Sea History 079 - Autumn 1996

Page 1

No. 79

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

AUTUMN 1996

RY:75 THE ART, LITERATURE, ADVENTURE, LORE & LEARNING OF THE SEA

AMERICA IN THE PACIFIC The Star of India Sails Again! Under Sail in the Pacific Northwest The Remarkable Life of a Tosa Fisherman The Cape Hom Road, Part IX


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ISSN 0146-93 12

No. 79

SEA HISTORY

SEA HI STORY is publi shed quarterly by the National Maritime Hi storica l Society, 5 John Wal sh Boulevard , PO Box 68, Peekskil l NY 10566. Second c lass postage pa id at Peeksk ill NY 10566 and additi onal mailin g offices. CO PYRIGHT © 1996 by the Nationa l Maritime Hi storica l Society. Te l: 9 14 737-7878. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sea History, 5 John Walsh Boulevard, PO Box 68, Peekski ll NY I 0566. MEMBERSHIP is invited. Afterguard $ I 0,000; Benefactor $5 ,000; Plankowner $2,500; Sponsor $ 1,000; Donor $500; Patron $250; Friend $ 100; Contributor $75: Famil y $50; Regul ar $35. All members outside the USA pl ease add $ I0 fo r postage. SEA HISTORY is sent to a ll members. Ind ividual co pies cost $3. 75. FOUNDER: Karl Ko rtum ( 1917- 1996) OFFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman. A lan G. Choate; Vice Chairmen , Richardo Lopes, Ri chard W. Sche uin g, Edward G. Ze lin sky; President , Peter Stanford; Vice President. Norm a Stanfo rd; Treasurer, Bradford Smith; Secretary, Donald DelT; Trustees, Walter R. Brown, W. Grove Conrad, George Lowery , Jea nmari e Mah er, Warre n Marr, .!! , Bri an A. McAl li ste r, James J. Moore. Dou g las Mu ste r, Nancy Pouc h, Craig A. C. Rey no ld s, Marsha ll S tre ibe rt , Loui s Trapp , Jr. , Davi d B. Vi etor, Harry E . Vin a ll , Ill, Raymo nd E. Wa ll ace, Jea n Wort. OVERSEERS: Chairman, To wnsend Horn or; Charles F. Adams, Walter Cronkite, George Lamb, John Lehman , Schu yler M. Meyer, Jr. , J. Wi ll iam Middendorf, II , Graham H. Phillips, Jo hn Stobart, William G. W interer ADVISORS: Co-Chairmen , Frank 0 . Braynard, Me lbourne Smith; D.K. Abbass , Raymond Aker, George F. Bass, Franc is E. Bo wker, Oswa ld L. Brett , Davi d Brink , Norman J. Brouwer, William M. Doe rflinger, Francis J. Du ffy , John S. Ewald , Jo se ph L. Farr, Timoth y G. Foote, W illi am Gi lk e rso n, Thoma s Gillm er, Walter J . H andelman, Charl es E. Herdendorf, Steven A. Hyman, Hajo Knutte l, Conrad Mi lster, William G. Mul ler. Davi d E. Perkin s, Ri chard Rath , Nancy Hughes Ric hardson, Timoth y J. Run yan, George Salley, Ra lph L. Snow , Jo hn Stobart , Shannon J. Wall , Thomas We ll s AMERICAN SHIP TRUST: Chairman , Peter Stanford; Trustees, F. Briggs Dal zell , William G. Muller, Richard Rath , Me lbourne Smith, Edward G. Ze lin sky SEA HISTORY STAFF: Editar, Peter Stanford; Executi ve Editor, Nmma Stanford ; Managing Editor, Justine Ahlstrom; Comributing Editor, Kev in Haydon; Accouming , Joseph Cacciola; Membership Development & Public Affairs, Burchenal Green; Membership Secretary, Patri cia Anstett Laverde; Membership Assistal/fs, Erika Kurtenbach, Grace Labrador;Adverrising Assista/1/, Ca1TI1en McCall um ; Secretary to the President, Karen Ritell ADVERT ISI G: Telephone 800 22 1-NMHS

AUTUMN 1996

CONTENTS 2 DEC K LOG & L ETTERS 4 NMHS NEWS 6 THE AMERICAN FLAG AT SEA : Are Amer ican Merchant Mariners Overpaid? by Warren l eback 8 CAPE HOR N ROAD, IX: Spain C harges Ahea d-Aro und the World! by Peter Stanford 12 The Remarkable Life of a Tosa Fisherma n by Capt. Melboume Smith 14 Wapama: Last of the Pacific Lumber Steam Schooners by Karl Kortum 16 Star of India Receives American Ship Trust Awa rd by Justin e Ahlstrom 19 Nelson at Santa C ruz: A Minor Battle of Major Importance by Joseph F . Callo 23 M ARI NE ART: Under Sail in the Pacific North west by Capt. Bill Larson with illustrations by Scott Kenn edy 27 M ARI NE ART NEWS 30 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival & International Races by Patricia and Robert Foulke 34 TR AFFIQUES & DISCOVERIES 36 SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS 40 AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS 42 R EVIEWS 48 P ATRO S

COVER: Star oflndia , brought back to sailing condition, brings fresh life and vital historical perspective to America's outlook on the Pacific world. Th e excellence of the bark's restoration earned her the American Sh ip Trust Award, as reported on pages 16- 17. (Photo by Bob Grieser)

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes ali ve in the pages of Sea History, from the ancient mariners of Greece, and Portu guese navigators opening up the ocean world , to the heroic efforts of seamen in World War II. Each issue brings new in sights and new di scoveries.

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DECK LOG When I last saw Karl Kortum, in his home in San Francisco on 21 August, he had just awakened from a dream. "Not a nightmare, I hope?" I said. No, it was a very good dream, he told me, in which he was working with the late Scott Newhall (who loved to get his hands on a welding torch) to outfit a small, old-fashioned paddlewheel tug for sea. The tug, of course, was the Eppleton Hall, which he and Scott steamed from England to San Francisco in 1969-70 in one of the epic sea ventures of our time. Karl was ready for the longer voyage he knew lay ahead, and three weeks later, on 12 September, he slipped his cable and took his final departure. He left us with a lazarette full of memories and with the mission of sav ing the historic ships that people of vision-Mystic's Carl Cutler, New York's Jakob Isbrandtsen, and San Francisco's own Karl Kortum-brought to safe harbor for us. The immediate challenge he leaves us is to save the Wapama, whose story is told by Karl him selfon pages 14-15 of this issue. Karl said our NMHS testimony at hearings on Park Service plans to scrap the old steam schooner, held earlier on the day I saw him , had been "a breakthrough ," based on phone cal Is he 'd already received . I hope so. But if so, it 's up to all of us to make it real. To move ahead with the surge of public feeling about these ships, a Save Our Wapama Committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Admiral Tom Patterson, who saved the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien and steamed her to Normandy for the D-Day observances in 1994, and Ed Zelinsky, vice president of the World Ship Trust and vice chairman ofNMHS. Please join them in speaking up for the Wapama today.

* * * * *

In our line of work we don't go in for finger-pointing, or for exc uses e ither. Such tactics don 't work at sea. What we do in our business in great waters is seek out examples of the good, dedicated performance that leads to success. You may imagine my pleasure at sailing on the Star of India in San Diego to celebrate the wonderful work done with that ship, which literally glows with good shipkeeping (see pages 16-17). And it is good to report that another NMHS Committee, the Catawissa Committee, has got their 1897 tug on the National Register and is making progress to bring her into safe harbor in New York City. -PETER STANFORD

2

LETTERS $100,000 Challenge to Rob Quartel The Summer l996Sea Historypresented an article by Rob Quartel written for your "American Flag at Sea" series, as was my piece in the issue before. But instead of a further perspective on our maritime industry and foreign competition, it was an all-out attack on our domestic fleet. The "shippers' group" he represents is deceptively named The Jones Act Reform Coalition, but it is, in reality, a bona fide Washington lobbyi st group that works diligently against our domestic fleet. Most "shippers" are middlemen motivated to drive down transportation rates. These folks, although necessary , add little of real value to our system-they neither produce nor transport a product. They profit from brokering freight contracts and they have no regard for such concerns as the survival of the US flag fleet, retention of American jobs, or logi stical support for the US military in time of war. Because most Sea History readers are not familiar with the details of shipping, they may have missed the many distortions and deceptions Mr. Quartel employed in his article. I will give one g laring example. Mr. Quartel correctly differentiates between a total " billet cost" per year versus a mariner's " personal gross salary." Having used billet cost information as bait, the switch occurs with the statement: "A merchant marine captain, in fact [emphasis added], could earn as much as $380,000 in benefits and salary for six month 's work." I challenge that gross misrepresentation by issuing this promi se: I will pay Rob Quartel $1,000 for each valid W-2 form he can produce for over half the amount he claims for current shipmastering salaries. The period of shipmastering earnings can be for one full year. (He forgot to mention that six months ' work includes all holiday s, weekends and long , tiring days necess itated by th e nature of today 's quick-turnaround ship operations.) If his statement is anywhere near the truth , one would think he can find at least 100 such W-2s, and that puts me on the hook for $ 100,000. DAVID A. O 'NEIL Essex, Connecticut

Merchant Ships in the War Zone I write to object to the article by Rob Quartel in Sea History 78. Mr. Quartel is a Johnny One Note. He knows, for example, that his statement that only one Jones Act vessel made it to the Gulf war zone is misleading, because merchant ships generally went to Saudi Arabia to unload , not to the war zone. Notwithstanding all of the qualifications about these being the author's views, I believe that it is not wise to allow an issue as important as this to stand alone with the promise of presenting other sides later-particularly in a quarterly journal. It might have been more productive to have presented both sides in one issue so that a reader could have made conclusions at once. JOHN W. CARNES New Orleans, Louisiana Sold Down the River I am presently employed as Second Mate aboard one of the highest paid containerships in the Jones Act Trade. I average about $200 per day . If this seems excessive, consider this: I work a regu lar 40hour week, plus an average of 30 hours overtime weekly. This works out to $20 per hour for navigator and senior watch officer of a 700-foot ship and cargo worth in excess of $50 million. I am lucky indeed in today 's US flag fleet to get in a m.inimum pension year, and I extend my family's earnings with Port Relief Officers work, while haunting the hiring halls of the MM&P, hoping to beat out similarly hard-pressed fe llow officers for a single 4-month job. I started out as a commercial fisherman in my teens , enlisted in the US Navy, then joined the SIU as an Able Seaman, working my way up until I had an Unlimited Master's License. Now I and thousands like me find ourselves in increasin gly difficult circumstances, despite having answered the call in bombladen freighters pulled from layup for the Persian Gulf Sealift. And, by the way, Mr. Quartel , if "on ly one" such US ship made it to the Gu lf War, what in hell were all those big, gray things floating off the sandy shores of Saudi Arabia? We did not make such an effort to be sold down the river by the likes of Mr. Quartel. CAPT. BERTCL JAMES HANEY , USMM New Port Richey , Florida Challenge to American Sail As of one month before the Cutty Sark SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


Tall Ships Races in the Baltic and Mediterranean thi s summer, 24 countries were signed up to participate. Germany , Great Britain and Russia each entered more than 20 vessels and France had four vessels signed up (more than ever before). But still no entry from the USA, although I did notice that there were transatlantic entries from Mexico , Venezuela, Urug uay and Belize and other entries from as far afield as Australi a, Oman and Indones ia. Come on, Sea History! Stir them up before all us E uropeans disgrace you by coming across (again) in the millenium year! MORIN SCOTI

Paphos, Cyprus The latest word from Commander Scott is that one American ship did, indeed, join the fleet-the US Coast Guard bark Eagle came in eighth in a field of eleven Class A ships in the Rostock-St. Petersburg race. But what about the rest ofyou ? (Race results are on p. 39.}-ED.

new edition of the Guide to Maritime Museums. Any takers ?-ED.

Kaiulani Down Under In researching the Iife of my grandfather Daniel William Ripley , for a biography I am writing , I fo und the article " Bringing Home the 'American Ship, "' about the Kaiulani, in Sea History 72. During the Second World War my grandfather was contracted to the US Army Small Sh ips Section and served in the Southwest Pacific Zone. As skipper of the sea-goi ng tug James Wallace his duties were transporting troops and supplies to the US lines to repel the invading Japanese. Hi s initi a l duty under the American flag was to tow the Mainebui It bark Kaiulani from Tasmania to Sydney (illustrated in the SH 72 article). My grandfather kept a record of this trip but from the rug 's perspective, and the account of the voyage from Karl Kortum 's pers pective aboard the Kaiulani complements hi s writing. STUART RIPLEY

How Did They Know? I just read "Report from the Falkl ands" in Sea History 78 and am curious about something. How did the tug Samson, which rescued the Wavertree when she was dismasted in December 19 10, know that the vessel was in distrees? Was the Wavertree eq uipped with a wireless? HENRY E. JOHNSO McLean, Virginia The Wavertree had no radio and, in fact, no electrical appliances ofany kind, and no power other than the men's muscle and the wind in her sails. Strangely enough, she didn't even have a donkey engine. The dismastedWavertree ran downwind to the Falklands under a few scraps of canvas, and dropped anchor outside the narrow, tricky entrance to Stanley, where she was in plain sight.-ED.

Sydney, Australia ''The sea is one," and it's grand to hear from the other end ofthe hawser after half a century,from half a world away.-ED.

Memories of Ernestina Recently I came upon Sea History 34 (Winter 1984-85) at our library and my attention was drawn to the article on Rick Lopes 's quest to make a film about the schooner Ernestina (ex-Effie M . Morrissey). I have a particular interest in the vessel as I sai led aboard her during World War II. While I was ass igned to HQ B W 1 at

Narsarssuak Fjord in Geenl and, my job involved checki ng bases in Greenland and Ice land. During this tour I was assigned to the Effie M. Morrissey for a45day inspection crui se up the east coast. Captai n Bob Bartlettof Brigus, Newfo undl and, was the skipper and hi s brother Will was part of the small crew. I am 78 years of age and I shall never forget the wo nderfu l friendship that existed between us. After the War we wrote to each other. Indeed, I treasure hi s letters . His funeral at Campbell s in New York City was attended by his admirers from E urope and elsewhere. I was glad to learn that the vessel has been restored and sails today out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, as the Ernestina. LT. COL. ROBERT LEE GROSS (R ET.)

Bainbridge Island, Washington QUERIES

Robert L. Webb, curator at the Maine Maritime Museum , wants information about the SS Atlantic Sun, a tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock in 1920. The ship served the Sun Oil Company until the late 1930s, when she was sold to Italian interests, and finished up in the 1950s as SS Panuco for Petroleos Mexicanos in Mexico. Contact Mr. Webb with photographs, memories, documents, plans-anything on this ship-at HC32, Box 29, Phippsburg ME 04562-9601. A 48-year-o ld mechanic in Russia is interested in correspond ing and exchanging stamps and postcards with people who share his interest in ships and polar expeditions. Write Arkady Norinski at PO Box 20, 19670 St. Petersburg, RUSSIA.

This cachet was postmarked aboard the San Diego Maritime Muse um' s Star oflndia of 1863, at sea on 18 August 1996. The image is from Richard DeRossett' s portrait of the Star under sail on 9September 191 3 en routefromNushagak , Alaska, to her home port ofSan Francisco with a cargo of canned salmon for the Alaska Packers Association. (See story, pp. 16-17.)

What's New with the Guide? It looks like author and deckhand Joseph Stanford is having a fun time working on tugs in and aro und New York Harbor (Sea History 76). It reads as if there could be a book in his adve ntures. Before that, though, is there any possi bility thathe (or someone else) wi ll update Sea History's Guide to American and Canadian Maritime Museums (1990)? The Guide is very informative but it should be revi sed every five years or so. PETER HORN E

Trenton , New Jersey NM HS is currently seekingfundingfor a SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

3


NMHSNEWS MARITIME EDUCATION lNITIA TIVE

"New York Is a Capital Ship" Sponsored by Milton Trust "I learned to drive a ship, and I learned to use radar today," high school student Maximo Faujul, Jr., known as Junior, wrote in his journal this summer after a hands-on exercise at the ship's bridge simulator at the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler. What Junior failed to mention is that during this computerized video simulation, he and his fellow stuJunior Faujul operates the bridge simulator dents drove their containership at SUNY Maritim e College , Fort Schuyler. through a pier when they did not slow down soon enough during a docking maneuver. "Everything seems easy, but it's not what you think it is," commented fellow student Ludy D. Munoz, who, as the volunteer captain, was calling the shots on the bridge. "You have to pay close attention ... or you could cause a big disaster." Junior and Ludy were two of 15 New York City junior high and hi gh school students enrolled in "New York Is a Capital Ship," a seven-week program organized by NMHS, through a grant from the David M. Milton Trust, under NMHS's Maritime Education Initiative. Through MEI, chaired by Walter Cronkite, NMHS focuses its educational mission on new and existing programs that introduce students to America's maritime heritage in challenging ways. This summer's pilot program used the resources of NMHS staff, academic advisors, museums , learning centers, and shipping facilities. "The port made New York the world-class city that it is," said NMHS President Peter Stanford. "We developed this program to help young people learn about the city by giving them the opportunity to discover for themselves how important shipping has been, and by involving students in the real story of how , through hard work and enterprise, the modem city grew from its seaport origins." Besides Fort Schuyler, field trips included the South Street Seaport Museum , Pratt Institute 's historic steam plant, the Hudson River Waterfront Museum, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, Seamen's Church Institute, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of American Financial History , the SeaLand terminal at Port Elizabeth and the World Trade Center, where they met with Director of Port Operations Lillian Barrone.They explored vessels ranging from Indian canoes to South Street's Wavertree and Fort Schuyler' s 565-foot training ship Empire State and crossed New York's harbor in South Street Seaport Museum's historic tugboat, W.O . Decker and the Intrepid's US Navy liberty launch. And they met people deeply involved in the study of the historic port and in working the modem port, from ship preservationists and artists to merchant mariners. "Today 's trip was very interesting," Ludy wrote after viewing an immigration exhibit at South Street Seaport, "because a person like me is not that familiar with the past. ... These trips can teach a lot because we actually go out and see it live." Class sessions featured map and chart exercises, discussions, role-playing and journal writing. "For this program to work, we felt the students had to be able to articulate their experiences," Stanford said, explaining the emphasis on the written word. The students came from a summer program run by Hostos Community Students participate in a chart-work session at College in the South Bronx. NMHS the Maritime College . (Photo: Betsy Haggerty) staff developed the curriculum. Paul Pennoyer, a New York teacher who has worked as a professional mariner, was the principal teacher. Karen E. Markoe, chairman of the Humanities Department of SUNY Maritime College served as curriculum advisor. As a professional journalist, your reporter led the writing workshops.

Karl Kortum

1917-1996 Karl Kortum , Cape Hom sailorman and founderofthe National Maritime Historical Society, died on Thursday, 12 September, in San Francisco. Peter Stanford, president ofNMHS, said: "We will miss him enormously and are challenged to carry on his mission . Karl was a great bear, fierce in contention and devoted to the service of the ships he rescued for history and the men who sai led them. " Ships saved through his intervention include the historic fleet in San Francisco, vessels in other American ports-Hawaii's Falls of Clyde , Galveston 's Elissa, New York's Wavertree, Philadelphia's Moshulu -and historic ships abroad, from Australia's Polly Woodside to England'sGreat Britain. He inspired the creation of maritime museums across the country. A memorial service will be held aboard the Balclutha in San Francisco on 27 October. An appreciation of Karl's life and work will appear in the next issue of Sea History. We invite your impressions of him and comments on his contribution to our field for inclusion in this article.

J,

J,

J,

NMHS.Annuaf Awards Dirmer TOWBOAT NIGHT

honoring the NY Tugboat Industry

Friday, 15 November 1996 at the

New York Yacht Club 37 We st 44 'h Street, Ne w York City

Reception at 5:30, Dinner at 7:00 Cost per person: $150 Call

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- BETSY FRAWLEY HAGGERTY

4

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


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THE AMERICAN FLAG AT SEA:

Are American Merchant Mariners Overpaid? by Captain Warren G. Leback Criticism has been levelled at American merchant seamen's wages, charging that they are out of line with the pay of other workers. In response, I have made an effort to compare our mariners' wages with those paid to the Navy, Coast Guard and Maritime Administration personnel (the same scale as all Federal employees). My comparison uses 1996 base wages paid to seamen serving aboard the predominant class vessel engaged in the foreign trades: Class A-3 automated unattended engineroom, manning scale set at 21 men. Merchant seamen ' s ratings are in accordance with themanning scale. Navy/USCG individual pay scales are for equivalent ratings based on service: Captain-26 years; Commander-20; Lt. Cdr.-15; Lieutenant-IO; En listed-20. This corresponds with current merchant seamen ' s age and service. Federal pay scales, as with the Navy/USCG , are comparable ratings . GS grades at Step 1 (entry level) were used. For Master, Senior Executive Service 1 was used. Of course base wages do not constitute the final cost to the emp loyer, which includes benefits the employee does not see in his pay slip. Those benefits come into play when the participant is ill, disabled or retired. Still, there are several areas that can be compared. Vacations • Merchant seamen fully employed on an ann ual basis get 27 days vacation plus the allowance for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays worked while in the em-

ploy of the vessel (114) giving a total of 224 working days and 141 days off. Vacation days are earned against days employed. • Navy/USCG receive on average 30 days leave per year, plus (if assigned to shoreside billets) Saturdays, Sundays and holidays off. Thi s gives an average 221 working days and 144 days off. •Federal personnel receive on average 4 weeks vacation plus Saturdays, Sundays and holidays off, giving 223 working days and 142 days off. Here 's how time worked compares: Merch. marine 224 days/year Navy/USCG 221 days/year Federal 223 days/year Pensions • Merchant seamen benefit from two pension plans: Union (non-contributory) and FICA (contributory) . They must be employed on a vessel for an average minimum 120 days. •Navy/USCG personnel benefit from a non-contributory guaranteed military pension. • Federal personnel benefit from two pension plans: one jointly contributory from the employee and Civi l Service; the second is FICA/Social Security. With all three systems , there are minimum pensions, disability pensions, and service buyouts. All of the pension plans provide for cost of living increases. Medical Services • Merchant seamen medical plans and services are funded by the employer on

a per-day-employed basis, covering the seaman and his family. Medical services are provided either through union clinics or doctors and hospitals of choice. • Navy/USCG personnel are provided with coverage at minimum or no cost, for a full range of medical services at military clinics and hospitals. Coverage continues at retirement. • Federal personnel contribute to their medical plan with the government contributing part of the cost. The plan is elective and continues at retirement. Summary Shown below is the wage scale comparison by rating for 1996. For further comparison I' ve included average wages for some US airline personnel. US merchant seamen ' s wages averaged l l.6percenthigherthan their counterparts in the Navy, Coast Guard and Federal service. Days worked, pensions and medical services can be considered comparable. Military compensation includes housing, commissary and other privileges which go far to make up for their lower pay rates. Thus, it appears that merchant seamen 's wages are not significantly out of line with wages paid other US citizens doing comparable work. J,

J,

J,

Capt. Leback served as Deputy Maritime Administrator durin g the first Reagan administration and as Maritime Administrator under George Bush.

