Sea History 059 - Autumn 1991

No. 59

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

AUTUMN 1991

~EA HISTORY

75

THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA

MARK MYERS AND WEST COUNTRY SEAFARING REDISCOVERING COLUMBUS, p ART VI

WILLIAM G. MULLER

MARY POWELL This bea utiful and most famous of a ll Hudson River steamboats. once known as "Queen of the Hudson," heads north past Storm King mountain on a September evening inl905 .

EVENING ON THE HUDSON, 1862 A classic Hudson River s loop a nd schoon e r rid e th e tid e northward through Haverstra w Bay on a calm summer evening. whi le th e steamer D aniel Drew passes southbound b en ea th Hook Mountain.

CAPTURE THE ROMANCE OF THE HUDSON RIVER'S COLORFUL HERITAGE with these beautiful new Limited-Edition, signed and numbered lithographs by marine historical artist, William G. Muller.

Both S/N editions 775. $130. S/N Artist's Proofs (50) $155. Remarques (on request) $350. Publisher Proofs (25) NFS. Total print quantity 850. Image size both prints 15 1/ •"x 28." Sheet size both prints 21'/,"x 33."

These quality lithographs a re printed on lOOlb . prime acid-free art stock, using sun -fast inks.

Avai lab le through:

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY (914) 737-7878 or use coupon on mailing wrapper and send to: N.M.H.S., Box 68, 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill, NY 10566-5324

ISSN 0146-9312

No. 59

SEA HISTORY

SEA HJSTORY is published quarterly by the National Maritime Historical Society, Charles Point Marina, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

Second class postage paid at Peekskill NY 10566 and Cincinnati OH 45242. USPS #000676. COPYRIGHT © 1991 by the National Maritime Historical Society. Telephone 914 737-7878.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea Hi story, Charles Point Marina , PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

MEMBERSHIP is invited. Plankowner $ 10,000; Benefactor $5 ,000; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Patron $250; Friend $ 100; Contributor $50; Family $40; Regular $30; Student or Retired $15. All members outside the USA please add $ 10 for postage. SEA HISTORY is sent to all members.

Individual copies cost $3.75.

OFFICERS & TRUSTEES : Chairman , Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr. ; Vice Chairmen, Alan G. Choate, James Ean, Edward G. Zelinsky; President, Peter Stanford; Vice President, Norma Stanford; Secretary , Ri c hardo Lo pes; Treasur er, Thomas Gochberg; Trustees, Norbert S. Hill , Jr., Karl Kortum, GeorgeLamb,James P. Marenakos, Brian A. McAllister,Nancy Pouch, Ludwig K. Rubinsky, Edmund S. Rumowicz, Der Scutt, Frank V. Snyder, Marshall Streibert, Samuel Thompson. Chairman Emeritus, Karl Kortum OVERSEERS : Charles F. Adams, Henry H. Anderson, Jr., Townsend Hornor, George Lamb, Clifford D. Mallory, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., J. William Middendorf, II, John G. Rogers, John Stobart ADVISORS: Co-Chairmen, Frank 0. Braynard, Melbourne Smith; D.K. Abbass , Raymond Aker, Robert Amon, GeorgeF. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswa ld L. Brett , David Brink, William M. Doerflinger, John S. Ewald, Joseph L. Farr, Timothy G. Foote, Thomas Gillmer, Richard GooldAdams, Walter J. Handelman, Robert G. Herbert, Jr., Steven A. Hyman, Conrad Mi lster, Edward D. Muhlfe ld , William G. Muller, David E. Perkins, Richard Rath, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Timothy J. Runyan, George Salley, Ralph L. Snow, Edouard A. Stackpole, John Stobart, Albert Swanson, Shannon J. Wall , Raymond E. Wallace, Robert A. Weinstein, Thomas Well s, Charles Wittholz AMERICAN SHIP TRUST: Chairman , Peter Stanford; F. Briggs Dalzell , William G. Muller, Karl Kortum , Richard Rath , Edward G. Zelinsky SEA HISTORY STAFF: Editor, Peter Stanford; Managing Editor, Norma Stanford; Associate Editors, Kevin Haydon , Richard Rath ; Production Assistant , Joseph Stanford; Accounting, Martha Rosvally; Membership Secretary, Patricia Anstett; Membership Assistants , Bridget Hunt, Grace Zerella ADVERTISING: Advertising Manager, Jonathan Gargiulo; West Coast, Mr. Val Ely, 1638 Placentia Drive, Costa Mesa CA 92627, Tel: 7 14 642-5410; Southeast, Mr. Richard Dalley, PO Box 418, 307 South Morris St., Oxford MD 2 1654, Tel : 301 226-5059

AUTUMN 1991

CO N TENTS DECKLOG

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LETTERS 6

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

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NMHS MISSION: The Challenge of 1992, Walter Cronkite COLUMBUS QUINCENTENARY: What's Happenning in 1992, Kevin Haydon

12

REDISCOVERING COLUMBUS , VI: Looking for Japan-

16

MARINE ART: Mark Myers and West Country Seafaring

23 26

MARINE ART NEWS THE FORGOTTEN WAR POWER: Letters of Marque and Reprisal and the United States Constitution, William S. Fields COLLECTOR 'S CORNER: Down to the Sea-On Stamps, William A. Coffey

in the Caribbean, Peter Stanford

30 32

SHIP NOTES , SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS

34 37 40

History Sets Sail in a New Age Clipper Ship, John S. Dean Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 NMHS TRAVEL: Pack Your Seabag and Come Along!

REVIEWS

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DESSERT: Petrol for the Navy PTs; Aboard One of the Oldest Ships in World War II, Ed Dennis

COVER : Hard on the wind, driving westward against a rising sea and looming squall, the brigantine Clio of 1894 earns her living the hard way . Her tragically short life ended in 1895 when she went missing on a midwinter pasaage from the Mediterranean to Newfoundland. She is one of the tough and able West Country ships remembered in the artist Mark Myers ' s remarkable series on these vessels.

Detail from the painting on page 17.

Join The National Maritime Historical Society today... and help save America's seafaring heritage for tomorrow.

We bring to life America's seafaring past through research, archaeologi- . calexpeditionsandshippreservation efforts. We work with museums, historians and sail training groups on these efforts and report on these activities in our quarterly journal Sea History.

We are also the American Ship Trust,

which works to save ships ofhistoric importance. Membership in the society is only $30 a year. Asa memberofNMHS you ' ll receive Sea History , a fascinating magazine filled with articles of seafaring and historical lore.

Come aboard with us today!

Yes, I want to help. I understand that my contribution goes to help the work of the Society and that I'll be kept informed by receiving SEA HISTORY quarterly . Please enroll me as: D $30 Regular D $40 Family D $50 Contributor D $100 Friend D $250 Patron D $500 Donor D $1000 Sponsor To:Nat'I Maritime Historical Society, 5 John Walsh Blvd., PO Box 68, Peekskill, NY 10566 NAME---------------------------~ ADDRESS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Contributions to NMHS a re tax deductible ~IP

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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.Authentic visions of the Golden Age of Sail ' John Stobart looks into the past with an artist's eye for beauty and a historian's eye · . . .· for accuracy. His paintings magically turn back the clock 100 years or more. See tlle , j " · l!/~7 once-bustling waterfronts ofNew York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco; the ~., ·. \ - .,. )l · · past glories of whaling ports like Nantucket and New Bedford; the heart-stiniµg- 1' l i T <~, ·1 · ~,., ' spectacle of tall ships in harbor and at sea in over70 of John Stobart's great~f7 /./_ ' '"' · paintings, faithfully reproduced in full color in one big, glorious gift book. ,1 ,,. ~~

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DECK LOG "The way to get to be a volunteer is simple,"theperson beside me explained.

"Just volunteer!"

The person speaking was our longtime member and Friend of the Society Walter Cronkite. In his plain-spoken remarks as he accepted the American Ship Trust A ward at the opening of our headquarters in Peekski ll , he said we were losing our grip on our own history in the United States. The NMHS was doing something to set that right, and he was proud to be part of it. As to how you get to be part of it-"Just volunteer!"

Walter' s volunteering is something for the books. He is trustee emeritus of the National Trust and Mystic Seaport Museum; he is trustee of South Street Seaport Museum and has just become a member of the NMHS Columbus Maritime Heritage 92 Committee. It's good to welcome Walter Cronkite to this effort, whose goals he discusses on page 7.

Messrs. Fish, Stanford, Muller, and Cronkite at the headquarters opening, October 12.

The opening of our new headquarters in Peekskill was also marked by Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr. presenting to marine artist Bill Muller the James Monroe Award for distinguished contribution to maritime history. The new gallery held a magnificent exhibition of twelve of Bill 's Hudson River steamboat paintings. This work indeed brings history to life, and gives it a future .

Bob Albion, the great historian of New York Port and the Western Ocean Packet trade, was the first winner of this award, and knowing his tastes, we decided it should be a beer mug . Bill Muller does not drink beer, but we wish him joy in this award, and in the esteem in which his many friends and admirers hold him for his generous interest in historical understakings from the Nobska in Massachusetts to the Hudson River Maritime Center in Kingston, New York.

I'll borrow Bill's new mug to raise it in salute to the people who breathe life into these causes. They are the heroes of our Society and in our new headquarters at last we have a home for them.

PS 4

LETTERS Columbus Maritime Heritage 92!

The New York State Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Commission is pleased to have endorsed the Society's educational efforts to foster maritime awareness and appreciation of the multicultural nation that took root with Columbus ' epic voyages. The wide range of programs the Society has mounted to promote seafaring knowledge will generate not only an appreciation of our maritime heritage, but a true sense of adventure in each of us , especially our children.

I join the National Maritime Histori cal Society in recognizing Walter Cronkite and William G. Muller for their outstanding contributions in furthering the goals of the Society, and I look forward to working together as we embark on the Columbus Quincentenary Year.

M ATILDA CUOMO

Chair, NY State Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Commission From all of us at the National Trust, congratulations to the National Maritime Historical Society on the opening of your new headquarters in Peekskill.

This move signals a bright future for the Society 's leadership in efforts to preserve and illuminate the rich maritime heritage that all Americans share.

Be assured that the National Trust for Hi storic Preservation will continue to work closely with the Society as a partner in this great endeavor. Best wishes to all hands!

her up for lost but she has, through the efforts of peopole who loved her, pulled through each time. George had a vision about Regina that she would provide the life-changing experiences for the people who sailed her that she indeed did while we had her. One cannot put a value on that except to know that it was worth it then and it is worth the effort now . I am 100% behind your efforts and will help you in any way that I can. With your expertise and the Society's backing I believe that she will again be saved.

ANN NICHOLS

Manchester, Massachusetts

Creative Engagement I just received the complimentary copy of Sea History and am very pleased to learn of thi s publication and the NMHS .

What I really want to compliment you on is the editorial on page 9 of the Summer 91 issue. I deeply appreciate your stance on the relationship of native Americans to the Columbus celebrations.

Indeed, "History gives us a second chance at truth ." We will fail as a culture if we either ignore what we have done to our native brothers and sisters, or if we simply assume guilt over their plight. Your creative engagement of the issues here will surely add to the relevance of maritime historical research and cultural education.

Thank you. Keep it up. I'm proud to accept your invitation to membership.

REV. JoHN EDWARD N UESSLE

Sloatsburg, New York

J. J ACKSON WALTER

President, National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US Washington DC Here 's wishing you much success with the new headquarters and the Columbus Maritime Heritage program. With all this, 1992 will be an exciting year!

Enclosed is a special contribution for the Building Fund. Jack Aron and I are glad to help in this manner and again say good luck with the Society 's new home.

P ETER A. ARON

Chairman South Street Seaport Museum New York Regina; Worth It, Then & Now It is with great renewed hope and relief that I learned the Society is involved in and committed to the restoration of R egina Maris . Many times during Regina's long career, people have given

Fatal Attraction The Spring 1991 issue of Sea History seems to have a fatal attraction for seamen. I loaned my copy to one and it hasn' t been returned yet!

Re the review of American Indian Holocaust and Survival in the Spring 1991 issue, I agree with the editor that, "Maritime history should be about the impact of voyaging, as well as the voyages themselves." And I'm not the only one! Quite a few Indians have sailed, especially during World War II. I'll say "Good-bye! " in the Penobscot fashion: "May our Grandfathers, the Dedagi ak (the Thunders) guide your feet in smooth pathways and may they guard you from all harm!" Or in short form: "Meenach nae eul! " CHARLES E . COLCORD

New York City Mr. C oleo rd is also a second cousin ofthe late sea historian Lincoln Colcord-ED SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

Urger on the Canal What a pleasure it was to meet Schuyler Meyer, Jim Voorhees, and the Urger crew.

The children and adults of Medina enjoyed touring the tug and also learning first hand about the history of the Erie Canal.

The canal is an important resource and played a strong role in the history of New York State. It is very exciting to be part of its revitalization.

We commend Capt. Meyer, the National Maritime Historical Society, the Alliance for Arts Education Imagination Celebration, and the Edwin Gould Foundation for for Children for sponsoring the Urger's trip along the Canal.

CATHERINE S. REVELAS Exec. Director, Chamber of Commerce Medina, New York Christobal Colon Visits San Diego NMHS readers should be interested in knowing that there is a living Christopher Columbus. Don Cristobal Colon is the 20th direct descendant of the famed explorer. I recently accompanied him to the west coast where he "discovered" San Diego.

Colon continues his ancestor's love of the sea and is a lieutenant commander in the Spanish Navy. He follows his father, also with the same name, who served in the Spanish Navy rising to the rank of admiral. The elder Colon was assasinted by Basque terrorists some seven years ago.

Don Christobal may sail in the replica fleet of the Santa Clara, Santa Ana, and Santa Marfa. By the way, these are the little-known official names of the ships of discovery. We remember the two by their nicknames which Columbus used in his logs except for his flagship, Santa Maria. She too had a nickname, La Gallega, because she was built in Galicia, Spain.

CHARLES J. Grnow1cz, JR. Madrid , Spain This Great Cape Horner About the Benjamin F. Packard (see SH 56) I've had much personal contact. Shall long remember how at age 13, while in a New York private hospital recouping from a tonsil operation, I slipped out one bitterly cold day in February, boarded a bus and made my way uptown to 125th Street and North River-to face that cold and snarling wind whistling down the Hudson, to stand there in shivering SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

delight, feasting my eyes on this great Cape Homer, as she lay moored and abandoned alongside a deserted pier.

There was no chance of boarding her: I was lucky just to behold her (having somehow heard that she had arrived here, in tow , from the Panama Canal & West Coast ports). With fingers freezing, I managed to use up a whole role of film in my new box camera-bought that very hour, with all my spending money, for this one purpose. They came out well enough for one to see the drift ice floating along her sides. My, but it was cold to this thin stringbean of a kid, but my! it was a glorious unforgettable moment.

I've always been that way about ships, come to remember.

I didn ' t see the Packard again until around 1931 , when I visited her in Playland, in Rye, and meet Frank Jaeger . . . . Frank and I spent much time aboard the laid-up Packard together. Of all the types there were, he and I both were fondest by far of the square-rigged ship, of which the Benjamin F. Packard was then just about the finest example of a wooden sailing vessel left afloat under our flag .

RICHARD MAURY Santa Barbara, California Mr. Maury is author of The Saga of the Cimba, an account of how in the 1930s he sailed a small Novy schooner to the South Pacific and lost her there-a little known book that ranks as a classic among those who know it.-ED The Guide: Incentive and Guidance I have recently received your remarkable guide to the maritime museums of the United States. I knew there was a large number, but I am still surprised.

My wife and I have covered many of the maritime museums in Europe and Great Britain, but the number in the United States must be far greater, although I have never been able to find a comprehensive list for Britain and the continent.

With the incentive and guidance provided by your Sea History's Guide to American and Canadian Maritime Museums, we are planning two trips. One would be as far as we can get in two weeks starting north from Jacksonville, Florida. The second will be another two weeks finishing with the museums of the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

It is possible to see two or three museums in one day , or even more, in some locales, while another day it may be possible only to do justice to one mu-

seum, given the size an geographical position of the museum. WithyourGuide we know what to expect.

THOMPSON LENFESTEY Tampa, Florida The Great Britain's Unicorn IfDr. Ewen Corlett had stuck to his slide rule and stability tables, the Great Britain would not now be in Bristol. Greg Powlesland and the Editor would, therefore, not have the luxury of criticizing the work of Dr. Corlett who played such a fundamental part in the discovery, return and restoration ok SS Great Britain.

Dr. Corlett's answer seems to me conclusive and I rememberthe care taken by him over this very matter, being a member of the SS Great Britain Project in the early years.

MALDWIN DRUMMOND Southampton, England The editor intended and intends no detraction from Dr. Corlett' s role in the SS Great Britain recovery and restoration, an admirable achievement. For an authoritative comment on the spirit of the unicorn (the point at issue) see below.- ED A Real Unicorn-from HMS Unicorn!

Reference SH 54 and 57 and the letter from SS Great Britain Project on the subject: "Is Bambi a Suitable Unicom?"

I enclose this illustration of the unicorn figurehead on the "real" Unicorn - the one at Victoria Dock, Dundee and still the oldest British built warship afloat (built 1824).

The figurehead is of more recent years however and was unveiled in 1979 by HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

Congratulations on an excellent magazine.

