Sea History 084 - Spring 1998

No. 84

NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SPRING 1998

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

OPERATION

SAIL 2000: PHILADELPHIA AND THE GAZELA - Awakening the Next Watch Aboard USCG Eagle KNM Hitra: The "Shetlands Bus" Mystic: America & the Sea The Marine Art of Bill Gilkerson The Cape Hom Road, Part XIV

ISSN 01 46-93 12

o. 84

SEA HISTORY

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OFF ICERS & TRUSTEES: C hairman . Cra ig A. C. Reyno lds; Vice Chairm en, Richardo Lo pes, Ed ward G. Ze li nsky; P residen t, Peter Stanfo rd ; Vice President, Norma Stan ford ; Treasurer , B radfo rd Sm ith; Secretary, M arsha ll S tre ibe rt ; Trustees, Wa lter R . B row n, W . Grove Conrad , Fred C. Hawkins, Jakob Isbrandtsen, G uy E. C. Maitl and , Karen E. Markoe. Warren Marr, II , Bri an A. McA lli ster, James J. M oore, Dav id A .

O 'Ne il, RADM T ho mas J. Patterso n. Nancy Po uch, O gde n Re id , Ch arles A . Robertso n, Howard S lo tnic k, Lo ui s A. Trapp, J r. , David B. Vietor, Harry E. Vi nall , Ill , Wi ll iam H . Wh ite, Jean Wort; Chairman Emeritus, A lan G. Choate FOUN DER : Ka rl K ortum (l 9 17- 1996) OVERSEE RS: Ch a irman , T ownsend Ho rn o r; Charles F. Adams, RA DM Dav id C. Brown, Walter Cronki te, John Lehman, J. Wil liam M iddendorf, II , Graham H. Phill ips, John St o bart , Wi lli am G . Wi nterer ADV ISORS: Co-C hairmen , Frank 0 . Bray nard , Melbourne Smith ; D.K. Abbass, Raymo nd Aker, George F. Ba ss, Franc is E . Bo w ke r, O swa ld L. Brett , No rm an J. Bro uwer, RADM Joseph F. Call o, Willi am M. Doe rflin ger, Fra nc is J. Du ffy, Jo hn Ewa ld , J ose ph L. Farr, T imot hy G . Foo te, W illi am G ilk e rso n , T hom as G illme r, Wa lte r J. Hande lm an, C ha rl e s E. He rde ndo rf, Steven A. Hyman, Hajo Knurtel, G unnar Lundeberg, Conrad Mil ster, Willi am G. Mulle r, Dav id E. Perkin s, ancy Hughes Richardson, T imo th y J. R unya n , Ralph L. Sn ow, Shan no n J . W a ll, T ho m as We ll s AMER ICAN S HIP TR UST: Chairman, Peter Stanford; Trustees, F. Briggs Dalzell , William G .

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SPRING 1998

CONTENTS 2 DECK LOG & LETTERS 5 REPORT FROM THE FIELD: The Institute for Exploration and Deepwater Archaeology

by Dr. Robert Ballard 6 NMHSNEWS 8 THE AMERICAN FLAG AT SEA: From A Labor Perspective

by Henry F. Trutneff, PhD 10 THE CAPE HORN ROAD, XIV: How the Races of Mankind Came Together in the Immense Mixing Bowl of the Pacific

by Peter Stanfo rd 16 KNM Hitra: The " Shetlands Bus"

by Theodore R. Treadwell 22 THE OPSAIL 2000 OFFICIAL PORTS, PART II: Philadelphia, City of Pioneering Ships and People

by Peter Stanfo rd 26 SHIP OF THE ISSUE: Gazela of Philadelphia

by David Frantz 28 M USEUM OF THE ISSUE: M ystic: The Museum of America & the Sea

by Benjamin Labaree 30 M ARINE ART: An Inter view with Bill Gilkerson

by Stua rt M. Frank 35 NMHS Takes the Young Idea to Sea

by Peter Stanfo rd 36 Awakening the Next Watch: Sail Training Aboard USCGC Eagle

by Capt. Robert J. Papp, Jr. 40 Recovering Our Maritime Heritage: The Vaka Taumako Project, Sail, Martha's Vineyard and a Russian Replica of the Shtandart 48 IN THE ARCHIVES : Tracing American Merchant Vessels

by Cha rles Dana Gibson 50 MARINE ART NEWS/AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM NEWS 53 SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & M USEUM NEWS 59 REVIEWS 64 PATRONS COVER: Today th e old Portuguese Grand Banksf ishing vessel Gaz e la ( ex-Gazela Prime iro) sails out of Philadelphia , kept in voyaging condition by a dedicated group of volunteers, The Philadelphia Preservation Guild. (See pages 25-27 & 5 1.) (Photo: Lori Mager)

Join Us for a Voyage into History Our seafaring heritage comes ali ve in the pages of Sea History, fro m the ancient mariners of Greece, a nd Po rtug uese nav igato rs opening up the ocean world , to the hero ic efforts of seamen in World War II. Each iss ue brings new insights and new discoveries .

