection of Kaiulani photographs to an unknown Washington lawyer whom he had just met back in 1963. With Karl 's wonderful pictures I was able to convince the editors of the Washington Post to publi sh a cover story on the "Last Yankee Square Rigger" in their Sunday magazine Potomac. I invited any reader who wanted to help save the old bark to write to the Committee for the Preservation of the Kaiulani. Within a few months, thi s became the National Maritime Historical Society. We thought big back in 1963- and the modem Societv has certainly fulfilled our dreams. · The Kaiulani, unfortunately, never made it back to these shores intact, but we saved the bow and a portion of the steel hull. Today the National Park Service has plans to incorporate these in an important Kaiulani display at the entrance to the Hyde Street Pier near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It will be up to the Society to help fund thi s undertaking, and I hope we will support our flagship at the appropriate time. Please extend my warm greetings to all of our loyal members. Thank you for all your help and support over the years. ALAN HUTCH ISON President Emeritus, NMHS Reno, Nevada Mr. Hutchison's letter was read aloud at the Annual Meeting aboard the Wavertree in South Street, where the members applauded his sentiments and adopted his project for the Kaiulani 's relics by acclaim.-ED.
Maritime Heritage Year 1990 Following the very successful presentation of our fifth Maritime Heritage Medal by President Reagan at the White House on 17 December, to USS Constitution, may I be allowed to say how much the interest of the President in the maritime heritage of the world is appreciated. May I also draw the attention of our membership and other readers to our plans for Maritime Heritage Year 1990.
The object of Maritime Heritage Year 1990 is to awaken the awareness of all peoples throughout the world to the importance of their maritime heritage, and to encourage local projects to record and restore our maritime heritage. We appeal for the full interest and support of your readers and as much help and information as possible from our international constituency . We must make 1990 a truly memorable year, on a worldwide scale . JAMES A. FORSYTHE, Dep. Director World Ship Trust England
Schooner Struck, Indeed! We currently have seven teenagers from Odyssey House and Portsmouth High School sailing in the Sail Training Association (UK) schooners Sir Win ston Churchill and Malcolm Miller. Your story "Schooner Struck: Sail Training in the Malcolm Miller" (see Sea Histmy 45) was instrumental in the success of our effort to get these teenagers to sea. ALBERT E. HICKEY Portsmouth Sail Training Portsmouth , New Hampshire
And One Hand for the Membership! We have been members of the NMHS for some time, and the more we read of Sea History, the more we like it. In the autumn 1987 issue (SH45) , we were particularly struck by the letter from Edward Lang, and your response reflecting interest in the establishment of a fund for enrolling those who cannot afford membership themselves. What a wonderful idea! We're sending the enclosed donation for that purpose. BAILEY AND Posy SMITH East Hampton, New York
Remembering Turrialba The winter 1987-88 edition of Sea History included a letter from Harry Burum of Dinuba, California. He mentions the United Fruit Line banana boat, Turrialba, in which he served as purser during World War II . That was the first I had heard of the Turrialba since 1935 . In that year, when I was 15 , I was fortunate enough to sign on as an assistant steward for the summer. Turrialba was a fine little ship and carried thirty passengers. We sailed from Philadelphia in ballast and returned from Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, with a load of bananas. The captain was named Card, and I recall that he was from Nova Scotia-a fine gentleman who cared for his crew. ROBERT L. WILLIAMS Whittier, California SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Greetings from Sea Cloud Please enroll me as a memberofNMHS. I have been reading other people 's copies of Sea History for several years now. It is time I contributed and thanked you for the excellent job you do. And please let Peter Stanford know that Bill Burke, ex-third officer (now second) of Sea Cloud and the rest of the crew say hello and wish him and the Society good luck. There are still quite a few faces here he ' d remember. All the best, and keep up the good work! CAPT. WILLIAM J. BURKE Amherst, New York
Liberty Girls I sent a copy of Thomas Patterson ' s article on saving the Liberty ship Jeremiah 0 ' Brien to my 92-year-old mother, Helen Chapin Apgar (now Hill). She was in charge of women ' s personnel at New England Shipbuilding in South Portland, Maine, for several years, including the time Jeremiah O' Brien was built and launched (June 1943). Mother would enjoy hearing from any of " her girls" and others with whom she worked. Her address is Helen C. Hill, Apt. 602, 644 Island Way, Clearwater, FL 34630. wALLACE A. CHAPIN Durham, New Hampshire
How to Overheat a Stuffing Box I was dismayed to see your article by RAdm. McReady entitled ''The Emery Rice Engine." Thi s misnomer is equivalent to calling the Queen Mary turbines the Hotel Queen Mary Turbines. In all fairness it should be referred to as the Ranger engine or the Nantucket engine. As the last Senior Engineer Cadet Officer, I listened to our Chief Engineer Erwin L. Kelly tell us with tears in his eyes that the Nantucket was being taken from us. Although it had been renamed Bay State, we still had Nantucket life rings , "NAN" cutters, whale boats and dinghy. On that same day twenty-seven classmates and I left the Nantucket for the last time as cadets. The sketch of the engine used in the article indicates positioning and terms of more recent vintage than we used. If the occasion ever arises, I'd be happy to point out "suicide alley" and explain "cross arm oiling." Her engine was built as an auxiliary device. She was twice as fast under sail with a good wind. Her top speed for 24 hours was 236 miles, when she was rigged as a barkentine. Just under ten knots. Her top speed with a SEA HISTORY , SUMMER 1988
following sea and no head wind under steam was about six knots . Under sail the engine was disengaged (the clutch was at after end of the shaft alley) and the tail shaft and screw ran free. At approximately eight knots, the shaft running free would overheat the stem tube stuffing box unless water was hosed over it. By the way, her name was changed to Rockport on 30October1 9 17; and on 20 February 1918 , her name was changed back to Nantucket. JAMES E. SCHOFIELD Grafton, Massachusetts Mr . Schofield is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy class of 1942. He served as first assistant engineer with the Grace Lines 1942-44 , and as an engineering officer in the US Navy , 1944-46.
A Schooner Comes Home Again You may wish to look into publishing an article about the Gulf Coast schooner Governor Stone, built in 1877, which recently returned to Pascagoula, Mississippi , where she was built. The City of Pascagoula (which is not far from Biloxi) will maintain her in seaworthy condition for youth sail training, and they may enter her in the schooner races mentioned in your article. The gentleman who owned the boat for many years is John Curry of Tarpon Springs, Florida, who found her in neglected shape at New Orleans about twenty years ago. DON ANDREWS Hong Kong Longtime readers of Sea Hi story may remember John and Ingrid Curry's letter about their schooner in Sea History 4. The Governor Stone is credited with inspiring the Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi to construct not one but two schooners.-Eo.
More on the Martin Further to the discussion about the Ruth M. Martin , she is listed in the 1930 edition of Merchant Vessels ofthe United States as being owned by the Portland (ME) Trawling Co. , 1 Fulton Street, New York. In the 193 1 edition, she is listed as having been sold to the British. I hope this is of some use in tracing our old schooner's history. GERARD BOARDMAN New York, New York Mr. Boardman is the librarian of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City.
QUERIES AND CORRECTIONS Concerning E. I. Williams ' s letter "The First Salute" in Sea History 46, the Andrew Doria was not a privateer but a regular armed brig of the Continental Navy. According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, "The First Andrew Doria, a 14-gun brig, was purchased at Philadelphia on November 1775 and commissioned the following month under Captain Nicholas Biddle." DENNIS M. GREENE Fayetteville, North Carolina I wish to paint a picture of the Idler, a 65ft schooner used by the Sea Scouts in the 1920s out of Chicago. Any data or photographs of the ship would be appreciated. DAVID w. PETERSON, ASMA Studio 101 , Miramar 27 50 Gulf Shore Boulevard North Naples, FL 33940 I am looking for information about the Liberty ship SS Stephen Douglas belonging to the Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. , in which my Belgian bride crossed the Atlantic to join me after World War II. The ship left Antwerp on 14 February 1946, and arrived in New York on 4 March 1946. I would like to know the docks normally used by ships of the Lykes company. Also, would there be a passenger list available? FRANKALEKSANDROWICZ 343 Canterbury Road Bay Village, OH 44140 Marine operators were once a widespread part of railroading. Myriad car floats, lighters, tugs and ferries dominated views of major ports like New York and Philadelphia. This is a whole dimension of shipping and railroading now nearly gone and sorely neglected by scholars, fans and modelers alike. Anyone interested in forming a Railway Marine Historical Society (by whatever name) to collect, preserve and publish the history and technology of railroad vessels, marine terminals, services and operations may write me. Please include a paragraph or two on your favorite railroad navy operations and what you would be willing to do for the group. ALAN D. FRAZER 675 Water Street, 9A New York, NY 10002 Nothing underscores the urgency of Mr. Frazer's proposal better than Stephen Heaver' s article on saving the railroad ferry Chief Wawatam, p44 ).-Eo. '1t
5
NMHS Projects: A Task That Has To Be Done by Talmage E. Simpkins, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Maritime Committee
Believing more than a little in the values of American seafaring, we organized the National Society's Twenty-fifth Anniversary Annual Meeting as part of National Maritime Day weekend. Our call for a national educational program called "The American Flag at Sea" was announced and distributed to all hands in the official Maritime Day cruise in New York Harbor on 20 May, and the program was approved by our members assembled aboard the Cape Horn sailing ship Wavertree in South Street Seaport Museum the next day, 21 May. A redeeming feature of this way of doing things was TalSimpkins's talk at the Maritime Alliance forum convened aboard the Wavertree as part of our annual meeting. Tal'saddress, in somewhat condensed form below, offers the rationale for the program we had proposed to the world the day before-with passion, logic and conviction worthy of the occasion and ofthe cause ofAmerican seafaring.
PETER STANFORD, President, NMHS Maritime Day has for years been a time for reflection and rededication. While that is appropriate, it is also appropriate that we couple with this an assessment of where we are today. The record of the American merchant seaman goes back to the founding of our country. Both in peace and war the American merchant seaman has played a major role in building our country and in transporting our commerce to all comers of the world, under all kinds of conditions. Merchant ships made America a part of the world; but it was a long time before the men who sailed those ships could call themselves a part of the community and be recognized for their contributions. Maritime Day was designated by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1933 to commemorate the world's first transatlantic steamship voyage- by the American-flag paddlewheeler Savannah in 1819. In 1819, Americans led the world, but as happens time and time again in our history, we did not follow through on our own pioneering efforts; and as a consequence other countries' liners soon dominated the oceans. Today we see other nations of the world exploiting and improving and building upon American aid and technology and know-how, freely shared in what will surely go down as one of the most generous-and perhaps self-destructive-acts in world history. Since that Joint Resolution was adopted in 1933, we have reflected on the past contributions of men and women
6
in the merchant fleet and rededicated ourselves to seeing to it that their sacrifices would neither be forgotten nor have to be repeated. But increasingly, what was a time for quiet remembrance and thanksgiving has turned to one of bitterness and frustration. As company after company goes broke and ties up its ships, our brothers and sisters pack up and leave their berths, some-maybe most-never to go to sea again ...lost as trained seamen. This is happening at a time when the Navy tells us repeatedly that we are not only short of ships to put into military service in emergencies, but probably won't have enough seamen to man those that are left. This is a sad commentary on the country that forty-two years ago finished a global war with a huge navy and the biggest merchant fleet ever assembled. Merchant seamen made great sacrifices in that war for which they were made many promises-promises only being honored today as result of court action. On more than one occasion in the past, Congress and the President have mandated that the United States shall have an adequate merchant marine. But today, the number of ships under the US flag has plummeted to below 400, about one-third the number active in 1950-with just under 11,000 seagoing jobs, one-fifth the number in 1950. The deficiency in trained manpower is staggering and no one has a solution for it. Still, the soothing words come forth in Maritime Day statements and proclamations. As concerned American citizens, we have to lead in asking "Does the United States need a US flag merchant marine?" Our own history suggests that the answer to this question can be dodged only at great risk and cost. As World War I broke out in Europe, our fleet was carrying approximately 10 percent of our trade. It was not until twenty-two days after the fighting stopped that we launched the first freighter built under the US Shipping Board's "war emergency" shipbuilding program. When World War II started, this country had the basis of a modem merchant marine, adequate to carry approximately 33 percent of our foreign trade. A shortage of vessels again developed under war conditions. Thi s time, the war lasted longer and our rapidly expanded shipping needs were met only with a $12.5 billion shipbuilding program. This program provided about 5,000 ships for us and our allies and these ships made it possible to win the war. An adequate merchant marine pol-
icy over the years, however, would have produced more ships in readiness under the US flag and would have measurably shortened the war. At the end of World War II, as world trade again began to develop, US flag ships carried in excess of 50 percent of our cargo. They continued to carry in excess of one-third of our trade until 1953. During the 1950s and '60s, the fleet gradually declined. Automation and modernization were reshaping things . Four or five ships could be replaced by one very large ship with the carrying capacity of all those replaced. From our viewpoint, the most noticeable consequence was the vast increase in cargo carried per seaman. The fact that seamen's wages, as a percent of operating costs, dropped below 30 percent was not convincing enough to those who had their minds made up that labor costs were too high. Coupled with this general drift and neglect was the evolution of the "flags of convenience." The concept of runaway-flag shipping had been practiced by American citizens on a very minor scale for generations for the primary purpose of avoiding, or running away from, such things as slavetrade restrictions, prohibition and high registration fees. It was during this period that the percentage of US waterborne trade carried on US flag ships slipped to below 5 percent. A look back demonstrates the obvious-the US flag fleet needs government assistance to stay afloat, assistance in the form of protection in the international marketplace. An adequate US flag merchant marine doesn't come free. It can be paid for now by the consumer or the taxpayer, or at some unknown time and at a much higher price. The candidates running for president would agree that we should have an American-flag merchant marine and would, without doubt, adopt some very grand-sounding declarations. These would be intended to make us feel good. But if we become content with just that, it's about all we will ever get. We must go beyond just having a new maritime policy endorsed by the next president. We need much more! This is where we come in. It is incumbent upon us to alert the general public to what we all know . How we do this I can't tell you with any degree of precision, but I can tell you it is a task that has to be done. <1' Both the full text of Mr. Simpkins' s remarks, and the NMHS Maritime Day proposal, are available upon request fromNMHS. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Winning Their Way to Bermuda by Bill Robinson
At the beginning ofthis century, racing smallboatsoffshorewithamateurcrews was unheard of. The man most responsible for changing yachtsmen's attitudes-and eventually those of the general public-towards offshore sailing was Thomas Fleming Day, editor of the long-defunct Rudder magazine. Starting with the success of his Brooklyn, New York, to Marblehead, Massachusetts, race in 1904, Day's imagination, and offshore racing, grew from strength to strength. In 1905, he organized a race from Brooklyn to Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the following year, the ultimate race, from New York to Bermuda, the island of Shakespeare's Tempest, set on the far side of the fickle Gulf Stream. Here, Bill Robinson, a veteran of many Bermuda Races both as a participant and a journalist, offers a history of this challenging ocean race. From its inception in 1906, and especially in the 65 years since its revival after World War I, the Bermuda Race has established itself as a premier event in ocean racing. This is so not only because of the inherent cha! lenge in the 635-mile course across the Gulf Stream
from Newport, Rhode Island, to Bermuda, but also because of the number of reputations it has profoundly influenced not only in competition but in yacht design. Given the quality of the entrants and the nature of the course between Newport and Bermuda, a Bermuda Race winner automatically becomes a top figure in the sport, and almost all the best known yacht designers have made an early leap to fame through the success of one of their boats in the race. Starting with John Alden, who was said to own the event in the 1920s and into the '30s, thi s roster includes almost all the top figures in the field of naval architecture: Olin Stephens, Phil Rhodes , Bill Tripp, Bill Lapworth, Ted Hood, the Argentine German Frers, father and son, and Aage Nielsen, to name a few. As sailors, Alden, Hood , Olin Stephens and his brother Rod, the Dick Nyes, father and son, Decoursey Fales, "Huey" Long and, of course, the only "hat trick" winner, Carleton Mitchell , have become household names in the sailing community through their exploits. Along with them , many more division and class winners have become hometown heroes highly respected for
their success. The same can be said of many top sai lors who have never managed to hit the prize list. Some say this is because the open-water challenge of the race, and especially the navigational vagaries of the Gulf Stream, make it a great nautical roulette wheel. Good luck does play a part in the ultimate outcome of the race, but it is more than luck that has put so many excellent sailors sailing well designed boats in the winning lists. Certainly it was more than just good fortune that saw Carleton Mitchell 's Finisterre the overall winner in 1956, 1958 and 1960! The event has built up a great store of sailors' yarns that have become legends. As salt-stained, stubble-bearded sailors gather on the lawn of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for post-race postmortems, the sea stories flow with the rum and beer, as everyone has a tale to tell of what happened on their vessel. Aside from who got seasick or who was thrown out of his bunk in a knockdown, there have been some special occurrences that live on in the annals of the Bermuda Race. There was the storied 1932 race (the only time the start was made off Montauk Point) when Frank Paine 's big cutter Highland Light set a course record of 71 :35:43. It was also in this year that the Bermuda Race suffered its first and only fatality, when the schooner Adriana caught fire and sank the first night out. Jolie Brise, a grand old campaigner visiting from England under her skipper Bobby Somerset, an internationally famous sailor, came alongside in a daring, skillfully handled rescue that enabled all of Adriana's crew to jump aboard except the helmsman. Holding her position long enough for all his shipmates to make the risky transfer, Clarence Kozlay waited too long to make his own jump, fell between the two boats, and was lost. The only other vessel lost in the Race was the cutter Elda, in 1956. Skimming too close in a night approach , she hit the reefs north of Bermuda and sank, but all her crew were rescued. Th e searchlight catches Finisterre as she crosses the finish line offSt. David's Head in 1958--lhe strain of a hard-fought passage reflected in the stances of the crew. This is the second of three consecutive Bermuda races the able, beamy yawl will win under the guiding hand of her skipper/owner Carleton Mitchell-a feat unparallelled in the saga of the Bermuda Race. Finisterre was also a grand cruising boat, and her name lives on in Mitchell' s loving accounts of cruising at her helm . Photos courtesy Cruising World magazine.
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SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
An amazing "man overboard" occurred in the storm-tossed 1960 race when Jack Weston , crewing on Charlie Ulmer's Scylla, was thrown overboard while making a watch change. He had just taken off his life jacket to go below when a freak lurch threw him under the lifeline. He was saved by quick and efficient crew work that included throwing over the newly developed strobe light buoy. He had given up hope in the first shock, but the buoy 's light spurred him to swim to it while shedding his heavy foul weather gear. The boat had a hard time getting back to him because the engine battery was dead, but a spare battery was quickly wrestled into place. The spare happened to have been Weston 's "boat present" when he reported aboard, a rather good choice. It was also in this race (the fust I sailed in), hit by the severest storm ever to rake the fleet in the entire race history, thatHarry Morgan 's big 60ft cutter Djinn suffered a weird mishap. Hard on the port tack under full main and genoa, with squally weather making up, she was hit without warning by a 90-degree wind shift that caught her aback broad on her starboard bow, and lifted her bodily up onto her port beam ends. The confusion was unbelievable. Those below flew out of their bunks and across the cabin, and a couple of the men on deck went into the water but were saved by their harnesses. There were broken ribs and some bad bruises as a result, but no permanent damage. We were nearby on Pete DuPont's big Rhodes ketch Barlovento, noted for her luxury accommodations, and while we had some wild frontal blasts we were not as badly affected as Djinn. The first coherent words anyone heard from Djinn after the incredible upheaval was a voice on the radio saying, "I bet that knocked the flowers off the table on Barlovento!" The Bermuda Race, the Transpacific Race, which also began in 1906 (both started with only three entries), and the earliest of today' s classic races, the Chicago-Mackinac, first run in 1898, have long been standards of American yacht racing. But the Bermuda Race has had perhaps the widest influence on yacht design of any of them. Until the 1920s, ocean racing was considered something of a stunt. Then, with the success of John Alden 's fisherman-type schooners, which won the 1923 and 1926 races , people began to pay more attention to yacht design. Soon everyone wanted a Malabar, the name Alden favored for his boats-he named eleven schooners and two ketches Malabar-and the type SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
was widely imitated, especially on the East Coast. Then, in the 1930s, Olin Stephens 's designs heralded a major change. The slim , fast-steppingDorade, Stormy Weather, Edlu and Blitzen were practically unbeatable, producing a string of victories in the Transatlantic and Fastnet races, though Edlu was the only one of these that actually won the Bermuda Race overall. In a departure from Alden 's classic Gloucesterman, Stephens developed a relatively deep; sleek, easily driven boat, often a yawl, which took full advantage of the measurement rule. (Phil Rhodes's designs were in the same school , though he favored centerboarders rather than fixed-keel boats.) The fleet had quite a new look and except for anomalies like DeCoursey Fales's Nina , built in 1928, schooners gradually faded out of the fleet. But what an anomaly the Nina was! Although she won the race to Spain in 1928, she was a relatively unheralded boat until Decoursey Fales owned her, starting in the late 1940s. Although designed for racing and cruising along the Gloucesterman lines favored by Alden, under Fales the Nina proved herself again and again. In 1952, Nina won the Vineyard Race for the third consecutive year, retiring the trophy. Commodore Fales then rededicated the cup-whereupon Nina won it back the next two years. She capped all this by winningtheBermudaRacein 1962-34 years after her launching. Of course the more designers got into the competition, turning out boats that would do well under the then prevalent measurement rule, the more important that rule became. The Cruising Club of America, whjch had supported Yachting magazine editor Herbert L. Stone in hi s efforts to revive the race in 1923, took over sponsorship of the race with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in 1924. It was their CCA Rule that was used to handicap the boats, and as competition became more intense, with more attention paid to the rule in designing boats to win the race, the rule itself kept coming under scrutiny and being changed, plugging loopholes and reflecting the latest design developments. Gradually, Olin Stephens's toosuccessful Dorade family was so encumbered by rule changes that an entirely new approach to winning designs came into being. Stephens 's own Finisterre, which appeared on the scene in 1956, brought along a second revolution in yacht design , much as hjs Dorade family had two decades before. This
The big modern ketch Storrnvogel looks rather put out as the incredible old schooner Nina charges away to windward of her, steaming along under a cloud ofpeifectly set canvas. Below, the gallant Nifia struts her stuff downwind, going like a train. What wouldn't you give to be the man on the bowsprit end? Nifia' screws were trained to a fin e edge under their pe1fectionist skipper DeCoursey Fales , who was famed for conviviality as well as fo r Nifia' s winning ways.