ANNUAL WAGE SCALES 1996, Crew of 21 Merchant seamen (224 d) Rating Wage Master 109,548 1st Mate 67 ,440 2nd Mate 58,764 3rd Mate 50,088 Radio Off. 58,764 Ch. Engin'r 106,548 1st Eng. 67,440 2nd Eng. 58,764 3rd Eng. 50,088 Bosun 38,040 AB/Maint. 29,256 AB/Maint. 58,764 AB 26,196 AB 26,196 AB 26,196 Electr. 46, 164 QMEO 37,860 E. Maint. 26, 196 Stew 'd/Cook 38 ,040 Chief Cook 30,588 Steward Utility 20,328 TOTALS $1,001,736

Navy/USCG (221 days) Rank Wage Captain 73 ,224 Commander 58,572 Lt. Cdr. 48 ,624 Lieutenant 36,804 Lt. Cdr. 48 ,624 Captain 73,224 Commander 58,572 Lt. Cdr. 48,624 Lieutenant 36,804 Warrant Off. 41 ,484 Petty Officer 35,088 Petty Officer 35 ,088 Seaman 1st. Cl. 30,756 Seaman 1st. Cl. 30,756 Seaman l st. Cl. 30,756 Warrant Off. 41,484 Machin't 1st C. 35 ,088 Machinist 30,756 Warrant Off. 41 ,484 Chief Cook 35 ,088 Steward's Mate 23,772 $892,992

Fed. Employees (223 d) Grade Wage 94,800 Assoc. Adm ' r. Director 62,472 Program Mgr. 52,860 Manager 44,460 Program Mgr. 52,860 Chief (Division) 73,488 Director 62,472 Program Mgr. 52,860 Manager 44,460 Special Asst. 33,768 Specialist 30,66 Specialist 30,660 Accountant 27,756 Accountant 27,756 Accountant 27,756 Tech. Asst. 37,092 Tech. Asst. 30,660 Program er 27,756 Special Asst. 33,768 Program Spec. 30,660 22,560 Clerk $901,584

US Airline Pilots Actual wages depend on contract terms, flight routes, schedules and other factors. These are averages, and there will be many instances offlyers earning more or less.

Aircraft Rating

Wage (average)

747

200,000 Captain Co-pilot 140,000 Flt. Eng ' r. 75,000

757

Captain 150,000 105 ,000 Co-pilot Flt. Eng'r. 75 ,000

727

Captain 137,500 96,250 Co-pilot Flt. Eng ' r. 68 ,750

(Not Applicable)


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SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

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7


THE CAPE HORN ROAD, PART

IX:

Spain Charges Ahead-Around the World! by Peter Stanford We heard it on our fast evening in port- an oddly peaceful kind of music that sounded like distant cellos tuning up. Seeking she lter from the fresh westerly gale that had sprung up to oppose her progress down the coast, the cutter lolaire had put in at the fishin g port of De Vares, where the Barquera River tumbles down the hill s of Spain ' s rugged north coast to join the Bay of Biscay. The rocky hill sides form a kind of amphitheater around the small harbor, giving lolaire's seasoaked crew a sense of being well and truly out of the insensate battl e with boarding seas. Those short, steep, unkind seas ari se quick ly on the Galician coast when the wind gets up! The ga le continued unabated the next day, as we could tell from the roar of fru strated ocean waves crashing on the rocky shore outside our sheltered corner, and the three of us aboard the old cutter went ashore for coffee and rolls . We handed over a large bundle of laundry to the proprietor of the coffee bar that stood at the head of the wharf, where I imag ine he had rece ived other sa ilors come to hi s corner of the world from stress of weather. As gentlemen of le isure (or scruffy vagabonds, take yo ur pick), we had our coffee, then stro lled up the unpaved main street of the fishing haml et, a dirt road which led up into the hill s. On our way, we saw some vi ll age women washing clothes , pounding them with small round stones against flat rocks in a brook streaming down the hill side, without benefit of soap . I recognized an old US Navy shirt of mine-the clothes were ours, for heaven' s sake! As we made our toilsome way onward, we met a few rough carts, each drawn by a team of oxen, whose solid wooden wheels turning the ir mass ive treelike axles made the haunting music we had heard echo ing off the hillsides the ni ght before. The wind died down at sunset, and , thinking of an early start nex t morning, the sk ipper asked the impos ing innkeeper, who had served as our ship ' s agent, for our bill. No bill , our man sa id- no bill for anything, coffee, rolls, laundry, nada. He expl ained : fo/aire was the first English yacht he had seen since the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, in fact the first vessel from abroad. This was in the summer of 1950, fourteen years later. He added that Spain stood ready to lead the common defense against the Russians when the day came that their tanks rolled forward to invade Wes tern Europe. We were to hear this message again and again in Spaina nation intractably proud , iso lated in that era from mainstream Europe, with much of the population li ving in a preindustrial economy. The Spanish sense of mission survived the C ivil War that had ravaged the country, and it flourished in the most remote reg ions of a nation whose aimies had dominated Europe, and whose fleets once straddled the world .

The Spanish Sally Forth "The Spaniards," wrote Peter Martyr, an Italian expatriate who joined the Spanish court, "are of a restless character, and constantly seek to accompli sh great undertakings. " Martyr wrote of Spanish voyaging of the 1490s and earl y 1500s, as Spanish captains invented a who le new trans-Atlantic trading system, conquering most of Central and South America and the Caribbean islands in the process. He had met and talked with Columbus , whose voyage to the Americas in 1492 owed much of its impact on the European consciousness to Martyr' s fe rvent writing about the importance of the di scovery by Europe of the "New World "-a name for the Americas whi ch he was among the first to use. Martyr understood-as few others did , Columbus included- that the world was just too

8

big for the newly discovered lands to be part of Asia; they had to be a new continent. How had the Spanish come to be the people who opened up the New World to the rest of the world? And how , in the next few decades, had they gone on to build an oceanic empire stretching beyond the Americas into the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean? There was more to this tremendous surge than the growing Iberian profi c iency in navigation . After all , Columbu s was not the first European to reach the Americas. Besides unknown voyagers who mi ght have made the passage- and there may have been such voyages, though Native American vulnerability to common European diseases arg ues that few people could have been involved- there is the welldocumented Viking settlement in Newfoundland, and very likely ventures beyond that, at the hei ght of the Scandinavian voyaging around 1000 AD. Co lumbus's biographer Samuel E li ot Morison explains the difference: Co lumbus's first voyage proved to be the avant-garde for thousands of hidalgos who, weary of sustaining their haughty pride in poverty, were ready to hurl themselves on the New World in search of gold and glory. Mori son, a deeply sympatheti c student of the Spanish nation and culture, states a raw fact here with candor. The fact is that restless warriors of the still medieval Spanish nation, formed of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile through the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, were at a loss as to where to go next. The Muslim invader had been expelled after nearly 800 years of struggle, intensifying toward the end in the crusading campaigns known as the Reconqui sta. Significantl y, the decision to sponsor Columbus ' s first voyage followed immediate ly upon the negotiated surrender in early 1492 of Granada, that beautiful southern province of Spain which echoes today with the heritage of the art, architecture and enchanted garden s of the last Muslim footho ld in the Iberian peninsula. Where, then, were the crusading hidalgos-the young Spanish knights-to go nex t in the service of God, and inquest of earthly riches? They had vanquished the powerful , and to them very threatening, western branch of the Muslim imperium , whose eastern branch in the Ottoman Empire had recently overthrown Constantinop le, the last stronghold of the ancient Roman Empire. In the wake of thi s cu lminating victory in the Near East, Muslim fo rces were sweep ing through Greece and the Balkans (with consequences we see in Bosnia today) and wo u Id soon threaten Vienna itself, in the heart of the emerging European polity. Later in the century Spain was to lead in the seaborne effort that turned back the Ottoman advance that would be financed with gold from the Americas. The Americas had yet to be won , but- here on horseback were the warriors who had won al1of Iberia to the edge of the sea! What more natural th an for the horseman to continue on by ship? An earlier monarch of Casti le had called the ship " the horse of them that fi ght by sea," as Fe li pe Fernandez-A1mesto reminds us in a recent essay. It is important to remember that Spain was strongly medi eva l in its governing concepts, its nobility striving to live up to chivalric values. The very word "chivalry" recalls the age of the horseman-the word derives from the Latin for "horse." In Engli sh, the word "knight, " describing the rank of the junior nob il ity, comes from a Germanic word for "young man "; but in the Continental languages a quite different idea is expressed . The Spanish fo r "kni ght" is caballero, or " horseSEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


The ship is "the horse of them that fight by sea." Francisco de Bobadilla, who had Co lumbus sent home in chains at the end of hi s third voyage in 1500. Meanwhile, the Caribbean islands were booming, with fe udal estates flourishing on land grants from the crown. These estates came to be called "encomi endas" because they were fo unded on Indian labor "commended " to farm the land for the benefi t of the landlord, usually a sprig of the warrior caste who ruled not as chief fa1mer but as a conqueror or "conqui stador." Despite unexpected imperial opportunity in the Americas, both the hard-charging Spanish and their tough cousins in Portugal kept their eyes on the glittering prize of the Indies trade. Dividing Up the Ocean World Here it seems a good idea to catch up with the farranging Portuguese. Their great sailor Bartolemeu Dias had rounded the Cape of Good Hope, at the southe rn tip of Africa, in 1487 , thus open ing the direct sea route Th e 85-ton Victoria, which completed Magellan ' s voyage round the world. looked something like this ship of 1530, dra wn by Holbein-a trim , able hull eastward to the Indies. Anxious to protect their ocean driven by a more articulated rig rhan Columbus's ships ofjust a generarion trade routes , the Portuguese negotiated the Treaty of earlier. Bur look at rhe crew, shown oursize and full of sin. This is rhe Tordesillas with Spa in on learning of Columbus 's Narrenschiff, or Ship of Fools. (From The Good Ship: Ships, Shipbuilding successful first voyage, whi ch most people thought had and Technology in Eng land , 1200-1520, by Ian Friel (Brirish Museum opened direct westward access to the Indies. Ratified Press, London UK , 1995)) by the Pope, Tordesillas divided the ocean world between the two Iberian kingdoms, assigning everything east of a mid-Atlantic line to Portugal , and everything man ," like the French chevalier or Italian cavaliere and the to the westto Spain. The line was set at 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, the demarcation protecting Portugal 's modem German Ritter, or " horse rider." The brute basis of the African trade, and, they fe lt, their prospective Indi es trade. chivalric order was that a knight mounted on horseback could Thi s arrangement paid an unexpected dividend when Pedro overawe or ride down the peasantry he owned, under the same right by which he held hi s land. And as Barbara Tuchman Alvares Cabral, leading a large fleet to follow up Vasco da details for us in A Distant Mirror, her close look at European Gama 's successful 1498 voyage to India, came upon the life in the 1300s, the knight did not hes itate to use his power eastern bulge of Brazil in 1500, which clearly fell within the with extraordinary brutality. This idea of people as property eastern, or Portuguese, sphere marked off by the Tordesill as had been broken in England by the 1500s-broken so deciline. The immense historic conseq uences of this early oceanic sively that the English had been able to win stunning victories voyag ing are shown by the fact that today Portugual 's heritage is rooted among some 162 million Portuguese-speaking Brain battl es on the Continent by anning the ir yeoman fanners as zil ians, or 15 times as many people as the 11 million living archers , as we have seen. o European king dared do this. today in Portugal. ¡ These opposed ways of looking at man were to add to the Columbus then addeq one more note to history. Managin g confusion that characteri zed the tumultuous 1500s. The cento persuade Ferdinand and [sabella to authorize hi s fourth tury was to unfo ld incredibly diverse, rapid and fundamental voyage in 1502, he joined the growing stream of Spanish changes in technology, yes , and in the spread of knowledge vessels coursing westward to the Caribbean islands. By this and the development of info1m ation abo ut the world . But even time a chastened man , he felt that God had punished him for more notable was the change in attitudes, ideals and expectations, reaching through to the heights, depths and further reaping too much glory pursuing hi s mission. He took to reaches of the human experience-the things Wordswo1th , wearing the rough garb of a Franciscan friar, and stayed at writing 300 years later about a Caribbean slave revolt, was to religious houses rather than the abodes of the rich and fan1ous. call "ex ultations, agonies, and man ' s unconquerable mind ." But staggering trials lay ahead in thi s voyage. He came to repent that he had ri sked the li ves of hi s brother and hi s twelveIn the Wake of Columbus year-old son Fernando, who accompanied him. However motivated , and whatever their expectati ons, people crowded aboard ships to follow Columbus to the Americas. Columbus called this voyage the Alte Viaje-the "High Yoyage"-and I agree with hi s assessment. Arriving off Hi s second voyage was made by a fleet of seventeen ships, Santo Domingo, the great city the Spanish had built in Haiti , enough to make the empty ocean white with sail , as Morison Columbus sought refuge from an impending hurri canenotes . This voyage confirmed Columbus 's remarkab le abiliwhich apparently he alone had the sea-sense to recognizeties as navigator-he hit the island chai n of the Lesser Anti ll es but was denied shelter by the governor. Finding a sheltered precisely as he planned. It shou ld also have confiimed hi s nook further down the coast, his littl e fleet survived the standing as a humanitarian-since, when he found the Taino hu1Ticane, which did a1Tive as predicted. Governor Ovando Indians had killed all the people he'd left behind to found a meantime ordered a large fleet to sea which had been preparcity, he accepted the Taino account of what the Europeans had ing for the voyage to Spain. Of the 30 ships , 25 were dedone to provoke the slaughter, and he took no revenge. But the voyage also showed him to be an erratic administrator and no stroyed, including one carrying home Co lumbus's nemesis politician at all. This led to hi s replacement by the courtier Bobadilla. SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUM

1996

9


THE CAPE HORN ROAD Columbus got on with the mission of the voyage: to find a passage through the Americas to the Indies. Thinking still of Cuba as a promontory of China, he steered west and south , fetching up on the north coast of Honduras . To avoid missing any through passage, he spent a month short-tacking to windward along the coast, making good no better than six miles a day . Tempests smote them at sea- more than once Columbus, a veteran seaman, believed his flotill a was about to be wiped out-and di sease and hordes of flies afflicted them ashore. Hitherto friendly Indians, noting the Spaniards' distinctly un-godlike distress and grasping for food, gathered to massacre the troubled expedition. Eventually, reaching the point where the neck of Central America joins the main body of South America, Columbus had to acknowledge failure. He turned north with his three surviving leaky , worm-ridden ships. Well short of Haiti and the main Spanish port at Santo Domingo, he was forced to abandon one of hi s ships, and he ran hi s two remaining ships, Capitano and Bermuda, ashore in sinking condition on the north coast of Jamaica. There, in utter misery and degradation, the crews awaited rescue for over a year. Emissaries sent out in two native canoes reached Santo Domingo, but they moved the governor only to send out a vessel after some months to see if any of this troublesome party were still alive . Ultimately the emissaries succeeded in chartering a vessel to pick up the most famous explorer of the modern age, and bring him home. Queen Isabella died in 1504 shortly after Columbus regained Spain. Broken in health but still fiery of spirit, Columbus died two years later, having consigned his unmet claims for money to finance further voyages. His overambitious financial claims were never met, but legend en-s in having him end up impoverished; he died a wea lthy man and left considerable fortunes to his two sons, with generous bequests to the church and to his native Genoa, " that noble and powerful city by the sea." Columbus died virtually forgotten by the world. People had other things on their minds , notably the fast-breaking scene in the Americas . Knowing the Americas were indeed on Europe's mind, the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci, who worked for the famous Medici family as a ship chandler in Seville, signed on three voyages to the New World . These he wrote up in a selfcentered style, gaining such a name for himself that a German mapmaker printed hi s name on the Americas, where it has stuck ever since. As Mori son reminds us, however, Columbus had given him a good reference-as an honest ship chandler. The traffic to the Americas kept growing as more islands were settled by the Spanish. In 1506, two ships a month sailed for the Caribbean. By the 1530s, this figure had doubl ed, and in 1549, IOI ships, or two a week, sailed from Spain for the islands and the growing settlements in mainland South and Central America. Thi s heavy traffic across an ocean was unprecedented in the history of the world. By mid-century the French and English had begun to nibble at the frin ges of the Spanish sea hegemony and its attendant monopoly on trade. With the initial findings of go ld in central America, and later the tremendous output of silver from South American mines, the sea route to the Americas became a major factor in European politics as the new Hapsburg monarch of Spain used hi s funds to buy votes to become Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. This gave him over lordship over a loose grouping of central European states. More to the point, he was able to set up and maintain a large standing army , which made Spain the dominant power in Europe.

10

The Spanish conquests in the Americas swept aside the oppress ive Aztec Empire in Mexico and the Inca Empire on South America's West Coast. Both fea ts of arms owed much to the determined and ruthl ess leadership of Cortes in Mexico and Pi zarro in Peru, but still more perhaps to the eager flocking of subject peoples to join the conquerors from overseas in overthrowing the native imperial power. This phenomenon , one might note, echoes what we have come at length to understand of other incursions by small bands aided by local revolt, notabl y the Dori ans in ancient Greece and the Israelites in Canaan.

Hunting for a Way Through the Americas The lure of the Indies continued to burn bright, as shown in Columbus 's search for a passage on hi s last voyage. And on 25 September 1513 , seven years after the death of Columbus , a Spanish adventurer, Yasco Nunez de Balboa, leading an expedition out of Darien, in the Isthmus of Panama, with Indian guides, saw the Pacific Ocean sparkling before him to the southward . Four days later he claimed "the Great South Sea," as he called it, for the King of Spain, and ventured out into the ocean in a native canoe. A few years later Balboa was brutally executed in one of the power struggles that broke out among the conquistadorsbut his grandiloquent claim of the world 's largest ocean for his faraway king came cl ose to achievement in com ing decades. And the name "South Sea" was to stick to thi s westwardlying ocean. Hundreds of years later, the schooners in the island trade from America's West Coast to Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji and beyond were to be known as Southseamen. The hunt for a passage through the Americas was pursued with vigor. In 1506, the year of Co lumbus's death, an expedition was sent by Ferdinand of Spain for thi s purpose, which merely covered again the ground Columbus had been over with such painstaking care in his last voyage. Other voyagers kept press ing southward along the South American coast, and in 1511- 12 a couple of traders in brazil wood or logwood-a timber in great demand in Europe for dying woolens-got as far south as the majestic estuary of the River Plate, which at first was thought to be a passage through to the Pacific. A few years later in 1515 , the Piloto Major or Chief Pilot of Spain, Juan de Solis, charted the whole area . The river was at first named for Solis, but was later named Rio de la Plata thanks to the immense quantities of silver (pl ata) that came down it from the mines of Peru. But by that time a navigator had taken a fleet through the one strait that did exist, far to the southward, just short of Cape Hom at the very tip of South America.

Magellan Leads the Way to the Pacific Sooner or later it had to happen. With the Iberian kingdoms of Portugal and Spain surging out into the ocean world they had opened to navigation , one of their adventurous captains was bound to get far enough south along the South American coast to come on what we now know as the Strait of Magellan. The person who did thi s, however, Ferdinand Magellan, not only found the passage but sailed right on through it, leading a fleet out into the Pacific-a fleet of which one survi ving ship went on to sail ri ght around the world. Magellan, who Jived from about 1480 to 1521-when he was killed leading an attack on a native settlement in the Philippines-stands out in the flow of hi story like a rocky promontory beset by breaking seas. His whole life, up to hi s last moments on earth , echoes with the clash of egos and the din of constant conflict, through which his steadfast purposes and robust, pugnacious sense of attack SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


fl

"Magellan's whole life, up through his last moments on earth, echoes with the clash of egos and the din of constant conflict. ... " enabled him to prevail over seemingly impossible odds. Magellan brought a wealth of Portuguese seafaring experience to the service of the Spanish crown. Born in the rugged north of Portugal to a family of the lesser nobil ity, he was orphaned at age l 0 or 12 and entered the service of the Queen as a page. In 1505 , aged about 25, he sailed with Francisco de Almeida to India. Almeida, sailing as the first Portuguese viceroy in India, set about establishing forts around the periphery of the Indian Ocean, blasting all Arab opposition out of the way with stronger ships, more advanced guns and superior warfighting doctrine. These fortified outposts made up the network of bases that would end the Arab monopoly of seaborne trade and open the rich traffics of the Indian Ocean to the Portuguese. The Arabs, it will be remembered, had long served as middlemen in Western trade with the Indies, to the benefit of themselves and their Western trading partners, led by Venice. With the new Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean, that long-standing fo1m of East-West trade began to dry up, while the new pattern of direct trade by oceanic ro utes went from strength to strength . Magellan pl ayed an active role in this. As an aggressive young commander, he took part in the capture of the seaport of Malacca in Malaya, and went as captain of one of the three Portuguese ships that sailed on from Malaya to the Moluccas, opening direct European trade with these fabled Spice Islands of the East Indies. Although Columbus had failed to reach the Indies by the western route, Magellan believed that Columbus's idea was ri ght, and he planned with his friend Francisco SeITao, who had stayed on in the Moluccas , to mount a westward voyage to the Indies. Returning to Portugal afire with his scheme, Magellan was ordered by King Manuel to join a campaign in Morocco. There he distinguished himself, but was also accused of a scandal regarding sale of captured cattle. He came home to clear hi s name, but got onl y a cold reception from the King, and, fa iling to get royal back ing fo r hi s westward voyage to the Indies, he quit Portugal in 15 17. He bade farewell to Manuel in a frosty meeting, and put himself at the service of Spain. Things went better in Seville, which had become a worldclass seaport on the strength of the monopoly it held on trade with the Americas. Here Magell an had fri ends in the Portuguese community, and in March 15 18 the outward-looking young King Charles I (soon to become the Emperor Charl es V) iss ued a contract sponsoring Magellan's voyage. From the outset the fl eet was packed with court favorites, headed by one Ju an de Cartagena-probably the illegitimate son of hi s bishop sponsor- who was named as junior co-comm ander. Morison , who carefull y studied the dramatis personae of these voyages , notes that in the five ships ass igned to the fl eet, Magellan had onl y one captain he could reall y count on: Juan Serrano of the Santiago, brother or nephew of hi s great friend Francisco Serrao, who awaited him in the Spice Islands. It was a fleet of warri ors, and Morison observes griml y: "Several of those who swore obedience to Magellan were already pl otting to kill him and take over. " The Ships and Their Crews The fleet consisted of Magellan 's fl agship Trinidad, of 100 tons, with a crew of 6 1; San Antonio, 120 tons , 57 in crew; Concepcion, 90 ton s, 44 in crew; Victoria, 85 tons, 45 in crew; and the caravel Santiago of 75 tons, 31 in crew. The crews came from all over, telling us much about the seafaring SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

population that gathered at the crossroads of northern and southern Europe in Seville. There were Portuguese (which the Emperor--or perhaps his eager beaver aides-sought to limit in number, since Portugal's ri valry with Spain made Portuguese subjects always suspect), and men from the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Rhodes, as well as Greece, Sicily and the Italian city states led, as always, by Columbus's Genoa. And there were men from France, Flanders, Germany, Ireland and England . The chief gunner aboard the fl agship was a Master Andrew of Bristol, England , and Mori son makes the percipient observation that all the gunners in the fl eet were from outside Spain. They came from England , Flanders, France, Germany and Lorraine- all northern Euro pean countries-revealing a curious weakness in the Spanish economy. Despite the soaring revenues Spain reaped from its conquests in the Americas, the nation remained pastoral and agricultural in the medieval pattern , while the world was changing aro und it-and changing not just in metallurgy and the technol ogy of guns, but in banking, in art, even in how people saw the world and conceived of their pl ace in it. Spain, underdeveloped but awesomely powerful , res isted change and stood outside its ameliorating stream. Silver from American mines flowed through Spain like fine sand through a sieve, expended to maintain the powerful Spanish army and the fast-growing bureaucracy needed to advance and administer the burgeoning affa irs of state and of the state ideology, Roman Catholi c Chri sti anity. Thi s ideology, which dictated an absolute truth about the nature of things and required absolute adherence by its subjects, became more aggress ive as it fo und itself challenged by Protestant Christianity , which, springing from roots in Bohemi a, Switzerland and some German states, defied the authority of the Rom an Catholic pope, asserting the indi vidual's direct relation with hi s Creator. On 20 September 15 l 9, all hands hav ing gone ashore to confess and be absolved of their sins, the fi ve ships put to sea. The fl eet reached the Canaries in a week, and from there ran south along the African coast before cutting ac ross to South America, in order to avoid the Portuguese warships they learned had been sent out to intercept them. Here they had their first bad weather, in gales colorfull y recorded by Antonio Pigafetta, the young scribe from the papal embassy to Spain, who had met Peter Martyr at the Span ish court and had been seized of a desire, as he put it, to see with hi s own eyes "the very great and awfu l things of the ocean." The newly di scovered lands and wonders of the ocean world , indeed, had all Europe talking since the Portuguese and Spanish had opened up that world onl y a generati on earlier-and Pigafetta was to prove a sensiti ve if occas ionally overimaginative narrator of the voyage that finally encircled the whole of planet Earth. Cartagena made his bid to take over the expedition as the fiv e vessels stood across the South Atlantic, bound for the now-familiar coast of Brazil. At a meeting aboard the flagship, Cartagena directly challenged Magellan, saying he would not fo llow his orders any longer. Magellan 's armed guard, waiting outside the door, thereupon burst into the cabin and seized Cartagena, who called out to his confederates to kill Magellan "according to plan." Cartagena was spared, on the urging of the other captains, but deprived of his command. On raising the Brazilian coast, the fleet avoided Portuguese settlements and headed south for two weeks of revelry and (Continued on page 33.)