If yo u love the sea and the legacy of those who sail in deep waters, if you love the rivers, la ke s a nd bays a nd the ir workaday craft, then yo u belong wi th us. Stay in touchjoin us today! Mail in the form below or phone

______________ 1-800-221-NMHS(664~ Y es, I w ant to j o in the S o c ie ty a nd rece ive Sea History q uarte rl y. My contribu tion * is e nc lo sed. (*$ 17.50 is fo r Sea History; any amount above that is tax-ded ucti ble.) $ 35 R egu la r M e mbe r $ 50 Fami ly M e mbe r $ 100 Frie nd

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84

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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY

DECK LOG

LETTERS

The wide-ranging scope of the maritime story can bring blessed relief to our over-specialized age, in which fractionated interests clamor for one's immediate attention. The sea, which has tied all the varieties of humankind together on o ur watrous globe, invites s lower and less clamorous rhythms of thinking and concern. And the experience of seafaring can bring us to the grand simpli cities that underlie the complexities of the human cond ition today.

Mystic Seapo11 strikes some unifying chords in setting forth the bas ic themes of th e ir newly redefin ed mission , " America and the Sea." These are presented in this Sea History by Ben Labaree, drawn from the book of that title the museum is bringing out later thi s year.

And in "The Cape Horn Road ," that wi nding narrative I've bee n pursuing in these pages , we arrive at the encounter of all the races of mankind in the vast bowl of the Pacific Ocean. At the outset I thought this journal of my exploration of how mankind set out on the long ocean trail that led us ri ght around the world would seem remote from our present-day experience-and so, of course, in many ways it is.

But I soon found I was borne onward by the li ving connections of the experience. These fa irl y seize yo u by the arm as one works one's way across the world 's oceans, where, as the prophet and painter John Noble once put it, things of the deep come up and look at you.

"If It Weren't for NMHS ... " I wo uld like to express my most sincere thanks for your support for Project Liberty Ship in making your mailing li st available for o ur latest members appeal.

In three weeks we have already s ig ned on more than 300 new membe rs and the volume of mail has not yet beg un to dimini sh!

I was pretty su re that the type of individual s who are NMHS me mbers wou ld have a natural inclination to support the John W. Brown and thi s has certainl y proven to be the case.

While o ur mission is to preserve a great old ship, we are really a " people project" in the sense that we rely entirely on volunteer labo r and on the generosity of fo lks all over the country- and overseas as well-who believe that preserving and operating a Liberty ship on the East Coast is a cause wo rth y of support.

And guess what? You started it all. If it weren't for NMHS, the SS John W. Brown wou ld probably be resting at the bottom of the ocean as a fish reef or long s ince c ut up in some far off scrapyard.

Instead , the ship lives, telling the story of our g reat wartime fleet, as you have often said , far better than any textbook cou ld hope to convey.

BRIAN HOPE Project Liberty Ship Baltimore, Maryland

A Cause in Motion We who work at the National Maritime Historical Society are always surpri sed when people say: "I d idn ' t know yo u did anything but the magazine. " To us it seems so ev ident that Sea History is the journal of a cause in motion-a cause that is given life and purpose by yo u, the member who reads this .

What your interest ac hieves in the ocean of time we traverse is shown in o ur lead letter in this issue. Here Captain Brian Hope of the Liberty ship John W. Brown pays tribute to your interest in that gallant ship and her crew, an interest which he lps them to keep steaming.

And at the end of the "Letters" section yo u ' II find a cha llenge, posed for us

by Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic, to save for humanity the wonders that await us in the ocean deeps wonders that will challenge and refresh future generations if we do not destroy them first.

PETER STANFORD

2

"Huzzah!" from Constitution's Crew Thank you for a most memorable evening at the New York Yacht Club, where USS Constitution was presented with the Karl Kortum American Ship Trust Award at the NM HS Annual Dinner.

Earlier that morning I was in my day cabin on board Constitution re-en li sting one of our sailors . The ship was rolling aga inst her mooring in a nor'easterly wi nd , and there were a few spots in the overhead that dripped ice water. The crew, in blue fou l weather jackets, was jammed into the cabin to watch the reen li stment. After the ceremony , I told them that I was getting ready to drive down to New York to acce pt your Society's award, to whic h they all gave a resounding"Hu zzah! " This was a much more effective way of say ing thanks than my accepta nce speech.

This vignette reflects what makes "Old Ironsides" so special. Thank you for honoring o ur nation 's ship .

CDR C. A. MELHUISH, USN Captai n, USS Constitution Boston, Massachusetts

NY Harbor Renaissance Your essay in SeaHistory83 (pp. 32-33) recall s the kick-off of the New York Harbor Renai ssance aboard "HMS" Rose in October. Of all the preservation efforts that NMHS has sparked over the years, I be lieve this is one of the most ambitious and most important. We know that he ritage tourism is the fastest growing sector of the touri sm m arket. If o ur initi ative can prove a catalyst in focusing attention o n the compelling heritage of New York H arbo r so that the man y individual efforts represented aboard Rose can find a single voice, we will have made a magnificent contribution to the future of New York.

Well , so much for preaching to the converted- or rather, preaching to the choir mas te r. It is your sheet of mu s ic .

Thank you aga in for offering me the opportunity to sing in the choir.

JOSEPH MEANY , PHD Acting New York State Historian Albany, New York

A copy of the NY Harbor Renaissance report in SH83 will be sent to anyone who asksfor one.-ED .