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time a beamy, relatively shallow centerboarder represented the latest thinking. Finisterre's owner, Carleton Mitchell, worked closely with Olin Stephens in the development of the design, and he published a series of articles pointing out how well he expected her to do, and then went out and proved it. He had an all-star crew, backed by meticulous preparation, and it paid off. Photographer Stan Rosenfeld tells a revealing story of following Finisterre early in a race to get pictures. Normally, he could hear the creak-creak-creak of the steering gear of his launch F oto as his brother at the wheel followed the same course as the subject. This time there was silence.
Finisterre was steering straight and so was Foto, and Stan realized how good the helmsmanship was. Mitchell insisted on all top helmsmen in his crew at all times. It was sti II a remarkable feat for her to win three times in a row under quite different conditions and against an increasingly larger fleet each time. The race had really caught on with the postwar generation, and its entry lists rapidly expanded through the 1960s to a high of 179 in 1982. From the cosy fleets of the 1920s, '30s and '40s, where everyone knew each other and the same boats kept coming back year after year, major changes were taking place, and
BERMUDA RACE WINNERS YEAR
START
- - Series l - 1906 New York' 1907 New York 1908 Marb lehead 1909 New York 1910 New York - - Series 2 - 1923 New London 1924 New London 1926 New London 1928 New London 1930 New London 1932 Montauk New London 19342 1936 Newport 1938 Newport 19463 Newport 1948 Newport 1950 Newport 1952 Newport 1954 Newport Newport 1956 Newport 1958 Newport 1960 Newport 1962 1964 Newport 1966 Newport 1968 Newport 1970 Newport Newport 1972 Newport 1974 Newport 1976 1978 Newport 1980 19823
Newport Newport
1984
Newport Newport
1986 1988
6
Newport
BOAT/RIG
DESIGNER
OWNER/SKIPPER
Tamerlane, yawl Dervish, schooner Venona , schooner Margaret, schooner Vagrant, schooner
Larry D. Huntington, Jr. Clinton H. Crane A. Cary Smith Arthur C. Binney Nathaniel G. Herreshoff
Frank Maier Harry A. Morss E. J. Bliss George S. Runk Harold S. Vanderbilt
Malabar IV, schooner Memory, yawl Malabar VII. schooner Rugosa II, yawl Malay, schooner Malabar X , schooner Edlu, sloop Kirawan, cutter Baruna, yawl Gesture, sloop Baruna, yaw l Argyll, yawl Carina, yawl Malay, yawl Finisterre, yawl Finisterre, yaw l Finisterre, yaw l Nifia , schooner Burgoa, yaw l Thunderbird, sloop Robin , yawl Carina, sloop Noryema, sloop' Scaramouche, sloop Running Tide , sloop IMS , Babe, yaw l IOR, Acadia, sloop Holger Danske, ketch IMS, Brigadoon Ill, sloop IOR, Carina, sloop IMS, Pamir, sloop IOR, Merry Thought , sloop IMS, Puritan , sloop !OR, Silver Star, sloop IMS, Cannonball, sloop IOR, Congere, sloop
John G. Alden Nathaniel G. Herreshoff John G. Alden Nathaniel G. Herreshoff w. J. Roue John G. Alden Olin Stephens Philip Rhodes Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Concordia, lnc. Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Olin Stephens Starling Burgess, Jr. William H. Tripp Bill Lapworth F. E. "Ted" Hood Jim McCurdy Olin Stephens German Frers Olin Stephens Roy Hunt German Frers Aage Nielsen Olin Stephens Jim McCurdy Olin Stephens German Frers Hood Little Harbor Joubert/Nivelt
John G. Alden Robert N. Bavier John G. Alden Russell Grinnell Raymond W. Ferris John G. Alden Rudolph J. Schaefer Robert P. Baruch Henry C. Taylor Howard Fuller Henry C. Taylor William T. Moore Richard S. Nye D. D. Strohmeier Carleton Mitchell Carleton Mitchell Carleton Mitchell DeCoursey Fales Milton Emstof T. Vincent Learson F. E. "Ted" Hood Ri chard S. Nye R. W. Amey C. E. Kirsch A.G. VanMetre A. C. Gay B. H. Keenan Richard Wilson Robert Morton Richard B. Nye Franci s H. Curren, Jr. Jack King Donald Robinson David Clarke Charles Robertson Bevin Koeppel
' boats departed from Gravesend Bay in New York Harbor. 2 Ten of the 16 schooners starting the 1934 race were Alden designs. Olin Stephens designed 2 yaw ls in addition toEdlu. 3 The Race was cancelled in 1940, 1942 and 1944. 4 The British-owned Noryema was the first non-US boat to wi n the Bermuda Race. 3 Marvin Greene's maxi sloop Nirvana (designed by Dave Pendrick) set a course record of 62:29: 16, an average speed of better than I 0 knots. ' Unofficial results.
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not only in numbers and the size of the festivities in Bermuda. The most profound change came in 1968 when the International Offshore Rule (IOR) was adopted and the Cruising Club of America's rule was put into permanent limbo. This seemed to spell the end of the cruiser/racer concept, which had been so much a part of the Bermuda Race thinking and the actual reason for its revival in 1923. With the constraints that designs best suited for IOR competition put on naval architects, a complete split gradually developed, and those who wanted to cruise their boat and race it too (or vice versa) had to be treated in some other way. The result was the development of new measurement rules designed to give older, heavier boats a better chance of competing against the skinned-out machines fostered by the IOR. Starting in 1978, the fleet was split into divisions representing the two types, IOR boats and those racing under the Measurement Handicap System (MHS) and later the International Measurement System (IMS). At first, the overall trophy went to the division winner with the widest margin over the second place boat in that division. But there were grumbles from IOR people who argued that because their competition was always closer, an IMS boat would always produce the overall winner. So now there are two equal trophies and the Bermuda Race has joined the "ki ssing-your-sister" league of contests (along with the Southern Ocean Racing Conference and the venerable Chicago-Mackinac Race) in which there is no overall fleet winner. Today the Bermuda Race stands at something of a crossroads. With farm ore IMS boats than IOR boats entering the race, there are efforts to build up the IOR entries. Future trends and developments are hard to predict. What can be safely said, however, is that the Bermuda Race remains one of the most challenging sailing events in the world, and with all the prestige that entails, it is still the goal for ocean racing sailors who want to be the best. <!>
Mr. Robinson is a longtime member of the Cruising Club of America, sponsor ofthe Bermuda Race, and was for many years editor of Yachting magazine. Today, as editor-at-large of Cruising World, he spends much ofhis time afloat in distant waters or sailing his own yacht Helios on the Atlantic Coast. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Sail Training News A symposium on "Sail Training and Small Boat Programs for Troubled Youth" will be held at the Omni International Hotel, Baltimore, 18-21 October, concurrently with the fourth annual National Correctional Trainers Conference. The symposium and the Correctional Trainers Conference will co-host a panel on "Sail Training for Young Offenders." Members of the panel will describe successful coastwise and deepwater sail-training programs for youth at risk in the US, Canada and the UK, including New Beginnings for Youth (Ottawa), the STA Schooners (UK), OceanQuest and Solstice (USA). They will also discuss issues of safety, liability, program development and evaluation, leadership, selection and sponsorship. The two-day symposium is being sponsored jointly by the American Sail Training Association and Portsmouth Sail Training. (Susan Bailey, ASTA, 365 Thames Street, Newport, RI 02740, 401 846-1775; Portsmouth Sail Training, PO Box 1303, Portsmouth , NH 03801, 603 436-0439; or Dr. Albert E. Hickey, Program Chair, 617 862-3390) The Sea Education Association's new brigantine Corwith Cramer joined with
SEA's schooner Westward late in May, and promptly put to sea with SEA Class #100, the first of many six-week oceanography and sail-training programs she will take to sea in the years ahead. The l 34ft Spanish-built brigantine is the first vessel built under the Coast Guard 's new Sailing School Vessel Regulations. (SEA, PO Box 6, Woods Hole, MA 02543; 617 540-3954) The new topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore II was launched 30 April in the Inner Harbor before a crowd of an estimated 100,000 people, among them Congresswoman Helen D. Bentley, who christened the ship , Mayor Kurt Schmoke and Governor William D. Schaefer. Historic vessels on hand included theBill ofRights, Bowdoin,Spirit of Massachusetts and Gaze/a of Philadelphia. Under the direction of Peter Boudreau, twelve shipwrights (and a small force of volunteers) are building the replica Baltimore clipper to plans by naval architect Thomas Gillmer. Sea trials are scheduled for September and commissioning ceremonies for October. Pride of Baltimore, Inc. , has raised $3.6 million towards its goal of$4.5 million. Your donation will help and entitle
you to receive the Pride's newsletter. (Mary Sue McCarthy, Pride of Baltimore, Inc., JOO Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202; 301 625-5460) After five years of research Square Rigged Services, Ltd., have announced plans to build a five-masted auxiliary bark for the cruise industry. H. F. Morin Scott and Colin Mudie, known for their sail training vessels Royalist, Lord Nelson and Young Endeavour, have designed Champion of the Seas, a 420passenger cruise ship which they anticipate will break many ocean speed records for vessels under sail. Two companies, Skysail Cruises Ltd. in the UK, and Royal Skysail Line, Inc. in the USA, have been formed to float the project. Because of the highly advanced design and technological improvements in sail design and ship handling, there will be only 27 seamen among her crew of 180. (Square Rigged Services, Ltd. , Commercial House, Station Rd. , Bognor Regis , West Sussex P02 l l QD UK; 0243 826-877)
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PILOT BOAT NEW YORK
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Chicago Harbor a Century Ago by Theodore S. Charrney
Between the Civil War and the classic brilliance of the White City of the Columbian Exposition of 1893 , Chicago knew a most unusual maritime bustle, centered on the Chicago River, the sluggish stream that runs through its central district. These years parallelled the golden age of sailing ships on the Great Lakes, and nowhere was the greatness of that age more conspicuous than on the main channel and branches of the Chicago River. The Chicago River is an unlikely candidate for a major port, and it was not until 1835 that the mouth of the river was broken and the river became navigable to anything of deeper draft than a lighter. Although the main channel is less than one-and-a-half miles long and the north and south branches were navigable for only two and three miles respectively, the waterfront was so honeycombed with slips and channels that the shore measured about twenty-five miles. For eight months of the year this teeming watercourse-the greatest inland port in the history of waterborne commerce-was an empire of its own. During the 1880s, more than 20,000 ship clearances were recorded each year. In 1892, Chicago 's incoming and outbound waterborne commerce was surpassed only by London, New York and Hamburg. The majority of lake vessels were still schooners, which even in the late 1880s numbered more than 1700. They would continue to ply the Great Lakes carrying lumber, grain, coal and other bulk cargos well into the twentieth century. The port of Chicago shook itself awake in early spring to begin the season's refit of the fleet for summer sailing. As the ice began to break up with the first warm breezes of April, there was a beehive of activity along the docks, for fully 20 percent of the sailing fleet of the entire Great Lakes and its tributary canal system wintered in the river. Insurance came into force on 1 April and the setting out of the first ship of the year was an event of great importance. The lumber business was spread out among all the branches, canals and slips in the river. From the busy lumber centers of Muskegon and Manistee, on Michigan 's lower peninsula, Escanaba, Wisconsin, and the numerous havens, piers and landing places on the shores of Lake Michigan and Green Bay, lumber hookers carried dressed lumber to the city at the foot of Lake Michigan where it would be transshipped by rail to the west to supply building materials for the rapidly expanding but treeless plains states. Issuing from the harbor, the grain fleets moved the golden riches of the bread basket to the hungry mouths of the East, returning with coal to stoke the furnaces of commerce and industry and warm the hearths of midwestem homes. Initially grain was sent to Buffalo-the first of the major Great Lakes ports-where it was off-loaded onto canal barges. After the Civil War, Europe became a major importer of United States wheat, and when railheads were established at Samia (opposite Port Huron), Goderich , Kincardine and Owen Sound on Georgian Bay, grain was taken by train for delivery to transatlantic ships sailing from Montreal and Quebec. The grain ships had to wait for the opening of the Mackinac Straits before they could sail. (In the later part of the nineteenth century the straits had their earliest opening on 25 March, in 1889, and theirlatest on 4 May, only the year before. The norm was late April.) Waterborne shipping dominated grain transport during the latter half of the century, and Lakes carriers handled twice the tonnage of the six leading rail carriers combined. In 1880, Chicago cleared two-and-a-half times the tonnage of St. Louis, her closest rival, and ten years later she 12
was transshipping 41 percent of all grains taken in the ten chief primary markets in the country. Her supremacy as a grain port would not be challenged until the opening of the fertile Red River Valley in the Dakotas and Manitoba, and the consequent emergence of the Port of Duluth.The grain elevators dominating the skyline along the south branch of the river were something of a Chicago innovation. The pre-fire structures were the work of the transplanted eastern architect John Mill s Yan Osdel, who borrowed the basics from the early depots first developed at Buffalo. Each granary, gaunt and windowless, was capped by an attic of thirty or more feet and their total height often equalled that of a ten-story building, taller than the commercial buildings in the downtown area and surpassed in height by only a few church spires. In the grain elevator business, speed was crucial. By 1891 , one elevator could unload 1500 rail cars in one day, and in one hour an elevator could load 300,000 bushels of grain into waiting vessels. Despite this tremendous capacity, the port could not always keep pace with the bumper crops that poured into the city. The elevators began to accept grain in mid-summer and the schooners were unable thereafter to keep up with the harvests. By December, when navigation on the Lakes ceased for the year, the elevators were still loaded almost to capacity. The railroads continued to bring late crops throughout the winter, while the laid-up ships themselves were used for grain storage. The harbormaster and his assistant were responsible for keeping the river open and free from crowding due to delays and accidents. The great number of bridges crossing the river was the chief cause of river jams and delays. Nowhere was a major shipping center bridged by so many ponts. By the late 1870s, there were thirty-five pivot bridges in operation, five in the main channel and thirty on the branches. Four more were added in the following decade. The tugmen made most use of the river, and their dependence on a clear and open stream was a bread-and-butter matter. As a consequence, the bridge tender developed into his natural enemy and feuds between the two groups were not uncommon. The three-mile stretch of the river most travelled was spanned by sixteen pivot bridges involving an aggregate of some 1200openings daily , or more than 200,000each year. In a stream as congested as the Chicago River only a few minutes delay would create ajam that frequently was not resolved for an hour or more. Navigating a river crossed by so many bridges required a certain type of seamanship on the part of the tugmen . Once a schooner in tow gained way, it generally could not be halted should there be some delay at the bridge. Tugs usually were paced from one bridge to the next to allow sufficient time for the tender to open the span. Still, there were a hundred or more fights between bridge tenders and tugmen in any given year. The sound of a breakingjibboom against the framework of a bridge brought together a considerable crowd of people and the verbal exchange between bridge tender and tugmen was a drama few cared to miss. These scrimmages had a tendency to block the waterway for all moving craft as well. As soon as the harbormaster was notified of an accident, he hurried to the scene in a tug to get commerce moving again. To the tugmen, accidents were no small matter because they were responsible for any damage to ships in their care. Since the bridge tenders were all political appointees (which in those days meant Irish), if it could be proven that the bridge tender was at fault the city was made to pay the damages. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
The first permanent settler at the mouth of the Chicago River was a free black man , Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable , a farmer , trapper and trader. This view in 1779 shows the harbor which, though modest in size, provided safe anchorage on an otherwise barren coast. Photos courtesy Chicago Maritime Society.
t(f..
Equally important to early traders was the link the Chicago River provided between the Lakes and the Mississippi River system, via a portage of several miles shown in the map above.
By 1838, when this scene was drawn, work was underway on two projects which would transform this quiet outpost into a bustling port. The first was the dredging of the sand bar at the mouth of the Chicago River, completed in 1835, allowing deep-draft vessels to enter the harbor. The second effort was the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal connecting the Chicago and Illinois Rivers. its completion in 1848 (left) assured the importance of the port.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
13
By the early 1850s (above) Chicago was the world's leading shipper of dressed lumber, corn and wheat. The arrival of the railroad in 1852 further increased the port's activity.
At right, the Clark Street Bridge in 1852. By 1870, there were thirty-five pivot bridges in operation. Below, a lumber depot near Randolph Street about 1870.
The Chicago River is an unlikely candidate for a major port .... Stiff competition for tows brought on frequent tug wars. In the spring of 188 I , a particularly vicious tug war, in which the tugmen scoured lower Lake Michigan seeking tows, disclosed voyages of such distances that lakemen shook their heads in disbelief. Tows of twenty-five miles or more were common, despite the fact that the tugs received no more compensation for all this additional effort than if the vessels had been picked up just outside the breakwater. Some tugs went northward as far as Racine, a distance of 70 miles, and returned without a tow only to recoal for another sortie. Often schooners were picked up in mid-lake, a full day's sail from Chicago. In the tug war of 1890, some tugs went as far as Sheboygan, a matter of 125 miles. Some even waited outside the breakwaters at Milwaukee hoping to pick up Chicagobound vessels as quickly as the beer city tugs dropped them in open water. With such an abundance of free rides abounding, the schoonermen were not anxious to have the wars come to a speedy conclusion. Violence also erupted from time to time among lumber shovers, dock wallopers, grain trimmers , loafers, roustabouts and stevedores that congregated on the docks. The rivalries between trades were exasperated by two factors. On the one hand, the unionized trades were dominated by a single ethnic group. On the other hand, most of the Longshore jobs were filled by drifters hired to do instant work for instant pay. There was always a milling throng of men, seeking employment or awaiting a certain vessel's arrival to perform some service. The lumber shavers were mostly Czechs who had migrated from the old crownland of Bohemia in Central Europe. Many of them lived in the area along Canal port Avenue, hard by the lumber district, known as Little Bohemia. They had their own union and few other ethnics were able to join its membership. Working in gangs of between four and eight people at so much per thousand feet, the average worker earned $1.50 to $2.00 per day. It was a sight to see a gang of lumber shovers attack a vessel and strip it of its cargo. According to underwriters, a ship of 200 tons could carry 200,000 board feet of lumber (give or take between 10 and 20 percent depending on the season), and a gang of four could unload a ship in a single day, all by hand.
***** As the Port of Chicago was one of the busiest in the world during the summer, in winter it became one of the most deserted. In no other place did the power of cold weather work such a dramatic change. When the insurance rates ran out at noon on the last day of November, the fleets began stripping down for the winter. Although insurance could be continued into December the rates were usually too high to sail in profit. Passenger traffic, also a major activity, peaked in the 1920s (below), then went into rapid decline during the Depression.