11


The Remarkable Life of a Tosa Fisherman by Melbourne Smith Log book of the Whaling Ship John Howland, Sunday, June 27 , 1841: "This day windsji-om S.E. Isle in sight I p.m. Sent two boats to see if any turtle, found 5 poor distressed people on the isle, took them ojj; could not understand anything from them more than they were hungry. Made the latitude of the isle 30 deg. 31 m. N." ive hapless Japanese fishermen were rescued that day. They had lost everything in a fierce storm and had been marooned on Torijima Island southeast of Honshu, Japan, for 143 days. The American whalerJohnHowland, 377 tons, of New Bedford, happened upon the castaways and the men swam through the surf to the waiting whale boats and the safety of a ship that was larger and stranger than they had ever imagined. William H . Whitfield was master of the John Howland and he saw that the men were given medical attention, food and clothing. The youngest, Manjirofrom Tosa (dubbed John Mung by the crew), was just fourteen and he took great interest in whaling, to the delight of the captain. When the vessel reached the Sandwich Islands, fourofthe fishermen were left in the care of the authorities but the boy Manjiro chose to continue with the whaling voyage all the way to New Bedford, Massachusetts. He had become a favorite on board and he was taken to live with the captain and his wife on their Sconticut Neck farm and on Cherry Street in Fairhaven , a town across the Acushnet River from New Bedford. Manjiro became fluent in English and was enro lled in the Oxford School on Farm Lane , 1 attended the Unitarian Church, studied navigation at Bartlett' s Academy nearthe bridge leading to New Bedford, and was apprenticed to learn coopering. He was also entrusted to help Mrs. Whitfield when Captain Whitfield embarked on another whaling voyage. In 1846, a boom year for whaling, Manjiro joined the ship Franklin but not before penning a verse on a May Day basket for a yo ung girl named Catherine Morten. Many years later when the spinster Miss Morten was in her eighties, she recalled her timid admirer's written

F

1

The school and Captain Whitfield ' s house at 11 Cherry Street sti ll exist in Fairhaven. In 1988, Emperor Akihito of Japan (then crown prince) and hi s wife visited Fairhaven to see the historic structures and to view the Manjiro NakahamaCollection in the Millicent Library.

12

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A sketch of Manjiro signaling the John Howlandji·om Torijima Island, 1841.

words: " 'Tis in the chilly night, A basket you ' ve got hung. Get up and strike a light! See me run, But no take chase me." The Franklin cruised in Pacific waters close to Japan but was unable to land Manjiro. He did , however, have a joyous reunion with his rescued fishing companions when the ship called at Honolulu in 1848. He returned to Fairhaven in September 1849 with a successful net earning of$350for his three years' work. Gold had been found in California and Manjiro made his way west on a lumber

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1638-1855 Senaing snips to foreign countries is strict(yfor6itfaen. Jfe sfza{{6e put to aeatfi who secret[y enters into asnip anais fater aetectetf. 'Ifie captain of the sliip sfza{{6e aetainea to wait for a aecision from the Shogun. Jfe sfza{{ 6e iq_ecutetf who went to aforeign country, staia there ana fater retumeahome. 'Ifie rewara of200 or 300 pieces of si{ver accoraing to the merits sfza{{ 6e given to one who fzas searcfietl, aetecteiana reportea Christians. 'Ifie aescentfants ofsouthern 6ar6arians [Portuguese antfSpanisli] sfza{{6etfriven6ack._to theirowncountries. Ijonesheftertliemhe sfza{{ 6e aea{t punisnment ana his refatives sfza{{ 6e punishea accoraing to the aegree of the crime.

schooner around Cape Horn and arrived in San Francisco at the end of May 1850. He quickly took a steamer up the Sacramento River to the gold fields. It was a rough time for the young foreigner but he managed to earn $6000 and saved several go ld nuggets-the largest of which he held for his mother. He longed to return to his home in fear that his mother might be punished for his absence. Manjiro soon found passage on the steamer Elisha bound for Honolulu. He knew that his return to Japan might well cost him his head. Japan was a completely closed society at that time and the authorities wanted no intercourse with their countrymen once tainted by foreigners. Nevertheless, Manjiro, with two of the original three castaways sti ll living in Hawaii, fitted out a small boat which they named Adventurer. The three agreed to work their passage on the ship Sarah Boyd bound for Chi na; the captain promised to set them adrift in their boat when he neared Japan. As planned , the sma ll craft was lowered as they approached Ryukyu Island and they spent a hectic night at sea before finally beaching their craft on Japanese soil. Once ashore, the trio was promptly arrested, and they spent many months in prisons before being tried. All of Manjiro's possessions had been seized including the gold nugget intended for his aging mother and a cherished copy of SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


At right, the whaling ship John Howland drawn by Manjiro ajier his re/urn to Japan.

Bowditch's New American Practical Navigator. Remarkably , his life was spared and he was able to return to his village to a tearful reunion with hi s mother and the surprise of his friends. This was the beginning of turbulent times in 1853. Commodore Perry had suddenly appeared in Uraga Bay with the might of American naval ships. It was as if an apparition had appeared from the heavens and people began fleeing the capital at Yedo. During the crisis, a messenger appeared at Manj iro ' s house demanding his appearance in the capital. Manjiro 's lowly rank was quickly raised for the unprecedented circumstance. The shogun now depended on the advice of a commoner-a simple Japanese fisherman who had been educated in America. The part played in hi story by Nakahama Manjiro (his newly acquired titled name that included the right to wear two swords like a regular samurai) is learned by every Japanese schoolchild . He was the key tran slator for the negotiations between Japan and the United States. Be was rewarded with rank and honors never before bestowed upon one of such simple birth. Even his pri zed copy of Bowditch was returned and Manjiro translated the mighty tome into Japanese. He founded a school of navigation and consulted in both shipbuilding and whaling. In 1860 he navigated the Japanese ship Kanrin Maru to San Francisco with an official delegation bound for Washington DC. It was the first time the Japanese flag was displayed in a foreign port. Captain Whitfield was surely proud that his foster son was the first Japanese to navigate across the Pacific, and that he, William Whitfield , helped Manjiro acquire the knowledge to do so. In the summer of 1870 a Japanese delegation , with Manjiro as official interpreter, made its way to Europe. They sailed on the American ship Great Republic to California and rode the Union Pacific Railway across America. On reaching New York City, Manjiro made his way unannounced after almost twenty years to Sconticut Neck to a joyous reunion with Captain Whitfield, his beloved benefactor from the ship John Howland. Manjiro was to learn that the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania had crippled the business of whaling in New Bedford. Later, the captain wrote to a mutual friend in Honolulu: "John Mungero [sic] has made me a visit and he remembers you and all others that beSEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

At righ! , the compass transla!ed from Bowditch by Manjiro. At far right , "Manjiro" in Japan ese.

friended him when he was poor ... . It is wonderful to see the workings of Providence. " Manjiro retired to hi s family in Japan and died J 2 November J 898. On the Fourth ofJuly in 1918, the Japanese Ambassador to Washington presented the town of Fairhaven with an hi storical samurai sword on behalf of the eldest son ofManjiro, in token of hi s gratitude for the kindness shown by the town to hi s father. The Ambassador also place a wreath on Captain Whitfield's grave in Riverside Cemetery. It was not until 1925 that Manjiro's remains were taken to a final place of honor in the Zoshigaya graveyard in Tokyo. Three years later the government of Japan posthumously bestowed the Fifth Court Rank , Senior Grade upon Nakahama Manjiro in appreciation of his invaluable service to his nation .

The John Howland Foundation To further friendship between America and Japan , the John Howland Foundation is preparing to reconstruct the original whaling sh ip John Howland for a

MANJIRO

commemorative voyage to Japan. The passage will follow the taxonomic family of gray whales ' migratory route north from Baja, California, along the West Coast of America to the Bering Sea. Here the ship will break her research for a yearlong good will tour of Japan. The ports of call will include Tosashimizu, the sister city of Fairhaven and New Bedford. Tosashimizu was the Tosa port from which the young Manjiro departed on the morning of the fifth of January in 1841 in search of fish, on the voyage that was to begin a bond of friendship between two nations. The replicated John Howland will again study the gray whales on her return passage along their migratory route south back to lower California. .t

Naval architect Melbourne Smith is currently designing the John Howland. For furth er information on the Manjiro Project, write to Peter Phillips, President, The John Howland Foundation , PO Box 169, Fairhaven MA 02719. . 13


Wapama: The Last Pacific Steam Schooner by Karl Kortum As a West Coast maid-of-all-work, the Wapama towed the Star oflndia to safe harbor in San Diego in 1927. The Star, by far the elder ofthis odd couple,flourishes today (see pages 16-17), butthe NationalParkService has slated the Wapama for scrapping. Karl Kortum, in this last piece of writing for Sea History, pulls no punches in responding to this "cowardly assault on our last steam schooner." The judgment of the Ship Committee of the Historical Park Advisory Commission is that the ship can be saved. Accordingly, the National Maritime Historical Society's San Francisco Council is sponsoring a new Save Our Wapama Committee,co-chairedbyRearAdmiralThomasJ.Patterson, USMS (Ret.) and World Ship Trust Vice President Edward G. Zelinsky. Admiral Patterson led the herculean task of restoring the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien to steaming condition and two years ago steamed the big ship to Europe for the D-Day observances in Normandy. Gunnar Lunde berg, president of the Sailors' Union of the Pacific is among the members of the committee, which includes civic leaders and a cadre of experienced ship people. Immediate help is needed in letters calling for the ship to be saved, restored and re-opened to the public. Letters may be addressed to William G. Thomas, Superintendent, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and mailed to Save Our Wapama, 130 Main Street, Tiburon CA 94920. The Wapama Committee will then present your letter to the proper authorities. PS ittle more than a century ago a seafaring culture started to emerge on the Pacific Coast that was unique in the world. It was admired wherever sailors gathered: "When I was in [the Finnish square rigger] Glenard the first time, we had a real old shellback crowd-about a dozen of them. A number of them had been in West Coast steam schooners. In Finland yo ur steam schooners were famous for the wages paid in them , and the food. But work, backbreaki ng work . Most of the older deepwater men had tried it- for a few years. Great grub, fine pay , but work to kill you." So recalled Capt. Sten Lille from hi s time as apprentice in Glenard. Those steam schooners worked essentially to move lumber from the Pacific Northwest, where it grew, to the cities of California, where it was needed. They emerged in the earl y 1880s, a few at a time; the shipyards of their origin were at San Francisco's Fisherman 's Wharf or up Mi ss ion Creek at a point just be low Seventh Street, presentl y home to a gaunt freeway and nothing more. C. G. White built at Fisherman 's Wharf and Alexander Hay and Boole & Beaton on Mi ssion Creek. White, who came from Sweden in 1858 , launched the Surprise,JuliaH . Ray and West Coast from his modest little shipyard in 1885, the Greenwood and Whitesboro in 1886, the Alcatraz, Emily and South Coast in 1887 , and the second Julia H. Ray in 1888. He continued building, shifting to the Pacific Northwest, and launched a total of eighty-four vessels. White 's obituary in the Everett Morning Tribune in 1905 stated th at " while delirious he sat up in bed and drafted perfect plans for a new steam schooner. " The success of the vessels he built is attested to in this comment on the West Coast, publi shed in the Humboldt Times, 13 October 1887: Steam Schooners Profitable. The profitable character of

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14

the new steam schooners , of which many have been added to the coastal fl eet this year, may be gathered from the ex peri ence of the steam schooner West Coast, which was launched last year and has been employed without cessation since her firs t trip. The entire cost of the steamer, abo ut $25,000, has been repaid already to her owners from the profit of her trade. What class of vessel did the new type (gradually) repl ace? What craft carried the lumber down the coast to get the great Californ ia cities started? The answer is, for the most part, two-masted sailing schooners. They were small vessels, obliged with super seamanship to sail up to the cliffs of Sonoma and Mendocino counti es, to moor with an anchor ahead and a web of hawsers led to iron rings in rocks ashore. The unprotected coves-mere indentations in the coast-were called "dog holes"; the idea was to beat the next storm by getting the cargo aboard down a long wooden chute. As time went on the chute was rep laced by an overhead wire; the loads of lumber were sent down the wire to the schooner's decks on a trolley. In time, Californi a lumber was laded as well in the southern ports of Oregon and then farther up the coast in the Columbia River and in Grays Harbor, Washington; and redwood gave way to Douglas fir. A controversy has ex isted for a century over whether the first steam schooner amounted to an afterthought-stick an engine in a newly comp leted sailing schooner and , voila! a steam schooner. After all , there were literally hundreds of the two masters that had carried the lumber up to that point in the earl y I 880s-"Flatfoot" Hansen declared he saw fi fty becalmed under Point Reyes at one time. But although ex isting photograph s of the Celia and West Coast show a distinct sailing schooner hull, it is now felt that a naval architect mu st have been involved with their des ign

The barged Wapama awaits her fate.

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from the start to find accommodation for engine, boilers and coal bunkers in addition to cargo. The point was that the steam engine allowed the vessel to keep a schedule. She could enter and leave the "outside ports" with more assurance, not depending on the wind. Moreover, if her schedule back and forth to these dangerous dog holes was suddenly interrupted by a storm, she cou ld resume it in a day or two, lying offshore until the storm was over. Darrell McClure, a sailor and marine artist who grew up amidst the steam schooners in Eureka, California, had an account of the arrival of steam in these little craft-some under 200 tons: The engineer now had a place at the first table. The bowsprit has disappeared along with "de yibs" since "de enyin" has increased in power. The stem was straight, or almost straight, in steamboat fashion. A goodly foremast remained with a large forestays'l to the stemhead and the fores ' l itself had a fine span of length to the gaff and boom-an honest sized sail right in the middle of the ship. The crew lived in dismal comfort under the low fo'c's'le head. There were no J's or G's in that crowd, either. 1 Not for nothing were steam schooners known as "Finnish Men0 ' -War." Did the Scandinavians follow the trees , that is , did they gravitate naturally towards the forests ? Or did they follow the ships, an outgrowth of the forests.? Ships of the Redwood Coast (Stanford University Press, 1945) noted: "The coastwise fleet has long been recognized as California's Scandinavian Navy. On any Pacific vessel one can come across a Johnson, a Petersen, or a Liljeborg .... All hailed from the Scandinavian countries and all but a few retained their picturesque accents of the lands of the Vikings." Legends, factual and fanciful, have been passed on to substantiate the seamanship of these old-time skippers. Take old Captain "Rain-water Oscar" Johnson, who allegedly navigated hi s ship on an even keel for two blocks inland on rainwater alone before he realized his mistake, then calmly rang full speed astern and backed out into the stream again. And there was Captain Rohberg, who brought his ship into San Francisco harbor keelside up. This could go on, far into the night.

Last of a West Coast Breed When we were selecting seven ships for preservation in the 1950s, it was essential that a steam schooner be elected. She would be the most original type-like no other in design, distinctly a creation of the West Coast. Moreover, her cargo for this generation and for generations to come would be the Scandinavian heritage-a drive to "get the loomber on har," work hard at both ends ("get the loomberoffhar"), make trips/ make money, reli sh family life, friends , fill the stage with a cast of characters (nicknames widely used to separate out individual s from the many Johnsons and Olsens and Carlsons), and finally to build up a body of stories abo ut a century of the trade that are very humorous indeed. The Wapama was there, ready to load this cargo of history. Two hundred twenty-five wooden steam schooners were built in all; Wapama is the last survivor. Built in 1915 by the St. Helens (Oregon) Shipbuilding Company, she sai led in the coastwise lumber and passenger 1 The 'T's and "G"s were pronounced "Y." A "j ingle" was a "yingle."

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

trades for the Charles McCormick Company unti I 1930. For the next 19 years she sailed for other companies between San Francisco and Los Angeles and between Seattle and Alaskan canneries. Sold for scrap in 1949, she was left to rot in Puget Sound until the State of California bought the vessel in 1957 for its State Maritime Monument at Aquatic Park. The state ships and the monument were taken over by the federal government in 1978. ¡ The National Park Service, which administers the Wapama, now proposes getting rid of her. This is a defeatist, tailbetween-the-legs approach. The seven vessels to be preserved by the Park Service have been specifically named in the federal law that created the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, a law signed by President Reagan . In ceremonies in the Rose Garden the new methodology (a borax treatment) being used by the Park Service to preserve the Wapama was specifically honored. Then, the treatment was abruptly stopped. The millions spent thus far are out the window. The Park Service should be seeking ways to preserve the Wapama, not ways to get rid of her. There are many ways to do it. The vessel sits on a steel barge and that's what saves her. She needs a few additional steel struts. It would cost an exorbitant sum to rep lank the vessel so that she could float on her own bottom. It is not necessary-she has turned into a different kind of exhibit, one you can walk under to see what makes her a Pacific Coast steam schooner-those twentyinch-wide Douglas fir planks, no longer available, the ten-foot iron propeller which can be run overhead when it is refitted. The "triple expansion engine" has been equipped with a concealed electric motor so that it can be made to tum over when tours are led through the engine room. Moreover, a kind of archaeological dig has been carried out by an old chief engineer from her younger days, Angus McMillen. Mr. McMillen li ves in Seattle, has paid the ship a visit after 45 years and painstakingly identified every steam chest, hot box and burner as part of an oral history project. How did thi s antique, wooden engine room work? A photographic tour can be built around Mr. McMillan's remarkable memories. Similarly, ex-chief mates, skippers and deckhands who served in Wapama, as well as passengers (including a honeymoon couple) have come forward to put their recollections on tape. As a unit of the McCormick fleet, the Wapama did not merely move lumber but had modest passenger accommodations as well. She comes from a time when one traveled up and down the Pacific Coast by steamer rather than railroad or bus. The railroads existed, but connections were frequently tenuous and roads were worse. So Wapama glories in a handsome dining room entered from the deck above by a spiral staircase. She is that rare bit of Americana, a wooden passenger ship. Wapama was an extremely popular vessel during the years she was on display, from the late 1950s into the early 1970s. People loved her. Some eighteen paintings of steam schooner life were commissioned from a Saturday Evening Post artist and these were captioned by direct quotes taken from the life of her people. We shou ld act now to repel the cowardly assault on our last steam schooner. ,t

The late Karl Kortum was founder of the National Maritime Historical Society as well as the San Francisco Maritime Museum, which became the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. 15


Star of India Receives American Ship Trust Award by Justine Ahlstrom

tar of India, the oldest merchant ship sti ll sai lin g, received the American Ship Trust Award on 18 August under sail off Point Loma under the command of 86-year-old Captain Carl Bowman. NMHS President Peter Stanford, in presenting the award, saluted the sh ip 's company for the Star of India's excellent condition , sea-readiness and role as a sai l-training ship in her mainly dockside career. Her active sailing career encompassed a remarkable range of trades, including 21 voyages around Cape Horn and a significant role in shaping the history of the Pacific world through theemigrant trade. She began her life at Ramsey Shipyard in the Isle of Man, between England and Ire land, in 1863. Iron ships were newfangled items then, with the vast majority of vessels still being built of wood. She bore the name Euterpe, after the ancient Greek muse of music. As built, Euterpe was a full-rigged ship (square rigged on all of her three masts) and would remain so until 190 1, when the Alaska Packers Association rigged her down to a bark, her present rig. They would also change her name to Star of India in 1906, in keeping with their company practice for metal vessels. She began her sailing life with two near-disastro us voyages to India. On her

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first trip she suffered a collision and a mutiny . On her second trip out, a cyclone caught Euterpe in the Bay of Bengal, and, with her wooden topmasts cut away , she barely made port. Shortly afterward, her first captain died on board and was buried at sea. After such a hard luck beginning, Euterpe settled down and made four more voyages to India as a cargo ship. In 1871 she was purchased by the Shaw Savi ll Line of London and embarked on a quarter century of hauling emigrants to New Zealand, sometimes also touching in Australia, California and Chile. She made 21 circumnavigations in this service, some of them lasting up to a year. It was rugged voyaging, with the iron ship battling through terrific gales, " labouring and ro lling in a most distressing manner," according to her log. Life aboard was especially hard on the emigrants-cooped up most of the time in her ' tween deck, fed a diet of hardtack and salt junk, subject to mal de mer and a host of other ills, it is astoni shing that their death rate was so low. They were a tough lot, however, drawn from the working classes of England, Ireland and Scotland-and most went on to prosper in New Zealand. As for Euterpe, she was so ld to American owners in 1898 and, in 1902, commenced sailing to the

Bering Sea each spri ng with a load of fishermen, cannery hands, box shooks and tin plate. She returned each fall laded with canned salmon. By 1923 , however, steam ruled the seas and the Alaska Packers laid her up in Oakland, California, where she joined scores of her sister sai ling ships. What saved this particular ship from the knacker 's torch was a determined band of San Diegans , led by reporter Jerry MacMullen. They scraped up $9,000 to buy the Star in 1926, and the following year she was brought to San Diego under tow by the steam schooner Wapama (see pages 14- 15). For the next three decades , however, the Star languished; the Depression and World War II delayed her restoration. She began to ass ume an increasingly tattered aspect, with weepers of rust running down her sides and Irish pennants fluttering gloomily in her rigging. In 1957, Captain Alan Villiers, the famed windjammer skipper and author, came to San Diego on a lecture tour. He took one look at the dilapidated Star and delivered a broadside to the local press, lambasting the citizenry for doing nothing to save the gallant ship. Things got better after that. Slowly, the nickels and dimes trickling in turned to dollars. Skilled workmen along the waterfront

The ship-rigged emigrant packet Euterpe (later the bark Star of India) moored to a buoy at Gravesend on the Thames River in 1874.

Captain Carl Bowman has taken the Star of India out under sail nine times since 1976.

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At left, the Star of India leads an armada of more than 1,000 small craft on one of her historic cruises in August 1996. Above, the f erry Berkeley, immaculately maintained amidst a hive of activity, serves as a base for the museum's exhibit galleries, library and other fa cilities. (Photos by Bob Grieser)

volunteered their services , and the silence of decay aboard the Star was replaced by the cheerful sound of hammers and saws, and showers of sparks from welding torches. Finally, in 1976, the fully restored Star of India put to sea for the first time in fifty years under the command of Captain Carl Bowman. She sailed beautifully that day-to the applause of hundreds of thousands of her fans, ashore and afloat. Since that date the Star has put to sea eight additional times , three times in August of 1996. She has been called the foremost symbol of San Diego, for ships like her were the original sinews of the city's progress. Yet she is more than that-she is the essence of a vanished age, a glorious time when men and women voyaged under towers of canvas. Windships like the Star ofIndia opened up the globe and in doing so, they brought our modem world into being. Her presence in the harbor has opened new opportunities for the city. In 1972, the San Diego Maritime Museum was transformed when the San Francisco ferry B erkeley of 1898 took her place beside the Star of India. She is steelSEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

hulled with upperworks of wood. In a three-year campaign that is a saga in itself, the wooden structure, which had considerably deteriorated , was made completely sound and has since been kept up to the highest standards, with resulting low maintenance costs. The hallmark of restoration work in San Diego is the immediate removal of rot as soon as it appears; the entire structure is continuously recaulked and repainted. A well organized museum is now installed aboard Berkeley. Meetings of 200-300 people are routinely held on board and, on a recent Saturday, the ship surged with life as staff and volunteers busily attended eager crowds of vi sitors. Another major acquisition is the Edwardian steam yacht M edea, built in Scotland in 1904. At 109' she is not a giant, but she is a luxurious example ofa tumof-th.e-century nabob 's yacht. She steams regularly in the

bay and is maintained to standards worthy of her aristocratic heritage. When her steel hull was wearing thin in the 1980s, it was reinforced by a Coast Guard approved plastic coating which ha$ held up well through annual USCG inspections. This mode of restoration preserves her original plating and Scottish workmanship. A similar treatment may be adopted for the Berkeley when her time comes for hull renewal. The best news is that with heavy public attendance, active educational programs and the excellent state of preservation of three historic ships, the museum is in strong financial shape to face the future, thanks largely to earned revenues, donated services, an enthusiastic corps of 360 volunteers, and an active, growing membership of 1900. This museum and its ships are maritime preservation at its stellar best. J, This article was preparedfrom informa tion provided by the San Diego Maritime Mus eum and from Peter Stanford's visit to San Diego in August.