A Great Friend We sha re with yo u your great loss in the passing of Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., seaman that he was, command ing Navy minesweepers and ocean tugs in time of war. That such a giant of a man , in later years devoted himself to the welfare of children and Native American families seems truly remarkable. He was a great friend and we mi ss him immense ly. W e had looked forward to his annu al crui se through Lake Champlain and its hi sto ri c waters thi s summer aboard his sleek yacht Nawat, accompanied by the now famo us tugboat Urger, educational flagship of the Erie Canal and inland waterways.

COL. & MRS. JOHN WILLIAMS Essex Junction , Vermont

An appreciation of the life of Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr., is on page 55.-ED. "A Critical Mass" Your article on Jam es Cook ("The Cape Horn Road," SH83) impressed me greatl y-a really fascinating summary of Cook's major exp loits. The aspect of your account that rings most sharply and c learly to me is the focus on that gro up of yo ung, curiou s, energetic and highly inte lligent young men who shared " that sequestered room" with Cook. When searching for a word to describe what your article has shown me of this collecSEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

tion of insightful , talented young men , I asked my eng ineer son, who described it as "a critical mass."

The repli ca of Cook 's Endeavour berthed in Newcastle, Australia, on her maiden voyage. My wife, my son and I were fortunate enough to have a look over her. Hav ing been to sea myself in some very tin y boats, I was nevertheless astoni shed at the cramped quarters for so large a crew, and marve lled that so many people could live together for so long in such a small space. They don ' t make men like them these days! And what a tough little ship! I wo uldn 't have liked a trip in her-not aro und the Horn , anyway.

Cook 's voyage of 1770 has left its stamp on the face of our continentCooktown , Endeavour Ri ver, Banksia, Cape Solander, Point Hicks, and Botany Bay (originally named by Cook Stingray Bay) .

BILL L UNNEY

Medow ie, Australia The letter writer is co-author ofForgotten Fleet: A Hi story of the Part Played

by Australian Men and Ships in the US Army Small Ships Section in New Guinea, 1942-45 , reviewed in Sea Hi story 83 .- Eo.

The Cape Horn Road 's Effect on the Pacific In "The Cape Horn Road," Peter Stanford offers an absorbing interpretation of Captain Jam es Cook 's magnificent contribution to the world. However, if one applies Cook 's own standards to these accomplishments, then one must also be constructively critical, especially ifhe is to be accorded "a larger pl ace in the general history of our species on earth. " In hi s dealings w ith indigenou s people, enlightened as he was for his times, Cook 's impact in the Pacific can be compared to that of Columbus in the Americas. This has been thoroughly explored by Alan Moorhead (The Fatal Impact: An Account of the Invasion of theSouthPacific, 1767-1840, New York: Harper & Row , 1966), who records the subsequent decline in populations ushered in by Cook's explorations, due to damage to o ld cultu ral patterns and introduction of disease.

For better or for worse, the world of the Pacifi c has never been the same.

While it is hi storically true that " in Cook the compass ionate impul se was a principle, a driving fo rce in hi s deal in gs with other races of people and other culSEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

tures," it is also true that hi s final years included instances of capric ious and harsh puni shment meted out to indigenous persons he considered guilty of theft, contributing to hi s own violent death (see Conner and Miller, Master Mariner: Capt. James Cook and the Peoples of the Pacific, Vancouver BC: Douglas & Mcintyre, 1978). Although, as Stanford notes, "througho ut thi s (final) voyage there were repeated signs of a bone-deep fatigue , and res ulting shortage of temper and loss of balance in hi s thoughts," it is also entirely possible that he himself had succumbed to disease with neuropsychiatric effects, whi ch could more easil y account fo r hi s change in behav ior than simpl y hav ing "worn himself out. " Whatever the explanation, and despite this unfo rtunate end ing, there is little doubt that he was among the most humane and en lightened explorers in modern history. I agree that he deserves a larger pl ace in world history , equivalent to that of Columbus or Marco Polo, with all the impact and controversy that this implies.

FRANKLIN WHITE, MD A lexandri a, Virgini a

Hudson Schooners Serve out Their Time in Chesapeake Bay I read with interest the arti c le in Sea History 77 (Spring 1996) on Hudson Ri ver schooners. In 1960, I sailed in the Chesapeake as mate/deckhand in the powerboat Betty I. Conway, owned by the W. E. Valiant Co. of Cambridge, Maryland. This is the vessel referred to in the article as the G. S. Allison.

About 192 1 the George S. Allison was purchased by Capt. Harvey H. Conway and renamed Betty I . Conway.

In the late 1920s he converted her to power. Sometime later she came under the ownership of the W . E . Valiant Co. When I was in the Conway, she was in very good condition. She had a perfectly fair sheer line. Pumping the bilge was so rare that it was always attended to by the captain. She could load almost decks to without fear of wet cargo.

The Conway's conversion to power was typical of Bay schooners. Her sailing rig was completely removed. Her hatches were replaced by one large hatch, maybe50 ' by 12' or 16 ' . Aft of the cargo hatch, the trunk cabin was repl aced by a two-story deckhouse. On the main deck level, the forward section was open into the engine room and the after section

Betty I. Conway in th e Chesapeake (Co w¡tesy Chesapeake Bay Maritime Mu seum)

was the galley. The upper deckhouse had a sli ghtly ra ised and rounded pilothouse. Aft of this was the captain 's cabin.

Next were crew staterooms on e ither side with upper and lower berths.