11rr
The last ship to arrive at the end of a season gained something of a reputation. There were always those late birds whose owners would run every risk in order to secure the last freight at the best rate. As the season came to a close, those whose livelihood was dependent upon the fleets were forced to seek other work. It was said that fully one-fifth of the entire population of Chicago was dependent on the shipping interests, either as a business or for employment. Many of the day laborers would head for the lumber camps in the neighboring Lakes states during the winter to earn a living with hands more accustomed to the shovel, hook or sling than the axe helve. Some scattered to river and saltwater ports, while others remained in the city and sought temporary employment to carry them though the winter. In the off-season, river pirates preyed upon the idle shipping and tugs were a prime target. Equipment, cordage and even coal was often taken from the tugs, particularly in the fall and late sailing season. The press dramatized the situation and cautioned against the menace. An editorial in Interocean warned, "We will have from 2,000 to 3,000 idle sailors in Chicago this coming winter and the desperadoes among them will, without doubt, work the fleet of fine large vessels laid up in the harbor. Owners should strip their craft of everything movable and where this is not possible shipkeepers should be left aboard." Now the stormy gales could howl their loudest with no anxious ones waiting for tidings from overdue ships on the Lakes. The insurance men could sleep in peace while the shipowner counted his profits or computed his loss on the season's business. The columns of the press devoted to marine intelligence also went into hibernation, but not before printing a list of vessels and their whereabouts in the harbor so that postmen could make deliveries where onboard habitation continued. The river was now lined with craft stripped of their sails and rigging and showing only their bare outlines. But not all were deserted. Some captains took up residence in the cabins with their families until the Straits opened again in the spring, and a few lucky sailors were retained to tend the ships during the winter. The seaman turned caretaker, with a supply of fuel, an old armchair, plenty of coffee and tobacco, was ready for a long winter of easy living. The pay was small but the housing went with the job and a ship's cabin could be a very cozy home. In their solitude, the boats at their winter roost seemed to tower more darkly and immensely, crowded together, side by side, mile after mile along the river 's edge, the mightiest freighter held as helplessly as the smallest harbor skiff. Nothing moved except an occasional fire boat trying to keep a way open--often in vain. No one stirred on the docks. The rumble of the pivot bridges was stilled for no boat passed. Commerce had stopped. Business was dead. The grain vessels lay motionless, laden with com and wheat. The lumber hookers covered with ice and snow presented a far different picture than when under sail. The black colliers rested darkly on the white snow more grim of aspect even than in summer. It would be months before the cycle began anew and the return to harbor industry brought with it the welcome promise of economic prosperity to the laborer and the city at large . .t
A printer by trade , Mr. Charrney' s early seafaring career included positions as a cabin boy and cook's helper on Lakes boats, and as purser and steward for Cunard and SwedishAmericanlines. A self-educated historian ofChicago and the Great Lakes, he has written extensively on both subjects. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
15
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The Brig Pilgrim Entering Monterey Bay in 1835.
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An Exhibition and sale of his paintings and drawings, presented by Marguerite Riordan. 8 Pearl St. Stonington, CT. Ente rprise and M ount Hope · 1930
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Gilbert Munger' s "View of Duluth from the Heights ," painted in 1871. In the distance is the natural channel at the mouth of the St. Louis River, and the rival port ofSuperior, Wisconsin. The recently dug ship channel in the middle ground assured Duluth's future as the region's chief harbor and port city. Courtesy the Duluth Public library.
Opening the Great Lakes by Philip Robert Elmes
By August of 1679, the Dutch shipwrights had completed their work. After pausing for a prayer by Father Hennepin, the workers eased the 45 -ton Griffon down the skids into the Niagara River above the falls. In a few days, the tiny sh ip would spread its sails on the waters of Lake Erie on its epic voyage past the future sites of Cleveland and Detroit, through the Straits of Mackinac and across Lake Michigan to the shores of the Green Bay peninsula. Under license granted by Count Frontenac, governor of New France, the young adventurer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle was determined to explore and claim on behalf of France the great valley drained by the Mississippi River, the region which later came to be known as the Northwest Territory. The first European-style vessel to ply the Great Lakes, the Griffon's career was short-lived. Setting sail on its return voyage on 17 September from Washington Island under fair skies, the boat was never seen again-the first "ghost ship" of the Great Lakes. Unaware of the fate of their ship, La Salle's expedition continued south by canoe along the western shore of Lake Michigan and built Fort Miami, on the site of presentday St. Joseph, Illinois. Portaging to the Kankakee River, the party descended to Lake Peoria. By late February, Fort Creve Coeur was completed, the first permanent establishment built by Europeans in the Upper Mississ ippi Valley. Two years later, on 9 April 1682, La Salle planted the flag of France on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, claiming for his sovereign the entire Mississippi Valley, the province of Louisiana. In claiming the Mississippi and its tributaries for France, La Salle secured for France not only a vast territory but also the potential means to its exploitation. For in the centuries before the advent of the railroad and other modem means of transportation, control of harbors and strategic waterways meant control of the interior. And while France's colonial ambitions were ultimately thwarted by the British, La Salle's achievement was to establish a permanent French influence across the Great Lakes and down the length of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
* * * *Territory and the Upper The early history of the* Northwest SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Great Lakes is that of French exploration and largely failed attempts at colonization. Beginning with the seventeenthcentury explorations of Champlain, Nicolet, La Salle and others, the French pursued an opportunistic strategy oflndian alliance, intermittent settlement and commercial exploitation of the fur trade. Trade routes followed waterways deep into the interior, anchored by missions and trading posts selected for their proximity to traditional Indian trade centers. Seldom more than poorly fortified wilderness encampments, these outposts were populated on a seasonal basis by a colorful assortment of independent traders, or coureurs de bois, agents of French fur trading companies and their voyageur boatmen, missionaries and Indians of various tribes. Although the French were aware of copper and iron ore deposits of the Lake Superior region, there is little evidence of serious attempts at mining or the exploitation of other natural resources. Except to satisfy immediate needs, there was little agricultural or lumbering activity, and certainly no manufacturing-manufactured goods were the currency of exchange provided by the great trading houses of Montreal in return for the peltries of the interior. Towns of a more permanent nature tended to be situated along waterborne trade routes in locations selected for militarily strategic advantage. Early French posts at Sault Ste. Marie in 1668, Detroit in.1701 and Michilimackinac (Mackinaw City) in 1715, were located at straits connecting the several Upper Lakes and were maintained by the French and then the English through the War of 1812. Until the population boom of the mid-nineteenth century, however, these sites were little more than villages ancillary to forts , trading posts or missions. The French frontiersman did not seek European community in the wilderness. Having "gone native" as a matter of both convenience and necessity, he could hardly be deemed a colonist. In 17 63, the French dominions in North America east of the Mississippi-including much of what became the Northwest Territory-passed to the control and sovereignty of the British. In most instances, the French residents of settlements such as Detroit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia submitted peacefully first to the authority of the English and, later, to the American 17
Detroit... a French-speaking village dependent on maple sugar and the fur trade. government. Traders living deep in the north woods continued their annual rendezvous at the familiar places, trading first with agents of the Hudson's Bay Company and later with those of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. In the decades following the American Revolution, the young United States turned with enthusiasm to the development of its ever expanding territories. With the settlement of the Ohio River Valley hardly under way, the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 effectively doubled the land area of the United States and finally guaranteed unrestricted access to the Gulf of Mexico and threw open to river navigation , settlement and commercial exploitation the entire Mississippi River Valley. As towns and cities grew up along the Ohio River and Mississippi River, the future lakeport cities of Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland languished as frontier settlements and military outposts. At the end of the War of 18 l 2, Detroit was still a largely French-speaking village of only a few hundred, economically dependent on maple sugar and the fur trade. While Cincinnati boomed on the banks of the Ohio River, Cleveland was only just being incorporated as a village. At the foot of Lake Michigan, Chicago was rebuilding the ruined Ft. Dearborn, and Milwaukee, to the north, was little more than an intermittently occupied trading post. Americans in general knew little of the Upper Midwest and the old French Lakes settlements of Detroit, Mackinac, the Sault and Green Bay. Indeed, the climate, topography and soi l conditions of the prairies of Indiana and Illinois and the north woods of western Wisconsin were considered inimical to agriculture. These attitudes were to change dramatically, however, with the nation's rush to advance internal improve-
ments in the 1820s. Even as the National Road was stretching westward across Ohio and Indiana, and secondary roads and turnpikes were spreading northward from the Ohio River, work was underway on the first of a series of shipping canals which were to connect the Great Lakes with the nation's natural waterways. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 heralded the beginning of the modem era on the Great Lakes. For the first time the Upper Lakes had a waterborne link with the eastern seaboard. The 363-mile-long canal employed 83 locks as it extended its reach from the Hudson River across the Mohawk Valley to Lake Erie. Four years later, the Welland Canal bypassed Niagara Falls (and, its Canadian backers hoped, the Erie Canal), making navigation possible between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and opening the lower St. Lawrence River to shipping from the Upper Lakes. The 333-mile-long Ohio and Erie Canal, connecting Cleveland to the Ohio River at Portsmouth, opened the Lakes to river traffic from the continental interior in 1832. At the western end of Lake Erie, Toledo was the terminus for the short-lived Wabash and Erie Canal to Evansville and the Miami and Erie Canal to Cincinnati. The impact of canal development in the Northwest Territory transformed the previously isolated situation of the Great Lakes outposts. Still considered "an old French town" when granted its city charter in 1824, Detroit reeled before the onslaught of over 3000 waterborne immigrant arrivals in 1825, the year the Erie Canal opened. Four years later, there were over l 100 passenger arrivals during one eleven-day period and over 5000 were recorded for the season. Many of these arrivals passed on further west overland, but others stayed. According to one account by 1838, this once remote
Map of the Great Lakes region showing primary canal systems linking the Upper Lakes to the St. Lawrence and Hudson rivers, and to the Ohio/ Mississippi River system. Numbers following names of the Great Lakes indicate mean height above sea level.
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SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Beaver Bay, about fifty miles northeast of Duluth , was lo vingly portrayed in 1869 by Mrs. J. J . Lowrie , wife of the village schoolmaster. Courtesy, the St. Louis County Historical Society, Duluth.
French-inflected hamlet-whose population was now more than 500 vessels cleared the port each year. South along l 0,000--had become an "eastern city" built by Easterners and the Lake Michigan shore, Chicago was stirring in anticipation of the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which full of eastern manners. Buffalo was the great point of embarkation for immigrants when completed in 1848 joined Lake Michigan and the Mismoving west by boat. In the spring of 1835, 56 boats left sissippi via the Illinois River. Buffalo in one week, bound for Cleveland, Detroit and ChiThe 1850s was the pivotal decade for Chicago and the cago. Six to eight boats carrying 1000-1500 passengers passed Great Lakes. By the beginning of the Civil War there were Erie, Pennsylvania, daily; that season over 200,000 would more than 1450 commercial vessels registered on the Lakes, take passage at Buffalo bound for the west, according to the of which more than 330 were steam-driven. The arrival of the Erie Observer. With the completion of the Ohio Canal in 1832, Cleveland became a great jumping off point and by the A thousand miles from salt water, a maritime mid- l 830s, the city was a lively trading and shipping center. perspective is useful in understanding our By 1840, the population exceeded 6000--a veritable me- continental interior. tropolis by the standards of the day. Chicago and Milwaukee also shared in the increased Lakes British-built Madeira Pet out of Liverpool in 1857 signalled traffic in the years following the opening of the Erie and the commencement of direct salt-water shipping on the Lakes. Welland canals. Although lagging somewhat behind their The next year, fifteen vessels carried cargoes oflumber, staves eastern rivals, both ports enjoyed steady population increase and grain from Lakes ports to Liverpool. The opening of the and enhanced opportunities for trade. Lacking the early loca- ship canal bypassing the rapids of the St. Mary 's River tional advantage of Chicago, Milwaukee was only mapped between Lakes Superior and Huron at the Sault stimulated and laid out in 1833. Nevertheless, by the end of the decade, both immigration and the rapid development of iron ore mining in the Lake Superior region, the richest ore fields in the world. By the 1870s, at the western tip of Lake Superior, Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, were battling each other vigorously for supremacy as the region 's primary export market for grain, coal and ore. (Today, the Twin Ports are the largest on all the Great Lakes.) The ready availability of cheap iron stimulated and supported the development of steel making and heavy industry-and consequently shipping-across the eastern Great Lakes for the next hundred years.
The City of Alpena and City of Detroit II, in Howard F. Sprague's Detroit River night scene, painted about 1889. ln the left foreground is a US Mail carrier, one of three who provided 24-hour service to ships in transit on the river. Courtesy, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
19
OPENING THE GREAT LAKES
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In 1852, the Michigan Central railroad ran its first train into Chicago and two years later an all-rail connection was established between New York and Chicago. The canal age in America crested as enthusiasm for the railroads swept the country, once again shifting settlement patterns and adding new impetus to the development of the hitherto inaccessible region.But for the major cities of the Great Lakes, the fortuitous combination of lakeport and canal terminus continued to offer extraordinary conditions for growth. The arrival of the railroads only enhanced these natural and man-made advantages. A common maritime experience and heritage underlies the early success and continuing prosperity of the Upper Great Lakes. A thousand miles from our nearest salt water shore, one finds a maritime perspective useful in understanding the interior of our great continent. Suggested Reading There are a number of standard works on the history of the Great Lakes and of the Northwest Territory in general. An indispensable reference is "The American Lake Series," one volume devoted to each of the five Great Lakes. Edited by Milo M. Quaife, who authored the volume on Lake Michigan, the other contributors are Harlan Hatcher, Lake Erie; Fred Landon, Lake Huron; Grace Lee Nute, Lake Superior; and Arthur Pound, Lake Ontario (Indianapolis and New York: Bobbs-Merrill , 1944-45). On the history of the early exploration of the Lakes, we are very fortunate that the Viking Press saw fit to reissue Francis Parkman's works in a two-volume set entitled France and England in North America (New York: Viking Press, 1983). Edited with notes and a chronology by David Levin, this edition includes seven of Parkman's books, of which Pioneers of France in the New World and La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West deserve special mention. An excellent comprehensive survey of the Northwest Territory is Carlyle R. Buley's two-volume study , The Old Northwest, The Pioneer Period 18151840 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1950). Richard C. Wade 's The Urban Frontier (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964) covers the settlement of the Ohio Valley and the development of the river towns through the first half of the nineteenth century. .!> A longtime student of nineteenth-cen_tury American history, Mr. Elmes is president of the Chicago Maritime Society, which he helped found in 1982. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
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A spirit of hard work, enterprise & cooperation sailed the tall ships of yesterday & the Liberty Ships of World War IL. and that's what makes things move today!
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~f KAIUUN1'j> The Ship the National Maritime Historical Society Was Founded to Save Painted by Mark Myers Sail On, Kaiulani! esigned for the San Francisco-Hawaii packet trade , Arthur Sewall's Kaiulani was the last American square-rigger designed to carry passengers as well as cargo. Outbound she took such varied goods as cattle and locomotives to the islands, bringing sugar and pineapples home . White painted and immaculately kept up, she was a handsome ship and soon earned a name as a speedy one and a happy ship in this trade of fair winds, sunny skies and gentle seas. Honeymooners preferred her to the steamers that were already eating into this traffic in 1900, the year she entered service.
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She had been launched into the ice-filled Kennebec River from Arthur Sewall's yard in Bath , Maine , late in the preceding year , the last year of the 19th century. Maine is half a world away from Hawaii , but it was Arthur , a very independent-minded gentleman of the old school, who gave the ship her musical Hawaiian name , Kaiulani, meaning child of heaven . The Princess Kaiulani, for whom the ship was named , had been shut off from accession to the Hawaiian throne by United States annexation of Hawaii in 1898, during the SpanishAmerican War. Arthur did not approve of the annexation , and after Princess Kaiulani's untimely death at age twenty-four in the spring of 1899, he decided to name his next ship after her . he Princess Kaiulani had made the grand tour of European capitals and had charmed others besides Arthur Sewall, including the novelist and voyager Robert Louis Stevenson , author of Treasure Island . Stevenson wrote a highly sentimental poem to her on her leaving Hawaii for her European tour . And Arthur's son named a daughter for the Princess . There have been Kaiulanis in the Sewall family in Maine ever since.
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A Trust of the American People he Kaiulani's halcyon sailing lasted less than a decade. Crowded out as a Hawaii packet by the on-rushing progress of the steamship, the bark took to tramping the wide reaches of the Pacific in general trade. By 1910 she had been picked up by the Alaska Packers, sailing north to the Alaskan salmon fishery in the spring , and returning to winter layout in Alameda each year. By the 1930s she and her kind were pushed out of that trade too . The Kaiulani was briefly recommissioned to play a part in the movie "Souls at Sea" which preserved on film not only a mass of seaboard
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detail , but the shiphandling ways of the veteran deepwatermen who were hired to sail her on this celluloid voyage . Then in the shipping shortage of World War II , she was commissioned for a voyage from Seattle to South Africa and Australia, by way of Cape Horn . Among her twentyman crew of old hands and eager neophytes was our own Karl Kortum , a founder of the National Maritime Historical Society and dean of the historic ships movement in this country. Off Cape Horn a deckhand's portable radio picked up word of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On arrival in Australia the old bark was cut down for use as a supply barge . The tide of American advance brought her at last to the Philippines , where she took up a postwar career as a logging barge. n 1963, the National Maritime Historial Society was formed to save this beautiful ship as a monument to the traditions of American seafaring under sail. In the following year, the ship was presented to President Lyndon Johnson , who conveyed her to the Society to hold in trust for the American people. Legislation and other measures to save the ship proved unworkable , and in the end only fragments of her framework were recovered and brought back to the port of San Francisco in 1978 .
I
The failure to recover the whole ship as planned doesn't mean that she has been forgotten . In the effort to save her , a strong force for the support of historic ships was brought into being in the National Maritime Historical Society , which achieved success by supporting other projects ranging from the restoration of the tall ship Elissa in Galveston, Texas , to the return of the Cape Verde immigrant schooner Ernestina to New Bedford . Other historical ship efforts inspired and supported by the Kaiulani's people include the square-rigger Polly Woodside in Australia , the Balclutha in San Francisco and the Wavertree in New York-ships around which centers of sea learning have grown up. The effort to save the Kaiulani thus extended into a more effective movement for historic ships , and brought new resolution to the task of honoring the seafaring heritage of the United States .
On its twenty-fifth anniversary the National Maritime Historial Society is proud to issue a limited edition print of the bark Kaiulani, as painted by the distinguished artist Mark Myers, who has studied the ways of seafaring under Karl Kortum and others who sailed in the Kaiulani.
24" x 30"
Mark Myers
The superb Kaiulanl print by noted marine artist Mark Myers is a signed and numbered edition limited to 850 and 80 remarques, in which the artist accompanies his signature with a pencil sketch in the margin.