Medea steams in San Diego Bay. (Photo by Bob Grieser)

17


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N efson at Santa Cruz:

A Minor Battfe of Major Importance by Joseph F. Callo

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ice Admiral Lord Horati o Ne lson is a larger than li fe hi storica l fi gure, best known fo r hi s unparalleled series of victories at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, Copenhage n in 180 I and Trafal gar in 1805. However, the Battle of Santa C ru z in 1797, in which Nelson led an attack on that city in Spain 's Canary Islands, was ac tuall y a crushing defeat--one that almost ended hi s career. An analys is of that littl e-known battle y ie lds important insights into an amazing li fe .

Prelu de to Battle In February of 1797, during the Battl e of Cape St. Vincent, Ne lson as toni shed both fr iend and foe by turning hi s ship, HMS Captain , out of the British li neahead form ation . It was a startling breach of the Roya l Navy's Fi ghting Instructi ons of the time. But hi s career-ri sking acti on created an opportunity fo r the rest of the Briti sh fo rce to engage the Spanish ships close ly, and a major British victory res ulted. His commander-in -chi ef at the time, Admira l Sir John Jervis, prai sed Nelson fo r hi s bo ld maneuver. When another captain comp lained that Ne lson had violated the almost sacred Royal Navy Fighting Instructions, Jervis said , " It certain ly was so, and if ever yo u commit such a breach ... I will fo rg ive you also." Following the events at Cape St. Vincent, which included the dramatic capture of two Spani sh ships-of-the- line by Ne lson, he was kni ghted , ho isted hi s new rear admiral 's fl ag aboard the 74-gun HMS Theseus and continued to operate in the Mediterranean under Jervis. In earl y Jul y, while commanding a small , inde pendent squadron , Nelson undertook a bombardment of Cadiz. During that miss ion, he led a ni ght attack against Spani sh gunboats, di stingui shing himself in hand-to-hand combat with the crew of a Spanish launch. Jervis's descriptio n o f the action sa id , " Notwithstanding the great di sproportion of numbers, 18 of the enemy were killed, all the rest wounded , and the ir launch taken. " A by- product of the Cape St. Vincent and Cadi z successes was a sense of in vi ncibil ity that infl uenced Nelson 's planning fo r, and actions at, Santa Cruz.

nary Island s. In the ir tim es, D ra ke, Haw kins and Bl ake had all attacked the city, and Bl ake had achieved a notable success in 1657 , des troyi ng a sizable Spani sh fl eet there. Nelson recognized that Blake had benefited fro m an onshore wind during that earlier attac k and rea lized that he could not re ly on the same condi tions in the fu ture. Presumab ly, that was a consideration when in Apri I 1797 Nelson proposed a pl an fo r an assault against Santa Cru z that wo uld include major arm y units and that would not depend on idea l weather. But the troops were not fo rthcoming, and in June, Admi ralJerv isasked Nelson if he was willing to try the attack as a strictl y naval operati on. Nelson, in a characteristic response, said that with 200 ex tra marines, and "with General T roubridge as hore and myself afloat, I am confi dent of s uccess. " At that time, T homas T ro ubridge was captain of the Culloden, one of the ships-of-the- line in Ne lson 's squadron . The fac t that two British frigates had successfull y cut out the French fr igate Mutine during an attac k on Santa C ru z in May probabl y contributed further to Nelson's cocki ness about the project.

Initial Phases of the Battle On 15 Jul y, Ne lson departed from the Mediterranean with eight ships. In addi tion to the Th eseus, there were the 74gun Culloden, the 74-gun Zea lous, the

50-gun Leander, the 38-gun Seahorse, the 36-gun Emerald, the 32-gun Terpsichore and the 10-gun Fox. Nelson'sorders from Jervis were typi call y general for the time, when bas ic communi cati on coul d take weeks or months. The objective was to capture a Spani sh treasure ship believed to be in Santa Cru z, and to " ... take, burn, sink or otherwise destroy all enemy vessels of every descripti on." Ne lson's pl an was straightfo rward , and its success depended heav il y on surpri se. On 22 Jul y, Ne lson arri ved within sight of Tenerife 's Mount Te ide. He intended to keep the ships-of-the-lineTheseus, Culloden, Zealous and Leander--o ut of sight, while the smaller

ships-Seahorse, Emerald, Terpsichore and Fox-would work inshore under the cover of dark ness. The inshore ships wo uld launch an assa ult on two fo rts to the northeast of Santa Cru z, where volcani c roc k and heavy surf line the coast. Ne lson planned fo r the fri gates to disembark the assa ult fo rce, ro ughl y 1,000 strong, under Troubridge. He antic ipated that the assault force wo uld overrun the fo rts, and at daw n the shipsof-the- line would enter the harbor and bombard the c ity's defenses. Ne lson be lieved that the combined action would quickl y cause the city's capitul atio n. The first problem was the wi nd, which was strong and offshore. As a res ult, the

The Bri1ishflee1, commanded by then Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, attacks Santa Cru: on 1he island of Tenerife in !he Canaries, 24 July 1797. Painting by Esleban Arriaga, 1995 . Courlesy Muse0Mi!i1ar Regional de Canarias , Santa Cruz, Tene rife.

Background Circumstances Santa Cru z is the main harbor of the island of Tenerife, one of the major CaSEA HISTORY 79, AUT UMN 1996

19


boats loaded with the seamen and maquickly redeploy hi s troops and the local rines were still a mile from shore as militia from point to point during the dawn broke. "General" Troubridge rebattles negated Nel son's feint. The British never establi shed the momentum turned to Theseus to report to Nelson, and to suggest that the assault force needed to overcome a larger force that occupy the high ground behind the fort. was not inclined to panic. In Troubridge's estimation, that would In the rough seas, the boats-loaded achieve the same purpose as occupying with sailors and marines who had to be exhausted-got fa irl y close to the shore the forts. Nelson agreed, and the assault force was finally put ashore at about nine before bei ng seen. But then, a murderous fire of grape and canister was unleashed. in the morning-at that point, lacking the element of surprise. A small group, including Nelson, reached The Spanish commander, General the mole and , amazingly, overwhelmed Antonio Gutie rrez-a tough and rethe defenders. However, they could get This painting of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio sourceful Castilian who had strength- Nelson by Heinrich Fuger portrays Nelson no farther in the face of the defenders ened the Canaries' defenses since hi s shortly before his death at Trafalgar in J805. positioned in depth around the mole. assignment there--quickly reinforced Nelson had been wounded as he left hi s the position that was Troubridge's obboat. Hi s ri ght elbow was shattered by jective. Further, because of the adverse grape shot believed to have been fired by Sea Tactics Applied to wind and c urrents, the ships-of-the- line Assault from the Sea "El Tigre," a cannon that is today ex hibcould not get closer than three miles. Nelson 's alternate assault plan was a ited, along with other artifacts from the The operation was a shambl es, and version of the seagoi ng tactic he used battle, in Santa Cruz's Museo Militar. Nelson recalled the boats and the in- later at Trafalgar: go at the enemy's The wound was so severe that Nelson shore ships. The squadron then stood off center, create confu sion , and rely on the was returned to Theseus where hi s arm in hi gh winds and heavy seas, with top- superior fighting sk ill s of your own was amputated above the elbow. masts struck. forces to achieve victory before the enMany of the other boats were swampSome observers claimed in hindsight emy recovered. ed, battered to pieces on the rocky shorethat Troubridge should have adapted to The assault force was divided into line, or sunk by cannon fire . The Fox, circumstances and pressed on with the several divi sions. Nelson led the one that with about 180 of the assault force aboard, initial assa ult-without ¡returning for was to attack the enemy's most central was struck "between wind and water" consultation with Nelson. By personally point by landing on the harbor mole, and sank in the harbor. Nelson, who had assuming leadership of the second ef- then heading for the town square. Before been saved by hi s stepson, Josiah , was fort, Nelson implied that he also held disembarking the assault force at llPM being returned to the Theseus in a comthat opinion. After the battle, he was on the 24th , Nelson anchored the squad- mandeered boat. In an action typical of explicit. "Had I been with the first party, ron to the northeast of the city, making it those that endeared him to his men, the I have reason to believe complete suc- appear that there would be another at- barely conscious Nelson di verted the cess would have crowned our efforts." tack on the forts there. The diversion boat to ass ist the Fox's survivors. Nel son 's thought process after the worked, to the extent that Gutierrez One small group of about fifty men, failure of hi s original plan was revealed shifted troops from the town to the north- led by captains Troubridge and Wall er, in hi s after-action report to Jervis: "Thus east. However, Gutierrez 's ability to struggled ashore through the surf to the foiled in my original plan I considtown 's south . Somehow they fought ered it for the honour of our King and "Nelson Wounded at Tenerife , 24 July 1797," by their way into the town square, excountry not to give over the attempt to Richard Westall . Painted in 1809,four years after pecting to rendezvous with other Britpossess ourselves of the town , that Nelson's death, this work expresses the nation' s ish elements that never were able to emotional attachment to their mourned hero. our enemies might be convinced that join them. At dawn, thi s group moved there is nothing that Englishmen are sou th and joi ned another smalI group, not equal to." led by captains Hood and Miller, that One of the most serious fl aws in was under heavy fire. Despite their Nelson's approach, lack of an accusmall numbers-about350- theyset rate assessment of his opposition, out to capture the town's citadel. But show s through that stateme nt. As they were surrounded by 8,000 di sciNelson biographer Ernie Bradford plined Spanish troops, an unfriendly put it, " Nel son's experience of the populace experienced at fighting pi Spaniards at sea had given him no rates , and even the remnant crew of good reason to respect them , but he the captured French frigate Mutine . had never encountered them ashoreIn a move that averted total disaster, Troubridge sent a note, under a except briefly in Nicaragua. He was unaware what magnificent fi ghting flag of truce, to Gutierrez. The note threatened that, unless the British were soldiers the Spaniards could be, and how- in those days-their co lonial allowed to return to their ships, they would burn the town to the ground . outposts were often manned by their Gutierrez agreed to let them leave, best troops." 20

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


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General Gutierrez and captains Troubridge and Hood sign the ceasefire agreement, as Nelson recovers aboard Theseus.

probably as much in recognition of British audacity , as in fear for the town . Aftermath Following the battle, there was an example of the humanity that sometimes emerges from the savagery of combat. Gutierrez and the town 's inhabitants provided for the British casualties and even helped to reprovision the British ships for their return to the Mediterranean. A Spanish description of the aftermath says, "the generosity of the islanders under the direction of their commander overflowed. The Santa Cruz hospitals were opened for all the wounded, the soldiers from both factions fraternized , food, and wine generously distributed and the Spanish ships returned the freed Englishmen to their fleet. The Tinerfefios' generosity moved Nelson to send Gutierrez a modest gift of cheese and beer, along with a message of thanks for ' the humanity with whjch the wounded and all those who had disembarked were treated."' The Battle of Santa Cruz was not strategically noteworthy. It didn ' t discourage Spain, which had reentered the waronNapoleon 's side in 1796. It didn't change the strategic equation between Britain and France, and the British lost no major ships. Still , the impact on Nelson was profound-serious enough to be a defining moment in his career. His first dispatch to Jervis after Santa Cruz was full of deep depression. It began, "I am become a berthen to my friends, and useless to my country," and continued, "When I leave your command, I become dead to the World; I go hence, and am no more seen." But his communications to Jervis also expressed a realization that eventually made him a better commanderthat he had been the subject of "flattery enough to make me vain. " His pride was checked, but thanks to Jervis, who had become the Earl of St. Vincent after the victory at Cape St. Vincent, Nelson ' s spirit wasn't completely crushed. When Nelson rejoined Jervis, his commander-in-chief' s greeting struck the right chord. "Mortals cannot command success," was its essence. Thus, the Earl saved the chastened and wiser Nelson for future, crucial victories at the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar--events that had substantial impact on Britain 's emergence as the predominant European force during the 1800s. Lessons Learned There are also other lessons for analysts of the Battle of Santa Cruz. The first SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

~

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8 L~~~!:..'.~~-----•••••••liilll•••..;;;:~iilllllill•llil Under the terms of the ceasefire, the British were allowed to return to their ships, after courteous and humane treatment by the Tinerfefws, who cared f or the wounded and even helped reprovision the British ships.

reinforces something applied with success during World War II, namely , when mounting an assault from the sea, don ' t hesitate once the attack has begun. Troubridge hesitated at Santa Cruz, and momentum and surprise were lost. The Spanish forces were well prepared by the time the second assault began. One can only wonder if the outcome would have been different if Troubridge had improvised to deal with the circumstances, instead of returning to consult with Nelson. The second, and clearly obvious, lesson is that it 's foolhardy to underestimate your enemy. There are many elements of raids from the sea that are beyond the control of the attacking forces . But the attacker usually does have significant control over forming an accurate assessment of the enemy. Nelson was defeated by an experienced commander who had prepared Santa Cruz 's defenses well, and who maneuvered his force effectively. Noth-

ing in Nelson 's or Jervis's writings before the operation indicates that they anticipated such a tough adversary. Timeless Verities The relatively obscure Battle of Santa Cruz has much to teach those who understand that there are timeless verities associated with naval combat. The British Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Hill-Norton, GCB, emphasized this in Washington DC on Trafalgar Night, 21 October 1970. To a group of US and British guests he said: "Itis a widely held fallacy that to look back on the past is not only unprofitable but a sign of decadence. Nothing could be farther from the truth; none of us should make the mistake of thinking we have nothing to learn from history or its great men. " ,t

Joseph Callo is a free-lance writer on naval, travel and business subjects and a rear admiral, USNR (Ret). See also "Nelson: Man and Myth" in SH 71. 21


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MARINE ART

Under Sai[ in the Pacific Northwest by Capt. Bill Larson with art by Scott Kennedy he first sails seen on the West Coast of North America belonged to Juan ..., Rodriguez Cabrillo ' s fleet, which came to ~--~IH-~~~ the coast of the Californias in 1542. Thirty-seven years later the second sail appeared, as Francis Drake, the first Englishman to scout the coast, arrived in 1579 and sailed to a latitude sti ll argued about, before continuing on aro und the world, then back to England and Elizabeth ' s rewards. Since that time, a rich and varied seafaring tradition has developed along the Coast. And now , what ' s the present status of sail training in the West? Do young seafarers in square-rigged vessels still watch the sun set on the Pacific? Are the old romantic terms, nowadays found mostl y in unabridged dictionaries, sti ll taught and spoken? We shall see! "Spritsail Repair, Lady Washington " (pen and ink) Marine artist Scott Kennedy has trekked the coast, painting and drawing the sail training vessels he encountered, from British Columbia in the north to San Diego 1913, she then sailed through the Straits of Magellan , heading in the south. His works capture the romance and Iifel ike qua!ities for Arctic specimen hunting for herowner, John Borden. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, she was delayed in her of the vessels and the operations they support. quest, and then was purchased by the San Francisco Bay British Columbia In Victoria, British Columbia, the Sail And Life Training Pilot ' s Association, for whom she sailed until 1952. Today, she is operated by Sound Experience, and her trainees still set Society (S.A.L.T.S.) has developed an extensive program sails without any mechanical assistance but the tackles in her using two ships, the topsai l schooner Pacific Swift and the Nova Scotian fishing schooner Robertson II. Currently they running rigging. Many gasp as they look up at the newly set are building a near-duplicate of the 56-year-old Robertson II. main: "Wow ! We did that! " Public school s, special interest groups, and many other organizations keep her decks filled Pacific Swift has logged over 100,000 miles at sea carrying as throughout her March to November sailing season. Volunteer many as 20 trainees. This includes a visit to Brisbane, Australia, in 1988 , as part of her maiden voyage. The new schooner, crew training is ongoing, and docents and environmental as yet unnamed, will accommodate five crew and 30 trainees educators are aboard to provide instruction . As she approaches in coastwise voyages , and six crew with 24 trainees offshore. her 85th year of sailing, her supporters grow in numbers and In addition to offshore, bluewater crui sing, full range of the adventures accumulate. Her stately silhouette graces Northtraining in coastwise seafaring sk ill s is offered for S.A.L.T.S. west waters, easi ly revealing her legacy of B. B. Crowninshie ld ' s mastery of schooner design . trainees , with trips through the islands of the Gulf of Georgia, the San Juans, and the waters and fjords of British Columbia. The first American sail appeared on the West Coast in The program aims at the development of the spiritual as well as 1792, as the Boston vessels Columbia R ediviva (Capt. John the physical aspects ofa sailor' s life, cast in the dynamic process Kendrick) and Lady Washington (Capt. Robert Gray) arrived to begin trading for furs, especiall y sea otter pelts, to be of the sai ling vessel and life aboard with one's shipmates. Washington State exchanged in China for tea, spices and Far Eastern goods. The Across Juan de Fuca Strait, the venerable schooner AdventurColumbia, then under Gray, returned home to Boston via ess sail s forth from Port Townsend, Washington, offering sail China, becom ing the first American ship to circle the world. A fine replica of Lady Washington sails from her home port of training and educational programs aimed at protecting Puget Sound as a fragile environmental treasure. Adventuress is Aberdeen , Washington, on Grays Harbor. The Grays Harbor herself of hi storic interest. Built in East Boothbay, Maine, in Hi storic Seaport Authority, augmenting a generous construe-

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SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

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UNDER SAIL IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST tion grant from the State of Washington, gathered fund s to build Ray Wallace 's design, and the present brig, now seven years old, is a hi ghly refined, authentically rigged replica of the original, with US Coast Guard Certification to carry passengers on ocean routes. Her sail training programs extend through the waters of Washington State, including the Columbia River. In 1997 her schedule will take her down the coast to Southern California, thence to Hawaii , with a return to Grays Harbor by midyear. Since her launching in 1989, thousands of school children have trod her decks and learned of the hi storic original voyages of Kendrick and Gray. The very high degree of rigging detail on this vessel makes trainin g for her volunteer crew a special challenge. Other than modern safety equipment, her gear is faithful to the period of the original. If hoped-for funding programs are successful, a voyage to Hawaii and Japan is planned for 1998, reliving some of the travels of the original ship over 200 years ago. California In San Francisco Bay, the square topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain is sailed vigorously, carrying school groups, volunteer crew trainees and charter passengers. Her steel hull , designed by Ray Richards and built in Hawaii in 1988, reflects design elements of the 18th century, while a rig reflecting I 9th-century practice provides excitement for all who join her. The plentiful winds of the area give thi s ship lots of drive, and she is a colorful sight on the Bay. This coming winter, Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington will tour Southern Above, "Empress and Swift of Ipswich in Victoria Harbour" (watercolor and ink , 22" x 30" ); below, "Departure" (watercolor and ink, 30" x 40" ) depicts Star Pilot in Newport Harbor, Oregon.

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SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


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California ports together, with their "Voyages of Rediscovery" program, which will provide dockside and underway historical programs for 4th and 5th graders, focusing on the history of Spanish exploration of California waters in the 1790s. Long Beach is homeport for the California State Tallship, the topsail schooner Californian, a close replica of the Revenue Marine Cutters which sailed the West in the late 1800s. Her sea miles have included trips to Hawaii, coastwise voyages, and visits to most major ports of the West. Her rakish spars, long jibboom, and rolling cannon fire have added spice and elegance to nautical festivals in many shoreside communities . Californian's training programs reach public and private schools, colleges and universities and provide a strong flavorofthe early history of Spanish exploration in the region. Southern California can boast of a variety of sail training ships. The topsail schooner Swift of Ipswich, designed by Howard Chapelle and built in 1938 for William Robinson, now sails underthe flag of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, offering programs of sail training together with local hi storic and environmental lessons. The lnstitute 's plans include building a pair of new schooners which will assume much of the heavy loads now carried by the handsome Swift. Southern California's yearlong sailing season continues to lure many to a sea adventure. Kennedy 's portrait of Californian and Swift of Ipswich conveys the dramatic spirit of the two vessels and the colorful contrasts of their design periods. "Who wouldn't leave the farm and go to sea," as the old saying goes? At right, "Reflections of Adventuress" (oil on linen, 24" x 36") shows the schooner at Roche Harbor; below, "Schooner Star Pilot " (oil on canvas, 36" x 48") off Point Loma, California .

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SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

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"Reefing Down" (pen and ink, J5 " x 20" ) depicts Cali fornian and Spike Afrika.