HAMISH ROBERTSON Development Manager Unicom Preservation Society Dundee, Scotland

5

MEMBERSHIP NEWS Sail Training The Spring 1991 issue of Sea History is, as usual, most interesting. Your article on "Sail Training: a Movement Comes of Age," is especially good.

I am glad that, at long last, the steel tops 'I schooner Yankee is properly referred to as just that, and not a brigantine, as her late great skipper was wont to do.

This is no reflection on Irving Johnson, for he did make his mark among sailormen. It is a shame that his proud Yankee came to the end that she did.

I believe that the schooner Wanderer also left her bones not too far from where Yankee met her sad end. Wanderer had been owned by the late Sterling Hayden-another great sailorman. Wanderer had served as the San Francisco Bar Pilot Schooner Gracie S. for many years.

Your mention of Adventuress as a sail training schooner in the Great Northwest was also proper. She, too, spent many years off the San Francisco Bar. As a youngster, she went to the Arctic underthe ownership of Mr. W. E. Borden, of diary food fame. She then joined the San Francisco Bar Pilots.

BRUCE B. MCCLOSKEY Fort Lauderdale, Florida In your article "Sail Training: A Movement Comes of Age," in the Spring 1991 issue of Sea History , your write "The Yankee II later attempted another circumnavigation under the aegis of Windjammer Cruises of Miami, Florida, but she was wrecked on a reef in Raratonga in the South Pacific, becoming another of a series of fine vessels lost by that firm."

To set the record straight, Yankee II was properly anchored when a storm broke the flukes on two 1,000-pound anchors and blew the ship aground. While it' s true we lost some fine ships in the 1960s, we don 't deny we went through some difficult times, we have not lost a ship in over 20 years. This is especially laudable considering our ships do a lot more cruising in a month than most yachtsmen do in a year. And, we're not sailing blue water. We're hopping islands in what can be treacherous waters to the inexperienced sailor.

MICHAEL VEGIS

Director, Public Relations Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Ltd. Miami, Florida Dick Rath replies: It' s good news indeed to all lovers of large sailing vessels that Windjammer Barefoot Cruises hasn' t

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lost a ship in over 20 years. All of us who care about these ships are very glad that Windjammer' s luck has improved.

After Some Years Aground ...

Permit me to express my satisfaction by being aboard again after some years of laying aground. In the words of John Masefield: "I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied."

Sea History is steady as everon its course, gathering worldwide the landlubber and old salt alike with pages of "art, literature, adventure, lore & learning of the sea."

Please do accept my warmest congratulations to you and your dedicated crew for remaining active in maritime causes, a never ending, but worthy fight.

PETRONIO R.G. MUNIZ Recife, Brazil QUERIES Bill Shough is looking for any and all information about YMS class of World War II minesweepers. Speed, handling characteristics, engines, fuel capacity, range, etc. Bill Shough, Box 435, Bolinas CA 94924.

Capt. Harold D. Huycke is looking for some expert advice on the economics of the costs of insurance, availability of war-risk insurance for the active schooners and barkentines which continued to carry cargoes after the Second World War began in 1939. What values were placed on the old schooners which predated the First World War building boom ships, and those ships which survived the building years, 1914-20? For example, the Theoline, a 4-masted schooner built in 1917, sold for something like $35 ,000 in about 1942. Biff Bowker's book on the Herbert L. Rawding shows a steady increase in values from the war years for that ship and a precipitous drop in 1945 to a sale price of $18,000. Could owners obtain hull insurance on this class of ship? Was war-risk insurance available for owners, allowing them to still make a profit on any cargo being offered which shippers were willing to risk? Even at high purchase prices in the war years, compared to depression year prices, were such ships worth insuring?

Capt. Huycke, 18223 84 Pl. W., Edmonds WA 98026.

Membership in NMHS is its own reward-but you might be interested to learn of a few extra benefits flowing in just now.

Those of us who contribute $100 or more annually (as Friend, Patron, Donor or Sponsor of the Society) are finding tucked in with the thank-you note for their latest contribution, a Council of American Maritime Museums card for free admission to America's leading maritime museums, often including 10% discount in the museum shops.

Any memberofNMHS will find doors to private club libraries and the like opened to him by his NMHS membership card, which declares one to be a serious student of the heritage. The extra privilege of free admission to leading museums reflects museums' appreciation of the something extra you do for the whole heritage, as a Friend of NMHS. In the next few months, all our members (exceptthose who disclaim the privilege) will be given complimentary membership in the National Trust for Historic Preservation for six months. After that it will be your choice whether to continue in this outstanding national preservation organization. Members in the New YorkNew Jersey-Connecticut area will be receiving free one-year subscriptions to Water Ways, the lively journal of historic preservation and economic and cultural development of New York's waterways, on the same basis.

And of course there is now the resource of our headquarters library and exhibition hall in Peekskill on the Hudson, an hour north of New York City.

The great reward of membership in the Society was dramatically underlined during the helter-skelter of our recent move to these new quarters, in the strungout, high risk campaign to save the barkentine Regina Maris. At one point our coordinating role in this effort was carried out from a pay phone outside the marina building where we are now installed! Hajo Knuttle, hero of this ship save, said after his ship returned safely at last to Greenport, Long Island on 22 October: "Without NMHS she would have been lost, unquestionably."

Now there is something to make all hands feel good!

PS NOTE:AdiscussionoftheNMHSmembers' travel program will befound on page 37. We hope to extend this program to shorter, more economical local trips in later 1992.

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

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SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1

NMHS MISSION:

The Challenge of 1992

by Walter Cronkite

1992, the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus 's first voyage to the Americas, will be upon us in one and a half short months. Recommendations as to how the event should be commemorated are as lively, as numerous and diverse as is our citizenry.

Surely, we who love history and fo llow the sea recognize 1992 as a singularly significant event in the hi story of mankind . The Columbus voyages impacted on all peopl e everyw he rewhetherfor good or ill , whether immed iately or later. Before 1492, all world maps everyw here had edges. Ju st thirty years later, Magellan 's voyage of circumnavigation gave us a global world , unmi stakably a world with no edges.

The Age of Discovery ended millennia of isolation for the Americas. But it also brought eastern Asia, Australi a, the Arctic and the Pacific Islands into the world 's traffics. Within an eyeblink of history, the world was made one.

But, exactly what are we to commemorate in 1992, and how shou ld we commemorate it?

The National Maritime Hi storical Society has given this some thought and has taken counsel with the leaders of two museums parti cul arl y close to my own heart: Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and South Street Seaport Museum in New York. (I have the honor of servi ng both these centers of sea learning as tru stee.) The Society has also taken counsel of the National Maritime Alli ance and the Council of American Maritime Museums.

And thi s is how we see the Quincentenary year: First, let's recognize the courage, skill and perseverance of all the earl y explorers. It is so easy to call old Chris a bumbler who happened to sail west and eventuall y hit something. But I wonder how many who guffaw at this gibe could make their way across the Atlantic in a small boat with primiti ve instruments, then find their way back again to their point of origin, and then do it again three more times! These first voyagerswhether Norsemen probing their way along the North Atlantic coast, or Portuguese making their way down the coast of Africa and aro und the Cape of Good Hope to India, or Polynesians memori zing the stars in the sky and navigating across the vast Pacific to colonize its islands-all these voyagers shared things very important to our human story: love of adventure, the joy of discovery and SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

seaward fo r reenactments and tall ship festivals, including the gathering of the world's sail training ships in New York on July 4 in Operation Sail-an organization I also have the pleasure to serve as volunteer and trustee. America will tum its forward-looking eyes for a backward glance as we take a look at the world~ c ha ngin g events of 500 years ago. :;; Schoolchildren will be studying the Age ::> =< of Discovery, their parents may pick up ~ one of the many books being published ~ on Columbus. We' ll all probably watch ~ a documentary on TV , and a few of us !;; may even get to a museum to see a ~ spec ial ex hibit or hear a lecture. In short, we can expect interest in things maritime to flare up for a while, until a year from today, when the festivities will draw to a close and public interest will dwindle.

The National Maritime Historical Soc iety wants to keep that interest alive!

Walter Cronkite and the Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport Museum.

We'd Iike to leave our fellow Americans with something more than memories of learning, the readiness to rise to chal- fireworks and parades. Our program for lenge.

1992 includes two conferences, one on Second, let's commemorate the event the Wavertree in New York in May , for what it was, with all its joys and and the o ther on the Balc lutha in sorrows, its gains and losses. There is San Francisco in October. Here , our every sign we 're going to do better in shipkeepers will report¡on progress and 1992 than we did in 1892, when the new initiatives to save historic ships and voyaging Europeans and the native deliver their cargo of history . And we American cu ltures were presented in very wi ll be publishing a directory of 1992 stiff and unconvincing two-dimensional events with special emphasis on the work poses. As Richard Monette, a Chippewa, being done by museums and historical wrote in our magazine Sea History: "We societies in the maritime heritage field.

Let 's use thi s opportunity to get our now have the capacity to di sseminate an entire history to an entire generation in fell ow Americans involved in the marione fell swoop, to remedy past indiscre- time heritage. Let 's get them-and ourtions and to make the future more learned selves-into the act of history . How? and more hopeful. Let us begin with Join your local maritime museum, sub1492 .. . Let us be candid ... and, in 1992, scribe to a sail training organization, let us set sail together. " American Indi- attend lectures, get involved in the rich , ans are an utterly vital part of the story , enthralling heritage of seafaring! You as the Celts are an imperishable part of wi ll be glad that you did-you really the story of England . Pause a moment to will.

Take it from me! I got a little bit look at the case of the Celts. They were established in the British Isles for centu- involved and found that I was signing on ries before the Germanic Anglo-Saxons for the voyage of a lifetime-or, to be came in to seize the land with their iron more accurate, many lifetimes, many swords and plows. The Celts lost almost ships, many languages, different peoples all their land . But anyone who does not of similar hopes and dreams, and alsee their presence in all things English ways, always the challenge of wide hotoday is having serious perceptual prob- rizons and fresh landfalls-the ultimate lems. The fact is that American soc iety challenge of seafaring. D has a tremendous opportunity to learn and benefit from the American Indian Mr. Cronkite, after a long and distinguished career in radio and television renaissance that is underway today.

And, thi rd, let 's take advantage of the newscasting, is now special corresponopportunity that is open ing before us to dent for CBS-TV News and maintains a strengthen the maritime heritage. Next lively interest and active participation in year the eyes of America wi ll be turned the maritime heritage.

9

COLUMBUS QUINCENTENARY

What's Happening in 1992 On the morning of October 13 the replicas Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria were on their way, departing the Port of Palos, Spain, and moving slowly into the Atlantic towards the Canary Islands, retracing the route of Columbus's first voyage. Of the hundreds of commemorative events planned for the quincentennial year, the appearance of these Spanish-built replicas at eighteen different North American ports, from February through December, will be among the most visible, and memorable.

And while the cultural impact of Columbus's original voyage is being considered by educators, academics, indigenous peoples and citizens alike, the presence of these three historic replicas-and a host of sailing vessels from around the worldwiU bring special attention to the history of seafaring and sea exploration.

Fresh from a highly successful 1990-91 European tour, in which 2.4 million people came to see the replicas, the caravels embarked October 13 on a voyage which includes a tour of the Caribbean before reaching the continental US. They will visit San Salvador, Columbus's probable first landfall, Santo Domingo, and San Juan , Puerto Rico, where the ships will spend Christmas and usher in the New Year.

The caravels will also star in Universal Studio's and Alexander Salkind's production of "Christopher Columbus, the Movie." The tour and an accompanying cultural and educational program is being coordinated by Spain '92, the Spanish government's US representative.

Holding a large audience also will be the Grand Regatta Columbus '92, which will bring an international fleet of traditional sailing vessels to the US, and the four major Tall Ship Parades in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most closely watched by tall ship lovers, especially those who witnessed the Operation Sail events of 1986 and 1976, will be the 1992 OpSail in New York. Can the July 4th tall ship parade exceed in majesty its predecessors, the American Bicentennial or Salute to Liberty parades? In answer to this the Madrid-based Grand Regatta Organizing Committee reports in excess of 120 sailing vessels from all over the world committed to sailing in company on this epic passage, and OpSail expects 25 Class A vessels to reach New York.

The fleet leaves Cadiz, Spain, April 29, to arrive in San Juan by June 10.

10

by Kevin Haydon From there it is on to New York by July 4 and Boston by July 12. Many vessels are expected to continue in the Regatta to Liverpool, leaving Boston on August 16, butothers will remain in North American waters longer.

According to organizers, the main purpose of the Regatta is to help foster friendship among crews and between them and the inhabitants of the ports where the ships will be calling. But winning is an inevitable aim in any competition, so the ships will be racing-bringing to North American waters a touch of the

planning Tall Ship Rallies to bring American vessels and crews into contact with their international counterparts.

"The events of 1992 are very important to us," says AST A co-chair David Brink.

"They will, of course, focus the American public's interest on sail training, and we should be prepared for that opportunity." The proposed 1992 rallies include Chesapeake Bay, June 19-28, Boston to Newport, July 11-19; Southern California, September 19-27; and San Francisco Bay, October 10-18. AST A is also collaborating with ST A on a technical seminar designed to share sail training expertise from around the world, and working to help sail trainees get on vessels to participate in Rally and Regatta events.

As anybody in the ship preservation world knows, one historic replica begets another, so, meeting the Santa Maria, Nina and Pinta in New "' YorkJuly4will be two of America's i1' most beautiful reconstructions, the z ~ usually dock-bound Susan Constant "' from the Jamestown Settlement and @ Mayflower II from Plimoth Plantation. iE Other maritime heritage organiza~-'----' tions are using the spotli ght also to -------------~ present their collections. In Virginia, Caravel Port Visits in 1992 The Mariners ' Museum opens in March Miami Feb. 14-March 1 an "Age of Exploration Gallery," lookHouston March 13-22 ing at the development in technology , New Orleans March 27-29 shipbuilding, navigation and cartograSt. Augustine April 3-19 phy that lead to the explorations of the Charleston April 23-25 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. In the Norfolk VA May 5-10 Pacific Northwest, quincentenary celBoston May 22-June 7 ebrations coincide with the region's own Newport June 12-14 Bicentennial celebrations. British Columbia, Washington and Oregon are New York June 19-July 12 Philadelpia July 24-Aug. 9 jointly sponsoring maritime events to Wilmington Aug. 14-16 commemorate and re-enact the voyages of Vancouver, Grey, Galiano and de Baltimore Aug. 21-30 San Francisco Oct. 2-25 Fuca. In New York, the Intrepid SeaAir-Space Museum's "Year of ColumSan Luis Obispo Oct. 30-Nov. 1 bus" program, opening May 1992, will Los Angeles Nov. 6-29 San Juan de Capistrano Dec. 4-6 give special attention to the Italian explorers San Diego Dec. 11 -20 Vespucci, Verrazzano and Cabatti (Cabot).

How do you stay abreast of the broad Cutty Sark Tall Ship Races of Europe. reach of quincentenary activities? In its Using the expertise of the Sail Train- role as coordinator of and facilitator for ing Association of Great Britain (ST A), quincentenary events, the Christopher each vessel will be assigned a time cor- Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Comrection factor and the fleet will be di- mission is keeping a "Quincentenary vided into three classes: Class A-ves- Calendar of Programs and Events." A sels over 160-ft in length; Class B- copy of this computerized collection, vessels of between 100- and 160-ft available from the Commission 's length; and Class C-all other ships with Washington office, is a good resource. a minimun waterline length of 30-ft.

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11

REDISCOVERING COLUMBUS, PART

VI:

Looking for Japan-in the Caribbean

by Peter Stanford

To the sailors it was dry, steady land they staggered about on, like dancing bears, after their long weeks at sea. It was welcoming and wondering looks from friendly naked men of extraordinarily polite manners and from captivating women.

To the Admiral-for he now could take this title, having found the farshoreoftheOcean Sea-it was these things, plus the exultation of having found the Indies by a new route never successfully tried before. This was a discovery he correctly felt to be a world-changing triumph for his sovereigns. Try all that, with the steady Trade Winds blowing, northeast in the morning, veering southeast in the afternoons as the day warmed up, and the wealth ofCipango (Marco Polo 's fabled Japan, where houses were roofed in gold) just around the comer!

It was good to be alive, discoveri ng new peoples, with great things in the offing. Columbus, however, could not afford to dilly-dally, nor did he want to. He knew he had to do two things to succeed in his voyage: bring back what wealth he could, and open a trade route to China and the spice islands of the Indies, perhaps by way of Japan, if this seemed advisable.

According to his calculations, he should have been near China, and he believed (with the rest of Europe) that Japan was a good 1500 miles nearer Europe than China. In other words, if he was in the vicinity of Japan, as he soon dec ided he was, that meant he still had to go half again as far as he'd come to get to China. Yet, he also kept in mind the possibility that he'd overshot Japan, and he speaks often of expecting to run into emissaries of the Great Khan-being unaware, as apparently most Europeans were, that the Great Khan had ceased to exist, Tartar rule in China having ended more than 100 years earlier.

It is difficult for us today to conceive a world in whi ch news of the end of the world's greatest empire would fail to reach educated people in Europe for over a century; it is difficult also to conceive of Columbus believing he was in Asia when we know so well that he was in the Americas, turning up islands and coastlines so very familiar to us, as he found his way among lands utterly new to him .