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A Bluenose on the Lakes: The I. T. Wing by Robert Fraser-Lee
The last sailing ship in commercial service on the Great Lakes was the threemasted schooner J. T. Wing, which sailed the Great Lakes from the midl 930s into the 1940s, hauling wooden telephone and power poles, logs for wood pulp and other lumber cargos from the Upper Lakes into Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan. Built for saltwater sailing, she sailed the Lakes in solitary splendor, the last of the Lakes-built schooners, the three-masted Our Son, having foundered in Lake Michigan years before the Wing arrived. Built at Weymouth, Nova Scotia, by Beazly Bros., in 1919, the Wing was a sharp-bowed, wood-hulled gaff schooner, measuring 140.5ft between perpendiculars, 33.7ft in the beam and with a loaded draft of 12.3ft forward and 13ft aft. Empty she drew 7.8ft forward and 10.6ft aft. Her overall sparred length was approximately 174ft, and gross tonnage was variously reported at between 425 .3 and 431 tons. Cargos commonly averaged over 800 tons. Starting her career under the name Charles F. Gordon, she hauled mahogany logs from West Africa to Canadian and New England ports. Later, she was engaged for several years in hauling timber between Nova Scotia and Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas. After grounding on Key Sal in the Bahamas in 1925 she was sold to Americans Alexander and Lewis Stockwell. Under their ownership she sailed for ten years out of Boston, becoming quite well known as the J. 0 . Webster at East Coast ports between Boston and Florida, until grounding at Norwalk Island, Connecticut, in 1934. A brief history published in 1948 reports that she was seized as a rum runner and towed into Noank, Connecticut, by the Coast Guard. After repairs there, she was purchased by Grant H. Piggott of Detroit, Michigan. A survey made early in 1935 indicated that the Webster was entirely sound and had been completely overhauled and reconditioned, yet the selling price was only $750--apparently the cost of repairs ordered by the US Marshal. The ship was then renamed J. T. Wing, in honor of Mr. Piggott's business partner, Jefferson T. Wing, president of the J. T. Wing Company, ship chandlers in Detroit. Under the command of Captain J. L. "Louis" Larson, with a crew of eight, the ship went to Rimouski, Quebec, located seventy-five miles 1 up the St. Lawrence River at an elevation near sea level. There she loaded pulp logs for Port Huron, Michigan, located at the head of 24
Close inshore, the J. T. Wing lazes along on an easy reach. Photos courtesy the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
the St. Clair River at the extreme south Lake Michigan and Georgian Bay are end of Lake Huron. The Wing arrived at the same level. Both the Lakes steamships of that era the Port Huron Sulphite and Paper Company on the Black River in August and the small ocean-going vessels that 1935 after a 48-day trip up the St. Law- plied between the Lakes and the Atlantic rence, through the locks of the old usually averaged only 10 to 12mph. Cornwall Canal to Lake Ontario, up the Northbound empty, with a good southWelland Canal to Lake Erie, 700 miles west breeze, the Wing could make an west across that lake beating into the honest 16mph and often surprised prevailing west and southwesterly winds steamer crews as they watched this to the Detroit River, up to Lake St. Clair, anachronism overtake and pass them. On the other hand , having come up to northeast to the St. Clair River and upriver-at last-to Port Huron, 580ft the Lakes, the Wing could no longer find above sea level. The voyage-the long- available stone ballast to load when est of the Wing's career on the Lakes- empty, a common practice in the ocean was uphill, and largely upwind, all the sail trades but one not used on the Lakes. way. Most of the ship's Lakes trips When sailing empty and going to windinvolved variations of only a few feet ward she made a lot of leeway. Lakesdifference in height above sea level. built schooners frequently got around Coming up the Detroit River from Lake this problem by having centerboards, Erie there is an average of 3ft difference; but having been built for saltwater work, the climb to Port Huron is another 5ft. the Wing had no centerboard. Fast under West of Port Huron, though, Lake Huron, sail with a decent wind, over 12mph even when loaded, often the Wing lay 1 Great Lakes charts show distances in statbecalmed and made very poor progress ute rather than nautical miles, and vessel toward Port Huron in the light southwest speeds are given as statute miles per hour winds typical of August on Lake Huron. rather than knots. For this reason, her masters rarely made SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
trips to downriver ports below Port Huron. Unless there was a wind of at least 15mph from anywhere from south through west or even a bit north of west, she needed to hire a tug for the 35-mile passage to Detroit along the St. Clair River and Detroit River. From her first delivery of pulp logs to Port Huron through the autumn of 1938 (by then under the command of Captain George Fisher), the J. T. Wing hauled logs to the paper mill in Port Huron and occasionally to Manistee, Michigan, and other Lake Michigan ports from such points as Green Bay, Wisconsin; Goderich, Ontario; Manitoulin Island at the north end of Lake Huron; and tiny Georgian Bay and North Channel ports like Spanish River and Perry Sound, Ontario, or Cedarville, Michigan, nestled among Les Cheneaux Islands. Her crew usually consisted of the captain, mate, cook and four crew who handled her huge sails and their heavy gaffs without a donkey engine to help them. There was a small one-cylinder gasoline engine on deck forward, but it was used only to operate the anchor windlass and two of the Wing ' s three bilge pumps. Georgian Bay, really more a lake than a bay, is some 70 miles by 130 miles and has an average depth of 250ft to 350ft. It is an area of countless small islands and reefs and many small but often very well sheltered harbors. At the time of the Wing's career on the Lakes, Georgian Bay had not yet been anywhere near fully surveyed or charted. Almost all of these little ports were too shallow for even the smallest steamers, and often the cargos originating at these ports were too meager to attract steamers even if they'd had shallow enough draft. As it was, the Wing often anchored offshore in the lee of the islands while logs were brought out on a small barge fitted with a crane. The way to the Georgian from Port Huron leads north on Lake Huron past the tip of Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, with the main channel passing between Cove and Yeo Islands. This also leads to the east end of the North Channel which separates Manitoulin Island from the Ontario mainland. About seventy miles west, the False Detour Channel and the Mississagi Strait also pass between islands to the North Channel. Turning east at the commonly used western route, the Wing could often sail downwind the roughly fifty miles to Spanish Harbor on tile mainland, or farther on to other island and mainland ports. It was in this rock-filled and often foggy area that many of the cargos originated, and without modem Loran, radar or complete SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
charts, and guided by only a few aids to navigation beyond locally maintained spar buoys, it is certainly a credit to the Wing's masters that she never ran aground up there. Making sail with a small crew ordinarily took an hour, and getting up the anchor could take another hour-two or more if they used both anchors. Getting under way from an anchorage they would sometimes save the cost of a tug by hauling in on the anchor until the chain was vertical, then hoist sail, and break out the anchor and haul it up while under way, often in narrow, rock-bound channels. After the anchor was up the next big job was setting the gaff topsails, one at a time, with a man in the crosstrees to help. By theend of 1938, the theJ. T. Wing had been transferred to the Michigan Sea Scouts who renamed her the Oliver H. Perry after the famous American commodore who beat the British fleet on Lake Erie in the War of 1812. The Sea Scouts used her as a training ship through the 1940 season. In 1941, the old schooner returned to the lumber trade, once again sailing as the J. T. Wing, at first under the ownership of Mr. Piggott and later for the Chippewa Timber Co., of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. After the 1943 season, the Wing was tied up and left in the Belle River at Marine City, just twenty miles downstream from the Black River at Port Huron where so many of her cargos had been destined. With virtually no maintenance except running the pumps from time to time, the ship soon settled to the muddy bottom, leaning out into the river with a greater list than she ever had under sail, the decks awash on the star-
board side, the old woodwork chewed up each spring by fast moving ice. There she lay fortwo-and-a-half years before being refloated in 1946 and presented by her owners to the City of Detroit for use as a museum ship. After a monumental clean up and refurbishing job, she was "permanently" berthed at Belle Isle in the Detroit River at what was to become the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and opened for public viewing on 24 July 1948. Hundreds of thousands of people visited the old ship through mid-summer of 1956, but by then the Fire Department declared the Wing unsafe. With neither money nor the means to rebuild and restore the ship, and with no awakened national maritime preservation movement (or an EPA, for that matter) to say it couldn't be done, the Wing was burned where she lay on 28 September 1958. After thirty-seven years, her varied career was over and the J. T. Wing was only afading memory of an old freighter, incredibly small and short-handed by modem standards, but one which had survived long past any reasonable expectations and for far more years than the often brief lifetimes of the earlier Lakes-built schooners. .!>
Much of the information in this article was obtained through the Dossi!J Great Lakes Museum in Detroit, Michigan , without whose assistance in making their records available research for this article could not have been completed. The 1. T. Wing, her decks piled high with a cargo of pulpwood for the Filer Fiber Company , in Manistee Harbor, August 1938.
H
Br ~aur :mrt W4r 1.Enrmy; Anh Wqry Arr OOurs... Two Ships, Two Brigs, One Schooner & One Sloop.
Oi l on Canvas
Yours with the greatest resp ect and esteem. 0. H. Perry
"The Battle Of Lake Erie"
36"x 84"
by Julian Oliver Davidson
(1853-1894) PROVENANCE
EXHIBITED
Acq uired From Th e Arti st. .. c l890 J. Ott ma n Lithographic Co .. New Yo rk . New Yo rk Unkn ow n Pri va te Coll ectio n Mr. & Mrs. Roge r A. Yo ung .. c l930 Ame ri ca n Yac ht Club ... c l962 Be ma n Gall eries ... 1987
1893- Wo rld "s Columbi a n Expositi o n . Chi cago. Illino is 1894-Se na te Lib ra ry. Harri sburg. Pe nnsy lvani a 1986-"Julian 0. Davidson (18531894): American Marine Artist" Hi sto ri ca l Soc ie ty Of Roc kl.a nd Co unty, New City, New Yo rk
FULL A RTISTS TITLE ··COMM ODORE P ERRY IN TH E U.S. BRI G NIAGA RA BR EA KIN G T HE BRIT ISH LI NE OF BATTL E, LAKE ERI E. SEPTEMB ER 10. 1813""
All of th e pho togra ph s used in this ad vertiseme nt we re ta ke n of the pa inting be/ore conservation was begun a nd . the re fore. show the pa inting in its unc lea ned a nd un co nse rved sta te. The pa inti ng is cu rre ntl y in conse rvatio n, with comple ti on sc hed uled during th e summ e r, 1988. Th e pa inting. a nd the e nti re co nserva ti o n process alo ng with rad iog rap hi c a nd infra red examina ti o n . will be the subjects o f a broadcas t video doc um e ntary, a nd edu catio nal cassette , titl ed : " The Conse rvation Of A Great American Painting: Recovering Our Heritage"
De1ails
··Th e Ba ttl e Of La ke Eri e" by Juli a n 0. Davidson is pe rh a ps th e most significant 19th century Am e rican histo rical naval painting to come upo n the ma rke t in the 20th century.. .. For information regarding this paiming please comact:
BEMAN GALLERIES NYACK-ON-HUDSON
Nyac k , N.Y. 10960
9 14- 358-3344
•See J. 0. Davidso n
Jl'LIA:-.0 0. DA\'IDS O.'.\'.
Great Lakes Maritime Music by Chris and Tom Kastle
What, you may ask, is Great Lakes maritime music? The fact is that when we started out to prove to ourselves that it did, indeed, exist, we were thrilled to discover that over the course of the last fifty years , a number of scholars of maritime history and music history had had the foresight to document the music of a fr~l!.water heritage every bit as vital and romantic as the more widely known music of the salt water sailor. One of the people most responsible for preserving the maritime music of the Great Lakes was Ivan Henry Walton. Professor Wal ton joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as a lecturer in English in 1921. During his own graduate studies, he became fascinated with the folklore of the Great Lakes, particularly with the heyday of schoonering, the thirty years following the Civil War. Beginning in 1931 , he corresponded with veteran Lakes captains and sailors, and between 1932 and 1938 he made a host of field recordings of aging sailors, their stories and their songs. The tapes are available at Wayne State University, and the bulk of his written archives are at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The ballad hunter/scholars John Lomax and his son Alan, renowned for their collection and preservation of American folk music, also gathered recordings from the Great Lakes region during the 1930s and much of their correspondence with Walton is preserved among his papers. A contemporary historian of the Great Lakes musical traditions is Edith Fowke, who is on the faculty at York University in Toronto. Ms. Fowke's material includes more than 75 field tapes together with extensive notes, interviews and background information. She is also responsible for the landmark recording, Songs of the Great Lakes, released in 1964 by Folkways Records. The salt water sailor who came to the Great Lakes brought his music with him. This music was not only maritime in character, but it reflected a diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The music of the shell backs blended with the songs of the voyageur and American Indian to create a wealth of unique stories and songs. The post-Civil War era saw a rapid growth in the development of Great Lakes navigation, and it is estimated that by 1880 fifty per cent of the sailors on the Great Lakes were originally from salt water. The passages lasted only days or weeks rather than months or years and the working conditions 28
were generally better. The pay structure was higher, and the work was seasonal. A sailor could head south for work in warmer climes, spend the winters at a job in town or work in the logging camps. The chantyman of a topsail schooner was often the shantyboy of the lumber camp. Many terms as well as songs were changed and exchanged between land and water as illustrated in these verses from"Leave Her, Laddies, Leave Her": The mate was a shellback from below, Leave her, laddies, leave herTo cuss and roar he well did know, It's time for us to leave her! The cook came from a lumber camp, Leave her, laddies, leave herHe 'd made his livin' as a tramp It 's time for us to leave her! Focsle songs such as "The Flying Cloud,""Cumberland'sCrew"and"The Merrimac" are all examples of salt water songs regularly sung on the Lakes, while "The Bigler" and "The Persia's Crew" are examples of indigenous freshwater tales. The chorus of "The Bigler": Watch her, catch her, jump up in her juber ju, Giv 'er sheet and let her slide, the boys 'l push 'er through. You ought to seen us howl in ' as the wind was blowin' free On our passage down to Buffalo from Milwaukee! Retired Great Lakes sailor R. C. Crawford wrote: When I was sailing on the lakes fifty year ago we used to sing some of these [Great Lakes] songs in the focastle, but there were a lot of other songs we used to sing that were called salt water songs, such as "Nancy Lee," when we were making sail or heaving up ankor, and the Sailor's Alphabet, when in the forecasel or in bordings house on shore, also the "Dreadnaught," also "Bold Daniel. "1 Focsle songs, or "forebitters," were ballads sung by the crew for recreation or information and only occasionally as a portion of a long capstan, windlass or pump chanty. Chantys were sung to speed tedious tasks and establish work rhythms on square-rigged and larger fore-and-aft rigged vessels. Sometimes this was done strictly for the benefit of the people on shore. For example, a crew would sing when hauling up sail at State Street outward bound in the Chi-
cago River. There were times, however, that chantying was not welcomed. According to Wal ton, "A former constable at Mackinac Island told me that many a time he had rowed out at night to schooners windbound before the island and asked the shipmasters to quiet their crews so the villagers could get some sleep." Jim McCarthy, aged sixty-five when Walton interviewed him, remembered using the chantys "Paddy Doyle's Boots" and "Heave Her Up an' Bust Her" when raising sail, although the latter seems to have been written originally for use at the capstan. Call the cook, the mate, ' n captain too Heave an' bust her All us out the whole dunn crew Heave her up an ' bust her. Most of the sailors interviewed by Walton stated that while they could recall many ballads and focsle songs, they had trouble remembering the chantys sung aboard ship. Most said that the chantymen made them up as they went along and there are many examples of freshwater adaptations of salt water chantys. "Rolling Home" was written by a passenger en route from America to England, but it was quickly picked up by sailors of various nationalities and homeports who sang it at the capstan when homeward bound. Here is a Great Lakes version of"Rolling Home" remembered by Robert "Brokenback" Collen: Rolling home, rolling home, Rolling home across the sea; Rolling home to old Chicago, Rolling home old town to thee. We'll leave the ladies now , me lads, And all our money we'll foresake, We'll weigh the anchor cheerily, And steer for the open lake. Oh, we'll steer for the rolling lake, And lads, we 'll set the flowing sail, And to the town of Buffalo We 'll show th' old ship's tail. Oh, we'll beat the length of Erie, With Long Point upon our lee; We'll hail a tug ' neath Passage Or tow from Point Pelee. Up the length of old Lake Huron With our canvas at its best, We 'll drive across the Sag 'naw Bay With a wind from out the west. Through the Straits, a boat to windward, Far astern the isle Bob-lo; SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Then southward down Lake Michigan To the town of Chicago.
* * * * * By 1890, the donkey engine had appeared and crews were cut down from as many as eighteen members to as few as three. Eventually, the Great Lakes schooners were transformed into barges and as the crews vanished the chanty all but disappeared. Some of the music survived through oral tradition in remote places such as Beaver Island, and people continued to compose ballads such as the "Wreck of the Lady Elgin," written by Henry Work, and probably the most popular contemporary ballad in this tradition, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Today there is an increasing number of artists and organizations who work to revive, preserve and add to the music of our inland seas. The Chicago Maritime Society, in association with Loyola University, sponsors part of the Chicago Maritime Folk Festival and has contributed to a number of projects that prominently feature the maritime music and history of the Great Lakes, including the
production of the cassette tapes Rolling
Home: The 1985 Chicago Maritime Folk F es ti val, and the recently released Work on the Waterways: An Aural History of Midwestern Workers. 2 Art Thieme has brought "Midwestern" music to the concert hall and classroom for decades. Lee Murdock is performing songs of the working people of the Great Lakes, and the late Stan Rogers' last album was From Fresh Water. The Voyageur Choir from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, has spent many years preserving the customs and songs of the FrenchCanadian voyageurs. Jerry Oulette of Duluth, Minnesota, has chosen to specialize in original songs about Lake Superior. Songs of the Lakes, from Traverse City, Michigan, perform songs of Beaver Island and Dick Swain researches the history and music of the rivers and canals in and around Cleveland, Ohio. The Great Lakes have a varied and singular maritime heritage which has been and continues to be reflected in its own special music. We hope it continues to thrive and grow. '1>
As Privateer, ChrisandTomKastle have concentrated on the sailing ship music of the Great Lakes, with particular at-
tention to the events surrounding their hometown of Chicago. Blending a seventeenth-century Irish harp tune with the story of the greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes, they wrote the ballad "The Eastland. " This disaster took place beneath the Clark Street Bridge in the Chicago River in 1915.
1 This and other excerpts cited are from the Ivan Henry Walton Collection, Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 2 The project was codirected by Melinda Campbell of Loyola University of Chicago and Ted Karamanski, Chicago Maritime Society, and produced at the National Public Radio Studios in Chicago. The SO-minute cassette is available for $10, and there is a study guide suitable for classroom use available for $3. CMS , 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 6061 O; 3 12 943-9090.
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The steel package freighter Glen Iyon lies in about thirty feet of water at Menagerie Island, off the eastern end of Isle Royale. The triple-expansion engine was built with the ship in 1893 and lost with it in 1924. Sketching and measurements are done on mylar sheets with lead pencils. Photo, National Park Service.
The Shipwrecks of Isle Royale by C. Patrick Labadie
The Great Lakes are famous for a lot of things, not the least of which are their scenic beauty, their cool climate and their distinctive ships. Less known is the special environment they provide for shipwrecks. The fresh water of the inland seas (the Great Lakes are the world's largest store of fresh water) serves to preserve sunken ships like almost no other environment on earth. They ' re entirely free of salt, and with relatively low dissolved oxygen, far more hospitable to biodegradable objects than are the world's oceans. Because sunlight, warmth, oxygen and plant life all speed the degradation of materials, the deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes offer the best conditions for shipwreck survival. Thanks to this combination of factors, Isle Royale, in the northern reaches of Lake Superior, has some of the world's best preserved shjpwreck sites, all within the boundaries of one of the finest of our national parks and all accessible to the sport diving community. Isle Royale is ten miles wide and fifty miles long, located thirty miles off the wild Minnesota North Shore and fifty miles from Michigan's Keweenaw Penjnsula. In pre-Columbian times, the island was mined for copper, and the earliest Europeans to venture into the region used it as a base for the fur trade. Each year it is visited by some 13,000 hikers and campers, and it has become a mecca for scuba divers from all over the Midwest. Park Service statistics indicate that some 450 divers visit the island's wrecks each year, largely from licensed charter boats, and the numbers are growing all the time. The divers are attracted not only by the state of preservation of the wrecks, but also by their variety, the range of
30
depths and underwater environments in which they are situated and the extraordinary underwater visibility, which ranges from fifty to eighty feet. Isle Roy ale's earliest known shipwreck dates only to 1877, when the 210ft sidewheeler Cumberland blundered onto Rock of Ages Reef in a fog. Defying feverish efforts to free her, within a few days the ship broke up, the heavier portions settling into deeper water nearby while the superstructure floated free to litter beaches for miles around. The ship 's owners recovered much of the vessel's furniture and gear before she disappeared beneath the waves, but her remains are still there today, strewn over a large area of the rugged lake bottom. This rugged quality of the bottom area around Isle Royale contributes much to the wrecks' preservation. Portions of wrecks settle into deep ravines and depression, where they are sheltered from stormy seas and drifting ice packs, which can move and crush huge sections of wrecks at depths up to sixty feet below the surface during the long Lake Superior winters. The nearest wreck to the Cumberland is the wooden freighter Henry Chisholm, a Lakes ore carrier that went down at virtually the same spot in the fall of 1898. The wreckage of the 260ft Chisholm lies enmeshed with the bones and sinews of the old sidewheeler, in depths varying from 15 to more than 140 feet. The ship 's huge engine stands upright at the base of an underwater cliff with the remains of her oaken stem framing. The shaft and propellor are still there, and the enormous rudder lies nearby. Most shipwrecks reach a state of relative equilibrium under water within twenty years of sinkSEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
... divers visit the America, exploring her dimly lit hallways and saloons or checking out a model-T truck in her murky cargo hold. ing, but variations or extremes of weather can disturb that equilibrium long afterwards. Although the Chisholm was wrecked twenty years after the Cumberland, parts of the Chisholm lie underneath parts of the sidewheeler, undoubtedly the work of the relentless and deep-drifting ice. A third shipwreck lies a few hundred yards eastward on another finger of Rock of Ages Reef, the steel passenger steamer George M. Cox, the casualty of fog in 1933. The 260ft Cox piled onto the reef under a full head of steam and perched there with her bow high in the air while her 125 passengers and crewmen rowed to the nearby lighthouse. The ship broke in half soon afterwards. The stem half lies nearly intact in water ranging from 40 to about 100 feet; the bow was tom to shreds in the shallower water on the reef. Five miles north of Rock of Ages, the steel steamer America lies sleeping in 80 feet of water just outside Washington Harbor. The passenger and freight liner punctured her bottom on a rock nearby and filled with water in the spring of 1928. As she settled to the bottom, her stem came to rest in deep water, but the bow protruded above the surface. Today, it has slid further, so that it lies just a few feet below the water, and as a result it is easily the island's most popular wreck. About a third of Isle Royale's divers visit the America, exploring her dimly-lit hallways and saloons or checking out a Ford model -T truck in her murky cargo hold. Because America lies in a reasonably sheltered location, it can be visited in almost any weather, and easily reached by even the most inexperienced diver. In all, Isle Royale has ten major shipwrecks and a variety of smaller boats, ranging from rowboats to the 540ft freighter Chester A. Congdon, which impaled itself on Canoe Rocks at the island 's northern extremity in 1949. The Congdon is also the island 's most recent wreck. The most tragic is the elegant Clyde-built liner Algoma, which took 46 lives in a terrible November gale in 1885. Little remains of the ship today. Some of the vessels lie in water as deep as 300 feet, but most are between 40 and 150 feet, which is considered a safe depth for most qualified divers. The Park Service encourages sport diving, but in order to protect both the shipwreck resources and the divers, wreckdiving is carefully regulated. Removal of artifacts from the wrecks is not permitted and violation of the prohibition can result in stiff penalties. Both the diving community and the charter-boat operators respect these regulations for the protection they afford the sites they value so much. In an effort to reverse destruction, some divers are even returning artifacts which were removed from the wrecks before current laws were enacted. Wrecks in nearby Minnesota and Michigan waters, which have been unprotected by similar regulations, have been rendered valueless and uninteresting because of decades of thoughtless pillage. Divers have even used explosives to remove wood from Michigan wrecks. Historians estimate that there are thousands of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes-perhaps as many as seven or eight thousand in all. Only ten wrecks lie near Isle Royale and few wrecks are preserved as well, particularly those lying in clear water at safe diving depths. This accounts for Isle Royale 's unflagging popularity. It is reasonable to assume that there are SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
other wrecks in the Lakes far more significant historically than the Isle Royale shipwreck population, but they are not easily seen nor safely dived and, unfortunately, most are not protected by enforceable laws. A good legal mechanism is being sought by the preservation community, to protect singularly valuable wrecks when they are discovered, such as the incredible schooners Hamilton and Scourge from the War of 1812. Isle Royale is not the only place on the Lakes where shipwrecks and other archaeological sites are protected. In Canada, where the government has enacted strict regulations governing its submerged lands, historic shipwrecks are protected by a series of laws which are supported by a conscientious diving public and informed, efficient law-enforcement agencies. In the United States, the Abandoned Shipwreck Act signed into law earlier this year puts historic shipwrecks under the jurisdiction of individual states; but shipwreck laws vary widely from state to state. The State of Michigan has five bottomland preserves where sport diving is encouraged, but the wrecks are monitored and protected by law. The result is a booming tourist industry, a growing sport and a rich treasury of historical resources which will be there for generations of divers and archaeologists to come. Everyone comes out ahead. The National Park Service has pioneered the professional study and management of shipwrecks on the American side of the Lakes. They have funded careful surveys of wrecks at Isle Royale, and examined selected sites at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.* Plans are in the works now for study of other wrecks at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. Study of the Isle Royale wrecks began in 1980 and concluded in 1986, resulting in a tremendous body of data about the sites. The information and illustrations are a valuable resource for Parks personnel, divers, historians and archaeologists alike. The studies were prepared under the supervision of professional archaeologists, using Park Service staff and volunteer participants. The studies were an effort not only to gather reliable data, but also to train the volunteers and to spread the gospel of preservation. They have proven entirely successful, and a growing cadre of preservationists, amateur archaeologists and historians is the happy result. The shipwreck resources on the Great Lakes are an international treasure, and those at Isle Royale National Park excellent examples. For those of us fortunate enough to have visited them, they leave incredible, unforgettable impressions of time-travel. It is hoped that other generations, too, will have the privilege to come in such close touch with the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as we do in those clear, cold depths ... and to keep in touch with the forebears who tamed these waters and built our nation. .t Mr. Labadie is director ofthe Corps ofEngineers' Canal Park Marine Museum in Duluth, MN. Past president ofthe Association for Great Lakes Maritime History and a student of wooden shipbuilding technology, he has worked as a volunteer underwater archaeologist with the National Park Service since 1980 at Isle Royale, Apostle Islands and Pictured Rocks. He is now leading independent surveys of wrecks at other sites in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. ' The NPS published a report on their investigation of the schooner barge Noquebay, in Submerged Cultural Resources Site Report: N oquebay, Apostle Islands National Lakes ho re, Toni Carrell (Southwest Cultural Resources Center Professional Papers, No. 7, Santa Fe, 1985). See also Submerged Cultural Resources Study: Isle Royale National Park, ed. Daniel J. Lenihan (Southwest Cultural Resources Center Professional Papers, No. 8, Santa Fe, 1987).