About the Artist Scott Kenned y's attraction to the sea and its depiction in art began in his boyhood. By age 13 he had already so ld hi s first painting, and hi s career in art had beg un . While still in high school he was commi ss ioned to prepare a drawing for presentation to then-Governor Ron ald Reagan. Arthur Beaumont, a noted nava l arti st, is credited by Scott as providing strong early influence. Beaumont ' s recognition of Scott's unique a rti stic style provided needed encouragement for the yo ung Southern California artist. Scott's arti stic ability provided a ticket around the world , taking him to pai nt in Australia, and to li ve and paint in Hawaii and coastal Mex ico. Hi s greatest adventure, however, was in Europe where he and hi s wife bought, restored, and sailed the Dani sh ketch Svanen for ten years, while Scott painted throughout Germany ' s waterways and Scandinavia' s islands , fjords, and shipyards. Scott, who has made creating marine art on location his specialty, has left commi ssioned works in major maritime museums in Holland and German y. He has five times been the offic ial arti st for the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, and has painted on location in many nati ons' pri vate camps during three America's Cup races. After ex hibitions in maritime museums in the Pacific North west and California, he ex hibited on the East Coast at Bi g Hom Gal leries in Connecticut in September and M ysti c Maritime Galleries in October. For information about hi s work contact: The Scott Kennedy Studio, PO Box 935 , Waldport OR 97392; Tel: 541 5633006, FAX: 541 563-6005 . 26

T he G loucester schooner Star Pilot lies restless ly in San Diego, awaiting award of her Sai ling Schoo l Ship Certifi cate fro m the US Coast Guard . One of the last of the big fis hermen, she was designed by W . Starling Burgess to race again st the Canad ian champion Bluenose. Before completion by the James and Tarr Yard in Essex, Massachusetts , in 1924, she was purchased by the Boston Harbor Pilots Assoc iation , and sa iled as their pilot vesse l until 1976. Now fully refurbi shed w ith muc h love and attention , she's ready to fulfill a new destin y, sailing the West Coast and presenting a vari ety of training programs, ranging fro m dockside tours, day sa il s, short crui ses, and ten-day ex plorations of the coastal islands, presentin g spec ia li zed training in oceanography , marine biology, and the sa iling of the big vessel herself. The largest activel y sa iled vessel on the West Coast, the 154 ' Star Pilot offers rare chall enges indeed for those who wo uld set her sail s, climb her ri g, chart her course, sing her songs , and learn what she has to teach. In her portrait, Scott shows the power of the bi g vessel , beating close hauled aro und Pt. Loma, toward a romp o n the open Pacific. The opening question of thi s arti c le concerned the state of sail training on the West Coast. The artist's eyes and hi s works have illustrated what vessels are engaged in the process: In a way, this is a report to our di stant shipm ates, in an attempt to let everyo ne know ho w things are going. It also strives to inv ite and encourage all who wou ld follo w Masefie ld 's li ne, " I must go down to the sea again ... " to join us as we keep our history, our skills, our vessels , and our challenges ali ve. Come stride our decks , climb our rigging, sing our shanties, share our adventure! The sa iling of c lassic vessels such as these all ows one to experience what the Old Ones mi ght have felt, I00 or even 200 years ago. Furl a t 'gan'sl on Lady Washington, in the rain , on adark night, while she rolls and pitches 80 ' below. Or stand on the footropes of the main boom of Adventuress, tending the outhaul , while 18 shipmates are reefing the big ma insa il. Or close on the coast of North America, returning fro m Hawaii in Pacific Swift. These are the adve ntures that ex pand the spirit, that build our confidence, that shape our views of our selves. West Coast sail training? It is, indeed, a live and well! ,t

Capt. Larson has been a sailor since his youth . Now retired, he has been a military officer, a university professor, and a master mariner. He lives in Port Angeles, Washington, and trains sailors aboard the square topsail ketch Scrimshaw. Contact information for West Coast Sai l-training Ships: Pacific Swift and Robertson II : Sail And Life Training Society, PO Box SO 14, Station B, Victoria, British Columbia Y8R 6N3 , CANADA; (604) 383-68 11. Adventuress: Sound Experience, 2604 -D Was hington Street, Port Town send WA 98368; (360) 379-043 8. Lady Washington: Grays Harbor Hi storic Seaport, Box 20 19, Aberdeen WA 98520; 1-800-200-LA DY. Hawaiian Chiejiain: Capt. Ian Mcintyre, Suite266, 3020 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965; (4 15) 33 1-32 14. Ca lifornian: Na utica l Heritage Soc iety , The Dan a Point Lighthouse, 24532 De l Prado, Dana Point CA 92629; (7 14) 66 1- 1001. Swift of Ip swich: Los An geles Maritime Institute, Berth 84, Foot of Sixth Street, San Pedro CA 9073 1; (3 10) 548-2902. Sta r Pilot: Schooner Pilot Trust, 1220 Rosecrans Street, Suite 301 , San Diego CA 92 106; (805) 686-4484. SEA HIST<ORY 79, AUTU MN 1996


MARINE ART NEWS 17th Mystic International

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The first sign of autumn in the world of marine art is the Mystic International Marine Art Exh ibition, now in its 17th year. The new show, featuring the work of some of the finest marine a rti sts at work today, opened 28 Septembe r and wiII run through I 0 November. While most of the more than 100 works are paintings or drawings, yo u will a lso find a variety of sculpture and scrimshaw , offering views of hi storic and modern vessels, seascapes, landscapes, a nd marine animals. Marine art aficionados will recogn ize many of the arti sts featured thi s year, including last year ' s award winners-scrimshander Robert Wei ss, sculptor Kim Shaklee, and painters Don Demers, Loretta Krupinski, Jim G riffiths, Marek Sarba, Dutch Mostert and George Mc Williams. It is also a pleasure to see new names in the show-Remy C ham pt, William Ell sworth , Jan Pawlowski , Robert Rasche, Dan Rupe, Scott S haffer, Mark A. Susinno, C. Fred Tay lor and Kathl een Weber. For a catalog ue o r further info rmation , contact Mystic Maritime Gall ery, Mystic CT 06355 -600 I ; 860 572-5388.

prints ava il able of some of the ori ginal works that are for sa le. (The Maritime Ga ll ery, I I 0 State Street, Portsmouth NH 03801 ; 603 436-ARTS) And while yo u are vi siting the art gallery, don ' t mi ss Portsmouth ' s hi storic waterfront, preserved at Straw bery Banke-the locati on of an Engli sh pl antation in 1630 that became a thriving 18th-century port, then the I 9th-century immigrant ne ig hbo rh ood of Puddl e Dock. It is now an outdoor museum interpreting three centuries of a community's evoluti on. (SB,PO Box 300, Portsmouth NH 03801)

Dawson Exhibit in California

To commemorate its 25th an niversary, The Vallejo Ga llery has assembled a co llection of 25 ori ginal paintings and a se lection of earl y signed limited editio n prints by the renowned marine artist Montague Dawson (1895- 1973). "A n Exh ibition on the Life and Works of Montague Dawson" will be on display at the Newport Harbo r (CA) Nautical Museum ' s new location on board the riverboat Spirit o_{Newport at 15 1 East Pacific Coast Hi g hway in Newport Beach , California, from 7 NoDahl Taylor's "America Sailing the Chesapeake (oil , vember through 9 March 1997 . 25" x 45") is on view at the Mystic International. Widely conside red the best known sea painter of the 20th century, Dawson's works range from nava l paintings of the World Wars, to yachting, seascapes and hi s trademark clipper ship paintings. (The Vallejo Gallery , 16 10WestCoastHighway, Newport Beach CA 92663; 7 14 642-7945) -

t

JUSTINE AHLSTROM

New Marine Art Gallery in New Hampshire

• I Jul y- 3 1 December, Ship Models:

NMHS was happy to learn , through the Jul y 1996 iss ue of the American Society of Marine Arti sts' news letter, of a new venue for marine art. The Maritime Ga llery opened in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in March. Its owner, Marjorie Lynch , honed her marine art ex perience over the last twe lve years at the Mystic Maritime Gallery in Connecticut and with John Stobart's Maritime He ritage Prints in Boston. As a resu lt, she has close ties with many of today's best marine artists. Her gallery includes works by Don Stone, Don Demers, David Thimgan, Mari s Platais, Jim Griffith s, ship modeler George Bullitt and sc ulptor Robert Legasse. The Gallery also has

Under Oars, Sails, & Steam (Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum , PO Box 25, Cold Spring Harbor NY I 1724; 516 367-34 18) •from 27 July, The Mariners' Museum Collections Gallery (TMM, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606-3759; 757 596-2222) • 15 August- 17 November, "Four Great Paintings from the Permanent Collection" (The Mariners' Museum , see address above) • 7 September-3 November, " Visions of New York State: The Historical Paintings ofL. F. Tantillo" (Uni versity Art Mu seum , SUNY at Albany, Alban y NY 12222; 5 18 442-4035)

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

Exhibitions

"The Sailing Yacht Sea Cloud " by Montague Dawson (oil on canvas , 18" x 15") is on view at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum .

• 12 September- 24 November, " Brushes with Nature: Landscapes of the Connecticut River Valley" (Connecticut River Museum, Steamboat Dock, PO Box 26 1, Essex CT 06426; 860767-8269) • 28 September- I0November, 17th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition (Mystic Maritime Gallery , My stic CT 06355-0008; 860 572-5388) • I I October-14 Janu ary, "Thomas Eakins: The Rowing Pictures" (Yale University Art Gallery , 1111 Chapel Street, New Haven CT 06520) • 19 October 1996- 16 March 1997, Figureheads and Carvings (The Mariners ' Museum , see address above) • 2 Novembe r 1996-February 1997 , "Across the Western Ocean: American Ships by Liverpool Artists" (Independence Seaport Museum , 2 1 I South Co lumbus Boulevard, Phil adelphia PA 19 106- 1415; 2 15 925-8078) • 7 November- 9 March , An Exhibition on the Life and Works of Montague Dawson (The Val lejo Gallery, 16 10 West Coast Hi ghway, Newport Beach CA 92663; 714 642-7945) • 24 January-28 February, The Maritime World of Marek Sarba (Mount Dora Center for the Arts, 138 East Fifth Avenue, Mount Dora FL 32757; 352 383-0880) • 18- 19 January 1997 , 12th Annual Nautical & Wildlife Art Festival in Ocean City MD (Donald 's Duck Shoppe, I 0549 Sussex Road, Ocean City MD 21842; 410 524-9177) 27


Evening on the Hudson, 1862 by William G. Muller. A Hudson River sloop rides the tide upriver through Have r straw Bay, while the sidewheeler Daniel Drew head s south beneath Hook Mountain. Limited edition lithograph color print from original oil painting. Image size: 17 x 28 inches. Sheet size: 22 1 / 2 x 33 in. Printed on acid free 100 lb. stock. Sunfast inks. $130. Shipping: US $12.50. foreign $15.

The Charles W. Morgan by Moonlight by John Stobart. The Morgan rests a t her Mystic pier, w hile the soft glow of lamplight warms this otherwise wintry scene. Limited edition lithogra ph color print from original oil painting. Image size: 16 1 / 2 x 28 in. Sheet: 22 3 / 4 x 34 1 / 2 in. $500. Shipping: US $12.50. foreign $15.

New York Harbor During the Great Steamship era, 1935 by William G. Muller. Limited edition lithograph color print from original oil paintiPg. Image size: 18 1 /8 x 28 in. Sheet size: 2J3 I 4 x 33 in. Printed on acid free 100 lb. stock. Sunfast inks. $150. Ship'g: US $12.50. for . $15.

Poughkeepsie Landing, 1910 by William G. Muller. Looking north up the Hudson River toward the famed Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, the Day Line steamer Robert Fulton prepares to make her landing at the busy waterfront during the grand era of steamboat travel on the river. Limited edition lithograph color print. Ima ge size: 18 1/2 x 28 inches. Sheet size: 24 x 33 in. Printed on acid free 100 lb. stock. Sunfast inks. $150. Shipping: US $12.50. foreign $15.

For a

full listing

of all the books, shirts, mugs and other merchandise we have for sale, call or write Erika, and she'll mail our four-page brochure to you right away. Proceeds benefit the work of the Society.

To phone in your credit card order, call Erika at 1-800-221-NMHS Or write to: National Maritime Historical Society, Attn: Erika, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566


MARINE ART NEWS

Art Show to Benefit NMHS On 16 November 1996 "The Heritage of the Sea" art show will open at the Geary Gallery in Darien, Connecticut, at 4PM. The show will run through 24 Dec. and features the work of artists past and present, from Antonio Jacobsen to Willard Bond. Over 50 paintings will be shown and all will be available fo r pu rchase. Preview for Members and Sea History Readers The Gallery, at 576 Post Road, Dari en, will also hold an opening day prev iew

from 9AM to 4PM to support the work of the National Maritime Hi stori cal Society. Members and readers are invited to attend the prev iew, fo r whi ch there will beachargeof$35 to benefitNMHS. Anyone who has a painting of thi s caliber to offer for sale at the show may ca ll To m Geary at 203-655-6633, or Bernie Klay at 7 18343-9575. (See ad p.18.)

"Chaos at the Mark" by Willard Bond, oil on mahogany, 6 f t. x 6 Ji. 8 inches on two panels .

"The steamer Addie" by Antonio Jacobsen, oil on canvas, 22 x36 inches .

A New Expanded Edition of a Classic of Deepwater Sail:

The Peking Battles Cape Horn by Irving Johnson This new edition has new photo~ THE PEKING BATTLES graphs and a memoir of Irving by .... CAPE his wife and partner, Exy Johnson , !I HORN ' in a new introduction to Irving 's ex•" Irving • citing tale of hi s voyage around Johnson Cape Hom. In a famou s Afterword written half a century after the voyage, Capt. Johnson added what he felt he had learned from his experience, after sailing his two Yankees seven times around the world with young people in crew. Exy 's testimony, added for this special edition, rounds out the picture of how the partnership of two very individual people worked-and why. Hardcover: $21.75 Soft: $11.75 Add $3 each for shipping (NMHS members receive a 10% discount.)

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Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races by Patricia and Robert Foulke any famo us international races have their ori gin s in legendary hi storical events. A traditional Marathon celebrates a courier's fatal 26mi le run from that c ity to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the invading Persians in 490 BC. The 53mil e Swedi sh Vasa loppet from Mora to Salen retraces the ski track s of Gustav Vasa, later Sweden 's first king, who was heading for Norway to gather s upport fo r a rebe lli on again st Dani sh rule in 152 1. And the grue ling I, I 00-mile Alaskan lditerod reenacts the struggle to get lifesav ing serum from the railhead at Nenana to isolated Nome by dog sled during a breakout of dipthe ria in 1925. But pe rh aps no race has a mo re compl ex hi stori cal and religious origin than the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival and Internati onal Races. The Dragon Boat Festi va l, also ca lled Tuen Ng, is ce lebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every yea r, and the International Races are he ld on the fo llow ing weekend. The fest iva l ce lebrates the life of the poet and statesman Qu Yuan, who was unju stl y acc used of treason by jea lo us courtiers; they persuaded the Emperor to bani sh him. After yea rs of wa ndering, the unhappy Qu Yuan drowned him self in the Mi Lo Ri ve r in 278 BC. Loca l fi shermen raced from the shore in an unsuccessfu l attempt to save him , then beat the water with their paddles and threw ri ce dumplings into the water to di stract hungry fish who were ready to devour hi s body. When, in 40 BC, the fi shermen lea rned that the irofferings were be ing consumed by the River Dragon, they were advised to wra p the ri ce in leaves and ti e them with lucky fiv e-colored threads w hi ch the monster hated . Today the dumplings are still wrap ped in bamboo leaves and are fill ed with rice, meat and beans. Hong Kong's seafarin g communities eac h have at least one dragon boat , and many of the 125 or more entries in the weekend races come from nea rby fi shing villages. The loca l boats come in two sizes, 38 ¡ and 79 ' in le ngth , 3 1/2 ' in width , and abo ut 11/2 ' in de pth . They are built of teak without the a id of blueprints. Both standard and large dragon boats race on festi va l day with 20 or 50 paddl ers, a drummer to set the stroke and a steersman. As one mi ght ex pect. the spec ifi cations for the intern ationa l races are more ri gid: the boats are I I meters long , 1.06 meters wide. and .43 18 meters

M

30

deep; crews , whether ma le , female or mi xed, are limited to20 paddl ers, a drummer, and a steersman. The standard course is 640 meters , which amo unts to a sprint. Elaborate Taoist rites attend the building, blessing, awakening, racing and storing of the boats. Four days before the festiva l, dragon heads and ta il s are attac hed to the boats in a benediction ceremony. The fierceness of the dragon head is meant to ward off ev il water spirits. Taoist priests burn paper money , make offerings and chant praye rs to the gods, to sanctify and bl ess the boats to make them stron g fo r rac ing. With drum beating, each boat is paddled offshore three times on a course perpendi cu lar to the facade of a nearby temple . Members of the community are simultaneously bl essed with happi ness and prosperity and protected from ev il spirits in the sea in return for the ir dedi cation to the gods. Several days before the festiva l, the priest touches the crucia l e lements of the boat-<lragon head , tail , and drumwith hi s sword , burns more pape r money and sprinkl es sand on the dragon ' s head to g ive life to the boat. The ceremony ends with a loca l dign itary dotting the eyes of the dragon so the boat can see where it is going. Such vill age ritua ls are not considered anac hroni sti c even in bustling, contempo ra ry Hong Kon g. Fina ll y, w hen the racing is over, dragon heads and tai ls are removed , and the boats are put to sleep near a temple for another year, e ither buried in sand or placed on a specia l rack and covered A dragon boar head

with tin fo il. Of course, in the world of mode rn sports competition , most team s practice for months before the international races in other boats, and some of the more seri o us competitors are on the water year round . But the racing on festiv a l day is marked more by ex uberance than competitiveness. By good luck, we we re afl oat on be rdeen Harbo ur in a sampan during the races for the impress ive large dragon boats. The atmos phere reminded us of many festive parades that require e laborate prepara tion and in vo ke scads of community spirit- the Mumme r's Parade in Phil ade lphi a, the Mardi Gras in New Orl eans, and the Sech se la ute n (S pring Festiva l) in Zurich . Dragon-boat team s-whether sponsored by outlying fi shing vi ll ages or major Hong Ko ng banks -have an esprit that goes beyond the ir ostensibl e purpose. And the re is plenty of tomfoolery , too , as we ll as colli sion s and caps izes as boiste rou s crews take to the water. Writing in the South China Morning Post the nex t day, John Flint concluded that "some partici pants took the competition seriou sly , but most seemed intent on racing back for a beer and a laugh." The international races on the follow ing weekend were quite another matter, but still largely free of the dead ly seri ousness that attends any profess iona li zed race. There have been some iso lated incidents of brawling among the fi ercest rival s in the past, but most competitors were friendly, sociali zing with each other as well as teammates, despite the feeling of intensity underneath the camarade rie. For better course conditions, the venue had been shi fted from the uncontrollable chop of Victoria Harbour to the smooth wa ters of the S hing Mun River at Sha Tin in the New Territories . And in thi s 20th anni ve rsary of the internationa l races, 3 1 fo reign team s competed , hailing not onl y from Asia but from as far away as Australi a, New Zealand, Europe, Canada and the US. The weather for the races thi s year ca lled fo r something between umbre llas and a full s uit of fo ul-weather gear, but a quick dash down a ye ll ow brick path led us to the she lter of a grandstand festooned with soggy red-and-turquo ise ba nners. Across the ri ver spectators Ii ned up the ir umbre ll as, ready to cheer the ir favo rite teams. Banners- Cathay Pac ifi c, Epson, C itibank , KCR (Kowloon SEA HI STO RY 79, AUTUMN 1996


Teams competed in heats of f our, so 200 paddles churned the course into fro th just ajier the start (above). Teams that had finished their heats rested alongside an unbroken row of junks and house boats , most of them overloaded with spectators (top right). Bef ore the races, Tao ist priests, racers and spectators joined in rites to hless the boats and the races (right) .

Canto n Railway) and others-stretched along the bank . Everything was a go th at day , unl ess lightning appeared. We ta lked with Bob Morro, an O lym pic padd leron the US Dragon Boat Association team fo r many years. It is based in Philade lph ia on the Schu ylkill Ri ve r, a center for amateur row ing in the¡ East. T he gro up fo rmed in 1982, with s upport from the Hong Kong To uri st Assoc iation, and its team has participated eleven times since then. Their record inc ludes winning the New York Dragon Boat Festival in 1994 . By winning in Ne w York again in Aug ust thi s yea r, they qualified to return to Hong Kong in 1997. Barbara Siegal has been the drum mer fo r thi s otherwise all -ma le team fo r the past three years. The US women 's team is headed by Diane Kado lph -Ray from Portl and, O regon; she has been paddling fo r seven years. Dragon-boat rac ing came to O regon in a curi ous but wonderful way . Portl and gave ambul ances to its siste r city in Taiwan, and Kao hsiung reci procated wi th d ragon boats. T hi s was the first time the team , Dragon Sports USA , competed in Hong Kong in ternatio na l competition, with a team that incl udes students, homemakers, businesswome n, mothers and gra ndmothers.

*****

'

Before the heats began on this fi rst d ay of racing, everyone gathered around Tsing Chung Koon Taoists, who conducted a ceremony to bless the boats. A person from each crew presented a chim (a wooden stick used to interpret one's fo rtune in Taoist temples) to the red gowned priests fo r good luck in the races. As the races began, wi th 6 to 8 boats in each heat, all we coul d see at fi rst was the projectin g dragon head , a flag w ith the lane num ber and theird ru mmer seated SEA HI STO RY 79, AUTU MN 1996

back ward on a ra ised deck at the bow, fo llowedbya blurofpaddl ers and the steersman standing in the stern . As they neared the fi ni sh line, the paddlers responded to a faster drumbeat with a furi o us burst of energy . In Saturday ' s heats, teams qua Ii fi ed fo r the Sunday fina ls of a number of championships broadl y related to occupati ons-stude nts, fi she rmen, public utilities workers, fin ancial and travel serv ices, profess ionals (doctors, denti sts, architects, accountants)- as well as more specia li zed gro ups, including the Jumbo Floatin g Restaurant Women ' s Open C hampi onship and the Men ' s International Petite Fin al. To everyo ne 's surpri se, the team s from China, Indones ia and local fi shing villages , who had dominated the overall champio nshi ps, had to share them thi s year. T he Hong Kong mi xed team won fo r the first time, C hina ' s Shun De women's team scored its third victory, and the Toronto Chinese Businessmen' s Associati on captured the men' s champi onship. US teams did very well : the women first-time rs pl aced fi fth in the fi nals, and the more ex perienced men from Philade lphi a were fo urth behind Toronto , C hin a, and Indones ia. T he sc hedule closed with a grand banquet in Hong Kong ' s convention center, attended by a ll offi c ials, crews , the ir famili es and fri end s, members of the press and c ity di gnitari es . The hi ghli ght of the evening was a Hong Kong traditi on fo r the intern ational races- skits and da nces fro m the crews , some carefull y rehearsed , some obvio usly im pro mptu . T hu s, what began in re li g io us

rites ended in a scene that would remind most Ameri cans of camp shows or co llege shenanigans. And throughout the wo rld a grow ing number of enthusias ts of alI ages wo uld agree that there ' s noth ing quite like drago n-boat racing fo r communa l fun and sport. t The Fou/kes are free-lance writers whose recent trip to Hong Kong resulted in articles on topics ranging/ram cuisine to the shipyards o.fH ong Kong and Macau.

Dates fo r the Hong Kon g Dragon Boat Fes ti va l & Inte rnati o nal Races: 1997 Festi va l, 9 June Inte rna ti ona l Races, 14- 15 June 1998 Festi va l, 30 May Inte rn ati onal Races, 6-7 June 1999 Festiv al, 18 June Inte rnati onal Races, 3-4 Jul y Contact the Ho ng Kong To uri st Assoc iati o n in New Yo rk at 2 12 840-5008/9 . E lse whe re, th e world champion ships were he ld in Vancouve r, Briti sh Colum bi a, ea rli e r th is summe r; they will re turn to Ho ng Kong nex t yea r (dates yet to be de termined). This yea rthere we re races in Redond o Beach, Californi a, in Jul y and ea rl y Octo be r; and in Flushing Meado w , New Yo rk , and Oakland , Cali fo rni a, in Aug ust. Fo r sc hedul es o n the East Coast contact Bob Mo rro, US Dragon Boat Associatio n (6 10 623-69 12) or, on the West Coast, Diane Kadolph -Ray , Dragon Sports USA (503 397-5943) .

31


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For a full listing of all books and

Sfiirts We have a selecti on of collar shirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts. Ca ll for colors, prices and sizes . Made in USA.

other merchandise, ca ll or write Erika, and she'll mail our four-page brochure to you right away.

Proceeds benefit the work of the Society.

To phone in your credit card order, call Erika at 1-800-221-NMHS Or write to: National Maritime Historical Society, Attn: Erika, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566


THE CAPE HORN ROAD (Continued from page 11.)