A favored descriptive for these next weeks and months of his sailing is to say "he blundered his way." I pause on this matter only to counsel readers to get this notion out of their heads, along with the underlying attitude of ridicule. Do this not for Columbus's sake but for your own! What is the point of following his voyage and his discoveries if you are not prepared to share his world? Let's endeavor to share his joys, confusions and disappointments as he opened up a quarter of the globe utterly unknown to the most learned people of the wide-awake Renaissance world he came from.

Columbus may not have been the first European to arrive among these islands that gird the Caribbean, but he was certain) y the first to get there and come back to tell the tale. And he knew he was the first, and that the tale he told would lead to a new age in ocean trade. But, ifhe failed to bring back the goods-namely, gold and other evidences of local wealth and of having reached Japan or China-the voyage would be a practical dead end for him and for his patrons.

*****

So Columbus ended up spending only one full day and parts of two others in the island he called San Salvador. Despite the interest he took in the cotton which the natives grew on the island and traded, and the small gold ornaments the natives wore, he noted in his journal at the end of his one full day 's stay, Saturday, October 13: " in order not to lose time, I want to go to see if I can find the island of Cipango." So began a 12

three-month peregrination through several of the Bahama Islands, along the coast of Cuba, and finally to Haiti , where he was to make hi s departure for Spain early in the fo llowing year.

Columbus took with him six Taino Indians. They did not want to go with him and made several attempts to escape, sometimes with the help of other Indians. But, curi ously enough, relations with these captives were friendly, apparently on both sides; on several occasions the captives advised other peaceful Indians not to run away, but to stay and meet with the Spanish. Among the Bronze Age Mediterranean peoples we know this drafting of locals went on all the time, and some sort of compelled service like thi s might have been known to the Tainos and accepted by them. One thing certain was that this drafting of guides did not alarm the Tainos; seeing the draftees seemed to reassure other Tainos.

Another thing we can be quite certain of is that the Tai nos knew what real oppression and kidnapping was. Their Carib neighbors, pushing up from the south along the island chain, attacked the Taino people savagely, killing unresisting people of all ages and carrying off select yo ung women. Columbus's journals make clearthat what these Tai no captives were telling the other Tai no people they met was, in effect: Don 't worry, these are not Caribs.

The second island Columbus reached, on October 16, he named Santa Maria de la Conception, for the Virgin Mary .

Two of the Tainos escaped here, and Columbus did not stay long , for fear he would lose them all. He released one Tai no his sai lors had grabbed, in order, as he quite openly says, to spread the idea that the men he had with him had done him some harm , and thatthat was why they were held captive. And between this island and the next one, the Santa Maria picked up a single native in a canoe. They brought him aboard with his canoe, fed him and released him at the end of their passage, at an island which Columbus called Fernandina, after his patron king.

Most scholars agree Fernandina is Long Island in the Bahamas. Columbus was working hi s way south and west to find Cipango. His journal reflects the excitement, still on him, of walking strange land. Going for water, he notes: "And because it was a bit far I stopped for a period of two hours and in this time I also walked among those trees, which were more beautiful to see than any other thing that has ever been seen, seeing as much verdure and in such degree as in the month of May in Andal usia. And all the trees are as different from ours as day from night; and also the fruits and grasses and stones and everything."

There is continued argument and uncertainty about where Columbus went next- full agreement on where he is from day to day is gained when he reached the big main islands of Cuba and Haiti. These arguments have a very unfortunate a-historical effect; they convey the impression that where he was wasn't real, because we can't swear to its location on a map.

Uncertainty is all aro und us in our own lives. Are we unable to handle it in the past because time past is different, somehow, from time we ari: living through or time to come? But Columbus knew very well where he was from day to day and from moment to moment-he just couldn't relate these islands to the rest of the known world.

The seasonal rains had come-that was very real, and Columbus complained of it. The regular Trade Wind breezes faltered. Columbus wrote down enormous detail about the lands he was in and the sea he traversed. At one point, in the entry for October 19, he explains to his sovereigns: SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

With her mainmast chopped away in a vain attempt to lighten her, the Santa Maria is stripped of gear and cargo by Europeans and Indians working together. Painting by Richard Schlecht.

"I am not taking pains to see much in detail because I could not do it in fifty years and because I want to see and explore as much as I can so I can return to Your Highnesses in April , Our Lord pleasing. It is true that, finding where there is gold or spices in quantity, I will stay until I get as much of it as I can. And for this reason I do nothing but go forward . .. ."

As Columbus led his ships through these distinctly not mythical or uncertain islands, he kept looking for the civilizations of Asia, and on October 2 1 he recorded hi s intention to "leave for another very large island I believe must be Cipango." He noted that the natives called it "Colba," and that: "In it they say there are many and very large ships and many traders. And from this island another which they call Bohio ... and depending on whether I find a quantity of gold or spices, I will decide what I am to do.

"But," he added , "I have already decided to go to the mainland and to the city of Quin say and give Your Highnesses' letters to the Grand Khan and to ask for, and to come with, a reply ."

Well , all thi s never happened, of course. The Chinese city of Quinsay (Hangchow) was thousands of miles away across the wide Pacific, and, as noted earlier, it had been more than a hundred years since a Grand Khan had ruled in China.

Colba, as you might have guessed, was Cuba; Bohio was the word for a Taino hut (a term still alive in Cuba today) , which was applied to the island of Haiti (which Columbus named Hispaniola) evidently because the Taino felt this was their homeland island , their central hearth , though at this time, the big, mountainous island was partly in the grip of the Taino 's deadly enemies, the Caribs-as was much of Cuba.

Against thi s background of Columbus's goals and intentions, and the actualities of the natives' situation, the main events of Columbus's cruise through the islands fall into place.

On the Coasts of Cuba and Haiti In Cuba, Columbus found a mountainous country quite different from the Bahamas. Columbus initially and later insisted Cuba was not an island at all , but part of mainland Asia. Here, by all the saints, he would find the Grand Khan . The continual Indian talk of oppressors round about led him evidently to suppose the Grand Khan was the oppressor; hearing of a strong local king whom the Indians liked and admired, he seems to have conceived the idea of making this king an ally. On Friday, November 2, he put together a delegation to go inland in Cuba to meet the king. The four-man expedition included Lui s de Torres, the converted Spanish Jew , who was said to know Hebrew, Chaldean and "even a little Arabic," and one of the Taino guides from Guanahani or San Salvador, plus another Spaniard and a local Indian. Three days later, the emissaries returned; they had found not the court of a great king, but a village of a few hundred inhabitants living in huts. There were cordially received, even with honor- they told of women kissing them and feeling their bodies to see if they were really the same flesh and blood. And on the road they found out what the dried leaves the natives had been offering them was for; they were tobacco, a drug unknown to Europeans, which in the next few hundred years was to take Europe by storm.

Perhaps a little discouraged, Columbus resolved to "go to the southeast to seek gold and spices and discover land."

But Martin Alonso Pinzon, the proud and truculent captain of the Pinta , had had enough of thi s jogging along the coast, with occasional doublings back. Sometime around daybreak on November 22, when the fleet was returning from a long SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

seaward leg to the north to free its wind and get on down the coast, Martin Alonso caught a draft of the morning breeze and made off to the eastward, headed for the island of Great Inagua.

There, his Taino guide had said he would find gold.

Columbus held on to the southward , sagging off in the new slant of wind to land where he had been before. Martin Alonso's brother, Vicente Yanez Pinzon, in the Nifia , held on loyally in the slow-moving Santa Maria's wake.

Making his way eastward along the north coast of Cuba, Columbus finally crossed the Windward Passage to Haiti and began his usual crawl along the Haiti an coast, working his way eastward against breezes that blew fresh out of the east, the direction they were trying to go. The sea kicked up by these vigorous Trades made slow going for the bluff-bowed Santa Maria particularly, and the loyal Nifia had to rein herself in to keep in company, though sometimes she was sent scouting out the lay of the land ahead. An insidious steady set of current to the westward put further brakes on their progress.

But, Columbus accepted these conditions of navigation , which would drive a modem sailor to distraction, and he rejoiced in each crystalline stream and pretty cove he came across as his ship moved up the coast, like some great browsing creature. He rejoiced in the natives, considering them more advanced than the nati ves of Cuba, and finding all kinds of pleasant things to say about their handsome appearance and gracious ways. And, at last, in Haiti, he met the authority he had been seeking , a native authority he came to respect and even admire, despite the fact that it did not open for him the road to Ci pan go or the great Asian cities he sought, or even the spice islands.

In mid-November, a yo ung king, aged about 21, came aboard with his retainers and counselors-a composed young man of few words and superb control. When Spanish food was produced, he would take just one mouthful and pass it on to his counselors, who continuously showed him the utmost respect.

Columbus was deeply impressed with this young leader and entertained him royally during the Feast of the Annunciation on December 18. The Santa Maria and her consort Nifia dressed ship, with banners hung out and salutes fired with the great guns. This did not upset the young king, who took it all in with composure and pleasure. Clearly, he and the Spanish shared a sense of occasion!

And the king must have passed on a good word to his overlord, the ¡cacique or chief of all the tribes in northwest Haiti, for when Columbus met this chief, Cuacanagari, he was greeted with open arms.

Behind the scenes, however, there is no question that Columbus maintained a hidden agenda, one leading ultimately to the enslavement and desolation of all these peoples and their

13

REDISCOVERING COLUMBUS,

p ART VI

ways. His journal, written for the eyes of his sovereigns, sets forth the case with (to our eyes) brutal candor: "They bear no arms and are all unprotected and so very cowardly that a thousand would not face three; so they are fit to be ordered about and made to work, to sow and do aught else that may be needed, and you may build towns and teach them to go clothed and to adopt our customs."

Reading words like these, one comes to feel that Columbus had no conception of the evils he was getting into. In his eyes, bringing the natives into the family of Christendom, getting them into clothes and houses and all the paraphernalia of civilization more than excused any coercion used. The Christian Church in Spain had been for centuries a church in arms, preaching a perpetual holy crusade to drive the Moslems out of Spain-adding, in a horrible postscript when the last Moslems were vanquished, the exile, conversion or killing of all Spain 'sJewish population. A warrior class had grown up in the course of these wars , which expected to be sustained on the labor of subject peoples wherever they rode.

But Las Casas, friend of Columbus and transcriber of his journal, saw the evil in these words. He said: "Note here, that the natural, simple and kind gentleness and humble condition of the Indians, and want of arms or protection, gave the Spaniards the insolence to hold them of little account, and to impose on them the harshest tasks they could, and to become glutted with oppression ... " Las Casas, of course, lived on to see the full , terrible flowering of this European oppression of the first Americans; but he went on to point out in his stern commentary that Columbus himself was led on into evil by these ideas.

"And sure it is that here the Admiral enlarged himself in speech more than he should, and that what he here conceived and set forth from hi s lips was the beginning of the ill usage he afterwards inflicted upon them. " But in December 1492, these tragic developments were only seeds in men's minds, as Columbus wrote his notes up in the creaking, swaying cabin of the Santa Maria riding at anchor in coves and inlets along the coast. In the world of wind and sunlight outside the wooden chamber where these words were written, all was joy and festivity. On December 22 and 23,just before Christmas, Columbus estimated 1000 Indians came out by canoe to board the Santa Maria, though she lay more than a mile offshore. A further 500 swam out, to offer bits of gold or what they had and to accept hawk 's bells and other trinkets from the sailors.

Crew fatigue may have been a factor in what happened next. Columbus had planned to celebrate Christmas in Guacanagari 's village up the coast, at the cacique 's invitation.

Writing up his journal, Columbus hit upon the idea that the natives' Cibao (the name still used for the central highlands of Haiti) was Cipango-at last! And the cacique's message mentioned gold, which the natives had learned was the one thing the Europeans really wanted. So, as Morison aptly remarks , "after inditing another tribute to the kindness, generosity and 'singularly loving behavior' of the Indians whom he was planning to enslave, Columbus took his departure . .. ."

The fleet left before sunrise on Christmas Eve, December 24 to catch the early land breeze. There followed a day of wearisome tacking into light airs. By nightfall at the end of the long day , the Santa Maria and Nina were off the lofty headland of Cape Haitien, which Columbus named Punta Santa. When the watch changed at 11 PM, the ships were just a league past the 14

cape. The Santa Maria crept along, following the sails of the Nina, dimly visible in the faint moonlight. Her people, including the master, Juan de la Cosa, turned in. The helmsman , left without an officer and feeling overcome with sleep, got the ship's boy to relieve him. At midnight when the ship slides up on a sandbank, the boy is apparently the only person awake. He cries out as he feels the rudder grate against the sand.

Columbus is on deck in a flash, ahead of La Cosa. He orders the master to board the big ship's boat, which they are towing, and to run out an anchor to haul the vessel off-there is not a moment to lose, for the swell already is lifting the ship up and setting her down further up the shoaling bank. But La Cosa does an incomprehensible thing-he gathers up some of the Basque crew, boards the launch and simply rows away toward the Nina, abandoning the Santa Maria to her fate. Vicente Yanez, aboard the Nina, has already sent a boat off toward the big ship. When La Cosa comes alongside the Nina, he orders him back to his ship.

But it is too late to save the Santa Maria. Bumping on the hard sand, the heavy ship starts her seams and soon is filling with water. During the next days, Guacanagari brings his people to help unload the wreck, and, as Columbus notes, every scrap is recovered and piled on the beach with nothing missing through theft. The cacique, seeing Columbus afflicted , gives gold to cheer him-and Columbus does cheer up.

He decides this catastrophic shipwreck on Christmas Day is a gift from God. He will build a fort ashore from the ship 's timbers and man it with the people who can't be fitted aboard the little Nina for the long voyage home.

Fortunately for Columbus, the ship's people fell in with this idea, and there was competition to see who would get to stay on those friendly shores and simply gather gold from the biddable population, until the next Spanish ships came by.

Diego de Harana, cousin of Columbus's mistress Beatriz, undertook to lead the shore party, composed of 39 men counting himself.

Columbus and Guacanagari had a grand farewell party on January 2, with the Nina firing her cannon at the hulk of the Santa Maria, partly to entertain Guacanagari, but surely also to impress the watchful natives with European firepower.

Anti-climactically , a foul wind delayed the Nina's departure until January 4, when, sending her boat ahead to guide her carefully through the coral reef, the caravel put to sea. Two days later, she met the Pinta sailing gaily down toward her. An unrepentant Martin Alonso Pinzon came aboard the Nina, giving reasons for his absence which Columbus notes " were all false." Columbus observed bitterly that "with much insolence and greed he parted from him ," adding that he didn ' t know what Pinzon 's insolence and greed stemmed fromwhich we may well believe. He had no idea what had gone wrong.

The sad truth is that Columbus did not excel in inspiring loyalty from the men he sailed with. Like many visionaries, he upset, humiliated and angered people he worked with. He was right in most of his disagreements with them-but that is not an answer to the problem. And it clearly was a problem.

Whatever one thinks of the Admiral and his captains, they faced an ultimate testing of themselves, their crews and their ships in the winter North Atlantic that whispered and rustled before them in a rising west wind as they weighed anchor in the pre-dawn darkness of January 16, 1993 and stood away for Spain. D SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

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Mark Myers and West Country Seafaring

by Peter Stanford captions by Mark Myers Mark was born in 1945 and grew up in the sea-haunted city of San Francisco. San Francisco was a last refuge of deepwater sailing ships and seamen, and from an early age Mark made it his business to know both. He began sketching and painting the ships, and today it is a main strength of his work that he does this from a seamanly viewpoint.

More than that, he got to know Karl Kortum, director of the then San Francisco Maritime Museum, himself veteran of a Cape Horn passage in the last Yankee down-easter Kaiulani, and Karl, sensing the reality of Mark's interest, introduced him to the wider world of seafaring. Mark came to New York to get to know the port the Cape Homers came from and made himself very useful to Norma Stanford and me, working in the dust and confusion of the fledgling South Street Seaport Museum. He went on to England, sailing with Alan Villiers in a couple of his ventures with vessels authentically rigged (this Villiers insisted on) for the movies, and later with Adrian Small in the replica topsail ketch Nonsuch. Using his artist's pen, he wrote for us a charming account of his visit with Adrian in the Nonsuch to the enchanted port of Exeter in the West Country, which appeared in Sea History 33.

And in the meantime, while all this was going on , Mark fell in love with a West Country girl, married her and settled down in this ultimate seafaring community, where he and his wife live in an old forge on the north coast of Cornwall today, with two teenage daughters and a young son.

In that wet windy corner of the ocean world, he designed and illustrated John Harland ' s great work Seamanship in the Age of Sail, wherein you may discover such mysteries as how to boxhaul your ship if short of sea room. And he achieved the distinction of being elected vice president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists.

There is a singular appropriateness to the basic movement

of Mark's life, as there is to every line he draws in a sketch or painting. Settled in the country of Drake and Hawkins, he sits where the trail of English-speaking seafaring runs home. This pleasant land with its deep-sunken lanes seems to run by a different clock; it is in touch with the tides of time, never far from the smell of the eternally challenging sea. In a pub you might hear of the poor American boys drowned when the German E-boats got loose among the landing craft in a D-Day rehearsal at Salcombe, or smugglers beaching their craft on moonless nights in one of the tiny coves along this rocky, indented coast, or wrecks like the great American schooner Thomas W. Lawson, cast ashore in the Scillies because the skipper wouldn't take a tow, or where the money went from Drake's fantastic raids against the Spanish Empire, and then, always, the simple workaday but ever at risk voyaging of topsail schooners and fishing craft of all kinds, and steamers with salt-caked stacks. The memories run together but do not blur.