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"So where did you take him?" "Around the island, of course." It was our trustee and development chairman Dick Morris, explaining how he had introduced yet another visitor to the wonders of New York City. And when he said, "around the island," I knew he meant that literally-circling Manhattan via the waterways that surround it, via the North (Hudson), East and Harlem rivers, aboard one of the Circle Line yachts that make this run daily during the summer months. Indeed, though one always pictures New York as a seaport city facing outward on the broad reaches of the Atlantic Ocean-making one terminus of what has been in recent centuries the world 's busiest sea trade route-it is also in fact a centerpiece of interlacing waterways reaching out east, west, south and north, and ultimately inland to the Great Lakes. In following these waterways to explore the shoreside settlements, you will find you are picking up the threads ofa common culture, a waterman 's world that flourishes on the shining river pathways that reach out from under the shadow of the oblivious skyscrapers of Manhattan. A good place to start in on this is Phil and Carol Rando's Harborview Restaurant, just catercorner from the Fulton Fireboat House in Brooklyn, where for five adventurous years the Society maintained its headquarters. Phil ' s family came from the Lipari Islands off the north coast of Sicily, and the late Anthony Rando, whose family lighterage business has been noted before in these pages, was Phil's uncle. From the window of the Harborview, which used to be a longshoreman 's cafe, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge, the ships berthed across the way at South Street Seaport and the East River opening out into the Upper Bay. Heading south down that track, if you tum westward past Staten Island, you 'II come to Perth Amboy, facing out on Raritan Bay. And there an extraordinary museum/restaurant awaits-a grand transformation of a nineteenth-century drill hall, with model square-riggers and Gilded Age battleships, figureheads, brass clocks, binnacles and all kinds of nautical gear, and a painting of the Battle of Trafalgar on old panelling from a Scottish pub. It's called the Armory, and seated outdoors on the dock you can guzzle oysters while watching tankers go by on a slow bell, or listen to piano music on the top floor, which gives a sweepimg view of this fascinating and little-kruown part of the waterfront world. Or g1oing up the East River (which is SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Experience
______J..
really a tidal inlet, of course, not a river), you can branch off and go out into Long Island Sound. Halfway down the Sound on the north shore of Long Island lies Port Jefferson, long a site of coastal schooner building and which now boasts a first-class marina and restaurant, Danford 's. Its neat, carefully maintained buildings and piers, built in traditional style, welcome the boatman and the waterfront walker with a handsome and reposeful little park built by the owners and dedicated to public use-and to the memory of those who went to sea before our time. A little over halfway up the Hudson to Albany, the cultural atmosphere seems to change. Rondout Creek, once a shipyard center whose shaded waters were roiled in the last century by canalboats, schooners and tugboats, homeportofthe immortal sidewheeler Mary Powell, is now in full renaissance, a rev ival sparked by the Hudson River Maritime Center. Just inland, where the now dried-up Delaware and Hudson Canal starts its long trek into the rising countryside, stands the Depuy Canal House, a restaurant presided over by the brilliant chef, John Novi. Maryanne Murphy (who was founder, with her husband, Bob, of what is today the American Society of Marine Arti sts) makes a pilgrimage there each spring as the countryside puts on its Eastertide finery, and each fall when the hills quite literally tum to gold. The D&H Canal Society museum is just a short walk away, and the scene provides a canaller's mecca as well as an epicurean delight. Not inexpensive, says Maryanne, but cheaper than the pricey, trendy bi stros of Baghdad-on-theHudson, as 0. Henry called Manhattan, which in these precincts seems far removed in space and indeed in time. Farther away to the north along the water highway from New York City, the Castaway, most distant of these places for tall dreams and scheming by the water, actually hangs over the dimpled swirling Hudson at the quiet river town of Troy , across the way from Albany. The directors of the State Council on the Waterways have taken to meeting there, and will do forseeably while the redoubtable Sam Aldrich continues as president of the council, and your scribe as chairman. There are a few old boats and oars stacked up around the rambling, weathered wooden structure, and a surprising collection of sailing ship photographs from all over the world. And the Beefeater martini is served in a properly chilled glass. A good place to be cast away, indeed! PETER STANFORD SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
NEW YORK IN THREE HOURS 2:36 The Little Red Lighthouse. No longer needed du e to the George Washingto n Bridge, it is now a landm ark and a playground for children.
H3 Which woy <o
look""~
2:27 Highbridge originally was an aqu educt
~
bringing fresh water to the city. It is the oldest bridge connecting Manhatta n to th e mainla nd .
0
the Bridge? The Palisades to your right an d Grant's Tomb a nd Riverside Church to your le ft.
1 :55 Harl e m. Me mories ofThe Count, The Duke and Cab. And a re naissan ce in the works.
1 :35 Time for a break. Hot dogs, 3:00 Finish. You've seen more of New York in three h ours than most people will see in th eir e ntire li ves.
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OSMUNDSEN "SIGHTING THE COURSE"
JULIAN 0. DAVIDSON by l YNN S. BEMAN Director, Beman GaUcdes ,Nyack , N.Y.
Julian 0 . Davidson 11853-18941: American MJrine Artist by Lynn S. Beman the only definitive biowaphy of th is recen tly rediscovered gen ius o f 19th -centu ry American marin e painting , includ es a co rmprehensive ca talogue of the recent retrospedive exhibition on Davidson, plus a complete listin g of his known w ork. Thi s publi ca tion recently wo n th e " Histo rical Servi ces Award for Exce llen ce" award ed by the Lower Hudson Co nferen ce of Histo ri ca l
a new limited edition Bronze created specially for A.G.A. Correa
Age ncies & Muse um s_ Available exc lusively through Nyack Publi shing Company, In c.,
This major work in progress is shown in clay.
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Ma ~
rine Artist is soft-bound, contains 72 pages, including a forward by noted Art Historian Donelson E Hoopes, 45 illustrations and two co lor p lates. Illustrations in clude the Civil War naval batt les and lhe important paintings of " The U.S.S. Constit utio n," " The Battle of lake Champlain" and " Th e Batt le of Lake Erie." ' ('Turn to th e Centerfo ld of this issue for Full Co lor Painting.)
Contact Correa for details
To: NYACK PUBLISHING Company 8 Park Street, Nyack, N. Y _ 10960 Please send me copies of Julian 0 . Davidson: American Marine Artist at $25 .00 each. N.Y. residents add 6.25'%. Sales Tax. My c hec k for $ is enclosed . Na me _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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The famous passenger steamer Delta Queen re-lives the glory of an era on the Mis issippi and Ohio Rivers. She is shown here with the "Work A Day" Steamer Lo ne Star
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''In the Landlocked Heart of Our America'' by J. Gray Sweeney
The region of the Great Lakes stretches for more than a landscapes and thriving cities, but more importantly the ways thousand miles from Duluth at the western end of Lake in which Americans have come to understand themselves as Superior to Montreal on the Saint Lawrence River. Its coast- a people in the New World. Herman Melville 's masterpiece Moby Dick contains a lines define the boundaries of eight states and the province of Ontario. For three-and-a-half centuries this vast geographical chapter, "The Town-Ho Story," which might well be considregion has been a space for exploration, settlement and, ered a summary of themes found in Great Lakes marine finally, massive urban development. Across these great fresh painting of the nineteenth century. Here in one passage water lakes has rolled a rich and varied panorama of history. Melville presents in words many of the images of Indians, In time, the five lakes that comprise the region-Superior, ships and landscapes rendered by contemporary artists of the Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario-have seen Indian en- Great Lakes. As a literary statement, Melville's poetic decampments, French and British voyageurs, missionaries and scription may help us better grasp the unique art historical fur traders; great naval battles between rival empires; and in heritage preserved in these paintings and prints. Melville 's the nineteenth century an important chapter in the triumph of tale concerns a sailor in the Pequod named Steelkilt-variAmerican "manifest destiny" with the mastery of the Great ously called a "Lakeman," a "Desperado from Buffalo" or a "Canaller." The description of the Great Lakes Melville gives Lakes for commerce and industry. Successive waves of men and their ships-from birch bark is provided in the context of establishing that "though an incanoes, to square-rigged ships and schooners, to steamers and lander, Steelkilt was wild-ocean born, and wild-ocean nurwhalebacks-transformed the great interior heartland. Al- tured; as much an audacious mariner as any": In square-sail brigs and three masted ships, well nigh as though these men and ships have been extensively chronicled in written histories, until the Exhibition of Great Lakes Marine large and stout as any that ever sailed . . .this Lakeman, in the Painting organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art in 1983, landlocked heart ofour America, had yet been nurtured by all there had been virtually no examination of the region's history those agrarianfreebooting impressions popularly connected in art. An investigation of paintings of the region's history with the open ocean. For in their interflowing aggregate, leads us to recognize that the art history of the Great Lakes those grand freshwater seas of ours-Erie, and Ontario, and comprises, in its own way, a reflection of the larger experience Huron , and Superior and Michigan,--possess an ocean-like of American and Canadian civilization. Read carefully, the expansiveness, with many of the ocean's noblest traits; with works of art reveal not only fascinating moments in the life of many of its rimmed varieties of races and of climes. They native Indian people, of ships and their sailors, and of the contain round archipelagoes of romantic isles, even as the Vincent Douglas Nickerson (1844-1910) was a self-taught painter of early Cleveland. His "Schooner Zack Chandler as She Appeared Off Cleveland, November 11 & 12 , 1883" shows the Chandler with all her sails blown out and flying a distress signal as a tug approaches over the roiling waters of Lake Erie. Pastel on board, 16 x 19 inches. Courtesy, Great Lakes Historical Society, Vermilion , Ohio.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
35
"Comment <;a Va: A View of Belle Isle" is Robert Hopkin ' s (I832-I909) nostalgic view of the pre-steamboat era on the Great Lakes. The three figures in the dugout canoe are Canadian farmers waiting to hail passing vessels and sell them fresh produce. In the background is Hopkin' s rendering of Belle Isle as it might have looked a century before he painted this in 1874. Oil on canvas, 28 x 51 inches.
Polynesian waters do; in large part, are shored by two great villages; they float alike the full-rigged merchant ship, the contrasting nations, as the Atlantic is; they furnish the long armed cruiser of the State, the steamer and the birch canoe; maritime approaches to our numerous territorial colonies they are swept by Borean and dismasting blasts as direful as from the East, dotted all round their banks; here and there are any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are, frowned upon by batteries, and by the goat-like craggy guns for out of sight ofland, however inland, they have drowned full of lofty Mackinaw; they have heard the fleet thunderings of many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew. naval victories; at intervals, they yield their beaches to wild barbarians, whose red paintedfaces flash from out their peltry Melville's chapter relates the parable-like tale of how wigwams ;for leagues and leagues are flanked by ancient and Steelkilt "the backwoods seaman" refuses to be unfairly unentered forests, where the gaunt pines stand like serried abused by Radney, one of the Town-Ho's officers, and in the kings in Gothic genealogies; those same woods harboring end is cruelly avenged by the White Whale, but at a formidable wild Afric beasts ofprey, and silken creatures whose exported price. The moral importance of the chapter is evident in the furs give robes to Tartar Emperors; they mirror the paved clear parallel Melville draws between the experience of the capitals of Buffalo and Cleveland, as well as Winnebago Lakes sailor and his ocean-going companions. Melville seems
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), the leading explorer-artist of the American West, presented his small painting "The Departure of Hiawatha" to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1868. Inscribed on the back were verses from Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha": Westward, westward Hiawatha Sailed into the fiery sunset, Sailed into the purple vapors, sailed into the dusk of evening. Courtesy, The Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the National Park Service.
36
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
The artist of "The Schooner Lyman M. Davis Entering Muskegon Harbor , 1875" remains a mystery, despite years of inquiry. But the ship herself was well known and well deserved a portrait. Built in 1873, the Davis carried 250,000 board fe et of lumber, and boasted as many as three trips from Muskegon to Chicago in a single week in favorable winds: a tribute not only to her design , but to the men who drove her, and moved her cargos. OIL ON CANVAS, 26 X 40 INCHES. COURTESY, THE MU SKEGON MUSEUM OF ART.
to allude to the idea that the experience of sailing on the Great Lakes is not ultimately different from sailing on the open seas. Melville's analogy between life on the high seas and life on the inland seas suggests that the American experience on the Great Lakes in actuality is but a chapter in the larger chronicle of the national experience. The passage ends with a sublime awareness, the same vision so often found in the seascapes of artists of the Atlantic seaboard; a wilderness of waves lying out of sight of land, however inland. Intriguingly, Melville's passage on the Great Lakes contains vignette description evoking many of the visual images captured by nineteenth-century Great Lakes artists. The lines that describe the "full-rigged merchant ship, the armed cruiser of the State, the steamer and the birch canoe ... " seem appro-
priate to Vincent Douglas Nickerson' s or Seth Arca Whipple 's paintings of schooners. The "armed cruiser of the State" is undoubted! y a direct reference to scenes like those depicted in Whipples "Night Scene on the Detroit River," while the steamer and the birch canoe might suggest Howard Sprague' s paintings of steam-powered vessels or Eastman Johnson's and Paul Kane 's paintings of Indian canoes. Melville 's metaphor, "goat-like craggy guns oflofty Mackinaw ," evokes Seth Eastman 's painting of the island fortress in the US Capitol, and the "fleet thunderings of naval victories" is surely a reference to the War of 1812, perhaps even a direct reference to Thomas Birch's paintings of the Battle of Lake Erie, which Melville might actually have seen at various exhibitions. The reference to "wild barbarians whose red faces flash from out
Eastman Johnson' s (1824-1906) "Indian Family in a Canoe" was painted on a trip to the north shore of Lake Superior in 1857. Oil on canvas, 18 x 38 inches. Courtesy, The St. Louis County Historical Society, Duluth.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
37
Considered the most accomplished nineteenth-century Great Lakes painter, Howard Freeman Sprague' s (1871-1899) life and career were remarkably short. Captain Alexander McDougall invited him to illustrate and publicize his whalebackfreighter, a unique vessel ofMcDougal/' s design which was both cheap and strong. The American Steel Barge Company built the whalebacks in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the way from the scene in Sprague' s "Whalebacks at the iron Ore Docks of the Duluth, Missabe and lron Range Railway,Duluth , 1893 ." Oil On Canvas, 23 x 47 inches. Courtesy, Duluth, Missabe and iron Range Railway Company, Duluth. Catalogues of this exhibition are available for $10 from the Muskegon Museum of Art, 296 W. Webster Avenue, Muskegon , Ml, 49440
their peltry wigwams" could be an allusion to the paintings of George Catlin and Paul Kane. Melville 's image of the "paved capitals of Buffalo and Cleveland, as well as Winnebago villages ... " suggests Albert Bierstadt 's or Gilbert Munger's portraits of Duluth, William James Bennett's Detroit or Seth Eastman's pastoral renderings of Winnebago Indians. The most intense part of Melville's description is his picture of the storms of the Great Lakes , " ... dismasting blasts as direful as any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are, for out of sight of land, however inland, they have drowned full many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew." This passage find s a visual parallel in Nickerson's portrait of the Zack Chandler in di stress, Herbert L. Connor's SS Manistee with the round medallion portraits of her storm-lost captain
and engineer, and perhaps Whipple's view of the gallant "Torrent Towing the Merrimac." Melville 's prose ode to the Great Lakes helps us to better understand these inland seas in the context of the larger American experience of the seascape, just as the paintings themselves help us to more fully comprehend their important place in the American imagination. -1' Dr. Sweeney was curator of "Great Lakes Marine Painting of the Nineteenth Century" organized by the Muskegon Museum ofArt in 1983 . This article is adapted from the excellent catalogue he prepared for that exhibit and is printed here with the kind permission of Dr. Sweeney and the Muskegon Museum of Art. Dr. Sweeney is associate professor in theSchool of Art at the Arizona State University, School of Art.