•

trading with native Americans at Rio, where a city famous for such entertainments was to be founded in coming years. Magellan was convinced, like other European navigators, that a way had to exist through the continent to the ocean Balboa had seen far to the north. When the fleet reached the River Plate, he had his ships' boats row upriver till they encountered fresh water, showing that this was not a passage to the ocean. It was 2 February 1520 when Magellan quitted the Plate, and he pressed on down the coast of Patagonia, anxious to find hi s strait before the Antarctic winter set in , in a few months' time. Here the weather worsened, and the fleet rode out heavy ga les, the notorious pamperos which gather strength over the inland plains and rush out to sea with unparalleled ferocity. No mere squalls , these violent blows could last for days . The battered fleet sought shelter at the end of March in Port Saint Julian to recuperate and await a turn in the savage weather. At this point deputations from all five ships called on Magell an to give up the southward push and return to Spain. He managed to reassure them. But soon after this , on 2 April , the officers of three ships mutinied, refusing to serve under Magellan unless he led them back to Spain. Juan Sebastian de Elcano, who was ultimately to follow Magellan 's plan and sail the surviving ship Victoria home around the world, supported the mutiny on the grounds that Magellan had refused to consult hi s "co-commander" Cartagena. Magellan sent his menat-arms to the Victoria to bring her Captain Mendoza to order, and to kill him ifhe refused. The captain tossed aside Magellan 's written order, and died laughing as the message bearer cut his throat. By a remarkable success ion of stratagems , culminating in Magellan firing a broadside into the Concepcion and then leading a boarding party to take the ship by storm , he regained control of the fleet. Cartagena aboard the San Antonio, ringleader of the plot, surrendered without a fi ght. Magellan clearly had the ships' crews on hi s side, despite their deputation of two days earlier begging him to return to Spain-which of course was the mutinous officers' demand. Magellan treated these gentlemen with leniency. After formal court martial , Quesada of the Concepcion was hanged on a gibbet erected ashore, alongside the body of Mendoza, and the rest of the proud mutineers were put to hard labor, Cartagena alone being excused from this , due to hi s exalted rank. These sombre events opened what turned out to be a fivemonths' stay in the narrow, barren dog hole of Port St. Julian. The men built barracks ashore while catching fi sh and hunting game to make up for a drastic shortage of provisions, which was discovered while cleaning out (or " rummaging") the seaworn ships. The chandlers of Seville had short-changed them , so they now had food for only six months instead of the year and a half Magellan had counted on-grim news for hungry sailors far from any port! At first they met no one in this lonely quarter, but then , after two month s, a band of friendly natives showed up. These were of a race of very tall people, fast runners who lived by hunting the guanacos, or southern llamas, that coursed the endless plain ashore. Magellan attempted to abduct two of these Patagonians ("Big Feet"), as the Spanish named them, but one managed to break free to warn the others, who easily-men, women and children-outran the pursuing Spaniards, and after this they were seen no more. Cartagena, persisting in his plots, was left ashore with a priest he had suborned , crying to be taken off as the fl eet at last departed , in August, to put in at a bay farther south along the shore. Finally, with the coming of dece nt weather, they set sail SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

again and on 21 October 1520 they rai sed Cape Virgins, behind which lies the Strait of Magellan. Typically, on ly Magellan be lieved that they had found the passage to the Pacific Ocean, at last. The men protested that the strait might be a blind alley, with no ex it on the far side; but Magellan sa id he ' d seen a map which showed a through passage (indeed, several such maps were in ex istence). Hi s unshakable reso lution had brought them thi s far in reasonable shape, with only the caravel Santiago mi ss ing-gone ashore in a blow after leaving Port St. Julian-and everyone understood that they were not stopping now. Everyone, that is, except the pil ot of the San Antonio; he got the crew on hi s side and sailed back to Spain-not bothering to stop off to pick up the marooned Cartagena and hi s priest as he hi gh-tailed itfor home. Magellan wasted some time looking for the missing ship until he realized what had happened , and at last broke out into the Pacific on 2lNovember1520, having taken just over a month to traverse the winding 334-mile length of the strait that ever since has been called, how ri ghtl y, the Strait of Magellan. The worst of the voyage lay ahead, however. The Pacific was much wider than Magell an supposed, and as weeks and then months passed without sight of land , scurvy broke out on the three surviving ships as they pursued their way with fa ir winds but nothing to eat. Two months out they passed barren atolls in the Tuamotu Island s, miss ing the Marquesas to the north and Tahiti to the south . It was 98 days before they reached Guam , on 6 March 152 1, by which time the starving peopl e had eaten the ships' rats and were boiling leather chafing gear from the yards to eat. "I truly believe," says Pigafetta fervently , " that no such voyage will ever again be made." In Guam there was food and refreshment for the gaunt, di seased crews. But new and ultimately more dangerous problems arose in relation s with the native peopl es they encountered. The Chamorros of Guam stole from the ships until Mage llan ordered a few of them shot-and then he had to attack the ir village to get the food he needed. Sailing on to Cebu in the Philippines, Magell an made fri ends of the more sophi sticated Filipinos, and after the ceremonial exchange of presents he entered into a military pact to help subdue a rebellious chieftain on the ne ighboring island of Mactanalthough, as Morison observes , the newly bapti zed, pleas ureloving sultan of Cebu showed no enthusiasm for the battle. In an ill -planned assault on 27 April 1521 , with only a handful of men and no artillery support from the ships, Magellan was killed. Pigafetta, seriously wounded in the fi ght on the beach, was desolated; writing of the loss he calls Magell an "our mirror, light, comfort and true guide." Things turned sour thereafter, and Magellan 's loya l captain Se1Tano was killed by natives who believed the Spanish were about to turn on them-as though they were wild dogs willing to bite anyone. And indeed, war dogs the remaining captains soon showed themse lves to be, bashing the ir way through the South China Sea, capturing peaceful Chinese and Malay trading vessels, slaughtering their crews and grabb ing gold and spices, until ultimately the Portuguese caught up with the intruders; aside from the crew of the Victoria , whi ch slipped away under Elcano 's command , only fi ve men ever made their way home to Spain. The Victoria moored in Seville on 8 September 1522 with 18 survivors , including Pi gafetta. The scribe had seen the world; he vowed to return to Yi cenza "forever. " .t For further reading, see "Book Locker, " page 42. 33


raffiques & Discoveries In which we share the joys of learning new things about the sea and seafaring, in the spirit of Richard Hakluyt's Principall Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, first published in 1589.

"O

"This Was Real Shipping ... "

n some few crisp, clear nights the Northern Li ghts (A urora Boreali s) put on a sky show. Going back 30 years now, Copenhagen was then a hub port and aside from oceangoing ships entering and clearing, a ll sorts, sizes , and ages of steam and motor ships in the 'short sea' and ' Baltic trader' categories were always corning and going, as well as the passenger/cargo ships connecting the Scandinavian capitals and outports. The wooden-hulled motor galeasses (small , sa iling ship hull s, some with masts still in place) were still go ing strong. One day there a fri end chartered a ga leass for three consecuti ve voyages. The galeass loaded and di scharged the three cargoes in that one day , all on the Oe resund between Denmark and Sweden-small drummed and bagged stuff. With such Morn-and -Pop trading going on amongst all the usua l small/medium/ large ships, the number of people and craft employed in all these trades can be imagined . Thi s was

34

real shipping, not yet rationali zed, downsi zed, computeri zed and automated. It was hard not to bump into someone not somehow involved in sailing the ships, finding them cargoes, working the cargoes, enteri ng & clearing them, selling ships, selling cargoes, and so on. Picture all of this going on during a pitch black gusty morning, with ice in the harbor. " This is excerptedfrommarine artist Peter Eagleton' s regular column , "Harbor Lights," in the American Society of Marine Artists' newsletter (April 1996). Of this image, "Coastal Liners in Ice, Copenhagen" (monochrome gouache, 10 1/ / ' x 7") Pete writes: ''This is a scene I saw back in ' 66 and both of the older coastal liners shown were shortly thereafter withdrawn from service. The Aalborghus was 30 years old back in 1966 and had been on the Copenhagen!Aalborg run and other routes. They were beautiful trim mini-liners, unlike the colossal shoebox car ferries now on the 'short sea routes."'

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


On the Trail of Thomas McManus For many Long Islanders of nautical sentime nts, whether former naval persons or c urre nt yac htsme n, who feel deserv ing of a big treat, the writer recommends a day off. Take the Orient Point ferry to Ne w London and drive twenty minutes north on I-95 to the Mystic Sea port Museum. In th e Stillwell Building you will gaze with reverence at Eric A. Ronn berg Jr. 's L.A . Dunton ar Mystic Seaporr great co l lection of schoone r models, principally by McManus. Step outside and go on board the L.A . Dunton , a McManus schooner tied up at a nearby pier. On the way o ut stop at the museum bookstore and buy a copy of Bill Dunne's Thomas F. McManus and the American Fishing Schooners to take home. Believe me, at the end of the day yo u ' II feel as though you ' ve treated yourself well.

/

\

Th omas W. Lawson

On the Naming of Masts American usage is to name the fourth mast of a schooner or square rigger the spanker mast; Eng li sh and European usage is to ca ll the fourth mast the jigger mast. Americans do use jigger for the fo urth mast when there are five o r more mas ts. A fiv e-masted schooner goes: fo re, main , mi zzen, ji gger, spanker. A s ixth mast is call ed pusher or driver. Tradition says the seven-masted Thomas W. Lawson went, abaft the mizzen : jigger, spanker, pusher, driver. In a kill -joy note, however, the Lawson's Captain Crow ley wrote in a le tter to Th e Boston Globe that the masts were named fore, main , mizzen, no. 4, no. 5, no. 6, spanke r. As yo u mi ght im agine, actual usage varies a ll over the place once yo u get more than three mas ts . De Kerchove, autho r of the generall y reliabl e International Maritime Dictionary ( 1948), actuall y records a practice of naming a fivemas ted ship fore-main-middle-mizzen-ji gger, and another instance of fore-fore main-main -mizze n-jigger. So beware any " authoritative" naming system, for it never PS ex isted when these ships were sai ling!

From NMHS member Donald A. Petrie's review ofW.M.P. Dunne' sThomas F. McManus and the American Fishing Schooners: An Irish-American Success Story (Mystic Seaport Museum, 1994) , appearing in The Long Island Historical Journal.

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SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Full information on these news items appears in Sea History Gazette, July! August 1996 and September/October 1996. We ' ll send you the two Gazettes for $6 or include them gratis if you subscribe to the Gazette for one year (6 issues at $18.75 or $28.75 foreign). GETT! G AROUNDTH ESHIPS: Thefourmasted bark Moshulu (ex- Kurt) has returned to the Phil ade lphia waterfront as a restaurant and touri st attraction at Pier 34, just south of the Inde pendence Seaport Mu seum (Mos hu/u , Pier 34, 735 S. Columbus Boulevard , Phil adelphia PA 19 106;2 15923-2500) . . . . When the three-masted topsail schooner Alexandria of 1928 was hauled for re pairs and maintenance in April , her conditio n was found to be worse th an suspected , and the Alexandria Seaport Foundation seeks to sell the vesse l whil e making pl ans to build a new ship (A SF, 1000 South Lee Street, Alexandri a VA 223 14; 703 5497078) . . . . NMHS member Hajo Knutte l has fo unded Windships America and purchased the 6 1' crui sing yacht Argonau t of 1964- a re pli ca of Irv in g Johnson's third Yankee incorporating improve ments recommended by the fa med sa il tra iner-wi th pl ans to take students on environ me nta ll y a nd histori ca ll y ed ucati onal voyages, beginning with the Hudson Ri vernextspring(W A, 16 Pro ut Street, Indi an Cove, G uilfo rd CT06437; 203 453-2301 ) . ... Supporters of the steamer Virginia V have gone to ex traordin ary length s to rai se $700 ,000 of

Hajo Knuttel tests Argonaut in the waters of Long Island Sound. (Photo by Skip Walker)

There's Only One Left of WWil's "Fightingest" Ships: The Campaign to Return LCS 102 Many sailors and hi stori ans would claim that Iowa-cl ass battleships were the most powerful ships in the US Navy durin g WWII. On a firepower-per-ton bas is, however, a small US Navy ship had e ven more fire power. This was the LCS (Landing Craft Support) class-a 158-foot, 387-ton g unboat des igned for shore bombardment to he lp get marines ashore in the Pacifi c war. The Navy built 130 LCS s and deployed them to the Pac ifi c where they saw ac tion in New Guinea, Iwo Jima, the Philippines and Okina wa. Twenty-s ix were sunk or damaged in combat. After the war, LCSs were assig ned occupation duties in Japan, Korea, the Philippines , Forn10sa and China; many were loaned out through the Military Ass istance Program. Now, all the LCSs that ultim ately served in foreign navies have gone fo r scrap or to the bottom--exce pt LCS 102. She served at Okinawa on radar picket duty and was one of the first s hips at Nagasaki at war's end . Over th e pas t LCS 102 , shown here in 1945 in Kyushu harbor, is the last LCS. few years, a fe w "old sailors" who served on LCS s have begun a campaign to bring LCS 102 home to the US Naval Shipbuildin g Mu se um in Quin cy MA . A berth for LCS I 02 has been set as ide at the Quincy mu seum nearthe USS Sa lem , the Navy ' s all -gun crui ser. Today LCS I 02, the las t of her kind, serves in the Navy of Thail and. She was loaned to the Roya l Th ai Navy 30 years ago, after 20 years ' service in the Japanese Navy. The Thai Navy renamed her HTMS Nakha and recentl y insta ll ed new engines and air-conditi oning. Powerful allies have been recruited by the National LCS Association , includin g two fo rmer Secretari es of the avy: Willi am T. Middendorf, II, SECNA V under Pres ident N ixon, who served as an officer aboard LCS 53 during the wa r and John F. Lehman, Jr., SECNA V for President Reagan, who has a specia l affection for LCSs-hi s father, the late John F. Lehman , Sr., was the commanding officer of LCS 18 and received a bronze star during the Okinawa campai gn. Chri stopher Lehman, ¡ ¡ r of SECNA V Lehman, prevailed upon hi s form er SECNA V boss, Senator .Varner, to join the LCS campaign. The Senate unanimously passed a bill on ie to encourage the Navy to acquire the vessel from Thailand. -

PHIL PETERSON

Mr . Peterson served aboard LCS 23 from 1943 to 1946. To help bring LCS 102 home, contact the Na tional Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130, PO Box 9087, Wa ukegan IL 60079.

the $2.2 million needed for the hull repairs that will allo w the vessel to renew her Coast Guard certifi cation (SVYF, lnc., PO Box 24805 , Seattle WA 98 1240 805) .. . . The las t Algonquin-class Coast Guard cutter, the Mohawk 36

(WPG 78) of 1934 , used on the Greenland Patrol during WWII, is in danger of being sunk as a fi shing reef or scrapped if fund s for a much-needed dry-docking are not found (John Stamford (former Chief Petty Officer of the Mohawk), 1533 Wales Avenue, BaldwinNY11510; 51 6 223-1467) .... The He llenic avy has agreed to release 0.G. Grigoropoulos (L-161), former amphibious assault ship LSM 45 , to the USS LSM/LSMR Association , w hich may turn it over for di spl ay to the Kenner (LA) Naval Museum Commi ss ion (USS LSM/ LSMRA , 66

Summer Street, Greenfi eld MA 01301 ; 41 3 774-2397) . ... The 65 ' Norwegianbuilt inte ri s la nd fe rry/carg o vesse l Record of 1914 was acquired by the Maritime and Yachting Museum in Jensen Beach, Florida, and made an eightweek trip from the Ted Hood Yard in Portsmouth , Rhode Island, to her new home, where she will become a floating learning e nv ironment for at-risk youth (MYM , 2000 Jensen Beach Boulevard , Jensen Beach FL 34957). . . . Out of service for man y yea rs and deteriorating in a shipyard in Palatka, Florida, the SEA 1-illSTORY 79 , AUTUMN 1996


Hudson River steamer City of Keansburg (built in Newburgh, New York, in 1926) was cut up early this s ummerbut several parts, including a section of the bow, have been salvaged and will be on di splay at the Hudson River Maritime Museum once the museum raises the $20,000 needed to move and in stall the artifacts (HRMM, One Rondout Landing , Kingston NY 12401; 914 3380071 ) .. .. America's last surviving whaleback, the SS Meteor of 1896, a forerunner to the massive freighters that now carry cargo through the Great Lakes,

William G. Muller's portrait of the City of Keansburg in New York Harbor.

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owner of the wreck of the Lusitania, the Cunard liner sunk by a German torpedo off Ireland in 1915 .

celebrates her I OOth birthday this year (Superior and Douglas County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 205 Harbor View Parkway East, Superior WI 54880; 715 392-2773) .... The ocean liner SS United States has returned to the East Coast from Turkey, and has a temporary home in Philadelphia although her owners, Marmara Marine, have not yet made an announcement regarding her future (SS United States Preservation Society, I 0104 Earths tone Court, Raleigh NC 27615; 919 848-6642).

The replica Amistad, to be built by Mystic Seaport Museum , has received more than 16 tons of live oak, considered America ' s best ship-building timber, from the South Carolina Highway Department, which had to cut about 30 of the locally protected century-old trees to make way for a highway on Hilton Head Island (Amistad America, 900 Chapel Street, PO Box 1808 , New Haven CT 0651 I) .. . . Salem Maritime National Historic Site has awarded a contract for construction of the East lndiaman replica Friendship to Scarano Boat Building of Albany NY (SMNHS, 174 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970). REPLICAS:

UNDERWATER NEWS: Archaeologists di scovered a hand-si zed hole in the forward conning tower of the Confederate submarine Hunley when they uncov ered, mapped and reburied the wreck in Charleston Bay, South Carolina. The Naval Historical Center's Underwater Archaeology Program is also investigating the wreck of USS Alligator of 1820 off Islamorda, Florida-she was one of five 12-gun schooners built to stop slave traders and pirates (N HC , Washington Navy Yard , Washington DC 203740571 ; 202 433-2210) .... An Iri sh Hi gh Court judge ruled on 8 June that American businessman Gregg Bemis is sole

An 1880 steam engine, built in Victoria, British Columbia, and used most recently on the tug Charlotte of 1914, was raised from the wreck of the Charlotte three years ago and is the centerpiece for the new Whatcom Maritime Museum (Whatcom Maritime Historical Society, 1000 C Street, PO Box 5157, Bellingham WA 98227). MUSEUM NEWS:

Catawissa Update

Commitments are being lined up to save the 1897 steam tug Catawissa (see story in SH77 , pp. 32- 33). Thanks to Treadwell Abrams and his tug Rainbow and a fuel donation from Walter Wolfe, tentative arrangements have been made to tow the vessel from her current berth in the NY Barge Canal near Albany to New York City. Plans are underway to place her at the former Brooklyn Navy Yard pending her siting as a museum vessel at the Brooklyn Bridge Park or Erie Basin. Joe McNulty has taken up the challenge of directing the efforts to save the tug, with the help of people in the field , including Brian McAllister of McAllister Bros., Moran Towing, Dave Pritchard of the New England Steamship Foundation, the Seamen 's Church Institute, Mark Peckham, and Joe de Muccio and members of the Tugboat Enthusiasts Society. Your support is urgently needed now-you will be enrolled as a Charter Member of the "Friends of Catawissa" for a contribution of $ 100 or more, but any donation is most welcome. (NM HS-"Friends of Catawissa:· PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566; 914 737-7878) SEA HISTORY 79. AUTUMN 1996

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SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Kalmar Nyckel Is Framed Up

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This summer, as each of her 39 frame s were lifted and fitted to the keel , hearts soared with pride and expectation; the Kalmar Nyckel was ri sing from the history books and builder's records to begin a new odyssey as Delaware 's Tall Ship. Construction of the replica of the Dutch ship that in 1638 brought the first Swedish and Finnish settlers to America is proceeding quickly on the banks of the Delaware under the direction of ship builder Allen Rawl. Buoyed by the strong support provided by Delaware Governor Carper's Riverfront Development Commission and local businesses and donors , the project should be completed by the end of 1996. In June , the Commission allocated $200,000 to help build the ship. Commission Executive Director Mike Purzycki has described the Kalmar Nyckel as "an important early victory in the effort to revitalize the Christina waterfront. We look forward to assisting the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation in their efforts to bring people and excitement back to the river." The Foundation is seeking pledges for its $3.91 million capital campaign for the ship and shoreside facilities. Currently, supporters are being asked to sponsor the figurehead (an 8' lion), trailboards, the transom figures, swivel guns, cannons, knightheads, banners, and flags, for sums ranging Th e frames of the Kalmar Nyckel replica were from $5,000-35,000. Meanwhile, the construction site raised this summer in Wilmington, Delaware. is a hive of activity. While shipwrights labor, a shipsmith is forging hundreds of bolts and nails and an assortment of pinplates, fi sh hooks, futtock shroud hooks and mast tackle hooks. In a departure from the construction of the original Kalmar Nyckel, lead ballast ingots will be cast on site and bolted to the bottom of the keel to insure the vessel's stability. (KNF, 1124 East 7th Street, Wilmington DE 19801 ; 302 429-SHIP) -KEVIN HAYDON PEOPLE: Mariners' Museum Curator Emeritus Harold Sniffen, who joined the staff of the museum in 1931 , died 5 May at the age of 87. Although Sniffen retired in 1973, his research on artist

Harold Sniffen holds aloft his book on Antonio Jacobsen, Painted Ships on Painted Oceans (1994).

Antonio Jacobsen continued. Of Sniffen, Museum President John Hightower said: "His soft-spoken , insightful scholarship belied a tenacious intensity that infused his work with the passion of a pilgrim. His lifelong dedication to the Museum and his seminal works on Antonio Jacobsen are irreplaceable contributions to the field of marine art." (TMM, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 804 596 ~ 2222) . ... The Wisconsin Maritime Museum has appointed Assistant Director and Curator Isacco Valli as its new director (WMM, 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc WI 54220; 414 684-0218).... Dr. Edward J. Marolda, former head of the Naval Historical Center's Contemporary History Branch, has been chosen as the Center's senior historian (NHC, Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC 20374; 202 43 3-2210) . (Continued on page 40.) SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


Results of the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races FIRST BAL TIC RACE

Rostock to St. Petersburg ~(I I entries) 1st Mir Russian 2nd Sedov Latvian 3rd Gross Herzogin Elizabeth German C lass All (3 entries) I st Asgard II Irish 2nd Astrid British Class B (8 entries) I st Den Store Bjorn Danish 2nd Linden Finnish 3rd Regina Maris Dutch Class CI (26 entries) Danish 1st Jens Krogh 2nd Elena Maria Barbara Russian 3rd Rimfaske Norwegian C lass CII (22 entries) I st Navigator Finnish 2nd Esprit German 3rd Urania Dutch Class III (33 entries) I st Trapegoer Belgian Finnish 2nd Merisissi Ill 3rd Forward Russ ian SECOND BALT IC RACE

Turku to Copenhagen Class A (I 0 entries) 1st Georg Stage Danish Russian 2nd Mir Russian 3rd Sedov Class All (3 entries) 1st Eye of the Wind British Iri sh 2nd Asgard II ~ (5 entries) I st Regina Maris Dutch 2nd Den Store Bjorn Danish 3rd Linden Finnish Class CI (2 I entries) I st Golden Vanity British 2nd Duet British 3rd Gratitude Swedish Class CII (22 entries) I st Little One German 2nd Esprit German 3rd Aurora Russian Class Clll (33 entries) 1st Ariel Norweg ian 2nd Tornado Polish 3rd St. Iv Swedish FIRST MEDITERRANEAN RACE

Genoa to Palma ~ (7 entries) I st Pogoria 2nd Dar Mlodziezy 3rd Kaljakra

de Mallorca Polish Polish Bulgarian

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

C lass B (2 entries) 1st Arung Samudera Indonesian C lass CI ( I entry) I st Polar Portuguese C lass C II (5 entries) Polish 1st Oskard 2nd Francine Itali an 3rd Caroly Italian C lass C III ( 16 entries) I st Galicia Carrizo Spanish 2nd Gemini Italian Italian 3rd Sagittario SECOND MEDITERRANEA N RACE

Palma de Mallorca to Naples C lass A (7 entries) 1st Kaljakra Bugarian 2nd Pogoria Poli sh 3rd Dar Mlodziezy Polish Class B (2 entries) 1st Arung Samudera Indonesian C lass C I (no entries) C lass C U (5 entries) 1st Leon Pancaldo Itali an 2nd Caroly Italian C lass C III ( 16 entries) 1st Sagittario Italian 2nd Galicia Cortizo Span ish 3rd Gemini Italian

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AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS Touring the Museum Museums are wonderful places to visit and to learn. And what better way to see a museum than with a group of friends, a club or a cl ass? Throughout the year the American Merchant Marine Museum conducts tours and spec ial program s for adult groups and school -aged children. Because of the museum 's size, a multitude of activities can be pl anned and individuali zed to meet the needs of every group that visits. A li vely learning center, the American M erchant Marine Museum brings Ameri ca 's g loriou s seafaring hi story to life . The Muse um takes great pride in designing individual programs. We love hosting a visit that is filled with unique ac ti vities . Programs that engage every member of the group can be planned and carefully coordinated . Teachers , recreation directors and group leaders who work with the Museum staff in des igning the tour in advance experi ence the most rewarding visits. In April , e ighty-five students in •grades two through six spent a spec ia l day meeting with Academy faculty and Mu seum staff members. The program was designed to enhance a five-month study of the sea-past, present and futureoffered to students in the Merrick , Long Island School Di strict 's APEX program for gifted ch ildren . The trip was planned at the beg inning of the prev ious October. In September 1995, the Great Neck schools made pl ans to bring 400 fourth graders to the Museum in June. The children ' s spec iali zed program included an environmental program , a sail on the schoone r Mary E which is operated by Long Island BOCES , and a li vely and energetic maritime scavenger hunt at the Museum . Ad ult groups also enjoy visit ing the Mu seum. Once again , advance planning is the key to a successfu l trip. Throu ghout the year adu lts can take advantage of the changing ex hibiti ons, art sho ws and specia l programs offered by the Museum . An added bonus fo r groups is a tour of the United States Merchant Marine Academy led by members of the Honor Guard and-subject to avail ability- luncheons at the Officers C lub or the Upper Deck Dining Room. We invi te a ll members of the National Maritime Historical Society to bring the ir groups to the Mu seum . If yo u wo uld like to pl an a visit, please contact the Museum office at 5 16 773-55 15 for detail s. Tours of the Academy and luncheons must be arranged in adva nce and are subject to availability. (AMMM, USMMA, Kings Point NY 11024;5 16773-55 15) - Ll NDA FASBACH Ass istant Director

(Co ntinued from page 38.) IN SEARCH OF • •• : The Key W est Maritime Hi storica l Society is looking for a wooden, two-masted, gaff-rigged , 5060' schooner with clipper lines to serve as a land-based educational di spl ay, representing the loca l wreck ing schooners of the 1800s (Dean McClure, KWMHS , 305 292-7992) . ... The UDT-Seal Museum Association is looking for an LCPR fo r di splay at its museum on North Hutchin son Island , Fort Pierce, Florida (Robert Marsha ll , Direc tor, UDT-SMA, 407 595 -1 570).