The main eng ine was a GM6- l 10 diesel of210 hp. Speed was 8 knots light and abo ut 7 .5 knots loaded.

The Betty Conway was a comfortable boat to 1ive and work aboard. Compared to the tugs I was used to, she was quite roomy. Wooden boats were more pleasant to work aboard than steel boats.

Her principal wo rk, at that time, was frei ghting bul k fe rtilizer from Baltimore to plants in Cambridge and Laurel, Delaware. In season we wo uld occas ionall y load wheat or soy beans in Cambridge for Baltimore.

Some time after I left her, she was sold to Captain Eubank, who put her to work carryin g bulk fi sh mea l fro m Reedville to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. On that run in 1972, at the age of 106, she sank in a colli sion w ith a menhaden steamer.

Another Hudson River schooner that ended her days on the Bay was the Daniel Tompkins, later renamed Normandic. She was built at Stony Point, New York, in 1867 and burned at Deals Island, Maryland, in 1954.

D ENN IS B ERG

St. Michaels , Maryland

Learning to Love the Sea How would you like to be a 12-year-old boy spending your summer aboard a tall ship sailing from Toronto to Cape Breton and back?

That is how our tw in grandson s spent their vacation, 20 J une-20 August 1997, hav ing earned their way by shovelling snow (lots of that during an Ontario winter) , mowing law ns and collecting pop cans and bottles.

They sailed aboard the steel, twomas ted True North (ex-Unicorn of St. H elier) of Toronto and performed all the 3

duties shared by other crew members during a rendezvous with Rose, Picton Castle, Regina Chaterina , Gaze/a and Caledonia to mark the 500th anniversary of the voyage of John Cabot's Matthew to the New World.

Although their fund s are somewhat ex hausted, they do have a pl an for a winter project to build their own small sailboat for recreation on Lake Erie.

They are presently rev iew ing pl ans of boats suited to their building skill s and by the time they become teenagers, they should be well on the way to completing their first boat.

FRANK PROTH ERO Po11 Stanley, Ontario

Greetings from Denmark I have with great interest and pleasure read Kai Mortensen's artic le about our sail training ship Georg Stage in Sea History 82, and I am delighted that a fine account about the ship and the foundation has reached a large circle of American readers . I thank you for that.

Georg Stag e has now been unrigged and laid up for the winter at the Royal Navy Yard . Meanwhile, the planning of next year's cruise in Western European waters is well under way.

VICE ADMIRALS. THOSTRUP (RET.) Chairman, T he Georg Stage Memorial Foundation Copenhagen, Denmark

A Pacific Steam Schooner in the Med Sea History 83 includes an article on the Pacific steam schooners. A littl e known WWII operation took one of the steam schooners to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean , rather than the Pac ific. The Navy took it over and converted it as a salvage support ship. It was an eng inesaft type, similar to the picture of the Sea Foam on page 41. It was used to support the harbor-clearing work of Commodore Sullivan and his salvage crews.

When the Germans left a harbor area, they attempted to leave it as unu sable as possible by sinking hulks. I believe they did this at Casablanca, Palermo, Naples and Cherbourg. To counter thi s damage, our navy put together a special sa lvage group under Sullivan to get the harbors back into usable condition as quickly as possible.

In late summer of 1943, I was an officer on a destroyer, USS Mayrant (DD 402). We were patrolling off the harbor of Palermo, Sici ly, with three other destroyers , about ten miles off4

shore. A flight of German JU-88 bombers flew along the coast, over land, so our radar could not detect them . They headed out to attack us. I was officer-ofthe-deck at the time, on the afternoon watch. The sky lookouts and radar both reported them abo ut the same time. We just had time to get our General Quarters stations manned when they attacked.

We were not hit, but about a 500-lb bom b went off on our port side, almost amidships, near the turn of the bilge. The bomb caved in nearly two th irds of the port side and opened a large hol e at the bulkhead between the after fire room and the forward eng ine room. Within 20 minutes we were flooded so that there was only about ten inches of freeboard.

We jettisoned as much top-side weight as we could. A subchaser took our bow line and a minesweeper came alongside to starboard. They got us to a pier at Palermo.

A few days later, a Navy "salvage" vessel came in to he lp get us in shape to be towed to Malta. This was Sullivan's operation. I don't remember the name of the salvage vessel. I do know it was a Pacific, wooden-hulled steam schooner.

We were tying up pier space in Palermo, which was a valuable suppl y port for Patton 's forces.

Sullivan 's crew put fo ur 10-inch salvage pumps on deck, along with two 4inch units. These were self-contained units, with gaso line engines to drive the pumps. The weak point in their design was that the gasoline tanks were on top, right near the cast iron exhaust mufflers.

After they had been running for a while those muffl ers glowed a bright red.

Meanwhile, the salvage crews managed to plug the various holes as best they could using concrete and mattresses from the crews' quarters. After a bit, the ship began to come up out of the water.

Ultimately, we were towed to Malta.

There, the British did enough repair work so that we could come across the Atlantic in the screen of a convoy, through a hurricane off Bermuda. We went to Charleston where the ship was completely rebuilt.

I mi ght mention that Mayrant survived the war. She was one of the target ships at Bikini. Even there, she wasn ' t sunk. She was so radioactive after the tests that she was towed out to a remote area of the Pacific to be used as a target.