In Appledore last year, your editor saw Mark's show , "Western Approaches," an exhibit radiant with the excitements of seafaring and the sureness of touch of an artist who has come home, home being defined as the place where people say: "He is one of us." Mark ' s countrymen can say that with the special meaning: He speaks for us.

Everything in these pages, then, is real-more real than any camera could make it. When I was with Mark in Devon, the discussion of the paintings began with his explaining to me that the foremast sails were all let fly in "The Black Rocks" in order to bring the ship's head up faster, then flowed into a beer in the adjoining pub.

"You've changed since the sixties," I said to him, thinking of the kid that showed up one day in South Street and of the accurate but stiff pictures he drew. "Well, I've come home now," he said.

Would anyone quarrel with that? D

The brigantine Clio was built at Appledore for the Newfoundland trade in 1894, one of the toughest runs in the business for a small wooden sailing ship. She is seen here close hauled in heavy weather, clawing to the westward, which is perhaps how she met her end. The Clio went missing after only two voyages. She was last seen passing Gibraltar in early December, 1895, bound fo r St. Johns with salt from Alicante. "To the Westward," acrylic on canvas board, 8 x JO

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1

17

This is a view from "eighteen hundred and wartime," when the Dockyard at Plymouth was kept at full stretch building, repairing and provisioning His Majesty's ships in the long sea war with France. We see a perfectly miserable morning with southerly gales and rain lashing up the Hamoaze. Lying off the Dockyard, to the left, are a damaged 74-gun ship with her f oretopmast struck and, ahead of her, a threedecker taking on stores. Some smaller warships lie over on the Cornish side. Scudding between the two groups is a gale-tossed brig in the distance and a hard-pressed waterman's boat in the f oreground.

"Blowing Southerly, Hamoaze ," watercolor, 11 x 16 inches.

The Scillies pilot gigs are aristocrats among pulling boats. Slender, f ast and amazingly seaworthy, this age-old type is enjoying a renaissance today, thanks to the skills of Co rnish boa /builders and the keenness of the oarsmen in a growing number of ports. Here is the Empress of St. Martins , built by the Peters of St. Mawes and employed f or years in piloting, salvage and gene ral carrying between the islands . "St. Martins Gig Empress, " water-color, 11 x 14 inches.

18

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

The warm light of a calm summer morningf ills the harbor in this view of turn -of -the-century Padstow. Few people are about at this early hour, yet with coasters and fishermen fillin g the port, it will not be long before the old Cornish quays are humming with life. "Morning Light , Padstow," watercolor, 15 112 x 22 inches.

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

19

"'

A rainsquall clears away to leeward and the Black Rocks , a chain of murderous reefs six miles off the Breton coast, appear out of the murk.

Just in time, the 36-gunfrigate Jason wears short round andfires a warning gun. Such were the everyday risks for those engaged in the blockade of Brest during the Napoleonic Wars. Th e navy kept station through fair weather and f oul, and through an awesome display of seamanship, nerve and sheer endurance, the blockade was maintained f or the quarter century of the Napoleonic Wars. "The Black Rocks," watercolor, 22 x 30 inches.

The slate carrier Dinorwic steams up the estuary, a study in grey against the light.

She was a humble ship,yetf ull of character and she led a long and useful life. B uiltfor the Port Dinorwic Quarry fleet in 1892, she passed into the general coasting trade as time went on. Then in January 1934 , she broke her moorings at Bideford, stranded on a mud bank, rolled over and sank. "DinorwicBoundln ," water-color, J J x 15 inches.

20

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN l99 l

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Surrounded by Spanish warships, some of them three times her size , the Revenge fights to the death off the Western Azores . Night is fallin g, but the battle, which began that August afternoon in 1591 , still rages . Sir Richard Grenville spits defiance at the enemy , beating off each new attempt to sink or board his battered fla gship , sinking one Spanish ship and irreparably damaging another. The last f ight of the Revenge went on right through the night, until the English ship was an open , shattered wreck and the mortally wounded Grenville was carried off to the Spanish fla gship San Pablo. The painting illustrates Tennyson 's lines: "And the sun went down , and the stars came outfarover the summer sea , But never a moment ceased the fight of the one and the fifty-three" showing the battle at its height at sunset. "The One and the Fifty-Three," watercolor, 22 x 30 inches.

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1.

21

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Call (800)247-3262/NY(7 l 8)343-9575 to place your order for: Any of the above, the New 1992 Stobart issues, the Mystic Time-Limit print, or the current price list of all the Stobart issues.

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NOVEMBER 23 at 7pm FOCSLE YARNS WITH PETER STANFORD Bernie Klay and Peter and others will swap tales of the founding of South Street.

The X Seamens Institute , Stout and other relic chanteymen groups from the early days of South Street will raise their voices and your spirits.

JANUARY 25 at 7pm SHIP MODEL DINNER & CHANTEY SINGING Gabby Rosenfeld who has loads of antique models will gab about them and sell you one, but only if you insist. Klay & Woerner will sing.

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RSVP (800)247-3262/NY(718)343-9575 fax (718)347-5433 and on December 7 we will celebrate Pearl Harbor day with a SECRET RENDEZVOUS FOR JOHN STOBART Greet the Great Man & Gaze at his new issues .

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

MARINE ART NEWS In the fifty years that marine artist John foot D Building at Harbor will provide steamboat era will be on display, as will A. Noble spent in Staten Island he formed for holdings and programs and also for his two recent works, "Upriver from a uniquely strong bond with the New the Collecton 's most unusual posses- West Point" and "The Mary Powell."

York Harbor community. Enough to sion: the formerly floating studio that Newlimited-editionHudsonRiverlithomake then Borough of Staten Island Noble built from salvaged parts of old graphs will also be available. (NMHS, 5 President Anthony Gaeta say at his wake: ships. The studio will be installed in the John Walsh Blvd., Charles Point, "John, you loved Staten Island in a way "hyphen" that connects Buildings C and Peekskill NY 10566; 914 271-2177) In Philadelphia, a citywide retrospecthat makes me feel somehow wanting." D. It is currently stored at Pouch TermiNoble made the life of the harbor his nal.(JohnA.NobleCollection,270Rich- tive of the life and work of Thomas own. New York's 700-odd miles of wa- mond Terrace, Staten Island NY 10301) Eakins (1844-1916) is providing a unique terfront he referred to as "rowopportunity for curators of the Philadelphia Maritime Muboat territory," and he was seum. Eakin ' s lifelong interpart of its workaday world of sailors, fishermen, longshoreest in rowing and sailing is not men, pilots, ship brokers and widely known, but was very tug captains, a community of real. After returning to Philapeople that has not forgotten delphia from art school, his passage through their Eakins joined a Schuykill world.

River rowing club and became Beginning February of an active sailor, rower and next year the John A. Noble marshland hunter. He was also Collection will move from a keen observeroffishing and Noble's longtime residence on other river activities.

RichmondTerracetotheSnug The Museum's new exhibiti on "Thomas Eakins; ReflecHarborCultural Center, which looks out on the busy port tions on the Water," complearea of the Kill Yan Kull. menting a larger Philadelphia "It was a difficult deciTwo recent additions to the John A. Noble Collection include Museum of Art exhibition sion," says John A. Noble "Soul of Sail", above, and "Topsail Sheet Hook", below. across town, neatly serves severa! museum objectives. Eakin paintCollection director Erin Urban , " leaving this house will be wrenching, but we ings, watercolors and photographs dehope to address not only John A. Noble's picting the bustling late 19th-century Philadelphia river life, are demonstrated rich contributions to the story of American maritime life, but also interpret the with boats from the museum's growing history of Sailor's Snug Harbor and other collection of traditional wooden craft, someconstructedatthemuseum 's WorkIsland collections."

While the house with its very indishop on the Water. Eakins himselfowned vidual style-the porthole through the a Delaware ducker, a lapstrake doublefloor, the Hall of Hammers and Alleyended boat for sail and rowing. A ducker, way of Axes, the inscriptions on the railbird skiff, tuckup and rowing gig are all part of the exhibition which opened doors and the capstan on the porch-is more than mere space to hang pictures October 9 at the museum on Chestnut in, Snug Harbor embodies other dimen- For as long as the National Maritime Street in Philadelphia. D KH sions of Noble's life concerns. Twenty Historical Society has been publishing Exhibitions years ago, he was one of a small group of it, Sea History has printed a great deal Staten Islanders who were anxious about about marine art, regularly featuring art- September22-November 17, 1991 Mysthe fate of the former mariners' home ists, offering commentary and news of tic International, Mystic Maritime founded in 1833, but by the 1970s falling exhibitions. In a field that has grown Gallery's premier annual event, this year into ruin. " He said it should still belong vastly in recent years, we hope Sea His- showcasing over 120 pieces of work. to the seamen," says his friend NMHS tory has played a part, and now with the Mystic Maritime Gallery, Mystic CT President Peter Stanford. " His powerful NMHS move to much larger quarters on 06355; 203 572-8524. work in Snug Harbor's halls will imme- the banks of the Hudson we look forward diately make it a seaman's place again." to displaying the real thing in our new October 9-March 15, Thomas Eakins: Friends and collectors of John Noble gallery space. First and fittingly, an ex- Reflections on the Water. Philadelphia founded the Collection to promote and hibition and sale of William Gordon Maritime Museum, 321 Chestnut Street, preserve his work after his death in 1983, Muller's Hudson River oils opened Oc- Philadelphia PA 19106; 215 925-5439. but find that now, with a flourishing tober 12. Bill is the pre-eminent Hudson school progam, and national exhibitions, River artist and his life and work were November 17-December 31, Four Disthey don't have the room to do all they featured in our recent Hudson River is- tinguished Artists, featuring Trevor want to do. The Collection contains some sue (Summer 1991 ). Some of those deli- Chamberlain, Louis Dodd, Frank Wagner 79 lithographs, 600drawings, 6,000 pho- cate and detailed oils shown in that issue, and Rob Wadleigh.Mystic Maritime Galtos and 2,000 letters. The 5,000 square- depicting Hudson River scenes of the lery, Mystic CT 06355; 203 572-8524.

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

23

TI1 gol • n er ot l l ,s A nern dS ( up r "mg ted 'llCr f ght YE an; tro!T' l l10 I ) ]Q<7 () 1lv t r val 1t w l built tl tr s ru , !01.. n Bntair 'le' IX m Arn c Ihry wEre s1mp1v weso!T'c bo, t Ne other , ass at no ot'1er ti!T'e 4uite ).'ltppcd t 1e pub11 tfldP,rr at >r s much as did tr

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The Forgotten War Power Letters of Marque and Reprisal and the United States Constitution

by William S. Fields

Of the war powers set forth in the United States Constitution, for instance, is known to have had a part interest in at least one the most obscure today is undoubtedly the provision of Article privateering vessel.

I, Section 8 which states: "The Congress shall have Power The Continental Congress and the State governments beTo . . . grant letters of Marque and Reprisal. " No such letters gan issuing Letters of Marque soon after the commencement have been granted in well over a century and the power is now of hostilities in 1775. Throughout the Revolutionary War, considered for all practical purposes to be obsolete. To the these American privateers carried on a highly successful naval leaders of the American Revolution , however, the power was guerilla war against the British, using cargo ships fitted with an important one. Indeed, the issuance of Letters of Marque cannon, or specialized designs of "sharp-built ships," which and Reprisal played a significant role in America's struggle for were fast enough to outrun a warship, but carried enough independence, by allowing the fledgling nation to wage cred- cannon to force a merchantman's surrender. These privateers, ible "free enterprise" naval warfare against Great Britain, at a which ranged in size from the 2-gun, 15-man Chance, to the time when it could not afford a large professional navy.

24-gun, 200-man Congress, both out of Philadelphia, raided Letters of Marque and Reprisal authorized private ship- British shipping not only along the Atlantic coast, but also in owners to sail forth as privateers to seize enemy vessels. The the West Indies and in the seas around the British Isles. In the term "marque" referred to the actual commission granted by process, they often engaged British vessels much larger than the government to private individuals to take the property of a themselves. For instance, on June 12, 1780 off Sandy Hook, foreign State or its citizens as reparation for an injury commit- the little Chance fought and captured the I 0-gun, 50-man ted by that State or its citizens. The term " repri sal" meant the British sloop Comet. taking back or repossession by one's self of a thing unjustly Other famous privateers of the Revolutionary War intaken by another. As the latter term suggest, such letters were eluded the 16-gun brig Hooker from Philadelphia, the 18-gun originally issued in retaliation for a denial of justice by another ship Pilgrim out of Boston, and the 16-gun , 45-man General nation. Their issuance was usually a prelude to war.

Pickering of Salem, which on June 4, 1780 outfought the 42At the time of the framing of the Constitution, the issuance gun, 140-man British privateer Achilles in one of the most of Letters of Marque and Reprisal had long been recognized sensational sea duels in history.

The impact of the privateers upon the war effort was under international law. Grotius traced their origins back to King Herod, " [f]or whom, though it were not lawful to make probably greater than that of the regular American Navy. By war upon the Arabians, yet was it lawful for him to take prizes one estimate, they seized prizes valued at as much as $6,000,000. throughout all Arabia for the five hundred Talents due unto The losses which they inflicted upon the British resulted in him, if not paid by a certain day appointed." The great English higher insurance rates and commodity prices, and helped make the war unpopular in England. But by the end of the war, legal scholar, Sir William Blackstone, found an even earlier example of the practice in the eleventh book of the Iliad, where when the American Navy had only one surviving frigate, 449 Nestor "took a multitude of cattle, as a satisfaction for a prize privateers were still raiding British commerce. won at the Elian games by hi s father Neleus , and for debts due Privateering also provided a training ground for many men to many private subjects of the Pylian kingdom ." English who would later become di stingui shed officers in the United records show that Henry II issued privateers' licenses to States Navy. Such noted figures as Joshua Barney, John Barry, seamen of the Cinque Ports as early as 1243 and, less than two Stephen Decatur, Jr. , Edward Preble, John Rodgers, and Thomas centuries later, Henry V's Letter of Marque statute of 1416 Truxton all served as privateers during the Revolution. madeitmandatoryfortheLordChancellortoissuesuchletters In the War of 1812, privateering pl ayed an even greater to any aggrieved subject who made a proper application to the role, and Letters of Marque were issued to 500 vessels, 200 of Lord Privy Seal. The practice was so common by The battle between the Chasseur and a British sloop-of-war, by Thomas the era of the Revolution, that Elbridge Gerry 's Whitcombe. The Chasseur took a total of 30 prizes in the War of 1812. simple suggestion at the Constitutional Conven- (Co urtesy of The Peabody Museum of Salem) tion that " [s]omething ought to be inserted concerning letters of marque" resulted in the adoption of his proposed provision without any debate.

Privateering was a purely voluntary enterprise and privateers were considered to be civilians, not members of the nation 's military services . A privateer, unlike a pirate, however, had legal status, and if captured could at least in theory expect to be treated as a prisoner of war. Vessels captured by privateers were brought before an Admiralty Court for disposition. Upon appropriate proof of the vessel's enemy status, the court would order the ship and its cargo auctioned, and the proceeds paid to the privateers. While an unlucky voyage might result in a privateer being killed or captured, several seizures would often be enough to make him wealthy. Up until the middle of the nineteenth century, privateering was looked upon as a legitimate albeit risky business. George Washington, 26

S.EEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

â&#x20AC;˘

The 14-gun privateer brig Grand Turk of Salem saluting Marseilles in 18 12, a painting by Ant Roux au Marseille in 1815. (Courtesy of The Peabody Museum of Salem)

which succeeded in taking a total of 1,344 prizes. At a time when the regular American Navy was reduced to only a few

At a time when the regular American Navy was reduced to only a few vessels, no British shipping was safe from privateers. vessels, no British shipping was safe from privateers. The low , fast schooners, known as " Baltimore clippers," were particularly successful. The most famous of these was the Chasseur, which captured 20 vessels in the English Channel. Although he commanded only a single vessel, the Chasseur's captain Thomas Boyle, sent a paroled pri soner ashore with a proclamation to be posted on the bulletin at Lloyd 's of London stating: "I do, therefore, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested (possessing sufficient force), decl are all the ports, harbors, bays, creeks, rivers, inlets, outlets, islands, and seacoast of the United Kingdom of Great Brita in and Ire land in a state of strict and rigorous blockade." When seven warships were sent to chase it off, the Chasseur outran six of them and outfought the seventh . Throughout the war, the Chasseur took 30 pri zes including the 15-gun naval schooner St. Lawrence.

Other famous raiders of the War of 18 12 included the 14gun , I 15-man Yankee of Bristol , Rhode Island , which took 40 prizes valued at between three and fi ve million dollars; the 13gun , 120-man Rossie from Baltimore, which in one ninety day period took four ships, eight brigs, three schooners, and three sloops, with a total value of approximately $ 1,500,000; and the 4-gun , 90-man schooner General Armstrong of New York, famed for its attack on a powerful British naval squadron in the SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1

harbor of Fayal in the Azores . By 18 14, American privateers had captured so many British vessels that merchants in three English ports and in the West Indies were petitioning the ir government to negoti ate. As Lord Eldon pointed out, the Americans could keep thi s up forever since, unlike most war efforts, it was turning a profit.