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P BLICA TIO NS: The Hakluyt Society ( 1846- 1996), publi sher of over 300 scho larl y ed itions of voyages and travel s, celebrates its sesquicentenary thi s year (THS, c/o The Map Library, British Library, Great Ru ssell Street, Londo n WCI B 300, UK). .. . The North American Society for Oceanic History announced its ann ual John Lyman Book Awards at its 20th Annu al Meeting in

Boston in March: Jame s Pritch a rd , Anatomy of a Nava l Disaster: The 1746 French Expedition to North America (McGill -Qu ee n 's University Press, Montreal QU E and Kingston ONT); William C. Fleetwood, Jr. , Tidecraft: Th e Boats of South Carolina, Georgia and Northeastern Florida, 1550- 1950 (WBG Marine Press, Tybee Island GA); Haro ld D. Langley , History of Medicine in the Early US Navy ( aval In stitute Press, Annapoli s MD); Craig L. Symonds with cartograph y by William J. Clipson, The Nava l In stitute' s Historical Atlas of the US Navy (Nava l Institute Press , Annapo li s MD); Jeffrey G. Barlow, Revolt of the Admirals: The Fighl for Naval Aviation , 1945- 1950 (Naval Hi stori cal Center, Washington DC); Charles Dana Gibson and E. Kay Gibson, Assault and Logistics: Union Army Coastal and Ri ver Operations, 1861- 1866 and Dictionat y ofTransports and Combatant Vessels and Sail Employed by the Union Army, 18611868 (Ensign Press, Camden ME). 1 SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


CALENDAR Festivals, Events, Lectures, Etc. • 2 November, OysterFest (C hesapeake Bay Maritime Museum , Mill Street, PO Box636, St. Michae ls MD 2 I 663; 41074S29 16) • 18- 19 January 1997, 12th Annual Nautical & Wildlife Art Festival in Ocean City MD (Donald 's Duck Shoppe, 10S49 Sussex Road , Ocean City MD 2 1842; 4 10 S24-9 177) • Spring 1979, Endeavour replica circumnavigates Great Britain; spaces open for crew or passenger berths (Nati onal Mari time Mu se um , Greenwich, London SE I 0 9NF; ( 18 1) 8S8 4422) Conference • 7-8 November, "Transportation in American History" (William Withuhn or Steven Lubar, Division ofTec hnol ogy, National Museum of Ameri can History, MRC 628, Was hingtonDC20S60; 2023S7-203S, FAX: 202 3S7-42S6) • 8- l 2 January, "Seaports,Ships,and Central Places," Society for Histori cal Archaeology Conference on Histori cal and Underwater Archaeology in Corpu s Chri sti TX (Dr. David Carl son, Program Coordi nator, Anthropology Dept. , Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77 8434352; 409 84S -9248; 409 845 -9248, FAX: 409 84S-4070) • 7-9 February, Colonial Maritime Association Conference at Plimoth Plantation MA (CMA , PO Box 702, Lusby MD 206S7; 30 I S89-7407) • 14- 16 March, "Surveying the Record: North American Scientific Exploration to 1900" (Nonh American Exploration Conference, American Philosophical Society Library, !OS South Fifth Street, Philade lphia PA 19106-3386) • IS March 5th Annual New Researchers in Maritime History Conference (Mr. Adri an Jarvis, Centre for Port and Maritime Hi story, Merseyside Maritime Museum , Albert Doc k, Liverpool L3 4AQ) • 7- 10 April, " 19th-century Maritime Philanthropy: Social, Religious & Economic Contexts," 4th Intern ati onal Mari tim e Mission Conference in Mysti c CT (Robert Miller, Allen Hall , 28 Bea ufo rt Street, Chelsea, London SW3 SAA , UK ; FAX : ( 17 1) 3SI 4486) • 16-20 April , Annual Conference of the North American Society for Oceanic History in New port RI (Dr. John B. Hattendorf, Naval War College, 686 Cushing Road , Newport RI 02841-1 207; 401 841 -2 10 1; FAX : 401 841 -42S8) • 20-23 April , 3rd International Conference on the Technical Aspects of the Preservation of Historic Vessels in San Fra ncisco CA (Ru sse ll Booth , Manager, USS Pampanito, San Francisco Maritim e Nati onal Histori cal Park , Fort Mason Bldg.,

SEA HISTORY 79 , AUTUMN 1996

San Franc isco CA 94 123) • 4-7 Jun e, " Coastal Shipping and the European Economy, c. 1750-1950" in Hamburg, Germany (Prof. John Armstrong, School of Business, Thames Valley University, Walpo le House, 18-22 Bond Street, Ealing, Londo n WS SA A UK; ( 18 1) 23 1 2570; FAX : ( 18 1) 566- 1353) • 11 - 16 June 1997 , Cabot and His World Symposium in St. John 's and Bonav ista, New foundl and (The John Cabot SOOth Anni versary Corp. , PO Box 1997, St. John 's NF A IC SR4; 709 S79- l 997) • 24-27 September 1997 ,Sth International Symposium of Boat and Ship Archaeology in Gdansk, Pol and (Or. Jerzy Litwin, Sec re tari at ISBSA 8, Centralne Mu zeum Morski e, ul. Szeroka 67 /68 , 80-83S Gdansk, Po land; FAX: (48-S8) 3 l -84-S3) Exhibitions • 26 September- Winter 1996, "Making Waves": 20th-century Fisheries on Cape Ann (Cape Ann Histori ca l Soc iety, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester MA 01 930; S08 283-04SS ) • current, North Carolina's Working Watercraft (North Carolina Maritime Museum , 3 1S Front Street, Beaufort NC 28S 16; 919 728-73 17) • from January, " 25 Years of Arctic Exploration" (New Bedford Whaling Museum , 18 Johnny Cake Hill , New Bedford MA 02740-6398; S08 997-0046) • throu g h 1996, " Ships for Victory: American Shipbuilding' s ' Finest Hour" ' (Hart Nauti cal Gallery of the MIT Muse um , SS Massachusetts Avenu e, Cambridge MA 02 139) • 20 M arch- 30 December, S.0.S. Safety on Ships: Learning from New York's Maritime Tragedies (Seamen's Church Institute, 241 Water Street, New York NY I 0038; 21 2 349-8342) • from Jun e, " Joshua Slocum: Alone Around the World , Part II: The Early Years" (New Bedfo rd Wh aling Muse um , 18 Johnny Cake Hill , New Bedford MA 02740-6398) • 12 Jul y--4 February, "Reaching Home: Pacific Salmon , Pacific People" (Thomas Burke Memori al State Mu se um , University o f W as hington, Seattl e WA 98 I 9S; 206 S43-SS90) • 16 Septe111be r-29 November, "Transport par Mer" (New Brunswi ck Muse um , 277 Douglas Avenue, Saint John, NB E2K I ES; S06 643-23SS) • Autumn 1996- Spring 1997 , " The Patten Family of Bath " (Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Was hington Street, Bath ME 04S30; 207 443- 13 16) • 12 December-23 March 1997, Lighthouses and Keepers (The Mariners' Museum , I 00 Muse um Dri ve, Newport News YA 23606-37S9; 804 S96-2222)

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EDITOR'S BOOK LOCKER The Age of Exploration Samuel Eliot Mori son 's The European Discovery of America _¡ Th e So uthern Voyages, A.D. 1492- 1616 (O xford U ni ve rsity Press, 1974) remains the li veli est and most authe nti c acco unt of the reali ties of ocean voyag ing in the Age of Exploration . Mori son also offers sound appreciations of the character of suc h people as Columbus, Queen Isabe ll a, Magell an and Charles V. An ex pe rienced deep wate r sa il o r and di s tin g ui s hed scho lar at Harva rd Co ll ege, he a lso showed a budding appreciati on of nati ve peoples' cultures , and he was a great admirer of Bi shop Las Casas and others who protested at the time agai nst the ex ploitation of A meri can Ind ians by Europeans. G . V. Scamme ll 's The World Encompassed : The First European Maritime Empires, c. 800- 1650 (Uni versity of Californi a Press, 198 1), written by another first-cl ass scho lar with first-hand knowl edge of seafaring, is particul arly strong on the economic and cultural story of the developing European states, and includes sensiti ve apprec iati on of nati ve cultures. Someone sho uld publi sh an emended and updated edition of this sprawling but eminentl y readable and instructive work . The Age of Discovery, edited by John B . Hattendorf, is Volume I in a new series entitled Maritime History (Krieger Publi shing, Ma labar FL, 1996). It includes the spl endid essay "The Sea and C hivalry in Late Medieval S pain" by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, referred to in "The Ca pe Ho rn Road" in thi s issue, together with furth er fresh and insightful work on the peri od . Fernandez-Armesto is also author of the 8 16-page Millennium _¡ A History of the Last Thousand Yea rs (Scribner, 1995), which includes our period with a rich appreciation of native cultures, and of the indi genous Afri can and Central and South Ameri can empires which rose and fe ll in thi s period . A somewhat donnish (Oxoni an and Castili an) tone pervades thi s wo rk , however, to the detriment of on-deck reporting, with a tendency to over-blame the Europeans fo r introducing ideas and measures which have certainl y not uni versa ll y worked to mankind 's disadva ntage. We ll , there's no end to the mak ing of books -but these are distinctl y wo rth reading and coming back to. P ETER STANFOR D

Undaunted Courage: Meriwethe r Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, by Stephen E. Ambrose (S imon & Schu ster, NewYorkNY, 1996, 511pp, illu s, notes , bibli o , index, ISBN 0 -684-8 11 07 -3; $27.SOhc) T he cross ing of thi s continent by the Lewi s and Cl ark ex pediti on ( 1803- 1806) was surely the grandest inl and maritime journey in America's hi story. Ove r 80 % of the 8,000-mile trek was waterborne as the ex plorers tra veled the Ohi o, Mi ss issippi , M issouri , C learwater, Snake and Columbi a ri ve rs on their way to the Pacifi c. Professor Ambrose's scho larship, love of hi s subject and g ift fo r storyte ll ing produce an engross ing and hi ghl y readable narrati ve of the c ritica ll y im portant journey. The subtitle alerts one to the book's emphasis on Lewi s. The earl y cha pters are devoted to hi s educati on and ex perience as a Virgini a pl anter and as a so ld ier during and after the Whi skey Re be lli on. Hi s background made him a natu ral choice as persona l secretary to Pres ident Jeffe rson, who literally groomed Lewi s to become leader of the ex peditio n to realize Jefferson 's dream of findin g the most direct route across the continent. Ambrose goes on to descri be the pre parations fo r the journey, the di fficulties of Congress ional approva l, the challenges of assembling and training men, and the joyful send-off from St. Charles, Mi ssouri , in May 1804. Through hi s di sc uss ion of the exped ition itse lf, Ambrose puts us in Lew is's shoes as he sees the vastness and varied beauty of the unex pl ored interi or and meets and deals with Indi an tribes. O ne can fee l the men 's burdens as they contend with swe ltering heat, mosquitoes, gri zzly bears, pri ckl y pears, near starvation, deep snow and rushing wate r. T he reader shares fru strati ons and triumphs as obstacl es are faced and ove rcome . In concluding, Amb rose does not shy away from Lew is ' s short post-expedition li fe whi ch ended with hi s death (and pro bable suic ide) onl y three years afte r hi s ex ultant return from the ex pedition. While the book serves as a bi ograph y of Lew is and a thorough introductio n to the expediti on fo r someone reading about it fo r the first time since hi gh schoo l, it also prov ides va luable in sights fo r someone ve rsed in the story. It te ll s fo r all readers an exciting sto ry of one of the greatest adve ntures in A meri can hi story. B RADFORD SM IT H

Peekskill, New York SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


The Four-Masted Barque Lawhill

The Schooner Bertha L. Downs

(Anatomy of the Ship series) , by Kenneth Edwards , Roderick Anderson and Richard Cookson (Conway Maritime Press, London UK , 1996, 128pp, illu s, appen, biblio, ISBN 0-85177-676-0; ÂŁ25) The Lawhill, not known as a fast or handsome ship, was noted, the a uthors observe, for her " remarkable consistency of performance and unfai 1ing capac ity to secure fre ights with more than average luck along the way." She was known, in fact, as " Lucky Lawhill," and he r large size (nearl y 3,000 tons) and simplified "jubilee" rig (w ith nothing above the topgallants) made he r an effic ie nt and reliabl e cargo carrier. Built in Scotland in 1892 to carry jute from India to Dundee, she was edged out by steamers and went into the case oil trade, carrying kerosene in cans from New York and Phil adelphia to the Far East. Driven out of that trade in turn, she was lucky eno ugh to be acquired by Gustaf Erikson of Finland for hi s fleet of sq uare riggers in the Australian g ra in trade between the wo rld wars. Seized as a war pri ze in England when Finland jo ined Germany in the war again st Russia, she sailed briefly under the South African flag and was ultimate ly scrapped in 1957 after long lay- up. In her final yea rs she had her g reatest stroke of luck- Ri chard Cookson, a person with a pass ion for sailing ships, made innumerabl e sketches and notes of thi s vanishing breed in British po rts in the 1930s, recording every aspect of the ir gear and structure. Hi s freehand sketches have been compared with photogra phs, checked aga inst survivi ng sa il ors ' memories, and pain staki ng ly redrawn by Capt. Ross McLean. These e legant drawings plus a variety of photographic studi es, make poss ibl e the authors ' rivet-by- rivet reconstruction of the vessel. Noted Australian master mariner Ke n Edwards and mod e lmak e r Roderick Anderson (both veterans of the Cape Horn passage under sa i1) have done a superb job of pullin g this materi al together, memorabl y conveying the reality of the Lawhill and her story. A colorful (and typica ll y outrageous) foreword by sq uare-ri g ve teran A lex A. Hurst gives some feel for the me n and ships of the grain trade, and the a uthors provide a we ll reasoned hi story of the ship and the trades she sail ed in. In all , thi s work exceeds the hi gh standards set in Conway's distinguished "A natom y of the Ship" seri es. PS

(Anatom y of the S hip series), by Basil Greenhill with drawings by Sam Manning (Naval In stitute Press, Annapolis MD, 1995 , 128 pp, illus, appen , notes, ISBN 1-55750-790-2; $37.95 hc) The Bertha L. Downs, a four-masted, 175' schooner launched at Bath, Maine, in January 1908, is handsome ly presented in this additi on to Conway's " Anatomy of the Ship" series. This volume informs on three leve ls: through Basil Greenhill ' s exce llen t essay tracing the development of the American coastwise schooner from the mid- l 800s to its fin al form in the early 1900s; in superior hi storic photographs of the Bertha L. Downs and various multi -masted schooners; and with superb drawings by Sam Manning illu stratin g the sc hoo ner ' s structure and rigging. The author takes us through the peregrinati ons by which the American sa iling schooner evolved-affected by such variables as maneuverability and crew size. It is ironic that the same techno log ica l development whi ch doomed the sa il ing vessels- the steam engine-also direct ly contributed to the creati on of multi-m asted schooners around the turn of the century. By eq uipping schooners with a steam donkey engine to raise the large gaff sa il s, owners could minimize costs, running with eight to a dozen crew, even though some of the five- and six-masted schooners measured over 300' in length. A bark or a ship req uired two or three times the crew . Sadl y, the day of the schooners as efficien t carriers ended with the motorization of fl eets after WWI. Detail s abound in the discussion of the building of these elegan t schooners. Dr. Greenhill di scusses the chi selin g and sanding of a baul k of timber until everyone was satisfi ed with the schooner's ernerg ing lines. From this half-model, the schooner' s lines would be set out on a building shed floor wi thout "drawings" as we know them. The Bertha L. Downs became the Atlas in 19 17 when she was so ld to Danish shareholders, and then served under the fl ag of Estoni a fo r a few years until World War II. Sailing in the Baltic Sea, she must have been of interest to the re now ned traditional wooden boatbuilders of the Aland Islands! She served out her term as an accommodation vessel as late as 1947 on the River Elbe. Manning's inspired draw ings truly revive the body and spirit of the schoo-

SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

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Wickford, Rhode Island The Essex Aircraft Carriers, by Andrew Faltum (Nautica l & Aviation Publi shing Company of America, Baltimore MD, 1996, 2 l 6pp, illus, appen, notes, biblio, g loss, index , ISBN 1-877853-267; $39.95 hc) Describing the 24-ship Essex class as the " most significant c lass of warships, in American naval hi story," Faltum begins hi s stud y with an introducti on to carrier evolution and the development of naval av iati on. In hi s view, the Essex class played a key ro le in making the carrier the backbone of the US Navy. He describes American , British and Japanese efforts to perfect this class of wars hip before World War II. Chapters on design characteri stics and construction of the 24 ships provide myriad interesting details. Among the many innovations were an economica l use of materials and the use of we lding in stead of riveting to save weight and time. With the commi ss ioning of the USS Essex on 3 1 December 1942 at Norfolk Navy Yard , these carriers began a long career that wo uld see them serve in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Faltum outli nes this serv ice in the l 2chap ters which make up the larger part of the book. Four appe ndices on individual ship 's technical data, operational history, aircraft technica l data and an appe ndi x on ship camoufl age follow . Excellent notes provide supplementary information. Faltum 's hi ghl y recommended introductory stud y pulls together much of the enormous amount of in format ion avail able on the 24 ships. For comp lementary views, see Norman Friedman's US Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History and Stefan Terzibaschitsch ' s Aircraft Carriers of the US Navy. H AROLD N. BOYER Locust Valley , New York The Battle for History: Re-fighting World War II, by John Keegan (V intage Books, ewYorkNY, 1996, 128pp, notes , ISB N 0-679-76743-6 ; $10pb) An outstanding feat ure of this excellent brief s urvey of the hi stories th at have been written of World War II is a readability that stems, not from any lightness of tone, but from the author's confident grasp of the flow of events, a

confidence grounded in ve ry sound scholarship . For thi s reason, Keegan ' s critical commenta ry provides in itse lf a fair overview of the titanic stru ggle, which in the end , as the a uthor points out, involved all but a handful of the nations of the world. Keegan ri ghtly , I think, di smi sses the latestrev is io nistang leon the war, name ly that Britain should have accepted Hitler's peace offer of 1940, thus bring ing the horrific confli ct to an early end. Hitler, he s uggests, would have gone on to subdue or subve rt the whole of the democratic world. And to a generation not brought up in the ultimate realities of World War II , he points out that popul ar res istance simply did not work against the Nazi war mac hine; those who attempted it were killed, their homes razed , the ir fam ilies hunted down and exterminated. Contrary to postwar mytholog ies, it was onl y in Yugos lav ia, Keegan notes, that resistance gained significant ground . There the pri ce was the death of fully I 0 percent of the popul ation . An equivalent casualty rate in the US today would be 27 milli o n dead. This authoritative book reminds us that John Keegan is the leading military hi stori an of our day. One may differ with his judgment on occasion, as when he neglects to note that Montgomery 's failure to clear the approaches to Antwerp, thus delaying the opening of that vital suppl y portforcritically important weeks in late 1944, was due to his deci sion to mo unt the overambitious Arnhem air drop. I a lso be li eve the destruction of Gennan armi es west of the Rhine in the Palatinate campai gn in 1945 was due more to Patton 's genius as an operational war commander, than to any German collapse. These, and other iss ues, will continue to be debated, and should be, as Keegan points o ut, that we may continue to learn from thi s most terTible of human experiences , World War II. PS Count Not the Dead: The Popular Image of the German Submarine, by Michael L. Hadley (Naval Institute Press, Annapo li s MD, 1995 , 286pp, illus, notes, biblio , index , ISBN 1-55750- 134-3; $37.95hc) This informed analys is of how Germany has looked upon its s ubmarines and the men who took them to sea is based on a stud y of 250 nove ls, films , memoirs and fictionalized hi stories publi shed in German and the role of propaganda in s hap ing popular percepti ons. SEA H lSTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS During World W a rs I and II the U- boat came to be cons ide red Germ a ny's m ost potent weapo n of m a ritime po we r a nd a n instrume nt o f he r na ti o na l destin y. In WWI, submarine sail o rs had prove n the ir wo rth by the effecti veness o f U-boa ts, while th e s urface na vy was la rge ly ine f fectiv e, and by re m a ining loya l w hile th e s urface fl eet mutini ed a t th e wa r 's e nd . Be tween the wars, U-boa t lite rature ke pt a live th e no bl e ideal of sac rifi ce to Yolk and Vate rl a nd. Meanwhile, the N az i propagand a mini stry c hurned o ut a mix of fac t a nd fi c ti o n to nu rture a U- boat myth o logy . The publi c ne ve r lea rn ed the awful sta ti sti cs a bo ut U-boat losses. In W o rld W a r II , subm a rin es w e re ma nn ed by prog ress ive ly yo un ge r rec ruits indoctrin ated in " th e brothe rh ood of nava l traditi o n a nd sacrifi ce ." During '44 a nd ' 45 w he n o nl y o ne of four boats was re turnin g from pa tro l, G e rm a n propaganda ke pt feedin g the m yth of Uboat in vinc ibility . A le ngth y e pilog ue dea ls with the perceptio n of milita ry tradition in the postwar Fede ral Armed Fo rces. In l 9 65 the Bundes we hr iss ued a Tradition Protocol o n ho w milita ry v irtues of the p as t we re appli cable to th e ne w Bundes we hr. It made c lear that th e re w as no longer any roo m fo r th e mindl ess o bedience o f th e Naz i years. As Hadl ey co nc ludes, howe ve r, " one needs c learl y unde rs tood traditions ... duty, truth , a nd va lour if o ne is to kno w how to act a nd wh o to be w he n th e chips a re do wn ." R OBERT CH APEL Ridgely, Mary la nd United States Shipping Policies and th e World Market, edited by Willi a m A. Lovett (Quo rum Books, W estpo rt CT, 1996, 344pp, index, IS B N 0 -89930 94 5-3; $75 hc) T hi s compe ndium o f e ssa ys w ritte n by a dozen acade m ici a ns with a predo mina te ly legali st be nt sho uld be " required readin g" for admiralty lawye rs, fo re ig n po li cy a nd trade practitione rs a nd , pa rti c ul a rly , stude nts of the bu s iness side of th e maritime industry . It is a we ll o rgani zed , updated s uppl e m e nt to Whi tehurst 's "search for a n e ndurin g maritime po licy" as presented in The US Me rchant Marin e (1 983). T he edito r puts forth the de ba ta bl e th e me th a t the US m e rc ha nt m a rine's salvati o n lies in fo llowing th e s uccessful o pen registry po lic ies of G reece, No rway a nd Japa n. As th ese co untries h ave SEA HI ST O RY 79, AUTUMN 1996

Ship Paintings Restored. Museum qu ality restoration of old paintings. Damaged old ship paintings purchased. Peter Williams, 30 Ips wich St. , Boston MA 022 15. By appointment: 61 7-536-4092 Compass and Binnacle restoration, repairs and adjusting. J. K. & E. Enterprises, Inc., 7075 12 1stW ay North,Seminole FL 34642. 8 13-398-5 132.

Sailors Sea Songs. New C Ds: "The X Seamen Sing" and "Heart of Oak." $ 15 each plus $5 with songbook . Available on cassette: "Favorites," "Bawdy Ballads," Bok's "Clear Away in the Morning," Boarding Party's "'Tis Our Sailing Time." Cassettes $ 10 each. Sing on the choruses immedi ately, soon lead your own crew. Add $3 shi pping all items. Also seek dealers and distri butors. Call the Commodore at 800-247-3262.

Master Padlocks . Brass/stee l. Any lock. Any key. Any quantity. Free info . Quick ship . Visa/MC. Lockm as ters. 1-800-46 10620. Fax 904-235-7658

Free Print Lottery. Send yo ur business card to win a $500 signed Stobart print. Draw ings held 12/24/96 and 6/30/97. Sea Heri tage Lottery, 254-26 75 Ave., Glen Oaks NY 11004.