CAPT. BRUCE MEULENDYKE, USNR (RET.) Old Saybrook, Connecticut

A Ship in Need As a member of the Society, I know that one of its goals is the preservation of historic ships. I would like to appeal for more attention to be given to the preservation of one of the greatest ships built in the United States, the SS United States, "the world 's fastest liner. " Thi s unique example of America's shipbuilding heritage sits tied up in Philadelphi a awa iting disposition . I am fearful that if someone does not soon take an interest in preserving thi s magnificent ship, she wi ll be lost to the scrappers.

I have a personal interest in thi s as my father, Capt. "Moon" Mullen, was a skipper for the US Lines , and when I was a teenager, he would take me on board the SS United States. I have fond memories of that beautiful ship.

For information and photographs of the current status and condition of the Un ited States, I recommend two sites on the internet: www.ss-united-states.com and 3n.net/ssunited. These sites also provide a means by which individuals may sign up to become in volved in the preservation efforts.

MERRITT D. MULLEN Ridgecrest, California

Alice Austen's Legacy in Australia A lI of us involved with the restoration of the James Craig were delighted with your coverage of the project in Sea History 83. I was particularly thrilled that yo u coupled our story with the article on Alice Austen and her magnificent photographs. Your readers might be interested to know that the four different shots she took of the then Clan Macleod are our primary source when determining authenticity of rigging detail.

By the way, the note on page 3 7 about the Clan Macleod has a small error.

While the family company of Thomas Dunlop that had the ship built was based in Glasgow, she was actually built and launched by Bartram, Haswell & Co. at Sunderland, England.

TONY HUNT, Project Director James Craig Restoration Roze lle, Australia ERRATA MonicaD. William s, directoroftheEast End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation, tell s us the Little Gull lighthou se lens on di sp lay at the museum , mentioned in "Ship Notes," SH82, is a second order Fresnel lens, not a bi-valve lens, as we had it. tSEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

REPORT FROM THE FIELD

The Institute for Exploration and Deepwater Archaeology

by Dr. Robert Ballard

Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer ofthe Titanic, the battleship Bismarck and other wrecks in the deep ocean, conducted a research project in 1997 to examine hitherto inaccessible ancient wrecks in the depths of the Mediterranean.

The project underlined the importance of establishing archaeological controls on such deepwater cultural resources, which are ofpriceless value to our understanding of early navigation and the conditions of life and trade in long-vanished societies. We discussed with Dr. Ballard the threat to these historic sites now opened by advanced undersea technology and asked him what were the next steps he saw in studying the deep-sea wrecks while protecting them from predators. He kindly wrote up this account of his explorations and the work of his new Institute for Exploration.

At the NMHS Annual Meeting in Mystic on 25 April further measures discussed with Dr. Ballard will be proposed to the membership.

PS ver the last thirteen years, I have been involved in a number of deep sea expeditions that have led to the discovery or carefu l mapping of a number of historically important shipwreck sites. Our discoveries include the British luxury liner RMS Titanic , the German battleship Bismarck, the Japanese battleship Kirishima and the destroyers Ayanami and Yudachi , the Australian heavy crui ser Canberra, the US heavy cruisers Quincy and Northampton, the light cruiser Atlanta and the US destroyers Cushing, Barton, Monssen, Laffey and De Haven. In addition to these ships , I have explored and carefull y mapped Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, the Lusitania, the Andrea Doria , the Republic and the US nuclear submarines Thresher and Scorpion. . This summer I also hope to discover the US aircraft carrier Yorktown and the Japanese aircraft carriers Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu during an expedition in May, which is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

In each ofour past expeditions, I have been impressed by how well preserved these ships were compared to those found in shall ow water. The absence of light, the cold water and high pressures clearly create a unique set of conditions for the preservation of historical sites in the deep sea.

But these ships are relatively young

0

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

in age. What about ships of archaeological importance lost thousands of years ago in the deep sea? Up to this point in time, we have not had an answer to that question since all ancient shipwreck sites located to date have been found in water less than 100 meters deep.

In an effort to find an answer, I have founded the Institute for Exploration (IFE) , a division of the Sea Research Foundation that operates the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. The goal of this non-profit Institute is to combine the talents of the oceanographic community with those of the archaeological world to determine if the deep sea is a rich repository of ancient human history.

Last summer, IFE conducted its first comprehensive expedition to the Medite1nnean , funded by a number of research organizations including the National Geographic Society 's Research Committee and the J. M. Kaplan Fund.

The expedition used the most advanced search and mapping technologies ever applied to an underwater archaeology program and involved the highest in archaeological standards. The oceanographic team was headed by Dr. Dana Yoerger of Woods Hole along with his colleagues Dr. Hanu Singh of Woods Hole and Dr. Louis Whitcomb of Johns Hopkins University.

All archaeological research was overseen by world-renowned marine archaeologist Dr. Anna McCann of Boston University. Assisting her was Dr. John Oleson, Chairman of the Department of Classics at the University of Victoria, a noted scholar on Roman history. Also participating in the archaeology program were Jon Adams, a well known archaeologist from the University of Southharnpton, Dr. David Mindell of the Department of the History of Technology at MIT and archaeology graduate student Brendan Foley.

This team of experts worked with the Navy crew of the nuclear research submarineNR-1 and WoodsHole 's Medea/ Jason remotely operated veh icle system to search along the ancient deepwater trade route between Carthage and the Roman seaport of Ostia.