A multitude of changes which occurred throughout the nineteenth century eventually rendered the practice of issuing Letters of Marque and Reprisal obsolete. The Declaration of Paris of 1856, ending the Crimean War, abolished privateering as a lawful means of warfare among its signatory nati ons. The United States, however, declined to join in the agreementthe then Secretary of State, William L. Marcy, explaining that to do so wo uld place the United States, with its small navy and large merchant marine, at a serious disadvantage in a war with a great power. Despite thi s stance, by the 1860's the practice of priv ateering had effectively come to an end . During the American Civil War, earl y Southern efforts at pri vateering proved for the most part to be unprofitable. The European powers had already closed their ports to privateers and the ir prizes, and the Union blockade made it impossible for them to send pri zes into Confederate ports. As a result, privateering was soon abandoned in favor of the more lucrative business of blockade-running. When the Spanish American War broke out a half century later, both Spain and the United States quick ly announced that they wo uld not authorize privateering.

Although merchant ships and seamen would continue to play an important role in America 's defense efforts, their participation would never again occur under the legal auspices of Letters of Marque and Reprisal. D 27

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U. a computer-hued Bulletin Board Sy.tem Dedicated to

Traditional Sailing Ships

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ARGO NET

BS 217-352-9859Voice 217-352-3840 ~ilfique Scienfi'fi~Instruments

The Gemmary

P. O . Box 816, Redondo Beach, Ca 90277 FAX & Ans Mach. (213) 372-5969

HATE THE TASTE OF C HLORIN E? Install an E.P.A . registered fi lter.

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You can commission an atmospheric, accurate, evocati ve shippin g or yac htin g scene at a reasonable price.

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Also origiona ls availab le inclu de, "Cull y Sark ," Waterwit ch," "Roya l Yacht Britanni a ( 1893) ," & "Port of Charl estown. "

Limited Edit ions $ 145.00 each inc. p&p.

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"R .Y . Britannia" Oils 30"x 40"

"Ice Maiden" & "The Schooner Vagra nt. "

From :Gordon Frickers, Lakeside Studio, 94 Radford Park Rd , Plymouth, Devon , PL9 9DX England. TEL: (0 11 44) 752-403344.

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AMERICAN EAGLE . ~ Jlliillu11i... ISAAC H . EVANS . .~.. LEWIS R. FRENCH ---- --""" H ERITAGE Weekly Cruises* $295 - $565 *For Brochures writ e:

Schooner Captains, Box 482T, Rockland , Me. 04841 1-800-MS-4544 or 207-594-8007

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Historic, antique U.S. Coast Survey maps from the 1800s Most American seaports and coastal waters. Reprints, too . Unique framed, great as gifts . $1 bri ng s illustrated lis ts . Specify area .

CHARTIFACTS , DSH, Box 8954 Richmond, VA 2 22 . 804 272 - 71 20

FOR SALE Old , Scarce , & Out of Print

MARITIME BOOKS at reasonable prices Send for bi-monthly li sts.