Schooner paintings sale. Recent works. Free brochure. Old ship paintings purchased. Don O ' Brien, POBox 802, S. Dennis MA 02660.

Marine Paintings Bought. Wanted: Jacobsen, Buttersworth, Bard, Salmon, Fischer, Homer, Grant, Chambers, Moran, Freid rich, Whistler, Monamy, Grimshaw, Fedininger, Wyllie, Raleigh, Copley, Jongkind, Scott, Cozzens, Tyler. Call Karen Waterman 7 18-343-9575.

Shipping or maritime links with South Afri ca? We will inves ti gate your enquiry: Port & Starboard, SA Maritime Hi stori cal Research, PO Box 50892, Waterfront 8002, South Afri ca. Fax 02 1 72 6588 . Read Steamboating, the annu al how-to journal fo r steamboat owners, builde rs and dreamers. $25/yea r. Sati sfa ction g uaran teed . Bill Mueller, Route I , Box 262-H , Middlebourne WV 26 149.

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1-800-432-JOIN (5646) http://www.objectlinks.com/ manatee "S uccess" the Manatee

Wanted: Deck range find er binocul ars. Steve Rowland 508-790-6 172. Authentic ship's wheel,45 inch. Large model, ship Aryan (was FDR 's). Dollond telescope. Ship paintings . Books. More. List. SASE: Box 23 1, West Covina CA 9 1793 . Emai l: Jim Pinxit@aol.com Tel/fax 909-595-6655.

1911 Historic English needlepoint tapestry, 9ft high, 11 ft wide. Depicts Henry Hudson 's ship, pali sades, soldiers and tents, and Indians. Lege nd reads " Hendrick Hudson sail s up the mi ghty river which afterw ards bears hi s name." Write: G. Pope, 205 E. 78 St. , NYC 1002 1 The Nautical Cat, seeking information , graphics, sources, annecdotes of cats on ships from BC to 1930s. Will pay postage, etc. and acknow ledgment. Writing articles and possible book. Albert Haberle, DVM , I 5 Cove St. , Noank CT 06340. Fax 860-536-46 16. Liberty Ship Furniture, oak-rare and historic. One of each: chief mate's berth-$ 1,750; purser's chiffonie r-$750; purser's des k$750; or best offer. Photos available. Ted Ballew, PO Box 5 194, Redondo WA 98054. Tel: 206-839-89 16. Ocean liner memorabilia for sale, 100+ page ca ta log a va ilabl e $5 . W e bs it e : http ://co ll ec tin g.co m/s hipshape/ Email : ship s ha pe@co llec tin g .com Mail: 1041 Tuscany Pl. , Winter Park FL USA 32789101 7. Tel: 407-644-2892, fa x: 407-644-1833. Lehigh Valley Tug Allentown. Wish to obtain copy of grandfather's engineers license. Was chief engineer on Allentown when he died in 1932. Coast Guard and union couldn 't help. Any suggesti ons call George 1. Thoman 51 6543-2988. Toplace anadphoneCannena/914-737-7878.

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Are you or a rare gift this liday season? For $20 you can adopt a manatee for someone you love. Your contribution will go toward efforts to protect endangered manatees and their habitat.

Love Comes in 1,000 Pound Packages (No Batteries Needed) Statement fil ed 10/1/96 required by the Act of Aug. 12, 1970. Sec. 3685. Titl e 39. US Code: Sea History is published qu art erl y at 5 John Walsh Blvd .. Peekski ll NY 10566: minimum subscription price is $ 15. Publi sher and ediior is Pe1er Stanford : managing ed itor is Justine A hl strom: owner is Na tional Maritime Historical Socie ty. a non -profit corporal ion: all arc located at 5 John Wa lsh Bl vd .. Peekski ll NY 10566. Durin g the 12 months preceding October 1996 the average number of (A) copies printed eac h issue was 27.787 (B) paid and/or requested circ ulation was ( I) so ld throu gh dealers. C<i rri crs and counte r sa les 876; (2) mail subscr ipt ions 14.006: (C) total paid and/or requested c ircu lation was 14 ,882: (D) free distribu1ion, sampl es. com plimentary copies were 12.339: (E) total distribution was 27.221; (F) co pies not di stributed ( I) office use 3 1 l : (2) return from ne ws agents 257 : (G ) total = 27,787. T he actual numbers for th e s in g le issue preceding October l 996 arc (A) to tal number pri111ed 25.299 : (B) paid circulation was (I) sa les throu gh dealers. carrie rs and cou nter sal es 471: (2) ma il subscripti ons 14.923: (C) total paid and/or requested c ircu lation 15,394: (0) free distribution. samp les. complim entary copies were 9.610: (E) 1otal distribut ion was 25.004 (F) cop ies not di st ribu ted were ( 1) office use 269: (2) return from news agents 26: (G) total= 25.299. I cerlify that the above s1a1crnents arc correcl and comp lete. (s igned) Peter Stanford. Pres .. Na tion al M<1ritimc Historical Society.

45


REVIEWS rather minor roles as the world 's policemen , however, it would have been helpful forthe au thors to have examined how such a role might be carried out with open registries. The con ten tion that Operation Desert Sh ie ld showed us to have a suffic ient poo l of mariners is a lso debatable. Otherwise, the book is very " red, white and blue," ultimately justifying policies to ensure the reten tion of the US fla g at sea as thi s relates to maintaining " a stron g industrial-technology base, stron g ex port growth, and a hea lth y balance of pay ments. " Much of the data presented in tables could be more cogently shown in trend c urves, and there is so much va luable informatio n in the foo tn otes that they co uld have been integrated into the text. I will certa inl y retain my copy as a reference to assis t my efforts in vocali zing the need fo r a sou nd maritime policy . DAVID A. O ' NEIL Essex , Connect ic ut Guide to the S hips Plans Collection at Mystic Seaport Museum, by Elle n C. Stone (Mystic Seaport Museum , Division of S hi ps Plans , PO Box 6000, Mystic CT 06355 , 1995 , 92pp, illus, index ,

THE NATIONAL

ISBN 0-913372-75-7; $ 10+$3s&h) The S hips Pl ans Divi sion at Mystic Seaport Museum he ld over 79,000 individua l arc hitectural and technical drawings as of 1995 . Here you will find a brief li sting of eac h of the 111 different collections, including the person, family or entity for which the collection is named, the numberof items in the collection and a brief description of the material s cove red , w ith the names of the most important vessels or vessel types. Thi s ¡guide does not li st every plan available. However, anyo ne making a study of American vesse ls from the late 1800s to the earl y 1900s will welcome this opportunity to browse throug h one of the most comprehensive archives in ex istence. We need more such g uides from Mystic and other maritime centers. JA VIDEOS

John Stobart's WorldScape II, New England (#1) and England (#2) (MHP Video , PO Box 82 , Hopkinton MA 01748 , 1996, VHS , I 20min each; $65+$4.SOs&h each, $99+$6.95s&h/set) When a person practic ing at the top of hi s class takes time to ex plain what he is do ing and ho w he does it, yo u get some-

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thing approaching the perfect teacherparti c ularly if the artist's aim is to enlighten rather than dazz le or confound. John Stobart, in hi s WorldScape video series, has been doing just thi s with his outdoor paintings. Each painting is done in a s ing le sess ion of a few hours , with ev ide nt joy in the work, whi ch he ge nerally s hares with a fellow artist painting the same scene. The di scuss ion ra nges over the full spectrum of technique, from sound bas ic princ iples to spec ial effects with bru shwork and , most important, the idea of the painting-what it 's trying to tell you throu g h the medium of paint. The latest two videos in the seri es, covering four New England sess ions and four English ones, provide some entrancing exchanges which are of real storytelling or dramatic inte rest- but all are of the hi g hest order of art education, done with such g usto it makes one want to, as John puts it, "have ago" at catching the evanescent shimmer of li ght on running waterorthe feel of the wet, pushing wind that precedes a rain squall. PS The August F. Crabtree Collection of Miniature Ships {The Mariners ' Musewn , 100 Museum Dr. , Newport News VA 23606, 1996, VHS , 20min; $19.95) Whe n you see the late August F. Crabtree ' s ship model s in this new video from The Marine rs ' Museum, you will stand in awe of the skill , the detail and the reverence for authenticity that he brought to hi s work. The s ixteen exqui site models of the Crabtree collection trace the evolution of sa iling craft, from rafts through the decl ine of wooden ships. Close-up photography shows the vessels in all their intricate detail , hi ghlighting the artistry and technical accuracy of the modeler. Inte rviews with Crabtree and work sess ions complete the picture of this dedicated craftsman. Howeve r, the viewer's impress ion of Crabtree's work might have been further enhanced by the inclus ion of a pe ncil point, a ruler or a human hand to judge the size of each model and its detail. These models are magnificent and one-of-a-kind. By all means, see the video-but recognize it as an invitation to see these exceptional miniatures in person , to ap prec iate why miniature maritime modeling done by an expert is so phenomenal. (A two-disk set of electronic postcards is also available for $ 10.) BASIL F. HARRISON Yorktown Hei g hts , New York SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996


For Children and Young Readers With the holiday season approaching, we thought it helpful to list some nautical titles suitable for the young sailorsor would-be sailors-in our lives. The following may be ordered from your local bookstore, from the publisher, or from NMHS by phoning Erika at 800-221-NMHS. We Didn ' t Mean to Go to Sea, by Arthur Ransome (Dav id R. Godine, Publisher, Inc., 9 Lewis Street, Lincoln MA 01773 , orig 1937, repr 1983, 1995, 344pp, illus , ISBN 0-87923-991-3 ; $12.95pb) Arthur Ransome ' s unforgettable sail ing stories are still ava il able for the enjoyment of our children-and of those grownups lu cky enoug h to do the bedtime readingthanks to these reprints from David Godine. Since they first appeared in the 1930s, the stories have not lost their charm, with good-hearted ch ildren getting themselves into adventures and out of difficulties with optim ism and perseverance. These are a must for any chi Id who loves boats-and a good choice for little landlovers as well. The series now includes: Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Winter Holiday, Coot Club, Pigeon Post, We Didn' t Mean to Go to Sea and Secret Water. All Sail Set, by Armstrong Sperry (Dav id R. Godine, Publisher, Inc ., 9 Lewi s St., Lincoln MA 01773, orig 1936, repr 1995, l 74pp, illus, g lossary, ISBN 0-87923523-3; $ 11.95pb) This fictional tale of a Boston lad who ships aboard the Flying Cloud on her maiden voyage is a great sea yarn for young readers able to deal with dialogue written in a variety of co lorful dialects. It is handsomely illu strated by the author, who also weaves a wealth of hi storic information into his tale . The Guide to Wooden Boats, (W.W. Norton & Co., NY , NY , 1996, 168pp, illus, ISBN 0-393-04045-3; $19.95 hc) This handsome book features the six basic sai lboat rigs and the variations to be found within them . Over 130 beautiful full-page photos by Benjamin Mendlowitz of present-day schooners, sloops, yawls, ketches, cutters and cats invite study, while Maynard Bray's narrative brings the vessels to life. It will be app reciated by the young reader eager to learn about rigs, and enjoyed by the rest of us just for sheer pleasure. SEA HISTORY 79, AUTUMN 1996

Ice Country, by Mary Morton Cowan (Picton Press, Rockport, Maine, 1995 , l 38pp, illus , ·1sBN 0-89725-220-9; $ 18.95hc) This story follows a teenage boy with a love of photography through a summer aboard the schooner Bowdoin with Captain MacMillan in 1950. The heromuch like the real-life students who sailed on the Bowdoinfinds his life changed by the voyage of Arctic exploration and returns home strengthened in many ways. It is fact-based and suitable for ages ten years through sixteen.

OTHER ITEMS How a Tugboat Works, (Think Video, Inc.,NewYorkNY, 1995,30min;$14.95 + $3 s&h) is an informative video which children will enjoy. Using film of the Moran tug Miriam docking the QE2 in New York harbor, they have added a cartoon parrot, which sometimes narrates and occas ionally points out details in the film. (Our five-year-old grandson liked thi s touch.) Older students and ad ults will prefer the second version , Tugboat, (30 min ; $ 19.95 + $3.95s&h) which uses much the same footage, but is narrated in more detail and at a faster pace (and without the cartoon device). Both versions show remarkable footage of tugs at work and will be appreciated by any youngster who loves boats. Dover Coloring Book series (Dover Publications, Inc. , 3 l E. 2nd St. , Mineola NY 11501) Nautical subjects include "Naval Battles of the Civil War,""American Sailing Ships,""Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure" and "The Story of Whaling," all $2.95 and all beautifully and accurately drawn by Peter Copeland. Captions describe each picture, providng background and facts about the ships and scenes in each illustration. The smooth, clean white paper allows the use of coloring pens and full color examp les of the drawings on the covers show the young artist what can be achieved with the pictures. N. STANFORD

Historic, antique U.S. Coast Survey maps from the 1800s Most American seaports and coastal waters. Reprints, too . Unique framed , great as gifts. __ $1 brings illustrated lists. Specify area. - -· -:c CHARTIFACTS, DSH , Box 8954 Richmond VA 23225. 804/272-7120

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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPONSORS

THE ACORN F OUNDATION CHARLES F . ADAMS C OMMO. HENRY H . A NDERSON, JR. H OPE P . A NNAN J . ARON CHARITABLE F OUN DATION P ETER A. ARON THE VINCENT A STOR FOUNDATIO R . B ARNETT WILLIAM S. B ARRACK, JR. ALLE N G . B ERRIEN B OATING ON THE H UDSON J AMES H . BROUSSARD W ALTER R . B ROWN ALAN G . CHOATE M ARC S . C OHN MELVIN A. C ONANT J OHN C. COUCH W ALTER CRONKITE H ARLAN CROW P ONCET DAVIS , JR. JoHN H. D EANE HENRY L. & GRACE D OHERTY CHARITABLE F OUNDATION J AMES E AN M ORR IS L. F EDER MRS. D . L. FLEISCHMANN R OBERT E. GAMBEE THOMAS GOCHBERG P ETER J . GOULANDRIS THE GRACE F OUNDATION TH OMAS HALE W ALTER J . H ANDELMAN C APT. P AUL R. HENRY DR . CH ARLES E. HERDENOORF CHARLES HI NTZ R OY H OLLY ADRIAN S. H OOPER ELIZABETH S . H OOPER FOUNDATIO MR . & MRS. A. D . H ULINGS INTERNATIONAL L ONGS HOREMEN's A SSOCIATION LCDR R OBERT IRVING USN (RET.) MRS. R . JEFFERSON TR UDA CLEEVES J EWETT MRs. IRVI NG M. J OHNSON STEPHEN J OHNSON LTC OL W ALTER E. JORGENSEN T HE J . M . KAPLAN F UND l<ARTA C ONTAINER & RECYCLING H ARR IS KEMPNER , ESQ. CHRISTOS N. KRITIKOS ART K UDNER GERHARD E. K URZ G EORGE R . L AMB JoHN LEHM AN H. R . L OGAN RI CHARDO R. L OPES J AMES A . M ACDONALD F OUNDATION CLAY M AITLAND P ETER M ANIGAULT J AMES P . MARENAKOS M ARIN T UG & B ARGE M ARINE S OCIETY OF NEW YORK WARREN M ARR, II ANTHONY D. MARSHALL M ATC H FILM INC. BRI AN A. McALLISTER D ONALD C . M c GRAW, JR. S CHUYLER M. MEYER, JR. MR. & MRS. J . WILLIAM MIDDENDORF, II MILFORD B OAT W ORKS D AVID M . MILTON TR UST M OB IL OIL CORPORATION H ON. J AMES J .M OORE MORMAC MARINE T RANSPORT, INC. RI CHARD!. M ORRIS, JR . MR. & MRS. SPENCER L. M URFEY, JR . D OUGLAS M USTER THE NA VY L EAGUE, N EW YORK COUNCIL NY POWER AUTHORITY NORTON LILLY INTERNATIONAL B RYAN OLIPHANT RALPH M. & D OROTHY P ACKER, JR . P ACKER MARINE W ALTER H . P AGE WILLIAM A. P ALM MRS. A. T . POUC H, JR . TH OMAS P OWNALL M R. & MRS. ALBERT PRATT J OHN P UREMAN L ESLIE C . Q UICK, J R. CRAIG A. C . REYNOLDS WILLIAM R ICH, III LA URANCE S . R OCKEFELLER EDM UND S. R UMOWICZ M ARY A. H . R UMSEY F OUNDATION JoHN F. S ALISBURY MRs. ARTHUR J . SANTRY, J R. S . H . & HELEN R . S CHEUER F AM ILY F OUNDATION RI CHA RD W . S CHEU ING D ER S CUTT MI CHAEL D . SHEA R OBERT A. SINCERBEAUX H OWARD SLOTNICK B AILEY SMITH NORMA & P ETER STANFORD STATE C ou CIL ON W ATERWAYS J OHN S TOBART STOLT-NIELSEN, S .A. T EXACO I NC. D AN & Aux T HORNE ANNA GLEN VIETOR D AVID B . VIETOR H ARRY & C AROL VINALL, Ill B RIAN D. WAKE S HANNON ALL HENRY PENN WENGER W ESTCHESTER REsco WILLIAM H. WHITE J OHN WILE Y AND SONS, ! C. WILLIAM G. WI NTERER J EAN W ORT Y ANKEE CLIPPER EDWARD G. ZELINSKY

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G EORGE R . ATTERB URY M . R HODES B LISH, JR. FR ANK 0 . BR AYNARD WILLIAM J . C ANAVAN D ONALD B . & C AROL J . D ERR BRENT F OL LWEILER H ARRY W . GARSCHAGEN J ERRY G u rn DR & MRS . D AVID HAYES C ARL W. HEXAMER, II I NTREPID M USEUM F OUNDATION R OBERT W . J ACKSON J ACK JoHNS ON, INC . WILLI AM J . JoNES PETER M AX MR . & MRS . ELu CE M c D ONALD, JR. M EARL C OR PORATION D AV IDA . O ' N EIL D ONALD W . P ETIT H AVEN C. R OOSEVELT SAFE H ARBOUR CHARTERING A. H ERBERT S ANDWEN P ETE R H . SHARP C. H AM ILTON SLOAN M ELBOURNE SMITH B ENGT STROMQU IST D AV IS T AYLOR L OU IS A. TR APP, J R. D ONALD R . Y EA RW OOD

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J AMES D . ABELES WILLIAM K . ABELES M AE & CRAIG B AHRS MICHAEL E . B AILEY R OBERT M . B AL y PETER B ARTOK B ENJAMIN D. B AXTER ALAN B EARDEN STEPHANIE B EGLEY CAPT. J ESSE M. B ONTECOU CAPT. J. H OLLIS B OWER, JR . RICHARD H. BRANNON STEPHEN J. B RECKLEY THE B RESSLER F OUNDATION B ROOKLYN UNION G AS CAPT. J . S . B URROWS CRAIG B URT, J R. JOHN M. B UTLER N ORM AN CARATHANAS IS THOMAS S. CARLES I GEORGE W . CARMANY, Ill L EVIN H . CAMPBELL MR. & MRS. NED CHALKER D AVID D . CHOMEAU CHARLES D . CLARK GEORGE F. CLEMENTS, J R. C OLTON & COMPANY CAPT. WILLIAM B . C ORNELL KAREN CRANSTON ALICE D AOOURIAN L UCY & FRANK D ARDEN STAN DASHEW D OM INIC A. DELA URENTIS, MD M ALCOLM DICK B ERNARD D ONNELLY JoAN E . DoNOVAN REYNOLDS D u PONT, JR. R . H . D UPREE H OWARD H . E DDY NEIL A. EHRENREICH MR. & MRS. STUART EHRENREICH EKLOF MARINE C ORPORATION MICHAEL K . EMER Y CDR. L ELAND F. EsTES E u ROPAEUS J AMES P . F ARLEY JoHN FIRNSTAHL CAPT. A. F oREL CHARLES FREEMAN, EsQ. J . E. FRICKER, JR. PATRICK H . F ULMER G EIS N1ssAN, INc THOMAS C . GILLMER LCDR B . A. GILM ORE, USN (RET) BRAD GLAZER BRUCE G ODLEY R OLAND GRIMM R OBERTS. H AGGE, JR. C APT. W ILLIAM H . H AMILTON F REDERIC H . H ARWOOD R ICHARD H. HAWKINS CAPT. FRANK T. H AYDEN H . DALE HEMMERDI NGER R OBERT J . H EWITT H OWARD E . HIGHT JOHN B . HIGHTOWER H OWARD E . HIGHT MR . & MRS. CHARLES HILL T OWNSEND H ORNOR H UDSON VALLEY B ANK WILLIAM H . H ULICK, Ill J ACK E . H UNGER J AKOB ISBRANDTSEN G EORGE M . ]VEY, J R. C OL. GEORGE M. J AMES (RET) CAPT. P AUL J. J ARV IS P . J AYSON MRS. BERJ-.~CE B . J OHNSTON NEILE. JoNES S TEVEN KALIL WILLIAM D . KENNER, MD DR . WALTER KLEINDIENST PETER KNIFFIN ELIOT S. KNOWLES CAPT. L EO KRASZESKI CAPT. PETER L Alffi F RANK L AKE MR . & MRs. T . E . L EONARD ARTHUR S. LISS D ONNA LITTLE CALEB L OR ING, JR. L EO A . L OU BERE M . D .M ACPHERSON J EANMARIE M AHER CLIFFORD D . MALLORY PIERRE M ANIGAULT MARINE S OCIETY OF B OSTON M AR ITIME HERITAGE PRINTS H ARRY w . M ARS HALL RICHARD M AURER R OBERT w . M c C ULLOUGH RI CHA RD D . M c NISH JoHN MECRA Y J ACQUES MEGROZ I. A. M ORR IS R OBERT E . M ORRIS, JR. A NGUS C. M ORR ISON CAPT. G . M . M US ICK J OYCE & HARRY NELSON, JR . R OBERT B . O'BRIEN, JR. D AVID A. O ESTRE ICH CLIFFORD B . O 'HARA R ONALD L. O SWALD P ARCEL T ANKERS SERVICES MRS. G ODW IN J . P ELISSERO C APT. D . E. PERKINS P AUL F. PERKINS JOR GEN PETERSEN C APT. CLAUDE D. PHILLI PS H UGH M . PI ERCE AURA-LllE-C.Pl1TEl'IGER, PHD PETER BJERRE P OULSEN THEODORE PRATT ERNESTA G . PROCOPE M ARCOS J OHN PSARROS R AY REMI CK CAPT. J OSE R IVERA M ·~R OSENBERG - R OGER A. R Ul!IEl>I R TCHA R!r-M.-SALTZMAN SANDY H OOK PILOTS, NY&NJ R OBE RT C. SEAMANS, JR. GEORGE E. SHAW, JR. L ELAN F . SILLIN KIMBALL SMITH MR. & MRS. EDWARD W . SNOWDON CoR VICTOR B . STEVEN, JR. R OBERT G. STONE, J R. D ANIEL R . S UKIS B RUCE SWEDIEN CARL W . TIMPSON, JR. WILLIAM R . T OWER, II T RANSMAR BROKERAGE, I NC. R OBERT J. TYO ALFRED T YLER, II CHARLIE J . VADALA H ERBERT VON KLUGE R AYMOND E . WALLACE MRS. TERR Y W ALTON A . D. WARD R AYNER WEIR CDR. E . A NDREWS W ILDE, JR. CAPT. RI CHA RD G. WILEY T ED WILLIAMS DR . MI CHAEL WILSON THOMAS H . WYSMULLER R OBERTS . YO UNG

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"HMS" ROSE Foundation, I Bostwick Ave., Bridgeport CT 06605 '8' (203) 335-1433

'8' (203) 335-0932

Fax: (203) 335-6793

ROSE is a US documented vessel, inspected and certified by the US Coasr Guard. Safety standards for Sailing School Vessels differ from those of passenger vessels on a comparable route, because persons aboard training ships are nor passengers but parricipanrs who share in the ship's operation. ROSE meers or exceeds all safety requirements/or a vessel of her size and class.


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