The results of this expedition were very successful and will be reported in the April issue of National Geographic.

In all, eight ships were located including five from the Roman period (100 BC to 400 AD) in water depths of 2,500 feet , north of Skerki Bank near the Stra its of Sicily. Following their discovery, each

Dr. Robert Ballard of the ancient sites was mapped in detail using advanced acoustic and visual imaging techniques .

Once the mapping efforts were completed to archaeo logical standards, the Jason vehicle system used its sophisticated sampling techniques to carefully recover a small number of artifacts from each site needed by the team of archaeologists to accurately determine their age and origin.

Once recovered, a conservation and preservation team led by Dennis Piechota, a highly regarded specialist in marine conservation, oversaw the subsequent care and handling of the artifacts. He was assisted by Cathy Giangrande of the University College of London, an expert in conservation, and Sasha Lehman, daughter of one of NMHS's Overseers, John F. Lehman, Jr. The results of this expedition were presented at the January meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology and will be published in scientific journals in the near future . In the spring of 1999 many of the artifacts will be placed on display in IFE's new public exhibition center in Mystic, Connecticut.

Based upon the success ofIFE 's first major deep-sea archaeological expedition, the deep sea clearly holds great promise for the newly emerging field of deepwater archaeology, but it also presents a major challenge to the world.

The emerging technologies of deep submergence engineering are an10ral. They can be used to appreciate the history of the deep as well as plunder it.

With that concern in mind, our new Institute for Exploration wishes to work with other organizations around the world including the National Maritime Historical Society to take the necessary steps to create international laws to protect and preserve historical and archaeological sites in the deep sea. 1,

5

NMHSNEWS

•• •• •

Educational Programs

Come for a 'Week_g,m{ at Mystic for

'J{AfJ{S 's 35tfi .9lnnua{ Afeeting

•

25-26.9Lpri{1998

: • • : • :

The Business Meeting and project reports on Saturday morning will run from 10AM to 12:30PM at the Seamen's Inne in Mystic, Connecticut.

They will be followed by a buffet lunch and cash bar in the beautiful River Room overlooking the Mystic River. After lunch we will hear from our keynote speaker. We will conclude the luncheon meeting with a report on the state of NMHS. The cost for the day is $35 per person.

During the late afternoon small group tours will highlight the new Amistad exhibit and end with a presentation and cocktail party in the Carpenter's Shop where the replica schooner Amistad's keel has been laid. You will then be free to go to dinner with NMHS friends-we will provide a list of local restaurants for your convenience.

On Sunday, NMHS members will have free admission to Mystic Seaport to enjoy the ships and historic buildings and savor the maritime atmosphere. Members will gather for lunch.

For further information on the schedule and for a list of hotels that will offer special rates for our members, contact us at: NMHS, PO Box 68 , Peekskill NY 10566; phone: 914 737-7878or1800221-NMHS (6647); e-mail: seahistory@aol.com.

--------------------------------------NMHS Salutes USS Constitution at Annual Awards Dinner At our Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club on 14November 1997, NMHS welcomed a host of distinguished members and guests in a salute to USS Constitution in the wake of her historic sail on 21 July. We were especially pleased to welcome Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton, CDR Christopher Melhuish, captain of USS Constitution , and Samuel Thome, chairman of the USS Constitution Museum. Tyrone G. Martin, CDR (Ret), due to receive the NMHS Robert G. Albion/James Monroe Award for Excellence in Maritime Historiography for hi s classic account of "Old Ironsides," A Most Fortunate Ship (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1997), was snowbound in Pittsburgh.

Anne Grimes Rand, curator of the USS Constitution Museum , battled the storm, abandoned her car in a ditch , rented another and arrived just in time to give her compelling slide presentation on the great ship. CDR Christopher Melhuish , in accepting the Karl Kortum American Ship Trust A ward on behalf of USS ConstiFrom left: CDR Christopher Melhuish, Captain, USS Con- tution , captivated all hands stitution; Capt. Jean Wort, Trustee , NMHS ; Peter Stanford, with his tribute to hi s prePresident , NMHS; John H. Dalton , Secretary of the Navy; decessor CDR Michael Charles A. Robertson, Chairman, OpSail Beck, who sailed the ship in July, and with his recogniI tion of the children who contributed pennies to provide the ship's new sails.

John H. Dalton, Secretary of the Navy , then brought the room to its feet 0 with a rousing salute to 6 USS Constitution and all her captains and crews, ~ centering on John Paul "':=: Jones ' s adage that "men ~ mean more than gun s in ~ the rating of a ship ." ,t

8

6

NMHS 's education program is going forward under full sail! Students from across the country have been submitting essays for our "Capital Ship" essay contest. Those still working on essays should not miss the 15 April deadline. Thanks to sponsorship from Mobil Corporation, the three winners will receive pri zes of $ 1,500, $750 and $500.

As part of NMHS's work with the Rockland County (NY) Bicentennial, as many as 200 kids will spend a full day sail training aboard ships like Rose, Bounty, Ernestina and Providence, as a fleet of tall ships sails up the river from New York City to the students' homeports on 22 May. This exciting opportunity to navigate, handle sail s and stand watch at the helm will be further enhanced through classroom discuss ions and pre-v isit communication with the ships via the internet.