ten pound island book company 3 Center St. Gloucester, MA 01930 (508 ) 283-5299

~~~ -by MIT! Gidley

Signed and numbered prints, edition size: 400. Full color on heavyweight acid-free paper. Image size: 18"x24" From original painting, 35"x45" $60.00 until Jan 1. Delivered immediately, flat.

Phil Gidley, P.O. Box 183, Hopedale, MA 01747

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MARTIFACTS, INC. MARINE COLLECTIBLES from scrapped ships and SS. UNITED STATES. Lamps. blocks. clocks. linen. etc.

Send $1 for brochure :

MARTIFACTS, INC. P.O. Box 8604 Jacksonville. FL 32239 Tel: 904-642-3517

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

"Overlook;ng W oods and Sea"

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OPEN MID-FEBRUARY TO M I D-DECEMBER Leighton T. Sa\·illc

Your Ho st~: Dw ight B. Mai.:Cormack, Jr .

fn akbration

oftht500tl1 Annivosmy of

Chrislopher Columbus' First\byagetotheNewWorld.

THE OFFICIAL

FIRST VOYAGE STAINED GLASS AND PEWTER PLATE

fJh~A'et.-.

NAUTICAL GIFTS

~NE

ANTIQUES

Authorized by the United States Historical Society

COIU-

In 1492, a visionary man of Genoa set out on an epic voyage. Christopher Columbus dido 't ttuly know where he was going. He never knew the magnirude of his discovery, yet with his first voyage the very identity of the world was changed forever. In celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the voyage, the Society is issuing The Official Fint \byage Stai.W Gltm and Pewter Platt, an edition of 10,000.

Historical Details Come to life Tht First Voyage Stained Gltm and Pewter Platt features the fiagship Santa Maria, bearing the Rag of Spain and the Flag of the Expedition, with the initials of its royal sponsors. At the stem Ries the standard of Spain, with its stylized lion and castle (for Leon and Castile, the two divisions of 15th century Spain).

At the right is Columbus' personal c.oat of Arms, designed for him when granted the title "Admiral of the Ocean Sea?' Between these ride the Nina, the small swift caravel that was Columbus' favorite, and the larger three-masted Pinta.

Capturing the Artistry of Columbus' Era Tht First \byage Stained Gltm and Pewter Platt is crafted in the U.SA of authentic stained glass. The Stained Glass Guild artisans devote hours of detailed work I wish lo rcscrvc _ _ oflhc limi1cd-cdi1ion Firsl Voyage I Stained Glass and Pewter Plau:(s ). SI 50 eac h, payable in on each plate. They apply I+ separate I ro .. equal ;nslallments of $37.50 eac h pe r plale. The firs! layers of transparent enamels. Then installmcnl of $37.50 per pla1c is due wi1h this rcscrva1ion . the glass is kiln-fired at 1100 degrees I Th;rty-day reium p,;vilege.

Fahrenheit, at which point the colors I Please check one: and glass fuse as one. The glass round 1 D Check enclosed fo, s _ _ _ __ is then fitted into a rim of highly- I o Charge$ to: _ polished lead-free pewter. f _ VISA _ Maste.Card _ Am Ex.

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P.O. Box 369 258 Delaware Ave. Put-In-Bay, Ohio 43456 Tel: (419) 285-4231

One-of-a-kind items only.

Sorry, no catalogue.

WANTED: Fine quality Great Lakes marine antiques!

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1

-..1 and D....d-...-..1 lllliill'l\DI --..~a"-U. I Hall--...11-

Each First Voyage Stained Gltm and I Pewtu Platt is hallmarlced on the back I ofthe rim with its individual -

istry

n':-. A Certificate of Au~- I

city bearing the number will accom- : pany each plate. Each plate arrives in a gold-embossed presentation case with I aneaselfordisplay.

• 1991us11s I

No.Vhginia r rdtli'nl.S, picas~ mid -1.S't, sak ~ I I.IX ( Sfi. 75Exp. - ).per plate Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Add<ess _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Gty/ Slale/ Z;p - - - - - - - - - - Da>1;mc Phone - - - - - - - - - - -

United States Historical Sociery Ffrst & Ma;n Sts . • Dept. SH • R;chmond , VA 23219

1-800- 788-4478

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Down to the Sea-On Stamps

By William A. Coffey After a brief taste of the sea in the US Navy and a round trip to the West Coast in the S.S. Minnesotan , it was only natural , when I had signed-off and returned to my home among the West Virginia hill s, that my hobby of stamp collecting would be concentrated on collecting "seagoing" stamps. I wanted to collect stamps depicting everything pertaining to the sea-watercraft, flora , fauna, ports, aids to navi gation , flotsam and jetsam. After survey ing the fie ld I reali zed that watercraft alone would be enough to keep me busy. The title would be "The Call of the Sea." A collection of stamps like thi s, confined to stamps depicting the same subject, is known in the hobby as a " topi ca l" co llection , an inc reas in g ly popular way to collect.

The wealth of material available from which to build a collection is mindboggling to the pointofutterconfusion for the neophyte. Fortunately, with a topical collection one plots hi s own course, takes aboard only what he wants, and sets hi s own speed. I decided on the fairly obvious, a chronological hi story of the development of ships.

All maritime countries have iss ued stamps depicting watercraft common to the country, or to commemorate mari time historic events. So we have the dugout canoes of Africa and the South Pac ific, and other native watercraft to begin our story. It continues with the ship of Queen Hatshepsut of 1500 B.C. , the Greek and Roman gall eys, the Vi king longships, the cogs and hulks of the Hanseatic League, and the carracks of the Spanish and Portuguese explorers.

There follows the Golden Age of sail , the transitional sail and steam packets, and the modern age of power. Th is makes an interesting di splay of the great diversity of watercraft, and of the gradual change in ship des ign over the years.

Naval vessels are also well represented on stamps - HMS Victory , Bon Homme Richard, USFConstitution, USS Nautilus, among others, as well as naval battles from Salamis to the Falkland Islands.

The di scovery of America is the most widely commemorated maritime event, with Santa Maria appearing on more than 200 stamps. Already many co untries have issued stamps depicting numerous aspects of the voyages in anticipation of the 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of America in 1992.

Other signifi cant maritime events have been commemorated with multi 30

nation stamp issues. So many stamps were issued for the American Bicentenni al that I was able to com pi le a comprehensive hi story of the Ships of the American Revolution on stamps. It beg ins with the schooner Hannah , one of the first of George Washington 's little fl eet, includes ships of the Continental, British, and French navies, and concludes with the postlude battle of Les Saintes. One of our researchers is still working on the identity of three ships of the French navy on an Ivory Coast stamp.

Other maritime events so honored include the Bicente nnial of Captain Cook 's Voyages, the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia, the mutiny on the Bounty, Operation Sail ' 76 , and the America 's Cup Race of 1987. With these few, we have bare ly wet our feet.

The great quantity and diversity of the material avai Iable suggests that there are many ways in which one may build a collection of ships on stamps. Some of the outstanding collections I have seen are "Native Watercraft", " Ships of the Royal Navy", " Romance of the Seas", " New York: World City" (the port), "Square Sails on Yards", and " 150Years of Passenger Ships". When an 81-year old lady in Christchurch, New Zealand sat me down to view her collection, she broke out 12 ring binders, each containing a different co ll ection-"Captain Cook", "Sea Rescues", "Cable Laying", and others equally interesting. How one collects ship stamps is limited only by his interests and imagination.

With the recent proliferation of national maritime subjects on stamps it is possible to study maritime hi story in all parts of the world and all phases of the BAHAMAS subject, such as ex ploration , colonization, shipping, and the ebb and flow of sea power among nations.

But what of these tin y pictures of ships on stamps? The majority are excellent representations of the subjects done by artists skilled in the art of miniaturization . Many designs have been taken from paintings and in themselves are works of art. Modern ship des igns are usually taken from photograph s. A few are crude From the top: bark Eber (1870); TS drawings, and some are inaccurate , Libertad (1963 ); Galleon Elizabeth graphicall y and hi storica lly. In a few Jonas (1559 ); SS France (1962) ; RMS instances the wrong ship has been deQueen Elizabeth (1940) ; SS Great picted, to the embarrassment of the issuBritain ( 1886) ing postal authority. In their small way, ship stamps help preserve our maritime of ship stamps have banded together to history while bringing it to the attention promote our hobby and to increase our of the populace. know ledge through the exchange of inAs might be expected, we collectors form ation. The Ships on Stamps Un it of S:EA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 199 1

the American Topical Assoc iation has almost 300 members in 25 countries.

There are similar groups overseas. "The Call of the Sea" had to be laid up whe n I was called toeditthe Unit journal Watercraft Philately, but my labors have been richly rewarded by the correspondi ng friend s I have made around the world , and the personal visits with them during our travels.

Collectors of ships on stamps-acti ve and retired professional seamen , yachtsmen, men and women in all walks of life-enjoy a vicarious sea-going experi ence as they research a ship and create another page of maritime hi story in miniature. They are never too o ld to enjoy the zest for the quest. D

Mr. Coffey joined the Navy in 1926, as a boot seaman on the battleship T exas, and later graduated from the US Naval Academy. He has been president of the Ships on Stamps Unit of the American Topical Association for 16 years, and until recently the editor of the Unit bimonthly journal Watercraft Philately.

Mr. Coffey is happy to answer questions and can be reached care of Sea History .

NOWYOUCANTEU THETIDE As EAsILY As THE TIME. This remarkableinstrument is the first quartz sport watchtotell thetide.TheKneger®Tidal Chronometer '" display actuallyshows youthe stateof the tides and duplicates theshapeof themoon.

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The Dromedary Ship Modeler's Center We are specialist suppliers for all aspects of the model boating scene .

(Not cars, trains, planes .) We can start you off with basic kits or provide you with plans and materials .

Our range also covers working or static models, and we carry an extensive selection of fittings for all types of ships and boats.

• a tru ly luxuri ous and uniqu e instrument handm ade by British craftsmen from solid brass with cases in mahogany, walnu t or teak • a deligh tfu ll y attracti ve accessory fo r the home, offic e or club • limi ted edition each with its own seri al number and cert ificate

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SHIPNOTES,SEAPORT &MUSEUMNEWS Philadelphia, Built to Sail!

The original Philadelphia , a gunboat in the Benedict Arnold fleet of 1776 that fought the British on Lake Champlain, was lifted from the bottom of Lake Champlain in 1935 (see Sea History 53) and is exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution. But now a Philadelphia replica, under construction for the last three years at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Basin View VT, has been launched. Much is being learnt about vessels of her type. "First of all," says museum director Art Kohn , "getti ng to know the boat as a sailing vessel is a new relationship after three years of seeing her as a stationary object. Part of what we ' re learning is the pragmatism of the original builders who rigged it just enough to get it to the battle. But it sails quite well. "

The 53-ft single-mast "gundolo" carries a square rig mainsail and topsail.

The unusual-looking vessel will be the centerpiece of the museum 's education program and will make summer tours of Lake Champlain sites. (LCMM, Basin Harbor VT 05491)

Oldest CG Cutter to Retire For 49 of her 51 years active service, the Coast Guard 's oldest cutter, Fir, has gone about her business from her Seattle WA base. She was decommissioned on October 1, but her hometown does not want to let her go. The Coast Guard is working to get the Fir historic landmark status and establish an endowment to cover the annual costs of operating her as 32

History Sets Sail in a New Age Clipper Ship Thirty-six thousand square feet of white Dacron sail bellied out over the sparkling waters of the Solent on a rare day in May 1991. The 360-ft, four-masted barkentine Star Flyer, the first commercial square-rigger to be given a "Plus 100 A-1" rating

by Lloyd 's RegisterofShipping since 1911 , was about to make a crossing of the Atlantic to enter cruise service in the Caribbean.

This tallest of the tall ships (her masts rise 226-ft) had crossed the English Channel from Belgium, where the yard of Langerbrugge in Ghent had built her in a record 14 months. Since she was launched one cold Saturday in January, riggers, joinermen, electricians, and welders had taken those fast lines inspired by Donald McKay 's 19th-century clippers, built for cargo, and worked into her steel hull a late 20th century luxury vessel.

Why should thi s anachronism happen?

How could it happen? Several years ago owner Mikael Krafft, yachtsman and shipping entrepreneur, reached back into his past in Mariehamn, Sweden, when as a boy he had climbed aboard the decks of the fourmasted bark Pommern, part of the last famous fleet of sq uare-riggers that made up Gustaf Ericsson's grain fleet. He brought a crew together, including the young naval architect Robert McFarlane, to help realize that dream. Together they and others designed this sai ling ship, one with old-fashioned lines and a traditional rig but able to be sailed with modern ease.

She 's fast, easy, and sea-kindly. Under sai l, the 3,000-ton Star Flyer can exceed 20 knots, partly because of her length-to-beam ratio of 6: 1. The barkentine ri g allows her to be sailed with a crew of only six, thanks to her electronic-hydraulic rollerfurling yards for the five courses of squaresails, the rig's only salute to the modem age. The remaining eleven sails Uibs, fishermen, staysails, and spanker) are all fore and aft, easily handled. And should wind fail , her auxiliary diesel engine can push her at 12 knots, or, when powered by one of the electric generators, 6 knots. A bowthruster allows her to dock on her own without the aid of a tug for those times when she comes into her home port, St. Martin. She will be anchoring routinely, thanks to an 18.5-foot draft that allows her to seek out small harbors to drop her two 3,000lb. high-tensile stockless anchors.

It is down to the sea again for new sai ling ships. In the last ten years some notable hulls have been launched. There is the electronically automated sailing cruise ship Wind Star. And, to speak just of barkentines, there are the training ships such as Bulgaria's Kaliakra, and Poland 's Orp Iskra, recently launched. And following next year in Star Flyer's wake will be a sister ship that Krafft has designed to enter the cruise trade in the Mediterranean. Tall ships are again coming down the ways , answering in growing numbers the wild call , the clear call of the running tide.

JAMES S. DEAN a museum. Lake Union or the Seattle waterfront are the preferred sites for the proposed floating museum. Two distinct advantages the Fir has over many other historic vessels are her mint condition, and her dedicated following of volunteers to act as docents. Built in 1939, she is the nation 's only surviving lighthouse tender. Contact ENS Dan Travers, USCGCFir(WLM212),2700W.Commodore Way, Seattle WA 98199-1234.

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SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

TALL SHIPS SEPIA PEN & INK WASH DRAWINGS

by J.A. KENDALL A.S.M.A. Historic Naval Ships: A Big Drawcard About ten million visitors are attracted annually to communities that feature historic naval vessels, and about $30 million is spent each year to maintain and operate such ships. That is what returns from the "economic impact survey" conducted by the Historic Naval Ships Association of North America (HINAS) indicate so far. Among the most popular attractions are the USS Constitution, the battleship Alabama, and the submarine Nautilus. With this in mind it is little wonder that many cities and organizations are seeking out these vessels.

Recently the carrier Coral Sea was taken up by a Puerto Rico organization.

The Puerto Rico Educational and Scientific Foundation has provided a plan to convert the flattop into the USS Coral Sea National Sea-Air-Space Museum berthed in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Possession of another carrier, USS Lexington, is being contested by numerous suitors but the Alabama Battleship Park in Mobile AL shows the most promise.

(HINAS, US Naval Academy Museum, 118 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis MD 21402)

Ernestina on Atlantic Training Voyage In a major step forward in deepwater sail training, the schooner Ernestina took on 24 underprivileged youths as cadets on an ocean voyage which left New Bedford MA on October 19, to return April 1992.

The program objective is to have students successfully test for USCG Able Bodied Seaman certification. Funding is provided by the Job Training Employment Corp. , in cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Schooner Ernestina Commission.

Joe Cardozo of the Commission says the program is intended to provide opportunities for low-income, under-performing youths, ages 171/2 to 22 years .

On board the students will study a curriculum that includes maritime history, nautical science, literature of the sea, meteorology and maritime career exploration. The itinerary includes the Azores, Spain, Portugal, Cape Verde, and the Virgin Islands. (Ernestina Commission, 30 Union Street, New Bedford MA 02740)

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Kendall developed the technique he calls " Sepia Pen & Ink Wash Drawings" while completing hi s masters project for San Francisco State College at the houseboat community in Sausalito, California. Sepia brown ink seemed to cap· ture the wa rmth and feeling of the area.

Since 1980 Kendall has specialized in marine art and has a series of " Tall Ships" in print. An average of 200-250 hours each is spent on an original drawing . Other ships in th e series include the " Eagle,'' " Sea Cloud ," " Guayas," " Dar Pomorza," " Gorch Fack II ," " Christian Radich ,'' " Balclutha,'' & " Golden Hind II." All prints are hand si gned by th e arti st .

Recently Kendall did commissions of private yachts along the " French Riviera" (using either sepia brown ink or watercolor). Don't be surprised to see th is much-travelled marine arti st in any port where beautiful boats gather.

The complete series of " Tall Ships " is available. For a free brochure and price list write to:

K_f;NDALL STUDIO "SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL" image: 153/, X 793/," - $25.00 each " SA IL AMSTERDAM 80 " SERIES

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Discover Columbus' LIMITED EDITIO N PRINTS

olumbus' Ships, the Nina, Pinta a11d Sa11la Mada, th at discovered the New World in 1492, are the first in a series of ten Discovery Ships available as limited editions prints.

These excl usive prints, created from original watercolo rs by Maryland artist Stephen Beshara in collaborati on with naval architect/historian Thomas Gillmer, are lithographed on museum qual ity paper with gold foil stamped calligraphy. Each print in the edition of 500, are individually signed and numbered by the artist & historian.

Appealing to anyone who cherishes the spirit of the golden era of discovery, the prints will complement any home or office or make a superb gift.

C

Am1al size 16" x 20".

"Fu// Color". ~~~~~;;;;;;;;:;::==4 To order tire "Colwnbus "E 5'r", mil rolljree 800-487-8857, or write for more iiifonnarion on these and other maritime prints ro DISCOVERY SERIES, 815 Ritchie Hwy.,S11i1e 208, Sevema Park, MD 21146. Gallery lnq11in"es welcome.

...----- FOR SALE------.

8x10 COLOR PHOTO PRINT FROM ORIGINAL PAINTING BY BRUCE FRIESCH. The oolor photo print Is borderless, with a matt finish . Each print Is available for $14.00 . (Wisconsin residents add 5% sales tax.)

Send check or money order to: BRUCE FRIESCH THE PRESIDENT 320 Quinlan Drive Different print sizes available.

Pewaukee, WI 53072

Finely detailed Merchant & Military Sailing Vessels. Hand crafted to order. We win send price quote and color photo upon receipt of ship name and scale wanted.

Many popular ships built ahead from 27" to 56". For list of ships in stock send$ 1.00 to:

BRUCE HALLETT US At 2, RFD Box 60 Sherman Mills. ME 04776

"God would not damn a man for a little irregular pleasure."

Inveterate yachtsman Charles II of England

Sailing for Pleasure THE HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND YACHTING

A new permanent exhibition opening November 8, 1991 Lighthouse on 11 Most Endangered List Erosion of the Mohegan Bluffs on Block Island RI threatens to topple an 1873 Gothic Revival-style lighthouse into the SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

PEABODY MUSEUM of SALEM

East India Square, Salem, Massachusetts 508-745-1876 33

SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS

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CELEBRATE COLUMBUS'

Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 The fiftieth anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is brilliantly observed in the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue of the Naval Institute's magazine, Naval History. We earnestly commend this to all readers of Sea History. The terrible capsize of the battleship Oklahoma, spelled out with a diagram locating each of nine (count 'em, nine) torpedo hits, and the survival of the West Virginia, next astern in "Battleship Row", which sank in shallow water on an even keel after also absorbing nine hits, are examined in dispassionate detail, as is the sinking of the very powerful California after only two hits. It took the California three days (!) to si nk, a thing that wou ld never have happened in the battle-hardened US Navy that went on to win the war in the Pacific, destroying virtually the entire Japanese Navy along the way.

Other accounts in this special issue of Naval History give the on-deck sensations of fear, confusion and saving anger that animated the people suddenly finding themselves in the midst of a disastrous opening to the biggest war the United States had ever been in. Captain A. F. Fritchen of the US Navy Medical Corps recalls the horrors of the attack and the uncertainties that followed in its wake: "We were all so aware that six of our great battlewagons were down in the drink, not to mention other fighting craft of the Navy and all of our flying machines destroyed on this isolated spot of the Pacific Ocean."

Most memorable of all, perhaps, is Rear Admiral Caleb B. Laning 's "Why Don ' t We Do this More Ofter?" This is an account of a party at the Fort Ruger Officers ' Club on Saturday night, December 6. He describes the pre-war merriment, his wife obviously trying to keep his behavior in line-while "At that moment, six of the largest aircraft carriers in the world were approaching our happy party from the west." "Why Don't We Do This More Often?" was a current US hit still echoing in Laning's mind next morning when all hell (literally) broke loose. Laning 's anger (not just at the Japanese attackers, but at higher-ups who had left the fleet so exposed) enabled him to function and to help out the skipper of his destroyer, USS Conyngham, when he finally reached her and found her still afloat. Not so Rear Admiral Walter Anderson, type commander for the battleships he saw exploding before him . Laning recounts Anderson's arrival at the boat landing place: "He froze, ignoring me, staring at his once-glorious fortresses, aflame, sinking against Ford Island." Laning continues: "IdidnotseeAdmiral Anderson for30 more years. He lived on to be 100; yet, though he was a family friend, I never discussed that tragic morning with him."

(Naval History, v. 5. n. 4, vol. 5, no. 4, Winter 1991: available from US Naval Institute, Annapolis MD 21401)

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"500 Years Discovery of America" LIMITED EDITION Collectors COMMEMORATIVE STEIN Only 3000 of these beautifully colored, hand painted Steins, each individually numbered, with specially designed pewter tops were produced by this world renown manufacturer.

Each Stein is $120.00+$5.00 S/H (NYS residents add 8% sales tax) Send check or money order to: Island Enterprises Associates P.O. Box 657, Dept. SHJOOI Grand Island, NY 14072-9998 (Please allow 6 to 8 weeks delivery) Enclosed is $___for my limited ed. Stein. Please send it to: Name .................................................. .

Address ............................................. .

City ........................... St. .......Zip......... .

Dept. SH 1001