A Survey of Great Lakes Marine Art The Association forGreat Lakes Maritime History (AGLMH) maritime historical sleuthing. Each work identified will be has recently endorsed a project to compile a survey of pictures given a survey identification number, and information enof Great Lakes ships and ports. A two-year pilot program will tered into the data base will include: title or work; name of identify works of art in both public and private collections in vessel or other description; artist; dimensions; medium; date; the United States and Canada and produce a central data base owner or provenance; and bibliographic references. A photothat will be available to maritime and art historians through a graph of the work will also be included. number of different repositories in the Great Lakes region. Anyone who would like to work on this effort, or who The data base will be of great use to museums in preparing knows of works that would qualify for inclusion in the survey, retrospective and interpretive exhibits, as well as to art historians is invited to contact John Polacsek, Curator, Dossin Great researching the hitherto little studied nineteenth-century Lakes Museum, 100 Strand Drive, Belle Isle, Detroit, MI regional painters of the Great Lakes. The project is coordinated 48207, or the regional representatives: Great Lakes Historiby John Polacsek, curator of the Doss in Great Lakes Museum cal Society, Timothy Runyan, President, 480 Main Street, in Detroit, with the assistance of regional coordinators. Vermilion, OH 44089; Lake Superior Marine Museum Once the works of art have been identified, an effort will be Association, C. Patrick Labadie, Director, Canal Park Mumade to provide an historical sketch of each vessel or subject. seum, Duluth, MN 55802; Lower Lakes Marine Historical The only definitive criterion for inclusion in the inventory is Society, Paul Redding, Secretary, 237 Main Street, Room that the work must portray a vessel or group of vessels, or a 1033, Buffalo, NY 14203; Manitowoc Maritime Museum, port scene, and the work (or its subject) must predate 1925. It Burt Logan, Director, 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc, WI is hoped that once the data are in place, many previously 54220; Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, unidentified or unattributed marine paintings (vessel por- Maurice Smith, Director, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontraits, in particular) can be identified through art historical and tario K7L 2Y2. 38
SE,A HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
Marine Art: Notes and Comments "New Bedford Watercolors 17871987" at the New Bedford Whaling Museum features the work of more than forty artists whose subjects include not only scenes of New Bedford over the past200 years, but portraits, ship portraits and various maritime scenes. The works of well known watercolorists such as R. Swain Gifford and Benjamin Russell hang beside that of local citizens, including a number of New Bedford women such as Deborah Smith Taber (1796-1879) who depicted the Quaker community into which she was born and whose strictures compelled herto pursue her frivolous pastime in the secrecy of her attic. The exhibit runs until 2 October. (Judy Lund, New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill , New Bedford, MA 02740; 617 997-0046) Over 100 works by 30 British artists will be presented in the Mystic Maritime Gallery's second American exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, on view through 18 September. The NMHS was glad to participate in the first exhibition of the Royal Society in American waters some years back, and we look forward to this one. But the announcement card is sadly disappointing. It features a portrait of the McKay clipper Stag Hound running, with headsails full and all three courses set and pulling. But when a sailing ship-particularly a square-rigger-is running downwind , the headsails do not pull; the crossjack is stowed and usually the mainsail is stowed or half-hoi sted in the gear, to let the foresail draw. Otherwise, with the center of effort so far aft, a moment's inattention on the part of the helmsman could send her ramping away to windward. Who cares? John Noble, who participated and painted in the final days of cargo-carrying under sail lambasted this kind of thing as "chocolate box art"-a curious sub genre of its own, but hardly worthy of the Mystic Gallery, the Royal Society or the otherwise fresh vision and vitality they are contributing to the world of marine art. Shouldn ' t our marine painters look to the example of the Renaissance painters who rediscovered the human figure by studying its bone structure and musculature, painting it from this inward knowledge and feeling? Our ships deserve no less. The Gallery has also announced the 1988 Mystic International, their ninth annual exhibit of new marine art from around the world. This year's jury is made up of John Stobart and William Gilkerson. Medals of Excellence will be SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
rectories as early as 1841, the inspiration for much of hi s work came from his native Gloucester and maritime New England. But Lane' s artistic reputation derives from his emphasis on light and atmosphere, a genre that has come to be known as luminism. Largely forgotten after his death in 1865, Lane's work has gained wide recognition in the last two decades, as is brilliantly testified to in the exhibition catalogue prepared under the direction of John Wilmerding, with contributions by Elizabeth Garrity Ellis, Franklin Kelly, Earl A. Powell, III, and Erik A. R. Ronnberg, Jr. (Paintings by Fitz Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1988, $29.95hb/ $19.95pb). The show, which is funded by GTE, will be at the National Gallery of Art until 5 September. It will appear next at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 25 September through the end of the year. (National Gallery of Art, Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20565; 202 737-4215)
awarded to works recognized as "outstanding examples of creativity, insight and integrity." The exhibit will run from 25 September to 6 November. (J. Russell Jinishian, Mystic Maritime Gallery, Mystic, CT 06355; 203 572-8524) For the past five years, the Quester Maritime Collection has promoted fine marine art with showcase exhibits of maritime painting, models and scrimshaw held around the country, often for the benefit of non-profit maritime organizations. In May, they opened their own permanent home, Quester Gallery in Stonington, Connecticut, with a retrospective ex hi bit of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century marine art to benefit the Stonington Lighthouse Museum. A 52-page color catalogue is available for $12.50. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00, Sunday I :00-5 :00. (Ann Marenakos, Quester Gallery, PO Box 446, On the Green, Stonington, CT 06378; 203 535-3860) Frank Stanley, a retired Navy commander, has published an exciting sail plan portrait of USS Constitution looking every inch the "meteor of the ocean air" that Oliver Wendell Holmes dubbed her. The original print was discovered in a New Hampshire attic by Eric Berryman , Hon. Secretary of the American Ship Trust, and copies are sold to benefit the Trust's work. The print ( l 7.5"x26") is $17.97; the notecard (including envelope) is $9.95 for a box of ten; and postcards are $6.95 for ten. (Sea History Press, 132 Maple Street, Croton-onHudson , NY 10520; 914 271-2177)
The paintings illustrating P. C. Coker's sumptuous new book, Charleston's Maritime Heritage, include some very seaworthy portraits of bygone sailing ships, including glorious contributions from the British artists Mark Myers , Roy Cross and Derek Gardner. Other art forms flourish in these pages, too, in entrancing ship models and dioramas developed to show the workings of shipyards and wharfs. Robert Lightley of Cape Town, South Africa, contributes outstanding work in both genres , and Harold M. Hahn, of Lyndhurst, Ohio, offers a fascinating and instructive diorama showing three schooners in varying degrees of completion in a Colonialera shipyard. Limited edition prints are offered of several of these paintings, and a color brochure is available. (CokerCraft Press, PO Box 176, Charleston, .t SC 29402; 803 722-3733)
"Paintings by Fitz Hugh Lane" is the forthright title of an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Born in 1804, the son of a Gloucester sailmaker, Lane early on gained a reputation for his skills in perspective and naval architecture. Listed as a marine artist in Boston di-
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INVENI PORTAM Eric Joslyn Steinlein (1904-1987) Eric Steinlein, the fo under/director of the Historical American Merchant Marine Survey (HAMMS), died Christmas morning 1987. Mr. Steinlein envisioned and organized the survey of historic vessels as a Works Progress Administration project in 1935 to create employment for researchers and naval architects. The volume of work from thi s enormous program was publi shed in 1983 and today it is widely recognized as the basis fo r much of what has survived from American maritime heritage. In 1939, Mr. Steinlein undertook the reconstruction of the US bri g Niagara forthe Pennsylvania Historical Commission. During World War II, he was the principal naval architect in the marine design branch of the US Army and oversaw the development and design of high speed rescue boats, tugs, freight and passenger vessels, and assisted in the preparation of plans fo r the American-built version of the Vosper torpedo boat. In his later years, he was an avid sailor and wrote numerous articles on Chesapeake Bay maritime hi story, yacht survey and small boat stability and trim . Charles Lundgren (1911-1988) Marine artist and historian Charles Lundgren died 4 April. Respected as a sailor by all who knew him, he was more famous sti ll as an artist of sailing and merchant ships. His sparkling paintings of yachts and yachting graced the covers of Yachting, Motor Boating and Time magazines, and he was also commi ssioned to portray the fleets of shipping companies such as Moore-McCormack, Farrell Lines, Isbrandtsen Steamship, American Export and others. In addition to his considerable output, among his other contributions to the maritime heritage must be counted hi s work with the fledgling South Street Seaport Museum and later hi s efforts on behalf of the American Society of Marine Artists, of which he was fo unding chairman ten years ago, and whose motto he coined: "Marine Art Lives! "
*****
At a steering committee meeting of the National Maritime Alliance in July, it was resolved that the organization should serve as an unincorporated forum for communication and cooperation in the field. Three officers were elected for one year: Peter Neill (South Street Seaport Museum), chairman, succeeding Henry H. Anderson, Jr. ; Ralph Eshelman (Calvert Marine Museum), vice chair-
man; and Marcia Myers (National Trust for Historic Preservation), secretary. Other directors are: Henry H. Anderson , Jr., David Brink,J. Revell Carr,JamesP. Delgado, F. Ross Holland, Paul F. Johnston , Rafe Parker and Peter Stanford . The Sea History Gazette has been designated the newsletter of the Alliance. (Marcia Myers, National Maritime Alliance, NTHP, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20036; 202 673-414 1) The Historic Naval Ships Association of North America (HIN AS) will hold its ann ual meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania, 7-10 September. The theme of this year's meeting is "From Tourist Attracti on to Floating Museum," a program for developing professional museum standards for historic naval ships. Among the sessions scheduled for the three-day event include "Running Your Ship as a Professional Museum," "Making . the Money to Run Your Ship as a Professional Museum" and "Keeping Your Professional Museum from Rotting Away. " But the real draw for this event is the launching of the newly restored brig Niagara, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's relief flagship at the Battle of Lake Erie, on 10 September (the l 75th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie); all HINAS meeting participants are invited. Registration is $ 150; spouses are $45. (James W. Cheevers, Exec. Secy., HIN AS, c/o US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402-5034; 301 267-2109) This year, Longfellow's "Queen City of the West," Cincinnati, celebrates its 200th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its 42nd Preservation Conference there, 17 -19 October. The maritime component boasts a strong emphasis on historic riverboats and canals with sessions on "Historic Steamboat Operations: Safety vs. Historic Authenticity" ¡coon Birkholz, TriCoastal Marine, moderator); "Interpretation of Historic Steamboats and Other Vessels" (Jerry Enzler, National Rivers Hall of Fame, moderator); and "Maritime Forum: What's Happening, Where Are We Going and Some Special Opportunities" (Marcia Myers, moderator). On Wednesday, Lawrence Metz (Hugh Moore Canal Park Museum) and Terry Woods (Canal Society of Ohio) will lead a discussion on "Historic Canals in America." The session will close with "Riverfronts: Are Historic Resources Being Preserved" (Marlys Svendsen, Svendssen, Tyler, Inc., moderator) . RegS>EA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
MUSEUM NEWS istration is $250. (Marcia Myers, VP, Maritime Preservation, NTHP, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington , DC 20036; 202 673-4000) The Gulf Coast History and Humanities Conference has issued a call for papers for their 18th annual conference, the theme of which is "The Maritime History of the Gulf Coast." Papers presented at the conference, scheduled for 9- I I March, will be publi shed in the Gulf Coast Historical Review. The conference is sponsored jointly by the University of South Alabama, Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida. (George H. Daniels, Chair, Dept. of History , or Michael Thomason, Program Coordinator, University of South Alabama, Hi story Department, Mobile, AL 36688; 205 460-6210)
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The Institute for Nautical Archaeology, in cooperation with the Museum voor Scheepsarcheologie and the Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (RIJP) in the Netherlands, has established an archaeology internship for Texas A&M students investigating shipwrecks that have come to light as the result of land reclamation in the Zuyder Zee. Over 350 shipwrecks spanning the history of navigation on the Zuyder Zee from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries have been discovered since the 1940s. The large number of vessels in so small a region affords historians a picture of the development of shipping and shipbuilding in a specific area with a clarity not possible anywhere in the world. Much of the work is rescue archaeology, and owing to constraints of time, money and personnel the museum usually excavates only enough of a wreck to determine its size, age and basic type. Ships are then reburied or dismantled and removed to a ship graveyard used by the museum to store excavated ships below the water table. (Institute for Nautical Archaeology, PO Drawer HG, College Station, TX 77840; 409 845-6694) The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston has begun work on the government-funded Great Lakes Historic Ships Research Project (GLHSRP) designed to facilitate the documentation and analysis of historic ships and small craft from the Great Lakes region through the use of an advanced computer system for the study of hull shapes. The project employs the Computer Assisted Design (CAD) "Fast Yacht" software and Hewlett Packard computer hardware in interpreting existing lines plans, such as SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
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those from the Historic American Merchant Marine Survey (HAMMS), upon which the project is modelled, half-hull models and submerged shipwrecks. While the GLHSRP is interested in Lakes vessels from all periods, attention is now focussed on vessels of the nineteenth century, and half-models are therefore an especially important source of data. The project's computer consultant, Steve Killing, has designed a device which translates photographs into a bodyplan via a digitizing pen and tablet. (Other members of the project team are Maurice Smith, director of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, naval architect David Walker, and project historian Garth Wilson.) So far the GLHSRP has compiled lines plans, hydrostatic data and related articles for about sixty-five ships which are available for researchers. (Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Y2; 613 542-2261) The Sandusky-based steam paddlewheel excursion boat G. A. Boeckling has been dry docked at Merce Industries/ Toledo Shipyard. This marks the beginning of the second stage of work to see the passenger vessel of 1909 restored to steaming condition. Although there remains much to be done, especially fund-raising, the project is moving ahead confidently. An intriguing feature of the proposed restoration is to build from scratch a replica of theBoeckling 's original inclined compound reciprocating condensing 600hp steam engine. Although no plans have been found, engineers at the Skinner Engine company in Erie, Pennsylvania, feel they can reproduce the engine based on existing documentation. (Don Nath, President, Friends of the Boeckling, PO Box 736, Sandusky, OH 44870; 419 626-4747) At the tum of the century, if you wanted to go from Coos Bay, Oregon, to San Francisco, the transport of choice was the steam schooner, a unique West Coast design employed extensively in the Pacific lumber trade. The first of the estimated 225 steam schooners (known locally as the Scandinavian Navy) was probably built in the 1880s, and the type remained a relatively common sight until well into the 1940s. On 24-25 September, the National Maritime Museum in San Francisco will host a Steam Schooner Meet aboard W apama, the last surviving steam schooner. Sailors, mates, captains, engineers and passengers who worked and travelled in these ships are invited to gather for a day of eating, SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
& MUSEUM NEWS drinking and remm1scmg. (Wapama, The Bay Model, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito 94965; 415 332-8409) Lighthouse preservationists around the country are priming for the bicentenary of the US Lighthouse Service in 1989. (It also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the lighthouses being under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard.) The Lighthouse Service was created by an act of the 1st Congress which transferred control of lighthouses, buoys, beacons and pierhead lights from the states to the federal government. Senators Paul Chafee and Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island have introduced a resolution to make 7 August 1989 National Lighthouse Day. The act also declares the week following Labor Day Lighthouse Bicentennial Week and names the US Lighthouse Society the host for the celebration. (Wayne Wheeler, President, US Lighthouse Society, 964 Chenery Street, San Francisco, CA 94131; 415 585-1303) "King Herod's Dream: Caesarea by the Sea," the first public presentation of artifacts recovered from excavations at the ancient Mediterranean port of Caesarea, is currently on view at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Founded in 22BC by King Herod of Judea south of the modem city of Haifa, Israel, Caesarea Maritima was the first harbor ever constructed in the open sea, away from a protective bay or peninsula, and excavations have revealed examples of sophisticated Roman technology, including the use of concrete for breakwaters. The anchorage provided shelter for more than lOOships, and in its day Caesarea outshone the Piraeus as a port. The exhibit will be at the museum until 9 October. More than 80 lenders from 12 countries have contributed 520 artifacts, paintings and manuscripts to an exhibition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada at the National Maritime Museum, London. Among the diverse offerings are half-a-dozen cannon recovered from Spanish ships wrecked in the Shetland Islands and Ireland; early votive ships from Spain; contemporary surgical instruments; armor; and a re-creation of a Spanish ship developed through the application of modern naval architectural techniques to available contemporary evidence. The exhibit will be at the museum through 4 September, before opening at the Ulster Transport Museum, Belfast. (cont.p47) SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
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The Chief Wawatam is a fascinating old steamboat. She is the last of her kind and a national-possi bly even an international-treasure. But the Chief will be scrapped at the end of September 1988, unless someone steps forward to save her. The SS Chief Wawatam is a handfired, coal-burning ship of some 339ft that worked her entire life in Michigan 's Mackinac Straits. Built in 1911 by the Toledo Shipbuilding Co., for the Mackinac Transportation Co., (and laterowned by both the New York Central and the Pennsylvania railroads and the State of Michigan), she plied the eight miles between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace until 1984. Prior to the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957, she carried both freight and passenger cars. Passengers retired to the upper decks where meals were served. After 1957, the Chief carried freight in conjunction with the Soo Line. The noted naval architect Frank E. Kirby designed the Chief Wawatam to perform in year-round conditions. This meant she had to be able to deal with the heavy six foot and better ice flows that build up in the Straits in late winter. Kirby had already designed two such boats for Michigan Transportation , so he was familiar with the problems involved. The new boat, however, was m uch longer than his earlier designs and she had a rivetted steel hull and three engines. The hull was spoon shaped to improve her ability to break a path
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A pencil sketch of the Chief Wawatam by Ron van den Bos.
through the ice by riding up on the floes and crushing them. The three tripleexpansion engines each developed 1,500ihp, and one was positioned in the bows. This unusual plan not only added weight in the bows, but improved the Chiefs maneuverability, especially in evacuating broken ice from the docking slip so that the Chief could align herself with the railroad tracks on the apron. Four tracks permitted 26 rail cars of the 36ft (16 of the modem size) to be transported on the main deck. From an engineering point of view, the Chief is a
paradise for those who wish to study and experience tum-of-the-century marine steam technology. Everything is original. Three reciprocating (2 l -33 -52x40") engines, jet condensing, rotative engines for electricity, duplex engines tor pumps, six Scotch boilers ( 14x 12) at l 85psig, all hand-fired, burning 40 tons per day, communications apparatus, and everything else right down to the washing machine make up her complement. She is still under certificate and has a twentyfour hour watchman. Many people of the upper peninsula remember working and riding on the Chief Wawatam. She was a major employer in the region and as many as four generations of some families worked aboard her. She is undeniably a part of our regional and our national heritage and the last "hand-bomber" of any great size in the western hemisphere.The State of Michigan is interested in seeing her preserved somewhere in Michigan and is willing to negotiate with an interested party . But if no one steps forward, the ChiefWawatam is destined for the scrapyard on 30 September. Here is a treasure that must be saved. Contact Ms. Susan G. Brook, Administrator of the Freight Division UPTRAN, Michigan DOT, PO Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909; 517 335-2584. J,
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Great Lakes Maritime Museums Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Rte. I, Box 4, 415 W. Washington, Bayfield, WI 54814; 715 779-3397
Destroyer Haida , 955 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3B9
Old Lighthouse Museum, PO Box 512, Michigan City, IN 40360; 219 872-6 133
Association for Great Lakes Maritime History, PO Box 25 , Lakeside, OH 43440
Hamilton-Scourge Project, City Hall, 71 Main Street W., Hamilton, Ontario L8M 3T4; 416 526-4601
Steam Yacht Phoebe , Pump House Steam Museum , 23 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Y2
Friends of the Boeckling, PO Box 736, Sandusky, OH 44870; 419 626-4747
Huronia Historical Parks, PO Box 160, Midland, Ontario L4R 4K8 ; 705 526-7838
Port Col borne Historical and Marine Museum, PO Box 572, Port Colbome, Ontario L3K 5X8; 416 834-7604
Brown's Bay Wreck, St. Lawrence Islands National Park, PO Box 469, RR 3, Mallorytown, Ontario KOE !RO; 613 923-5261
Illinois and Michigan Canal Museum, 803 S. State Street, Lockport, IL60441; 815 8385080
Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen's Park, One Naval Park Cove, Buffalo, NY 14202; 716 847-1773
Institute for Great Lakes Research, 12764 Levis Parkway, Perrysburg, OH 43551
Friends of the Canadiana, 295 Baynes Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14213 Canal Park Museum, Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, Duluth, MN 55802 Cartier-BrebeufNational Historical Park, 175 , de l'Espinay Street, PO Box 2474, Quebec GlK 7R3; 418 648-4038 Chicago Maritime Museum , 60 West Walton Place, Chicago, IL 60610; 312 9439090 SS Clipper, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL 60611 ; 312 329-1800 USSCodSubmarineMuseum, 1089East9th Street, Cleveland, OH 44144 Detroit Historical Museum , 540 l Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202; 3 13 833-1805 Dossin Great Lakes Museum, 100 Strand Drive/Belle Isle, Detroit, MI 48207; 313 267-6440 Eagle Lighthouse, Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI 54212; 414 868-3258 Erie Historical Museum, 356 W. Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16507; 814 453-5811 Fairport Marine Museum, 129 Second Street, Fairport Harbor, OH44077 ; 216 3544825
Steamship Keewatin , PO Box 511, Douglas, MI 49406; 616 857-2151 Lake Michigan Maritime Museum, PO Box 534, South Haven, Ml 49090; 616 6378078 The Longship, PO Box 6510, Duluth, MN 55806 Lower Lakes Marine Historical Society, 237 Main Street, Room 1033, Buffalo, NY 14203 Mackinac State Historic Parks, PO Box 370, Mackinac Island, Ml 49757; 906 8473328 Manitowoc Maritime Museum , 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc, WI 54220-6823; 616 684-0218 Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, 55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Y2; 613 542-2261 Marine Museum of Upper Canada, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3C3; 416 392-6827 Mariners' Park Museum, RR 2, Milford , Ontario KOK 2PO; 613 476-3972 Maritime Heritage Alliance of Northern Lake Michigan, PO Box 1108, Traverse City, MI 49685
Port Dover Harbour Museum, 8 Harbour Street, Port Dover, Ontario NOA !NO; 519 583-1526 Port of Quebec in the 19th Century Historical National Park, I 00, Saint-Andre Street, Quebec, G 1K 7R3; 418 648-3300 Rogers Street Fishing Museum, Two Rivers, WI 54241 Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, PO Box 27 , W. Washington St. , Sackets Harbor, NY 13685; 315 646-3634 St. Catharines Historical Museum, 343 Merritt Street, St. Catharines, Ontario L2T IK7 ; 416 227-2962
Segwun Steamboat Museum, Gravenhurst, Ontario Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Maritime Museum, PO Box 277, Empire, MI 49630; 616 334-5134 Sturgeon Bay Maritime Museum, 6427 Green Bay Road, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235; 414 743-4225 Sunken Treasures Maritime Museum, 483 W. Grand Avenue, Port Washington, WI 53074; 414 284-0969 Ferry Trillium , c/o City Hall, Toronto, Ontario U-505 , Museum of Science & Industry, 57th Street, Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637
Viking Ship Restoration Committee, 517 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201; 312 4921829
SS Meteor Maritime Museum, PO Box 775, Superior, WI 54880; 715 392-5742
Great Lakes Historical Society Museum, 480 Main Street, Vermilion, OH 44089-1099; 216 967-3467
TugNedHanlan, Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3C3
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Great Lakes Naval and Maritime Museum, PO Box 1692, Muskegon, MI 49433 ; 616 722-3751
Passenger Ship Norgoma, St. Mary 's River Marine Corp. , PO Box 325, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 5L8; 705 942-6984
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, 5599 Scenic Drive, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
SS Norisle Heritage Park, Assiginack Historical Museum, Manitowaning, Ontario POP !NO
Fortnightly news of the maritime heritage field and maritime industry. For NMHS members, twenty-six issues for $35. All others send $60 (includes membership in NMHS) .