And in July, 30 kids from Boston and 30 from New York City will sail aboard the frigate Rose for a week where they will be immersed in the challenge and adventure of working a ship. (See page 35 for more on this program .)

We also have been working with teachers and boatbuilders in the Hudson Valley to develop a program that will teach kids to build replicas of hi storic rowing craft. The students will then participate in rowing races on the Hudson River. We hope to have as many as 50 "Whitehall s" rowing out to meet the fl eet of tall ships in New York Harboron 4 July 2000. This is just one of several initiatives to take peopl e beyond the spectacle of the tall ships into the vitality of America's maritime past.

DA YID ALLEN, Education Director

-----------------We're looking for a few

good volunteers!

The replica of Capt. Cook's Endeavour will be docked on New York City's West Side, 26 June-5 July . The Port of New York Historical Society will host the ship, and NMHS has been asked to provide 100 interpreters to talk to visitors about the vessel. You will be asked to attend the training session on Saturday, 27 June, and work for at least 12 hours over the course of the visit. If you are interested in joining this team , please call the NYC office of NMHS at 212 3499090 x250, or write to us at PO Box • 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

•

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

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SEAHISTORY84, SPRING 1998

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7

THE AMERICAN FLAG AT SEA

From a Labor Perspective

by Henry F. Trutneff, PhD

T

here are a numbe r of ways to look at the bu siness of moving goods across the surface of the g lo be.

Malcolm McLean , the fath e r of containe ri zation who revolutioni zed the shipping business, has described frei g ht as an ex pense added to the cost of goods.

David Howard , the editor of American Shipper, has noted that the g lobal shipping industry is driven today by the search for cheap labor, adding, "Ocean fre ig ht is an ex pe nse added to the cost of labo r in some Third World o r deve lo ping country ."

For too man y in both bu siness and gove rnment, thi s sums up the thinking about US maritim e poli cy. For the general public , the shortcomin gs of thi s attitude are unclear, and the impac t of maritime policy on their o wn well -be ing is trul y unapprec iated.

National Security First, the Ame ri can flag me rchant marine is essential to nation al security and for good reason has been ca ll ed th e Fourth Arm of Defen se. Most Ame ri can s forget that th e Gulf W ar was protracted by de lays in transporting the pe rsonn el and equipm e nt to laun c h Desert Storm. Further, as Hug h M ayberry , national president of the Nav y Leag ue, has asked in Sea Power (May 1996): " Would foreign fl ag ships be avail abl e-at an y pri ce-in a future con flict in which conditi o ns we re not nearly as favorabl e?" He we nt on to point out that US flag me rchantme n in the Gulf War c harged $ 122 pe r short to n, whereas the foreig n fl ag ships used to supplement Ame rican carri e rs charged $174 per short ton- a 40% hi g her rate.

Fifteen years ago Todd Shipyards rai sed th e concern that the US was 99 % depende nt upon fore ign ships to bring us the raw material s we need to manufacture our comme rc ial a nd defe nse products. Sh o uld curre nt tre nd s continue, we will be I 00% de pe nde nt upon forei g n ships to bring us the parts to ma ke our tanks, trains and plants run . If this happens, we could become a maritime quadriplegic dependent on the prices and policies of other nations.

The Global Economy In Sea History 77 (Sprin g 1996), Dav id O ' Ne il , pres ident of the Soci ety of Naval Architects and Marine En g ineers, pointed o ut that the US is the largest s ingl e na tional m a rk e t for trade th e world has e ve r kno wn and th at our foreign trade is worth one trillion dollars annu a ll y. Thi s equates to nearl y

8

on e bi II ion ton s of cargo .

Maritime Admini stration stati stics reveal that from l 993 through 1995 there was a 22.6% increase in imports. The Trade Deficit Monitor of May 1997 projects that the US trade deficit will reach $220 billion in 1997 , as the US contin ues to import goods and ex port jobs.

Curre ntly , with the coll apse of the Southeast Asian economies, Ii ttl e mon ey is left fo r those nati o ns to bu y American exports, whil e in the US the low cost imports become e ven lo we r pri ced and more pl entiful. The bal a nce of trade defi c it becomes a more d ramati c iss ue as the US and the Inte rnati o nal Mon etary F und provide the A sians fund s to reente r the tradin g game- aga in an outpouring of taxpaye r fund s.

"Free" Trade In the closing days of the I 04th Congress , the Coastal Competition Act of 1996 (HR 4006) was introduced to allow fore ign-o wned , foreign-built and fore ign-crewed vessels into US domestic trades . It was defea ted but reappeared again in the 105th Congress .

Criti cs of the Jones Ac t,* whi c h protects Ame rican shipping in A me rican waters, al so oppose subsidies, cargo prefe rence and selec t fede ral reg ul ation s as protectioni st meas ures and detrimental to the g lo bal econ omy. Preac hing free trade, they maintain that such regulations lead to the ex port of jobs in forestry , steel, coal , ag ri c ulture, and auto and othe r heavy manufacturing. (See Sea History 78.)