sea. The predicament of Southeast Light is so serious that the National Trust has placed it on the 1991 Eleven Most Endangered List for the second year in a row. "This is a call for action ," says National Trust President J. Jackson Walter. "If we want these kinds of places to still be here for our children to appreciate and learn from , then now is the time to get involved in saving them." Maritime preservationists are trying to raise funds to relocate it inland-soon. If the bluff recedes another 20 feet, the remaining edge will be insufficient to support heavy equipment to move the light.

(Southeast Lighthouse Foundation, c/o Lisa Nolan, Block Island RI 12807)

Galley Modelled from Tombstones The Hebridean birlinn has been a mystery to maritime historians. For 400 years the galley was the shuttle in the loom of

a maritime kingdom. At the height of his Lordship of the Hebridean Isles, Somerled, the Norseslayer, could muster as many as 200 of these boats for war, but because the berlinn were outlawed by the Crown in the 16th century few records of it remain. The builders of a 40-ft replica called Ailich launched this spring used computer analysis of carvings on high crosses, funerary slabs and graffiti, and in particular a detailed drawing on a 16th century tomb, to arrive at a design.

The boat was constructed in Moville in County Donegal, Ireland, and launched from Clew Bay for a summer trip up Somerled 's kingdom. TheAilich is light! y built and draws only two feet. In traditional style the Berl inn shoots over rather than through waves with her hull flexing. It carries a squaresail and 16 oars.

The project cost ÂŁ55,000 and one of major sponsors was Thomas Cook.

Getting Around the Ships Anchor Watch, newsletter of the Historic Naval Ships Association, reports that something positive might finally be happening with the carr ier Cabot!

Dedalo. After years of legal and financial problems, a suitable home for the carrier may have been found. A Kenner (Louisiana) American Legion Post is seeking to establish the carrier as a museum in Rivertown USA, an historic restoration project on the Mississippi River at Kenner.

Congratulations to HMS Rose on receiving STV certification from the US Coast Guard. As a certified Sail Training Vessel she will now be able to establish a broader range of programs aboard.

(HMS Rose Foundation, One Bostwick A venue, Bridgeport CT 06605) After unsuccessful attempts to sell the three-quarters replica of the Revolu tionary War privateer R attlesnake, the Canadian bank holding the vessel has now donated it to the Jacksonville Maritime Museum Society who are mounting arestorationeffort. (JMMS, 1504Jessie Street, Jacksonville FL 32201-6042) Oregon Maritime Center and Museum has acquired from the Port of Portland the steam sternwheel tug Portland. The tug was built in Portland OR in 1947 and worked as a harbor tug until 1981 . She is the last operating steam sternwheel tug on the West Coast.

(OMC&M, 113 SW Front A venue, Portland OR 97204) From the West Coast also comes the happy news of recently restored scow schooner Alma's lOOth birthday. The Alma was rescued from an Alviso mudflat in 1959. Since 1977 she has been a part of the historic fleet of the National Park Service and will soon have a berth at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco. (San Francisco NHP, Fort Mason, Bldg 201 , San Francisco CA 94123) At last we can report that the Intrep id Muse u m has taken possession of lightship L V 84/WAL 509, built in 1907.

She was towed from a Yonkers NY dock to the museum during September. Intrepid staff have been caring for the vessel for some months.

After 8000 hours of volunteer work, the oyster sloop Christeen , under restoration for the last two years in Essex CT, will return to Oyster Bay Long Island NY, where she was built 108 years ago.

The vessel will be turned over to Friends of the Bay, which will undertake the restoration work initiated by the Tradewinds Education Network (TEN).

Dine in relaxed elegance in the heart of the South Street Seaport.

Yankee Clipper's Wavertree Room The Yankee Clipper, one of South Street Seaport's finest restaurants, recently dedicated an opulently refu rbished room to honor the historic Wavertree , a tall ship now berthed just outside the restaurant's multipaned windows. The dedication of the Wavertree Room goes beyond its physical proximity to its namesake, however, for the room actually once served as the office of Baker, Carver & Morrell , general agents who represented the Wavertree in the 1800s. - VIA PORT OF NY-NJ, March 1986

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INVENI PORT AM Louis KENEDY Captain Louis Kenedy , legendary schoonerrnan, died on July 25 in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, at age 81. Born in Pelham, New York, he grew up racing sailboats on Long Island Sound. At age 21, in the depths of the Depression, he went to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia to buy a trading schooner, and so began a career that will undoubtedly be talked of as long as the East Coast schooner trades are remembered.

He kept on while the schooner trades died around him, sailing from 1932 to 1954 between Nova Scotia and US ports ot the West Indies, with side trips across the Atlantic. In his schooner Abundance he once reached Madeira in 14 days from Nova Scotia--a record that still stands. He was shipwrecked early on, and in the dark days of World War II, at age 32, he lost his 50-ft schooner Wawaloam to a German U-boat. Like many of his brother skippers he could spin a good yam, and published a four-part series on his adventures in the Saturday Evening Post in 1951 . As we in NMHS had reason to know, he had another sailorly quality; generosity to those keeping up the traditions of sail.

His longtime friend Art Hansen, a notable sailorrnan himself, writes: "When we were having Joily Tar built he brought all the masts and spars and hardware down from Lunenberg on his three master, and never charged a cent."

PS

FRANK G. G. CARR, CB 1903-1991 An appreciation of the life of Mr. Carr, founder of the World Ship Trust and International Chairman of the NMHS American Ship Trust, will appear in the next Sea History dedicated to his memory.

Statement filed I 0-22-9 1required bytheAct of Aug. 12, 1970, Sec. 3685, Title 39, US Code: Sea History is published quarterly at 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill NY I 0566; minimum subscription price is $15. Publisher and editor is Peter Stanford; managing editor is NonnaStanford;ownerisNational MaritimeHistorical Society, a non-profit corporation; all are located at 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill NY 10566. During the 12 monthspreceding October 1991theaverage numberof: A) copies printed each issue was 50,521 ; B) paid circulation was I ) sold through dealers, carriers and countersales 359; 2) mail subscriptions 10,218; c) total paid circulationwas I0,576;D)freedistribution,samples, complimentary copies were34,599;E) totaldistribution was 45,I 75; F) copies not distributed were I ) office use 5,346; 2) return from news agents O;G) total= 50,52 1.

The actual numbers for the single issue preceding October 1991are: A) total number printed 50,405; B) paid circulation was 1) sales through dealers, carriers and counter sales 390;2) mail subscriptions 10,184; C) total paid circulation 10,574; D) free distribution, samples, complimentary copies were 35,737; E) total distribution was 46,311 ;F) copies not distributed were 1) office use4,094;2)retum from news agentsO; G) total =50,405; 1certify that theabove statements are correct and complete. (signed) Nonna Stanford, VP, National Maritime Historical Society.

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

NMHSTRAVEL

Pack Your Seabag and Come Along! _ _ _ _ __ Some of our Society's most important and interesting discussions have been held in the library of the llliria off Cape Horn, on the shadowy afterdeck of the bark Sea Cloud moored under the temple to Poseidon on Cape Sounion outside Athens under a rising moon, and in the ornate public rooms of the paddlewheeler Delta Queen as she whistles and splashes her way through the heartland of America, borne up on the swirling waters of the Mississippi.

This year the Sea Cloud, the most beautiful big yacht ever built, sails from Antigua on an II-day tour of the Windward Islands, where the steady Trade Wind blows and the great four-master builds up a bow wave that roars like an express train as she drops one island astern and picks up the next one, in waters where Rodney and de Grasse banged it out in two- and three-deckers years ago and where leaping dolphins by day and enchanting steel bands by night provide the noise and action today.

Sea Cloud sails from Antigua January 3, returning January 14 with everyone knowing quite a bit more about square rig than when they set out, and with memories to last a lifetime. Captains Cassidy and Shannon, past skippers of USCG Eagle and staunch members of NMHS, sail the ship and join in our evening seminars.

Or, venture farther south, past Cape Hom to Antarctica: Join the handsome motor ship llliria on her voyage in these waters February 29-March 15. This includes a stopover in the Falkland Islands, where the redoutable John Smith, longtime NMHS member, holds sway as curator of the Falkland Islands Museum, and as guardian of the hi storic hulks in the harbor at Port Stanley, from the comely steel bark Princess Elizabeth to the 150-year-old Liverpool trader Jhelum . I made this trip with Ralph and Dorothy PackerofMartha's Vineyard in 1988 with Harry Nelson and other NMHS stalwarts in company. To say it was a trip to remember is vastly to understate the stark and terrible beauty of the landscapes, the fascination of the wrecks and the good cheer of the pubs in Stanley.

On April 14, NMHS members will board llliria in the old seaport town of Lisbon, where the opening of the ocean world is generally reckoned to have beSEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

Covering all ports U.S. East Coast U.S. Gulf Coast Aruba

BILL BLACK AGENCY GROUP INC. Ralph Packer in view of the Jhelum in the Falkland Islands. Photo, Dorothy Packer.

gun. A visit to the town, quite different in atmosphere from the proud cities of nearby Spain, both reflects and helps one understand this history. From Lisbon, through a fascinating Mediterranean route taking in historic Spanish, French and Italian ports, the llliria arrives at Venice on April 27. "Once she held the gorgeous East in fee," Wordsworth wrote of her-and shorn of her conquests she still conquers her visitors today. Norma Stanford and I will be on this passagehow could we stay away?

Great Steamboat Race Finally, that Grand Dame of the Mississippi, the Delta Queen, will steam out of New Orleans with calliope playing and riverside watchers cheering on June 23, to race her larger (and much newer) cousin the Mississippi Queen to a finish line one thousand miles upriver in St. Louis on July 4, in an epic event known as the Great Steamboat Race. I embarked for this race last year with my son Joseph, little knowing of the riverboat gamblers, shady ladies and wild shenanigans I was letting the lad in for. We enjoyed the fun and frolic, gained a new appreciation for Dixieland and Ragtime, and learnt much river lore en route. I commend this slow travel through the countryside to you: you can always sit out the fun and games (passengers participate in many of the race activities) and just watch theeverchanging river scene unfold.

Let us know what crui ses you'd like to know more about: Sea Cloud-Antigua, January 3-14, 1992 llliria-Antarctica, Feb. 29-March 15 llliria-Lisbon to Venice, April 14-27 Delta Queen-New Orleans to St. Louis, June 23-July 4 We'll be glad to send colored brochures and full information on any of these cruises, call us at 914 737-7878. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.-PS

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REVIEWS "We will Stand by You": Serving in the aviation gas tanks that supplied her the Pawnee, 1942-1945, by Theodore spotter planes. Despite the decided risk Mason (University of South Carolina of Houston sinking and taking Pawnee Press, Columbia SC, 1991, 269pp, illus, with her if the tow wire could not be cut $24.95hb) in time, the tu g's skipper sent his famous, "We Will Stand by You" deservedly message to Houston by signal lantern: won the prestigious 1990 John C. Lyman "We Will Stand By You." Award given annually by the North This award-winning book rightly deAmerican Society for Oceanic History. serves the accolades it has received and Author Theodore C. Mason, writing in- is a worthy addition to the impressive timately from three years of wartime University of South Carolina Press seenlisted service in the Pacific theater on ries, "Studies in Maritime History," edboard Pawnee, skillfully presents the ited by William N. Still, Jr. story of his ship in the hallowed tradition DR. W.M.P. DUNNE of Richard Henry Dana, Jr. 's Two Years Sea Education Association Before the Mast, from the crew's quarWoods Hole, Massachusetts ters rather than the all-too-common memoirs that emanate from the Ward Room. The Fighting Liberty Ships: A MemMason traces the 25-month history of oir, by A. A. Hoehling (Kent State Unithe ship from launching and commis- versity Press, Kent OH, 179pp, illus, sioning to the end of World War IL $22hb) Regularly under attack from torpedoes, This memoir of a US Navy gunnery offibombs, and mines, Pawnee survived all cer aboard American merchant ships in to play an active role as a fleet auxiliary World War II is very readable and inforthroughout the period, leaving a wealth mative, especially for people who have an of narrative material for the author. But ongoing interest in the history of that "We Will Stand by You" is much more worldwide conflict of half a century ago. than a ship's history, it is an intriguingly Although most Armed Guard Officwoven story of the ship's company with ers, as they were called, were newlyno punches pulled relative to the view of commissioned civilians with little naval the enlisted crewmen toward the occu- training, Hoehling held the rank of Enpants of "officer's country," forward sign USNR before the war. As a reporter and above them. for the Washington Post, he was asPawnee's designed mission revolved signed to Navy Public Relations when around deep-sea rescue operations in- called to active duty following Pearl cluding towing, fire-fighting, and sal- Harbor. Later, being an amateur pilot, he vage. The centerpiece of her combat requested and received a transfer to the episodes is the rescue of the cruiser H ous- new Navy blimp pilot-training program ton which had been torpedoed in the at Lakehurst NJ. Then, in mid-1943 , he approaches to Luzon Strait. When Paw- received a surprising and unwanted transnee came up with the wreck, Houston fer to Armed Guard. In view of the 1942 had a 15 degree starboard list, primarily slaughter of US merchant ships by Gerdue to her flooded engineering spaces. man U-Boats in the Atlantic, AG was not The deeply-wounded cruiser had lost a preferred assignment! rudder control and hydraulic power, Following gunnery training, Hoehling which meant she could neither steer nor was given his first command of a Navy use her winches to assist Pawnee in gun crew aboard a Liberty ship. He regetting under tow. While passing the fers to the vessel as the John Lesher, towline from close alongside a rogue although that was not her name. He had wave drove the ships together and some unpleasant experiences with the Houston's anchor punched a hole in merchant master who, like many oldPawnee's CPO mess. It was an ill omen timers, resented having men aboard his to begin a hazardous journey to a safe ship who were not under his command. position outside the enemy's range of Hence, neither the ship nor the master operations. A maximum speed of three are named in the book. to four knots placed the salvaged tug and Hoehling's second command was its charge in great danger from the Japa- aboard a new T2 class tanker, Tampico, nese aircraft and submarine attacks. On which joined a UKF convoy (United the first day an air attack added to Kingdom Fast). In December 1944, HoeHouston's already considerable damage hling was given his third command when a torpedo bomber scored a direct aboard another Liberty ship, James hit on the cruiser's fantail and exploded Harrod, which sailed in convoy from 38

Philadelphia with a cargo of aviation fuel in tin drums for delivery to Northern Europe to supply Allied armies then advancing on Nazi Germany. That voyage ended in disaster.

In January 1945, while trying to make a night-time landfall at Antwerp, Belgium, James Harrod collided with another Liberty ship, resulting in a fire in her gasoline cargo. The crew was unable to launch lifeboats or rafts and the sea was too cold for swimmers to survive.

Finally, the flames in the sky attracted a Dutch patrol boat, which rescued the entire crew, although four Navy gunners lost their lives.

An experienced newspaper man and professional author, Hoehling did his research in depth. In every overseas port visited he reports in detail about wartime living conditions as well as historical events which occurred in those places during the war. Also, there are extensive details about the experiences of other US merchant ships attacked by enemy submarines and aircraft.

LT. CoMDR. HAROLD J. McCORMICK Author of Two Years Behind the Mast Low Bridges and High Water on the New York State Barge Canal, by Charles T. O' Malley (Diamond Mohawk Publishing PO Box 526, Ellentown FL, 1991 , 283pp, illus, $19.95) For nearly seventy-five years fleets of tugboats, motorships and barges transported cargoes across the Empire State via the 20th century Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, collectively called the Barge Canal System. Opened to navigation in 1918, the Barge Canal provided the primary passage between the Atlantic and the Great Lakes. With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the 1950s commercial tows on the Barge Canal began to slowly then swiftly disappear. Where once there were hundreds of carriers, today there are maybe four. In the preface of Low Bridges and High Water, Charles T. O 'Malley offers his book as "a eulogy" to the passing of commercial water transportation on the New York State Barge Canal System.

During the canal's commercial heyday an entire floating society existed whose customs, language and traditions were inherited from the ancestral boatmen of the legendary 19th century Erie Canal. O ' Malley has created his own genre, which could be termed "Barge Canalesque". His story (factual, anecSEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

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NAVAL

1990- Another brilliant year-ROSE visited Halifax , Lunenburg, Rimouski , Quebec, Montreal, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, St. Claire, Mackinac Island, Grand Haven, Chicago, Raci ne, Manitowoc, Plymouth, New Bedfo rd, Newport, Port Jefferson Thanks to all.

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REVIEWS

"Low Bridges-& High Water"

By Charles T. O'Malley

A Lively History of the New York State Barge Canal â&#x20AC;˘ Over 100 Photographs â&#x20AC;˘ 30 in Full Color To Order Your First Run Edition Send $19.95 to: Diamond Mohawk Pub. Dept. A P.O. Box 526, Ellenton, FL 34222

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dotal and oral) is presented like a canal journey.itself with colorful people and happenings around every bend. He imparts a real feel for the history of the place. His narrative reminds me of those many "sea stories" I have listened to in tug galleys over endless cups of coffee.

O ' Malley recounts his own brief stint as a junior fireman aboard the steamer Matton JO in 1941 and his more recent and reflective canal journeys on the tug Erinkehoe. Other chapters relate the rise and fall of the great tugboat dynasties like the Busheys, Mattons, Feeneys and Coynes who built and operated canal vessels.

Throughout this book are rich vigoottes-Oepicting .a way -0f Life that is no more. O'Malley has written a highly entertaining chronicle of this obscure yet important era in the history of American inland navigation.

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Great Maritime Museums of the World , ed. Peter Neill & Barbara Ehrenwald Krohn (Balsam Press, New York NY, 1991 , 304pp, illus, index, $60hb) Fitzhugh Lane 's ideal-world but somehow very real view of fishing craft lolling about Gloucester harbor on a calm summer evening a century and a half ago is succeeded by buxom figureheads gazing out from the walls of the Smithsonian's Hall of American Enterprise, followed in tum by dandified French officers and aristocrats strolling through the somber surroundings of the artillery park at Toulon 200-odd years ago--these scenes open Peter Neill's s umptuous and occasionally thought-provoking exploration of the maritime heritage as it is preserved in the paintings, models, artifacts and rich archives of the world 's great maritime museums.

Ably abetted by Barbara Ehrenwald Krohn , Neill gathers up the treasures of these great museums in a sweeping grasp, the visual impact of which is, in a word, stunning. In all the collections of 26 museums in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands and in Norway, Portugal , Spain" and Sweden, are here presented in lavish illustration and well informed text, with three great museums in Britain and six in the United States coming in at the end.

The editors have labored wisely to assure diversity in this collection, searching out museums of working craft in

such fishing ports as Douamenez and Lunenburg, as well as revelling in the grandeur of the unsurpassed royal naval collections of England 's National Maritime Museum in London , The Musee de Ia Marine in Paris, and Portugal 's Museu de Marinha.

And it is interesting to learn , in the words of museum directors and curators (for each museum collection is presented by a staff leader), of the search for contemporary relevance and involvement by such monumental and patriotic institutions as Spain 's Barcelona Maritime Museum, or s uch innovativ e, community-involved outfits as Peter Neill's South Street Seaport Museum in New York, of which he has been staff president since the spring of 1985.

It is hi s declared and proper purpose to get us out there seei ng these treasure houses of the seafaring experience for ourselves, and this book, a splendidly presented tour in itself, provides comPS pelling reasons to do just that.

Shipwreck! , by Ian Dear (Portman Books, London , 1990; David & Charles, North Pomfret VT, 1991, 127p, illus, $34.95hb) To the perennially fascinating subject of ship losses at sea, Ian Dear brings something more than the usual romantic storytelling; he starts out in a practical vein, informing us that about 150 ships are lost every year-roughly one every other day. These are big ships, and many lives are lost in them. He reports that 1987 brought the highest toll in human life at sea since records have been kept. The purpose of hi s book, he tells us, is to "focus attention on why such losses occur."

The microchip age, Dear maintains, has "dangerously isolated seamen from the hazards of the sea," his first and probably most important lesson . Plain stupidity and human carelessness take their toll , in wrecks ranging from the lovely bark Herzogin Cecilie in calm weather in the English Channel in 1936, to the horrible capsize of the ro-ro ferry Herald ofFree Enterprise off Zeebrugge in Belgium, with the loss of 193 livesjust four years ago. These events are shown in stark photographs, as is the 3 2~8 I 8 DWT Marina di Equa, in herdeath throes in a gale in the Bay of Biscay in 1981.

The helicopter that took the picture was low in fuel; when it returned to the scene the giant ship had vanished-no survivors. Earlier photographs document the SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

more familiar Joss of small steamers, fishing vessels, and sailing ships bound seaward or returning from the world's four comers, and cast up for one reason on another on the shores of the British Isles in the past hundred years or so. In all, this is a fine and moving documentary of the human cost of violating that sagest of sea maxims: "Eternal vigilance is the price of safety at sea." And sometimes the sea will overcome the best defense, as this work also attests graphi cally; sometimes the good guys lose, at ~~

~

American Naval History; An 111ustrated Chronology of the US Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, by Jack Sweetman (Naval Institute Press, 2nd ed. 199 1, 376pp , illus, index , $36.95hb) Thi s detailed, fact-filled chronology makes informative, engaging reading.

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The Naval Air War, 1939-1945, by Nathan Miller (Naval Institute Press, 1991 , 2 12pp, illus, biblio, index , $24.95) This slightly revised edition of a work first issued in 1980 provides an excellent introduction to the development of carrier forces in this century, and their use in World War II. It has the great quality of looking at English and other developments, as well as the ultimately dominant American role. The stunning victories won by the English at Taranto, the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, and the Americans at Midway, following hot upon each other in 1940, 1941 and 1942, are seen to be closely related, in this perspective.

Trapped at Pearl Harbor; Escape from the Battleship Oklahoma, by Stephen Bower Young (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1991 , 187pp, illus, index, $24.95). Written by a seaman who survived the ultimate horror of being SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