46
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~SEA
HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
SHIP NOTES "Captain James Cook-Navigator" is a commemorative exhibit from th e National Maritim e Museum , Greenwich , which will cruise through the Antipodes overthe course of the next two years. The exhibition illustrates the background to Cook 's voyages with paintings, ship models, prints and charts from the museum and a contemporary model of the Deptford Dockyard from which Cook set out donated by the Science Museum. The exhibit will be in Brisbane through October. It wi ll open at Perth in January, and then go to Adelaide. Stops in New Zealand, Hawaii and Vancouver are also planned. (John Palmer, National Maritime Museum , London, SElO; 01 858-4422) Scientists are concerned about the condition of a second Cheops ship found entombed at the base of the Great Pyramid at Gaza. The first of these funerary ships was found in 1954 and removed from the tomb where it had lain undisturbed for 4,500 years. Since then, its condition has deteriorated drastically due to the lack of adequate preservation facilities . Last October, scientists conducted a series of"non-intrusive"probes to get samples of the 4,500-year-old air in the second tomb and to photograph its contents. Expressing concern about the environment in the tomb-80°F, 85 % humidity-Dr. Farouk el-Baz of Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing has said that while more studies are needed, "There is a possibility we will have to go in and clean up the environment in the chamber to preserve the boat. There are no discussions about removing the boat." Frank Carr, chairman of the World Ship Trust and former director of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, says: "It is essential that all deci sions regarding thi s second Cheops ship be made in full consultation with the maritime heritage and marine archaeological communities." The International Congress of Maritime Museums will hold its first Australian conference at the Sydney Maritime Museum, 25 -28 September. The conference is being held in conjunction with the year-long celebrations honoring the bicentenary of the arrival of the First Fleet at Botany Bay, near Sydney. Conferees will hear presentations on Australian maritime heritage, including archaeology, ship preservation, museum development and nav al hi story. (I COMM, 1988 Conference Secretariat, Dulcie Stretton Associates, 70 Glenmore Rd., Paddington , NSW 2021, Aus.) -ti SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
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48
Jonas Hanway, Founder of the Marine Society: Charity and Policy in Eighteenth-Century Britain, James Stephen Taylor (Scolar Press, London; Gower Publishing, Brookfield, VT; Sea History Press, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1985, 284pp, illus, ÂŁ20.00/$4 l .95hb) Professor Taylor of Wells College in upstate New York, occasional sailor and dedicated student of the history of social welfare in Great Britain, has given us a brilliant picture of the life of a remarkable Londoner of 200 years ago, Jonas Hanway , the much travelled, far-seeing merchant philanthropist who founded the Marine Society. The Society survives to this day in Lambeth, a living tribute to the prescience of its founder. The Marine Society today ministers to seamen 's welfare and education, vital missions in this age of huge ships, small crews, fast port turnaround and other dehumanizing developments. But it was born to take homeless youngsters off the streets and give them careers in seafaring. This involved more than just packing the kids off to sea. It involved educating them, equipping them to cope with a tough profession and following up to see that the exercise succeeded. Founded by Hanway in 1756, the Society was his principal care for the next 30 years, during which he served as its executive director. As a result, the British historian Christopher Lloyd has written, "Jonas Hanway must be credited with providing more men for the Navy than any other man in history ." But this was not hi s whole motivation . There was the matter of the kids. "Copious effusions of zeal ," in his own words, characterized his reforming attack on the problems of poverty and dispossession. This was backed by his strong sense of community, born of living in English settlements in foreign cities in his early career as a merchant factotum, his sense of Christian service, and his sense of the fitness of things, of what seemed proper and needful in a given situation. Out of these things grew the blend of charity and what he called "policy," the pragmatic conduct of affairs , that made his work so successful and ultimately enduring. Taylor's accountofHanway 's development of his mission embraces a full exploration of his life and the mercantile society within which he moved and achieved his results. The effect is an entrancing portrait of a dedicated man seen against a richly textured background of life in a burgeoning metropolis sustained on seaborne trade-London in
the age of Johnson, Lord Chesterfield & Co. Hanway grew up in genteel poverty. At age 16, he was apprenticed to an uncle in London who promptly sent him to the English Factory in Lisbon. After twelve years in Portugal, he went on a mission for the Russian Company to reestablish a trade route down the Volga to the Caspian and across that landlocked sea to Persia. Returning to London, finally, in 17 50, Hanway wrote a book about his Russian venture, largely to explain its ill-success. The book was an overnight success and made our undistinguished merchant a man of "some reputation," as Samuel Johnson put it. So he was launched on his career as a man of affairs-dabbling in merchant ventures in the coffee houses, arguing various reforms in society and government in pamphlets, and increasingly turning his attention to the dispossessed, to prostitutes and homeless youngsters growing up like savages in the busy streets of mercantile London. His philanthropic impulse extended beyond private charity to the landmark legislation of 1767 to protect the parish poor. But the thing he accomplished that was closest to hi s heart and longestlived was the Marine Society. In his work with young men in the Marine Society he insisted on performance. He followed up on the lads' careers at sea because he wanted them to succeed. He valued confidence and independence of spirit and sought to inculcate these things in the desperate boys found "lurking about the streets," winning through to the needful conclusion: "Every man is capable of good if properly treated." Were not the wealth and freedoms of England and the United States developed by the energies that are liberated by this kind of belief? One can't help feeling that Jonas Hanway, striding the streets of an eighteenth-century seaport city undergoing tremendous growth and change, saw things we should learn to see in our cities and act on as he did. P ETER STA NFORD
American Marine Painting, Jolin Wilmerding (Harry Abrams, New York, 1968 repr. 1987, 216pp, illus, $40.00hbJ John Wilmerding has given us . a concise history of American marine painting from its early manifestations in the late seventeenth century until th~ present. . What a wonderful spectacl~ unfolds m these images, at first the stem and prosperous .merchants and milita~y gentlemen peenng earnestly from their SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 19S8
FOR SALE darkened canvasses, behind them small vignettes of the sea and ships telling us of the journeying of these new Americans and their absolute dependance on everything maritime. The long process of liberation from Europe, in both life and art, culminated in a period of intense observation of nature which produced masterpieces such as Martin Heade's black, mysterious and threatening ''Thunderstorm Over Narragansett Bay," painted in 1868. In our own century we are presented with images as diverse as Edward Hopper's "Ground Swell" (1939), depicting five young people enjoying a day sailing under a cornflower blue sky, and "Full Fathom Five" (1947) by Jackson Pollock, in which sea becomes an image of personal inner turmoil and redemption. How different are these from the vision encountered in the opening chapters when the sea is a theater for trade, warfare, transportation and harvest. Wi lmerding ski llfully uses text and image to demonstrate the changes in society which effect change in art, and how, more important, the sea and the people who worked upon it were great bui lders of the American nation. Almost nowhere in this lavishly ill ustrated book is there an image without such people. Even in Frederic Church's "The Icebergs" (1861), an enormous polar wasteland tinted strange colors by an apocalyptic sun, there, in the foregro und lies the tom and broken mast of some illfated vessel. Over 100 years later, a painting by Andrew Wyeth titled "Squall" depicts a window looking out to a sea dramatically lit by a rapidly changing sky, a human presence indicated by a yellow windbreaker, still wet from the recent shower, hanging on a hook. Wi lmerding has expertly illustrated the complex course that mankind follows in its relationship with the sea, and how that relationship is reflected by the images that artists make from it. MATTHEW RADFORD
Mr. Radford is an artist who lives and works in New York City. New Yor k to Nome: T he Nor t hwest Passage by Canoe, Rick Steber, from the recollections of Shell Taylor (North River Press, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1987, 168pp, illus, $17.SOhb) New York to Nome is a rip-roaring seat-of-the-pants adventure about two young newspaper clerks who decided in 1936 to canoe from New York City to Nome, Alaska. Conceived over a tencent beer, the expedition was nothing SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
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less than a 7000-mile, eighteen-month Northwest Passage, with a winter layover in Fort Smith, in the Northwest Territories. The itinerary, in brief, began at 42nd Street and the Hudson River. Taylor and Pope paddled (and sailed) north to Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River and from there via the Ottawa River to Lake Huron. Leaving the Great Lakes at Thunder Bay they proceeded west to Lake Winnipeg, and across Saskatchewan to Lake Athabasca. The two planned to winter at Fort Chipewyan, but their reception was so condescending that they pushed on to Fort Smith, about half way to Great Slave Lake. After waiting for the Slave River to thaw , during which time Pope and Taylor threw their lot in with various hunters and trappers, they pressed on to the Mackenzie River, thence to the Rat River and down the Yukon to the Bering Sea, where they skirted the coast of Norton Sound to Nome. Taylor's account of their quixotic odyssey is every bit as extroverted and direct as the spirit which underlay it. A relatively experienced and enthusiastic outdoorsman, he is confident, opinionated and recalls his adventures with the relish and equanimity of one truly inspired by the challenges of surviving in the wild. His forceful personality is not always admirable, however, and he gratuitously and intrusively belittles his bowman, Jeff Pope, whom he considers an unimpressive and unenthusiastic city boy. But Taylor's own descriptions of Pope reveal a man every bit as capable and driven as he was, though certainly less demanding and less excitable. Taylor also gives the Old Town canoe which carried them as far as Ottawa (where they bought a new Peterborough) short shrift-partly, one feels , because it was Pope's purchase. A venerable grande dame of inland waters, the Old Town deserves better. In the main, though, Taylor bursts through his narrative a capable and staunch-hearted leader, quick to admit his own faults and with a rich appreciation of his surroundings. His crisp descriptions of their passages in and out of the reach of civilization-which for much of their journey meant the reach of the Hudson 's Bay Company-are paeans to the North American wilderness, and they offer an unsentimental insight into the sanctity of man 's relationship to unadulterated nature. Indeed, it is genuinely painful to read in the epilogue that the entire route covered by Taylor and Pope is now accessible by road. Con-
eludes Taylor, "I try to explain what it was like, but it is impossible because it was a feeling more than anything else. They have taken the wild out of it." In some small measure, New York to Nome puts the wild back in. HAL FESSENDEN
An aficionado ofsmall boats, Mr. Fessenden has fond memories of canoeing in Canada-in an Old Town.
A Ship's Logbook, Captain Frank F. Farrar (Great Outdoors Publishing, Co., St. Petersburg, FL, 1988, 270pp, illus, $29.95hb/$ l 4.95pb) From its first page, this book is exciting-and most interesting. Beginning with the story of a Liberty ship, the Theodore Parker~ passing around the top of Scotland through dangerous Pentland Firth, the tale is a gripping one. Told in the first person, Frank Farrar's vivid memories of life at sea bring to life the adventurous life of a merchant mariner. And what's more, Farrar' s story is worth the telling. It is the drama of the American Merchant Marine over the past half century, in both peace and war. It brings home the basic truth that without a merchant marine we might well have fought World War II in our own homeland, not abroad. And it gets this message across through grand and genuine adventure stories, memories of a man who really lived. Capt. Farrar's determination to go to sea instead of continuing on after high school to the Massachusets Institute for Technology set the stage for a lifetime of maritime achievement and adventure. How he came up through the hawsepipe-especially his experiences in the dives of Hamburg-makes rugged reading, but it all rings true. Farrar' s story and his telling of it have a momentum that carries the reader from one episode to the next. More than just a personal reminiscence, A Ship's Log is also a memorial to the American Merchant Marine and to the men who made it work. Farrar's story tells what was happening to maritime America from the depression years of the 1930s, when the US merchant fleet was made up of cargo ships destined (but builttoo late) for World War I; through the helli sh years of World War II and the Battle of the Atlantic, when our Liberty ships were Allied Europe's lifeline; and into the tranquil and relatively prosperous post-war years. That heroic merchant marine to which Farrar gave such dedicated service is now at its lowest point in American SEA HISTORY , SUMMER 1988
history . The reasons for this cannot be explained by A Ship's Logbook, or any other single book, but the case for our merchant marine must be brought before the American people. FRANK 0. BRA YNARD Frank Braynard is curator ofthe American Merchant Marine Museum and cochairman of the NMHS Advisors. Humber Keels and Keelmen, Captain Fred Schofield, fwd. Frank Carr (Terence Dalton, Lavenham, Suffolk, Eng., 1988, 288pp, illus, maps, £19.95hb) The Humber keels were almost certainly the last type of square-rigged sailing barge to trade effectively anywhere in Western Europe. With a clinker-built hull and square rig, the keels are thought to have derived from the Saxon ceolas in which our remote ancestors invaded and settled along the northeast coast of England well over 1000 years ago and which evolved and flouri shed in those waters until well into the twentieth century. With the exception of Captain Schofield's own keel , Comrade, now restored to sailing trim and preserved by the Humber Keel and Sloop Preservation Society the keels are gone. As Frank Carr points out in his foreword, no book about these historic vessels has previously been published. But probably no one is better qualified than Captain Schofield to write this detailed and enthralling history. His forebears and ancestors comprise a long line of keel owners and captains prominent on the Humber, Trent, Ouse and their tributary rivers and canals. He has sailed in keels from early childhood, serving as mate, captain and owner. Over eighty years of age, he has memories of the keels and keelmen of hi s youth, and of the diverse cargos once carried to a multitude of different ports. Most important, perhaps, he has that quality, rare in a practical seaman, of being able to
SEE THE TITANIC AND THE STEAMSHIPS OF THE OLD FALL RIVER LINE· FEEL NEW ENGLAND'S RIC
write with clarity and with wide command of language. He deals in detail with the history of the keels and other local craft through their heyday in the nineteenth century and on to their eclipse in the mid-twentieth century. Fully illustrated with period pictures, photos and useful maps, one cannot overlook the delightful illustrations and plans by Edward Paget-Tomlinson which help to explain the text. Appendices and glossaries covering the technical details of the keels and their work make this an invaluable reference work. JAMES FORSYTHE Major Forsythe is deputy chairman of the World Ship Trust, and president of the Nmfolk Wherry Trust. SS Jeremiah 0 'Brien, Last of the Liberties, (Historic Film Distributors, Burlingame, CA, 1988, 30min, color, $29,95NHS or BETA) To the evocative music of "Sentimental Journey ," this all-too-brief film explores and reports on the restoration and ceremonial steaming of the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien, one survivor of the 2751 such &hips built in the US in the 1940s as a war emergency measure. The O' Brien and her sisters provided the "bridge of ships" that linked the US to the battlefronts of a world at war, and may truly be said to have turned the tides of war in all theaters. The film dwells affectionately on the gleaming restored machinery that drives the big ship across the water of San Francisco Bay these days. As a volunteer engineer remarks, the engines are practically immortal-because they were the simple, massive, triple-expansion type revived for these ships because of its ease of manufacture. There are deficiencies in the narrative, however. We get shots of redcoats as President Roosevelt is heard explaining the proud antecedents of the American flag at sea,
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j
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I I I
The Titanic display includes a 28', one ton model oft White Star liner...and vureo program on its discouery in the North Atlantic. PLUS ... excitingmemoriesandmodelsofpowerful ste mships and visions ofthe golden age ofthe old Fall River Li On Fall Rivers historic waler{ront..easily reached o Roule 195 by car... or by boot with anchorage available ...the Marine Mu•eum at Fall River is open 9am. to 4:30pm • weekdays, and lOam. to 5pm. weekertd.s and holidays. Call (508) 674-3533 for information.
SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1988
•
but no action shots of the Libertys as they pursued their hazardous and vital mission on the Arctic run to Murmansk in the Soviet Union, or to the steaming jungles of remote islands in the South Pacific. This film conveys present-day nostalgia, in a ship of memories manned by veterans, rather than a seeking out of the hard experience the Libertys were built for and finally, at immense cost, triumphed in. For that, we need another PETER STANFORD film. Historic Ships, Michael K. Stammers (Shire Publications, Ltd. , Aylesbury, Eng., 32pp, illus, £1.25pb) After an introduction about ship preservation in general the author gives a brief summary of the development of ships from the earliest log canoes through the early steamers and surviving paddle ships of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The book also includes a review of warships, fishing craft, pleasure boats and harbor service craft. The album closes with a summary of hi storic ships and maritime museums by counties, with details of when and where these may be visited. JAMES FORSYTHE
Visit the Naval 0 Military Hislo ric
Eslablishme rJI ,.;
1817 - 1856
on Penetanguishene Bay, Lake Huron home of the replica
HM Schooner BEE
I~
Unique in North America Box 1800 Penetanguishene Ontario, CANADA LOK 1PO ~
Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation
Ontari o
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPO NS OR S A MER ICAN CONS ER VATI ON ASSOCI ATI ON HEN RY H. AN DERSON. JR. A PEX M ACHI NE CORPO RATI ON J. A RON CHARITA BLE FOUN D ATION V I NCENT ASTOR FOU N DATION R. BA RNETT H A RRY BARON BEEFEATER FOUN DAT ION ALLE G. BERR IEN BOWN E & CO., INC. BROOKLYN UN ION.GAS COMPANY EDWA RD & DOROTHY CA RLTON A L AN G. CHOATE EDNA MCCONN ELL CLARK FOUN DATION MEL VI N CONANT RE BEKAH T . DALLAS LOIS DARLI NG PONCET DA VIS. JR. J AMES R. DONA LDSON J AMES EAN MORRIS L. FEDER RO BERT E. GA MB EE J AMES W. GLANV ILLE THE GR ACE FOUN DATION MR. & MR S. TH O MAS HALE MRS. D. H. HOA RD ELISAB ET H S. HOOPER FOUN DATION CECIL HOWA RD CHARITA BLE TR UST MR . & MRS. A. D. HULI NGS ALAN HUTCHISON INTERNATIONA L LONGS HOREMEN LCDR . ROBERT IR V ING USN. {RET.) R. C. JEFFERSON IR VING JOHNSON J.M . KAPLAN FUN D, INC. HARRR IS & ELIZAB ETH KEMPNER FO UNDATI ON A. ATWATER KE NT. JR . DA VID H. KOLLOC K H. THOMAS & EVELY N LANGERT JAMES A. MA CDONALD SC HUYLER MEYER. J R. THE HO N. & MRS. J. W. MIDDENDORF. II FO UN DATION CLIFFORD D. MALLORY. JR . MAR INE SOCIETY. PORT OF NY J AMES P. MCA LLISTER MR S. ELLICE MCDONALD. JR MILFORD BOAT WORKS. INC. MOBIL OIL CORP. RICHARD I. MORR IS MORMAC MARINE TR ANS PORTATIO N, INC MR . & MRS . SPENC ER L. MU RFEY. JR . NEW YORK COUNCIL. NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UN ITED STATES
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MA URI CE J. BRETZ FIELD FREDRICK BREWSTER ARTHUR BLACKETT W. K. BLADES BILL BLEYE R LAWRENCE T. BREWSTER LUTH ER N. BRIDGMA DR. CHARLES M. BRIGGS THOMAS H. BROADUS . JR. CA RL K. BROGA N PETER L BROSNA N JAM ES H. BROUSSAR D DAVID F. BROWN RAYMOND G. BROWN RAY BROWN, MD THOMAS D. BROWN FREDR ICK H. BR UENN ER HOW ARD F. BRY A . JR . JOHNS. BULL PETER A. BURCKMYER BU RK E BUILDING SA LVAGE. INC. MIK E BURKE ROBERT J. BURK E BO YD W. CA FFEY JA MES D. CALDWELL RALP H A. CA LDW ELL STEVEN BUTTERWORTH GEORGE F. BYA RD AN DREW CA RD UN ER T HOMAS P. BYRNE S J AMES R. CA DY JAY G. BURWELL MR . & MRS. STEELE C. CA MERON MAJOR IE 0. CAMP ERIK C. CANA BOU CANA DI AN TRANS PORT. INC. JAM ES R. CARMAN DAVID CARNAHAN MR. & MRS . R. E. CA SS IDY CENTRAL GULF LI NES JON H. CHAFE ROGER CHAMPAGNE C. A. CHAPIN ROBERT L. CHAPMAN TERRY CHAPMAN J. K. CHARGOIS. JR . CHARLESTON NEUROSU RGICAL ASSOCIATION MICHAEL K. CHA SE RICHARD D. CHASTA IN JOHN CHICHESTER JACK A. CLARK JAMES M. CLARK ROBERT B. CLARKE HERB ERT A. CLA SS WILLI AM CLAYPOOL ER BERT CJCENIA ALBERT CIZAUS KAS . JR. MR. & MRS. C. THOS. CLAGEIT. JR. CHARLES D. CLARK EDWARD J. COLLI NS CHARLES E. COLLOPY l. F E R R E LL CO L TO N EDWARD J. CO LI N 1. E. COB ERLY JOHN COEN JOH N L CO LE J AMES R. CLIFFORD GEORGE F. CLEMENTS LCDR. MICH AEL CORDASCO RIC HARD C. CORRELL CHUCK COSTA JOHN C. COUCH LARRY L. COOPER COMMONWEA LTH OF MASSACHUSEITS TREVOR J. CONSTA BLE CHAR LES P. COOK JAMES C. COOK WALTER J. COWAN WILLI AM P. COZZO J. W. CRAWFORD R. MYRON CRESS Y WALTER CRONKITE CHESTER & AN N CROSBY BOWDO IN B. CROWNINS HIELD S. H. CUMM INGS BR IGGS CUNN ING HAM ALTON F. CU RRY ALBERT L. CUSICK curry SARK SCOTS WHISKY PAULL. DAIGN EA ULT MORGAN DA LY PETER T. DAMON WILLI AM H. DARTNELL JAMES K. DAV IDSON JOAN DAVIDSON F. KELSO DAV IS EA RL W. DEWA LT RAY DAWLEY JOHN N. DAYTON L. P. DEFRAN K DENN IS DEAN DOUG LAS H. DEAN ROBB & BOBB IE DEG NON MACGRUDER DENT JOSEPH DE PAUL & SONS CAPT. JOHN F. DERR ANTHONY DIM AGG IO DAN IEL PAUL DIXON MR S. JOH N W. DIXON W. R. DOAK A. J. DO BLER DA VJD L. DODGE MALCOLM DICK JAMES DICKMAN DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP. H. DEXTER . JR . JOSE PH A. DOYLE CAPT. ROBERT DR EW JERERM IAH T. DRISCOLL REYNO LDS DUPONT LCDR C. J. DU RBIN DR. JAMES M. DONLEY BILL DOUG HERTY JONATHAN H. DOUG HERTY R. L. DOXS EE JOHN DUSEN BURY DUVAL MARI NE CONSULTANTS & SU RVEYORS. INC. BRADLEY H. EATON DAV ID B. EATON FRAN K EBERH ART HOWARD H. EDDY DONNA H XJEMAN ALBERT EGAN. JR. STUA RT EHREl\'REICH GEORGE F. EMERY ENERGY TR ANS PORTATION CORP. MR. & MRS. R. S. ERSKINE. JR. ESSEX BOAT WOR KS JOHN & CAROL EWALD RAY EISENBERG CARL EKLOF PAUL EKLOF CA PT. RICHARD 0 . ELSENSOH N MR. & MRS . CAR L EYMA N JOHN HENRY FA LK DR . & MRS. HUGH L FARRIOR GEORGE FEJWELL GERALD FELDMAN LYNN S. FELPS MR. & MRS. STEPHEN M FENTON. III JAMES D. FEURTADO DOUG LAS FIFE MR. & MRS. BENJAMIN FOG LER JAMES J. FOLEY . JR. ALANSON FORD F. S. FORD. JR. CA PT. ROBERT I. FOX CAPT. WILLI AM FRANK JEAN Fl NOLAY JO HNS. FISCHER DI ELLE FLEISCHM ANN ARLI NE FLOOD CHARLES M. FREY J. E. FRICKER. JR. DR . HARR Y FR IEDMA N DAV ID FU LLER REGI NA LD H. FU LLERTO N. JR . GLENN GA ECKLE LARRY B. FR AN KLI N DR . & MR S. LOU IS FREEMAN FR ED FREEMAN DENIS GALLAGHER ROBERT P. GA RVIN ERNESTGASPA RRI ALEXANDER GASTON PAT & CECI L GATES MR. & MRS . WALTER GEIER BERNA RD M. GEIGER EDWA RD GELTSTHORPE GEORGE ENG INE COMPA NY GEORGE F. A. GILLI S HE RY GLICK JAMES E. GOLDEN PRODUCTIONS GEORGE E. GOLDMAN HENRY GORNEY PETER J. GOULANDRIS OLI VER R. GRACE. JR. JOHN GRADEL PHILI P GRAF JAMES R. GRAFT ARTHUR S. GRAHAM MR. & MRS. TERR Y W. GRAN IER MAYOR & MR S. ROBERT H. GRASMERE J IM GRAY PETER L. ORAY C. WILLI AM GREEN. II LEONARD M. GR EENE ROBERT H. GREGORY HENRY F. GREINER CHARL ES GU LDEN R. H. GULLAGE DR. JAMES GUTHRIE HADLEY EXHIBITS. INC. ROBE RTS . HAGG E DONA LD W. GRIMES JOH N M. GROLL CAPT. MARK H. GROSS HANS PETER GUA RDINO ROB ERT K. HANSEN MORTIMER HALL DAG MAR S. HAMILTON GEORGE B. HAMILTON JOHN R. HAMILTON STEPHEN E. HAMM ARSKJOLD ROBERT D. HARRI NGTON. JR. MR. & MRS. F. HAGGEIT FREDERI C H. HARWOOD CLIFFORD HASLAM COU RTNEY HAUCK MARS HALL DE L. HAYWOOD CA PT. JAMES E. HEG D. HEMMERDINGER THOMAS C. HENRY HAROLD HERB ER JAMES D. HERWARD CA RL W. HEXA MER GUNNA R F. HEXUM DR . ALBERT E. HICKEY CHARLES HILL GEORGE HOFFM AN KAR ENINA MONTHEIX HOFFM AN WA LTE R W. HOFFMAN ROBE RT W. HOFFMAN ROBERT J. HEWIIT HELENE. HOLCOMB PETER HOLLEN BEC K ALIX T. HOR BLOWER CAPT. M. F. HORV ATH B. J. HOWARD HARRY H. HRY NYK ROBERT W. HUB NER PER HUFFELDT DUDLEY C. HUMPH REYS WILLI AM J. HURLEY CA PT. FRANCIS HURSKA STUART INGERSOLL MR. & MR S. THOMAS JN ES INTER NATIONA L ORGAN IZATION OF MASTERS. MATES & PILOTS BRAD IVES RO BERT W. JAC KSON J. S. JA COX TOBY JAFFE CA PT. GEORGE W. JAHN LEONA RD C. JAQUES PETER E. JAQUITH COL. GEORGE M. JAMES PA UL C. JAMI SON PAU L J. JARVIS K ' UD JENS EN ROBERT P. JERRED CAPT F. B. JERRELL BOYD D. JEWEIT DOUG LAS JOHNSTON ARNOLD JONASSE CLAYTON B. JONES ELIZA BETH FI SCHER JONES HOWLA ND B. JO NES DENN IS JORDAN THOMAS H. JOSTEN W. J. JOVAN W. HA DDON JUDSON BEAN KAHN NORMAN KAMERMAN AR ET KAS ER MR. & MRS. RUSSELL WM. KASTE ED KAU FM ANN NE IL KEATI NG CA ROLJ . KELLY DANA E. KELLY J. KELLY KEN'S MARINE SERVICE. INC. PATRICK KENNEDY R. E. KEN YON. Ill BREENE M. KERR KIDDER. PEABODY & CO. DAV ID KILLARY GERALD KING JOHN KI NNEY DONA LD KIPP NORMAN KJ ELDSON HARRY KNOX LESTER A. KOCHER ARTHUR KOELLER KARL KORT UM RICHARD W. KOSTER MR . & MRS. FR AN K KOITMEIER WILLI AM KR AMER C. JAMES KRAUS ANDREW F. KR AV IC KARL LANCE KREMER KA1 KRISTENS EN KJELL KR ISTIANSEN GEORGE P. KROH EMIL LANDAU JAY LA NDERM AN HUGH B. LAN DR UM FRE DERICK N. LANG JOH N R. LANGELER RICHARD LAZARUS EDWARD C. LEE GUSTAV H. LENG ENFELDER BERNA RD LESLI E STANLEY H. KURPIEWSKI HOWARD LICHTERM AN SALL Y LI NDSA Y MR . & MR S. F. M. LI NLEY L. D. LLOYD CA PT. LLOYD M. LOGA N CALEB LORING. JR . T. LAW RENC E LUCAS JEAN LUCY JO HN E. LUN DIN JOHN J. LYNCH, JR . I. P. MACAULEY ROSS D. MACDUFFIE CAPT. WILLI AM H. MACFADEN M. D. MAC PHERSON JOSEPH B. MADISON CLAY MAITLAN D LA WRENCE MALLOY MANALA PAN YACHT CLUB KENNETH LYNCH & SONS MARI N TUG & BARGE MARITRA S OPERATI G PARTNERS DR. & MRS. RICHARD MARTIN THOMAS F. MASON DAN IELL. MASTER WILLI AM MATHER S WILLIAM R. MATHEWS, JR . JOSEPH A. MA LEY PHI LI P MAITING LY JOHN MAY BRIAN MCALLI STER G. P. MCCA RTH Y HAROLD J. MCCORMICK FRANK MCDERM OIT CA PT. E. C. MCDONA LD JEROME MCG LY NN PAUL MCGO NIGLE RICK MCINTOSH MR . & MRS. GEORGE A. MCLAUGHLI N VA DM . GOR DON MCLI NTOCK JOH N L. MCS HANE JAMES C. MEADE THOMAS MENDENHALL PETER S. MERR ILL TOM & JANET METZGE R J. PAU L MICHIE CHA RLES W. MI LLER EDWA RD MILLER STUART MILLER CA PT. JOSHUA MILLS MICHAEL S. MILLS ARTH UR C. MILOT R. KE NT MITCHELL CHESTER MIZE CA PT. LOUIS MOC K RICHARD MONSEES. MD KENNETH MORA N THOMAS H. MORTON MR. & MRS. EMI L MOSBACHER, JR . WILLI AM MUCHNIC WILLI AM MORELAND. JR. JAMES E. MORGA N DANIEL MORONEY ROBERT E. MORRIS. JR. JOH N R. MORR ISS EY ANGUS C. MORRISON KE N MULLER JOH N c. MURDOCK DR . WM . P. MURPHY CA PT. G. M. MUSICK CA PT. WALTER K. NA DOLNY. JR . M. J. NAG Y scorr NEWHALL NEWSDAy w. R. NIBLOCK RO BERT NICHOLS HENRY F. NIELSEN MILTON G. NOITI NGHAM MACEY NO YES CAPT. CA RLI SS R. NUGENT OCEANIC NA VIGATION RESEA RCH SOC IET Y CLIFFORD B. O'HARA T. MORGAN O'HORA 8 . J. O'NEILL JAMES F. OLSEN CHA RLES J. OWEN EDW ARD E. PAR MELEE MEMORI AL FUND PATRICIA OWEN ROBERT B. OWEN PACIFIC GULF MA RI NE. INC. WALTER PAGE LI NCOLN & ALLISON PAINE SAM UEL T. PARK S WILLIAM H. PARK S ROBERT S. PAS KULOV ICH PASTA TOWING CO. LTD. GIULIO C. PATIES JAMES A. PATIEN JOHN J. PAITERSON. JR . FRAN K D. PAULO MARY PEA BODY JOH N N. PEARSON EAR L F. PEDERSEN MRS. G. L. PELI SSERO A. A. PEN DLETON PENNS YLVAN IA SC HOOLSHIP ASS'N. CA PT. D. E. PERKI NS TIM OTHY L. PERRY . JR . MILES & NANCY PETERLE PETERSON BUILDERS. INC. DONA LD PETTIT HENRY PETRON IS F. N. PI AS ECKI OR MAN PLUMM ER MR. & MRS. WILLI AM T. POPE PORT ANNAPOLI S MA RI NA HENRY POWELL HEINO H. PRAHL FRANCIS C. PRATI G. A. PRATI JOH N D. PRATI FRAN K C. PRI NDLE QU ICK & RE ILLY . INC. ALBERT F. QU INTRALL BEN D. RAMALEY SAM L. RAMBO CAPT. JOHN W. RAN D ARV! E. RATY SA MUEL A. REA COL ALFR ED J. REESE FREDERICK REM INGTON A. E. RE NNER P. R. J. REYNOLDS MR. & MR S. DONALD RICE MR . & MRS. F. B. RICE W. MA RK RIGG LE EDWARD RIITE NHOUSE CAPT. JOSE RIVER A E. D. ROBB INS. MD JAMES L. ROBERTSON CHARLES R. ROBINSON JOSEPH D. ROB INSON DAV IDR . RY AN M. J. RY AN MARK ROMI NG ELIH U ROS E DAV ID ROSEN LESTER ROSENBLATT PHI LI P ROSS EDM UND RUMOWICZ CDR. KENN ETH RUSSELL S. M. RUST. JR PETER ROB INSON WILLIAM R. RY AN R. D. RYDER CHARLES !RA SACHS JAMES M. SA LTER. II SAN DIEGO YAC IH CLUB NO RMAN SA RGENT E. W. SAS YBOLT & CO. , INC. H. R. SAUNDER S. JR . FANNETTE SA WYE R SCAN DINAVIAN MA RI NE CLAI MS OFFI CE. INC. H. K. SCHAEFER CA RL H. SC HAEFFER JOHN D. SCHATVET DAVID & BARBARA SCHELL RICHARD J. SCHEUER STEPHEN A. SCHOFF DENNIS A. SCHULD HELEN M. SHOLZ CHARLES E. SCRIPPS ROBERT SELLE WILLI AM R. SEY BOLD HUG H R. SHARP. JR. MICHAEL T. SHEEHAN ROB ERT P. S HEEHY KE NNETH W. SHEETS . J R. SHIPS OF THE SEA MUSEU M EDWA RD M. SKANTA FRANC IS D. SKELLEY DAV ID L. SLAGLE CHARLES R. SLIG H, lll SIGNAL COMPAN IES. INC. FRANK SIMPSON GEORGE SIMPSON LTJG J. C. S INNElT EASTON C. SKINN ER HARRISON SM ITH HOWARD SM ITH MR. & MRS. LARRY D. SMITH MR. & MRS . EDWARD W. SNOWDON E. P. SN YDER MAX SOLMSS EN C. HAMIL TON SLOAN STEPHEN SLOAN MR . & MRS . EDGAR F. SMITH DR. JUDSON D. SPEER WILLIAM A. SPEERS THOMAS R. SPE CER F. N. SPIESS JOH NS. W. SPOFFORD ALFRED STAPLETON PHILI P STENGE R JOSEPH SONNABEND CONWAY B. SON E JOSEPH W. SPAULDING. II SUSIE STEN HOUSE RODERICK STEPHENS W. T. STEVENS CAPT. JAC K T. STILLMA LT. H. L. STONE. III ROBERT A. STRANGE MARSHALL STR EIBERT ST. CLAIR STRONG DANIEL R. SUKIS WA LTER 1. SULLI VAN GORO SUZU KI CAPT. JOHN 0 . SY ENSSON BR UCE SWEDIEN LCDR THOMAS L. SWIFT EUGENE SYDNOR J.C. SYNNOIT HENR Y TA LBERT DAVIS TAY LOR DR. JAMES H. TA YLOR PETER G. TH EODOR E C. PETER THEUT BARR Y D. THOMAS CLARK THOMPSON JOHN B. THOMSON. JR . DAN IEL K. THORNE EDM UN D B. THORNTON JOH N THURMA N ROB ERT T ICE DR. ROB ERT L. TIMMONS JAMES TITUS MR. & MRS. ALLEN W. L. TOPPI NG NOAH TOITEN ANTHONY TRALLA DEANE R. TUBBS ALFRED TYLER. II UNITED SEAMEN'S SERVICE JOSEPH URBANSKI. JR. REN AUD VALENTIN CA PT. ROBERT D. VA LENTINE MR. & MRS. HENRY VAN DERSIP JOHN D. YAN ITA LLIE EDSEL A. VENUS HARRY D. VERHOOG FRANZ VON ZIEGESAR RAYMOND E. WA LLACE BRUCE E. WAR E ALEXAN DER W. WATSON JOH N W. WEA VER H. ST. JOHN WEBB . Ill ELIZA BETH B. WEE DON KENNETH WEEKS RAYNER WE IR WILLI AM WEIR L. HERNDON WERTH RAN DY WESTON CRAIG W. WHITE MR . & MRS. RAYMO ND WHITE GEO RGE H. WHITESID E G. G. WHITNEY. JR. FR. JAMES WHIITEMORE LAU RENCE WHIITEMO RE WILLIAM A. A. WICHERT R. E. WILCOX. INC. J. S. WILFORD. JR. LAU RE NCE WILL A RD BEITI E Z. WILLI AMS ROB ERT WILSON WILLI AM H. P. WITH ERS WA LTE R{ G . WOHLEK ING EDWA RD WOLL EN BERG T HO MAS J. WING JA MES R. WIRTH WILLI AM F. WISEMAN JO HN F. WING CA PT. J. M. WIN DAS DO RAN R. WRIGHT J. L. WRIG HT W ILLI AM C. WYGANT JAMES H. YOCU M WOMEN'S PROPELL ER CLUB. PORT OF NEW YO RK RICK WOO D WOM EN'S PROPELLER CLU B. PORT OF BOSTON KIRK YOUNGMAN W. J. YUENG LI NG DONALD ZU BROD CA PT. ALEN SAN DS YORK JOHN YOUELL HEN RY A. YOUMANS THOMAS R. YOUNG
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MODEL SUCCESS STORY' "The Maritime Prepositioning Ship program is a model success story, and I couldn't be more pleased . MPS is on schedule and proving to be an extremely valuable strategic asset." - General PX. Kelley Commandant U.S. Marine Corps
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DISTRICT 2 MARINE ENGINEERS BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION -ASSOCIATED MARITIME OFFICERS
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AFFILIATED WITH THE AFL-CIO MARITIME TRADES DEPARTMENT 650 FOURTH AVENUE BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11232 (718) 965-6700
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RAYMOND T. McKAY PRESIDENT
JOHN F. BRADY EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Rendering of the JOHN W. BROWN, titled "Homeward Bound," by MM&P member Captain Brian Hope.
This Is MM&P Country . The Liberty Ship JOHN W. BROWN, which saw action during the invasion of Italy, is one of the last of the great fleet which helped win the Second World War. American merchant seamen braved torpedoes and bombs aboard their Liberty Ships to keep the sea lanes to Europe open-it was called the Finest Hour of the American Merchant Marine. The Masters, Mates and Pilots is fighting to save our merchant marine , just as we are helping to save the JOHN W. BROWN. MM&P deck officers sharpen their skills at MITAGS, which houses an array of sophisticated electronics and simulators never dreamed of in the heyday of the Liberties. MITAGS is a result of a close collaboration between MM&P and American flag shipping companies. ROBERT J. LOWEN
F. EL WOOD KYSER
International President
International Secretary-Treasurer
International Organization of
Masters, Mates & Pilots 700 Maritime Boulevard, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 •Tel: (301) 850-8700 •Cable : BRIDGEDECK, Washington , DC• Telex: 750831