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REVIEWS trapped below decks in a battleship capsized after being torpedoed by Japanese planes during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 , this memoir brings scenes of the old battleship navy vividly to life. The author 's companions, caught up with him in an intolerable situation, are affectionately and realistically remembered. And as though to expiate the horror, Young got into communication with all who had escaped with him from the capsized hulk.

He learned profess ional historian 's di sciplines from Samuel Eliot Morison, whom he sailed with later on in World War II-for astonishingly enough, he, like others, went right back to sea after this traumatic experience. It must have been a personal victory to write this book, which sparkles and ripples with the sense of young men 's lives outward bound, in an adventure that led them into the horrible jaws of war.

An Amer ican Battleship at Peace and War ; the USS Tennessee, by Jonathan G. Utley (University Press of Kansas, Lawrence KA, 1991 , l 46pp, illus, biblio, index, $25hb) Warship biographies too often concentrate on technical points that are the modelmaker's delight to the exclusion of the any sense of what the ship did in her life, how she fitted into the scheme of things in her time, and above all how the ship 's people lived. This work traces the career of the battleship Tennessee from her conception during World War I and launch in 1919 through active serv ice in World War II (thoroughly rebuilt after Pearl Harbor, where she lay just ahead of the blown-up Arizona) , dealing with the changing nature of sea warfare (and admirals ' perceptions of it! ) and the behavior of her men afloat and ashore. A fine narrative sense informs the story ; it makes excellent reading.

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43

Petrol for the Navy PTs Aboard One of the Oldest Ships in World War II

by Ed Dennis

In 1943 the tide of battle turned against the Axis Powers.

Servicemen down on the New Guinea coast might not have believed this as they attempted to stem the advance of Japanese forces, however.

Struggling to keep supply lines open in this isolated area was an odd-ballfleet ofships, nicknamed McArthur's "Small Ships." One of these, the Jane Morehead, turned out to be probably the oldest vessel on either side of World War II actively engaged in combat operations.

TheJane Morehead rounded Cape Nelson, the graveyard for ships, and proceeded through the narrow deep water entrance to Tufi fjord, then quickly made fast to the little wharf the US Navy had used for their PT boats. Tufi had been an advance base forthe Navy's PT boats of Task Group 50.1 and was now being used as a divi sion headquarters for ANGAU (Australian-New Guinea Administrative Unit). A company of the Royal Papuan constab ulary was also stationed here. It was December 1943.

We had been ordered to load and transport several hundred barrels of high octane gasoline to the Navy 's new PT base at Dreger Harbour, further east along the New Guinea coast.

Lieutenant Dave Marshall jumped on board the Jane.

"I' ll have six pri soners down within the hour to do the loading," he said , "and Sergeant Jim Smith with some of his constables to guard them . The petrol is going to Dreger Harbour up near Finch, that's where they moved the PT base to. It 's closer to their Jap hunting grounds in the Viteaz Straits.

While you Yanks took Arawe the other day the Japs still hold Cape Gloucester and the rest of the New Britain area. At least, that 's what I heard on the wireless last night. " He added that RAAF reconnaissance planes on flights over Rabaul , Wewack and Madang had reported well over 500 planes of all kinds.

This was "fair dinkum." The report was later confirmed by Allied Intelligence Command-a large number of the planes were float Zeros and Bettys at various anchorages.

A few minutes later the Skipper, in a loud voice, told Cookie that after he was finished making tea and breakfast, he was to put the fire out in hi s galley stove. No more open flames or li ghts till we unloaded our petrol (gasoline) cargo up in Dreger Harbour.

Cold tucker and lukewarm water made palatable by fresh warm lime juice would be the fare on theJane for the next few days.

About 0800, Sergeant Jim Smith and his six prisoners guarded by a squad of the Royal Papuan Constabulary began rolling the barrels of petrol from their storage area onto the dock.

I started up the old one-cylinder horizontal open crankcase diesel, filled its 10 gallon fuel tank, and yelled: "The winch is ready, let's give it a go."

With three of the prisoners working in the cargo hold, guarded by a couple of the constables standing above, Al , our mate, supervised the proper stowage of the barrels of petrol in the hold. The other three prisoners worked the dock area.

"Easy with them barrels, they 're explosive," the old man roared every so often above the noise of the diesel engine, as the cargo winch swung them precariously over the side of the Jane and then down into her hold.

Every half hour or so either Freddy or I had to stop the old 44

"one lunger" diesel , unscrew some brass plugs, and oil its main and connecting rod bearings with an oil can. We would then hand crank the antiquated noisy engine for another half hour run.

Sergeant Jim Smith was an old hand working native labor as he had blackbirded for Bums-Philps along the coast before the war, and he was able to fini sh stowing the barrels of gasoline in the cargo hold, plus several dozen more on deck in time for lunch break.

About 1300, the two-masted schooner Hildanoring made her appearance through the fiord 's narrow entrance. We moved away from the dock and waited in midstream, to tie up outside her, as we would be leaving first in the morning. She was a coastal schooner too, a hundred or so feet long, another aging beauty of another era that was scuffed and tired from her wartime service. Her almost worn-out Gardner diesel could barely push her along at four or five knots, providing she didn't have too much opposition from Mother Nature.

The next morning, the Skipper took a tum or two around the deck of the Jane to restore the circulation in his tired old body.

Suddenly it hit him : No hot tea thi s morning! With positive distaste he contemplated his breakfast of stale bread, jam and canned peaches. Disgusted with the outlook, he looked down into the room and suddenly roared: "Chief, are you still hanging in there?" "Let's have a go of it."

I told Freddy to start the Vivian diesel up and within a few moments , the sleeping chunk of reliability banged into life.

Then, turning to Al , the Skipper said: "Let' s getthe bloody 'ell out of here. " Seconds later, a tremendous explosion shook the Hildanoring. Sheets of flame with billows of smoke erupted from her cargo hold. Her two Australian crew members, who were eating their breakfast on the hatch cover, were blown up into the air and landed over in the dock area. Her Papuan crew boys ran from the dock area.

The intense heat and flames were almost unbearable. "Damn it, cut the bloody line, let's get the bloody 'ell out of here," yelled the Skipper. With one swing of his machete, Wilkie slashed the line, then jumped and grabbing a backstay, pulled himself back on board the Jane. " Slow astern," came first on the telegraph, quickly followed by, "full ahead ." Within seconds, we were away from the exploding vessel. Then , the old man yelled: "Gimmy every 'orse you got. Let 's get the 'ell atter 'ere."

By now, flames from the H ildanoring 's numerous ruptured barrels of petrol filled the air and covered the waters, making the whole area a watery inferno. Scared to death but nosey, I stuck my head out of the engine room 's overhead entrance just as first one, then another explosion shook the wooden schooner with a force that seemed to break the old girl in half and scatter lethal shrapnel, barrels of gasoline and debris in all directions. Scared stiff, I dropped back down to the protection of my dear old Vivian and the engine room's steel overhead.

The Hildanoring, now cut loose from the wharf, drifted across the fiord to the steep cliffs on the other side, scarring the foliage on the inlet 's walls. It sank in about 50 feet of water.

Bang, bang, went the telegraph-full ahead 5 mph. Oscar turned to Al and said: "Now we all give three good fella cheer, we go fast away."

This was not the first fire at this same wharf. In March, when the PTs 119 and 67 were being refuelled, a native labor SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

I

'

The "grand old dame" of McArthur' s Na vy, the 83-year-old Jane Morehead pictured above at Tufi dock on December 12, 1943, and below being loaded with gasoline f or the PT base at Dreger Harbour.

boy, after lighting a cigarette, thoughtlessly discarded his still hot match into the waters surrounding the wharf. Immediately, a sheet of flame leaped all around the two PTs and a "Small Ships" trawler being unloaded of ammunition and supplies, resulting in a flaming inferno of exploding gasoline drums and ammunition , and the loss of two PTs, the trawler, 4000 drums of gasoline, six depth charges and the wharf.

The Jane headed into the Solomon Sea at about five miles an hour. "This should not be too hard for us, it ' s an almost straight 200 miles to Finch or Dreger Harbour, we can't miss," said the Old Man, but the first 70 or so miles were straight across the D'Entrecasteaux Reef and Shoals, last charted by HMS Dart in 1885. The rest was open water.

At the ripe age of 83, the Jane M orehead was the "grand old dame" of MacArthur's Small Ships and probably the oldest American-flag ship operating in a combat zone in World War II. Burned deep into one of her deck beams, near the cargo hatch, was 1860, the year she started out as a two-masted coastal schooner. She was built by convict labor at Vallerne, Tasmania and named after the wife of the Governor of Prisons.

When Captain Simmons took delivery of the Jane from the Neptune Shipyard in Sydney, she had been rigged down and fitted with her old, heavy-duty , slow-turning Vivian diesel engine of about 175 hp . The operating and service manuals had long since disappeared and we learned how to keep her going from sheer necessity and lots of sweat. We had no head or refrigeration and only a 500 watt generator.

The two SO-caliber machine guns looked like WWI vintage and could only be fired broadside. The Skipper and I each had a bunk in the chartroom. The rest of the crew slept on deck or SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

45

By now,flamesfrom the Hildanoring's numerous ruptured barrels of petrol filled the air and covered the waters, making the whole area a watery inferno. up in the hot and stinking fo'csle. when the wind ,,(/ The Skipper told me to keep the bilge pump going all the freshened in the f time as we were taking on more water than usual due to our early evening. The heavy load. Turning to Al Meyer, our mate, the old man told Yitiaz Straits, him: "Keep 'er headin ' on the same course, I'll 'ave a snooze through which lay for a couple of hours and then take 'er over." ''MacArthur'sPath'' During the late afternoon, the wind and sea rose to a tropical to the Philipstorm strength and the old lady rolled and pitched ferociously. pines and Tokyo , The risk of sinking and drowning amid these razor sharp coral seemed to form a reefs and shoals, or the risk of an even grimmer death from the funnel and cananumerous sharks that usually abound in the reefs made me lize the wind and shudder as I braced myself closer to the entrance of the engine sea along this stretch of the sea room. The Vivian was my baby.

Throughout the long night, the storm grew more severe. By and at times it first light, the noise of the wind and sea was deafening and we seemed the old were taking on water faster than the engine bilge pump could lady was almost The ill-fatedHildanoringatTufi Dock, victim take care of so we took turns, each a half hour at working the standing still. of a violent gasoline explosion and fire that Turning to Al, I burnt her to the waterline on December 12, big hand diaphragm bilge pump.

Getting from the galley and foc 'sle to the wheelhouse aft asked: "Where the 1943 , while tied up next to the Jane. called for quick timing and a fair amount of luck. Bracing hell are we?" myself in a sheltered spot near the entrance to the engine room, "Hell, don ' t know," he replied. "We' re just following the I watched Oswalt, our mess boy, coming from the galley with Timoshenko up the coast line to Finch; I guess it's somewhere some food for Al and the Skipper in the wheelhouse. Slipping up the coast. Can't go any further than Finch. Guess the Japs and sliding across the deck, grasping wildly for anything to have all the rest of New Guinea." The Old Man said he knew keep himself from going overboard, he finally made it to the it was the Timoshenko, a "small ships" trawler doing duty in wheelhouse. "Good fella, me bring um kai kai," he said, and much the same way as ourselves, by the hammer and sickle looking out over the water with a horrified look in his young cartooned on her wheel house and she was flying the American black face, he mumbled to himself and Oscar at the wheel: flag.

We rounded Nugidu Peninsular Point and entered the long "Rahama i rated " (very bad water).

"Good on ye, boy," said the Old Man. "Let's give it a go on narrow lagoon approaching what looked like a good spot to this Christmas dinner." Cold bully beef and mixed canned anchor, the Skipper yelled: "Let 'er go."The anchor took hold vegetables with canned peaches, stale bread and jam topped in the sand. Looking around the place looked like a "black off the dinner that George prepared for us , and washed down stump" (end of civilization). The Aussies and Yanks had paid with a lemon drink made with lukewarm water and syrup that dearly in blood for every inch of the old Lutheran Mission.

Miles up the coast, north of Finch, at Wewak and Madang, tasted blah. This was our Christmas dinner. Al said it wasn't Lieutenant General Hatazo Adache's 18th and 20th Japanese fit to feed to a dingo.

Then suddenly, as if by magic, about 1400, the squall Army Divisions had over 30,000 well seasoned troops and in passed. The sun came out and the sea flattened out as we passed almost two years of occupation they had dug in and amassed into deep blue water. We had left the D'Entrecasteaux Reefs close to 500 planes just waiting for us.

Finch, Lae and Dreger Harbour were being used as staging and Shoals behind. But with the good weather, also came the threat of some stray Jap float planes from Rabaul, Cape and jumping off areas for men and supplies for the Cape Gloucester, or maybe even Madang, or perhaps a Nip armed Gloucester and Arawe offensives now taking place. patrol boat. They usually operated in pairs, as our own PTs did.

But alas, we were in the wrong place. Dreger Harbour was On the midnight to 0400 early morning watch the sky above us back up the coast and Finch was being bombed every night by was clear and beautiful with what looked like millions of stars the Jap planes from Rabaul and Madang, so we were ordered all blinking and shining down on us. out of the harbor for safety's sake.

The next morning, the hot tropical sun beat down merciThe Skipper screamed: "We wuz shafted again." Up came lessly on the Jane as we plowed along, at five miles an hour our anchor and we waved goodbye to the Timoshenko as we more or less. The whole bloody vessel seemed to stink of petrol headed out the lagoon and east along the coast a few miles to fumes. Al had Wilkie and Oswalt cool down the deck and Dreger Harbour. Coming in through a break in the reef the Old around the barrels of petrol with sea water and when they Man guided the Jane at slow speed to a safe anchorage near a didn ' t completely eliminate the stink, he had them throw big Royal Poinciana tree and a stand of high mangroves and then yelled, "Let the 'ook go." When the anchor bit deep in the bucket after bucket of water across the tops of the bar.els.

It was somewhere around noon on the 26th when the Tami mud, Al said "Wow, we made it." It was December 27th. The Islands with their ring of reefs and shoals appeared dead ahead. poinciana trees and the mangrove forest, some 40 to 50 feet We passed about 500 yards off Kalai, the largest of the four high, provided a perfect overhead shade and camouflage for islands, and were able to see the island's big coral cliffs us. through the Skipper's old binoculars. A detachment of AustraA few moments later, the Navy 's fueling officer came lians manned the early warning radar station. Al blinked our alongside and yelled for us to come alongside the fuel barge in password code and received a positive answer in return. the morning.

The Skipper turned to Al, and said: "I'm taking my bucket Theseasseemedtoroll through the passage between the Tami Islands and New Guinea, and long muscular swells built up bath and hitting the sack. Call me at midnight and I'll relieve ,:

46

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SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

A couple of their daisy cutters dropped close to us and the Becky another "Small Ships" trawler, sending towers of salt water all over us. The Becky showed a huge hole in its stern with the sea water pouring in, its deck was a mass ofjagged deck planks.

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you." For two old ladies, the Jane and the Vivian had performed marvelously, but the human machinery needed some rest. Almost four days of pushing the damp old bucket though rough weather, lack of sleep and erratic cold lousy meals had taken their toll on our nerves and bodies.

The night was quiet until about the 0400 watch change when suddenly we heard the high-pitched whine of the air alert sirens ashore. "Hell, no, not again," the Old Man yelled. "The bloody bastards gave us the once-over only a week or two ago at Lae." Then all of a sudden, the tropical early morning exploded with brightly colored flashes from our shore "ackacks." Red tracer bullets looked like giant fireflies, shooting off in all directions. Off our port in the distances two large explosions occurred followed by columns of black smoke.

Seconds later, the leading Zero flattened out at about 200 feet and came in so close we could almost see the red circles on its wing, as its incendiaries cut a bright path in the sky and water off our stem towards the Tassie VI. Leveling off, they barely skimmed the old copra trees on the beach. Again and again they strafed the whole mangrove area where the PTs had been and dropped daisy cutters on the beach and fuelling barge area. A couple of their daisy cutters dropped close to us and the Becky, another "small ships" trawler, sending towers of salt water all over us. The Becky showed a huge hole in its stem with the sea water pouring in, its deck a mass of jagged deck planks. We all said dozens of "Hail Marys," as lines of machine gun tracer bullets zoomed across the harbor and beach, like rocket-powered fireflies in a spectacular display .

Fortunately, some low-lying clouds blocked out the moon for those few moments and they didn't see us in the darkness so they machine-gunned the other end of the harbor.

Suddenly, two loud explosions thundered on shore, then balls of fire ascended skyward from the ground. With my stomach fluttering, I worked my way aft to the Old Man and started to stutter ... "yer." "I know," he yelled ... "Let's get the bloody 'ell otter 'ere." There was nothing we could do but pray and wait helplessly. If we opened up with our two old 50caliber guns, it would only give our position away, so we lay in silence hoping they would not see us.

Within lOor 15 minutes it was all over, but within those few moments we all had lived a lifetime. The Old Man stuck his head out the wheelhouse and said: "Gor' blimey things got a bit sticky out there for a while, the bloody bastards scared the 'ell otter me, those bloody bombs came too damn close for comfort."

SEA HISTORY 59, AUTUMN 1991

"What were they Captain, Zeros or what?" I asked. "How the 'ell do I know," he said. "Nobody told me what the yellow sons of bitches looked like and I couldn't see any of them in the darkness."

When dawn did break, the Jane Morehead looked a wee bit old and incongruous anchored there in the harbor with those slick PTs. Squinting through the Old Man 's binoculars, I saw men working around the decks of Nos. 120, 121 and 123. Others were out there, just how many I couldn't see because of the mangroves and

camouflaging.

They were the elite of the navy and the Japanese had a healthy horror of these "kids." And adding to the Jane's incongruity, sitting there in the steaming humidity of Dreger Harbour, broken only by an infrequent faint breeze, was the fact that she was a non-combatant vessel, a grandma in age (83 years) to those Navy juveniles. So far, her luck had been good, lots of near-misses.

After another cold out-of-the-can breakfast, we lifted anchor and took the old schooner along side the fuel barge.

At 0800, the Navy had a work crew of a dozen or so native laborers ready to unload the gasoline they so desperately needed. As the last barrel of gasoline was being rolled off the Jane onto the barge the Old Man broke into a laugh and turning to me and Al said in his best Aussie accent, "Wot d' yer think of my old lady now, she's a bloody old marvel again, this old 'ooker of mine, ain 't she? George wot about all of us 'avin a nice mug of hot tea to celebrate?"

George started up the fire in his galley stove, and proceeded to make up a real good hot meal for all of us . After the meal, the Old Man said: "It's still light enough to get through the passage, let's get the bloody 'ell out of here and take it easy going back to Oro Bay." "Good idea," Al said. "If we make it by New Year's Eve maybe we can be the first on the beer ration line New Year's Day." (All crew members of US flag ships in the combat zone were given a case of beer and four cartons of cigarettes a month .)

Wilkie heard him and said, "We all give three good fella cheers for Skipper. Now belong pully nuks an gutpila taim bipo." (Now for some betel nuts and good old time.)

As the Jane was leaving the harbor, Al turned to the Skipper in the wheel house and said: "The army is so screwed up, it's a wonder we ever found this place. It's taken them almost two years to recapture a couple of hundred miles of coastline. At this rate the war could go on forever." D Ed Dennis, who spent 13 months in Papua New Guinea on the Jane Moreh~ad and the FS 9A (hospital evacuation ship "A tabrine Express") now lives in Hialeah and is Diesel Editor for Motor Boating & Sailing and Florida Editor of Diesel Progress Publications. This article is dedicated to Kay and Charles Dana Gibson for their devotion to the men ofthe Small Ships .

47

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPONSORS H ENRY H . ANDERSON,

JR.

J . ARON CHARITABLE F OUNDATION

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A LAN G . C HOATE MARc S . COHN M ELVIN CONANT JoHN C. CouCH R EBEKAH T . D ALLAS P oNCET D A v is, JR. JAMES EAN M ORRIS L. F EDER R OBERT E. G AMBEE JAMES W. G LANVILLE THOMAS J . GOCHBERG TH E G RACE FOUNDATION M R. & M RS . T HOMAS H ALE W ALTER J . H ANDELMAN C APT. P AUL R . H ENRY D R. C HAR L ES E . H ER DENDORF M RS . D . H . H OARD ADR I AN S . H OOPER ELI ZABETH S. H OOPER FOUNDATION CECIL H OWARD CHARITABLE T RUST M R. & M RS. A . D . H ULINGS L C DR R OBERT I RVING U S N, (RET.) J ACKSON H OLE P RESERVE MRS. R .

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PILOT BOAT NEW YORK

New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Serving the pilotage needs of New York Harbor since 1694

201 Edgewater St. , Staten Island , NY 10305 718 4148-3900

Commemorate Columbus' Courageous Voyage of 1492 1992 marks the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' bold journey to America.

To commemorate this special time in our history, Abordage, SA has been granted an exclusive license to manufacture the official Spain '92 wood model replicas of the Nina, Pi,nta, and Santa Maria .

The superbly skilled craftsmen of Abordage use only the finest of materials in the construction of these masterpieces. The decks and hull are planked with well seasoned mahogany. Each is fully rigged with bronze cannons, copper fittings, hand-sewn sails and cast iron anchors . An Abordage model is truly a work of art.

Eve1y Abordagemodel comes with a Certificate of Authenticity stating the model's number in production limited to 1,992 models of each ship.

Abordage S.A. is distributed exclusively in the USA by J.G. Sanford International Inc. 32 Overlook Road, Mountain lakes, NJ 07046 Tel: ( 201)263-0070 Fax: (201)263-4063.

AMERICA'S TEAM

~CENTRAL ~

GULF LINES, INC.

~Waterman ~

STEAMSHIP CORPORATION

PRINCIPA L SUBS IDIARIES OF I NTERNATIONAL S H IPHO L DING CORPORATION

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MODEL SUCCESS STORY' "The Maritime Prepositioning Ship program is a mod el su ccess story, and I couldn't be more pleased . MPS is on schedul e and proving to be an extremely valuable strategic asset."

- General PX. Ke lley Commandant U.S. Marine Corps

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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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