Ho we ve r, there is little trade that can be call ed "free," and the US cannot be s ing led out as protecti o ni st. Our fri ends in NATO , me mbe rs of the European Union concerned o ve r ex cesses in mari time refl agg in g, have fo und re li ef in the proposals of Neil Kinnock , E U Tran spo rt Co mmi ss ione r, many of whi c h are c urrentl y in prac ti ce, s uch as : ( I) ex te ns ion of tax relief to EU-ow ned but not EU-flagged vesse ls; (2) allow ing membe r states to compe nsate shipo wne rs for the cost ga p be twee n nation al fla g o pe ration s and flag s of con ve ni ence. And the re vised g uidelines w ill allo w gove rnme nts to c hoose be tween exempting shippin g from fis ca l and soc ial c ha rges o r re imburs ing the m. Ho weve r, tota l aid mu st not exceed the total amo unt of taxation and soc ial sec urity contribu ti o ns from the maritime sector. One furthe r aspect of Mr. Kinn ock 's proposal * Th ey are organi zed as the Jones Ac t Refo rm Coaliti on (J A RC) .

will be that Southe rn Europe will be forced to fall in line w ith m aritime reg ulati o ns in Northe rn Europe.

Simpl y put, Ne il Kinnock is pressing for worldwide legislation to lure shipping, and w ith it tax revenu e, bac k to E uropean fla gs . In Britain and the Neth e rlands recent leg islation allo ws vessels to fly the national fl ag if onl y the captain is Briti sh or Dutc h.

US Manning Costs The cost of Ame ri ca n labor has been blamed fo r the probl e ms of the US merchant marine. But containeri zati o n and increases in ship s ize, speed and pay load coupled w ith ve ry modest c re w cost increases (bare ly 6% over a 12-year period ) ha ve reduced c rew costs by 24%.

Meanwhil e, c rew s izes of containe rships in 1982 numbe red 34 o n ships carrying 1200 T E Us (twenty-foot equivalent units). C urre ntly ships pl ying the trade lanes a re carrying 6000 to 7000 TEUs w ith crews of 11to1 5. ln short, certainl y in the containe r trade, cre w costs hav e become a no n-factor.

Warre n Le back , fo rmer M a ritime Ad mini stra tor, writin g in the A utumn 1996 Sea History, fo und the wages of US flag me rc hant marine rs to be comparabl e to the wages of the ir counte rparts in other industries . That was pri o r to recent roll -bac k negoti ations. Currently , w ith new ag reements, American seafare rs have fa ll e n well be lo w the ave rage of the ir c ivil service counterpa rts, while ave rage domestic wages are inc reas ing at 4.2 perce nt.

The Maritime Security and Competitiveness Act T he passage of the M aritime Sec urity and Competi tive ness Ac t in Nove mbe r 1996 may reduce but will not stop the tide of Ame ri can refl agg ings. Funding mu st be appro pri ated year by year and in many cases the moni es are 30% be lo w present s ubs idy payme nts.

Bas icall y, fl agging o ut is maritime o utso urc in g, a nd th e passage of the MS CA will do little to sto p re fl agg ings as lon g as the bottom line a lone di cta tes nati o nal m aritime po li cy.

As Ame ri cans watc h o ur trade de fi c its surge and a n entire indu stry lost to othe r nations, o ur Euro pean alli es un de rstand the va lue of th eir me rcha nt fl eets and a re wo rking towa rd a turnaround .

W arren Dean of the Journal of Commerce put it thi s way: " What the Jo nes Ac t Reform Coa liti o n is reall y advocatin g is a re pea l of a vari ety of ta x a nd SEA HISTORY 84 , SPRING 199 8

"The issue, therefore, is not American wage levels, but subsidized foreign invasion of US markets." labor laws that are the heart of the US economy ... . The Coaliti on is out to create a who le new li st of economic preferences, in effect subsidies, fo r foreign fl ag vessels to 'compete' in our domestic commerce." The issue, therefore, is not America n wage leve ls, but subsidi zed fo reign in vas ion of US markets.

* * * * *

The facts of the case underline the impo rtance of th e American me rchant marin e to the national economy while a lso revealing the va lue our EU alli es place on their respective merchant fl eets.

It is tim e for all American s to rea li ze th at we are letting a vital nation al asset-a safe, we ll -reg ul ated merchant fl eet providing employment and tax revenues and ready in timeofnationa l emergency-to slip from our hand s, all for very short-sighted goals.

The Cap ta in H.A. Dow nin g, here on sea trials in t/ie C11/f of Mexico off New Orleans in September 1996. is the first commercial selj~propelled. do11hle-h11ll 1an/.:.er h11ilt in the US to conform with the Oil Poll111ion Act of 1990 and the Jones Act. Th e 680}i-long carrier is the first offourdo11hle-hul/ 1ankers builtfor tlie AHL Shipping Companv hyA 1•011dale Industries, Inc. , and is crewed !Op 10 bottom by members of the International Organi:ation of Masters, Mates and Pilors. ILA-AFL/CIO.

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

9

THE CAPE HORN ROAD, PART XIV

How the Races of Mankind Came Together in the Immense Mixing Bowl of the Pacific

by Peter Stanford ost of the time we fl ew be low the clouds. T he pi ledup snowy masses ro lled westward like galleons of old under a press of strai ning canvas, propelled by the Trade Winds that blow from the east in a broad be lt fi fteen hundred miles or so nort h of the equator. These beneficent wi nds blow as steadily in the broad, incredibly empty reaches of the Pacific we were traversing, as they do in the same latitudes in the Atlantic, on the other side of America.

The Atlantic Trades served to speed the passage of flow ing tides of people from the Old World of Europe to the New World of the Americas. In the Pac ific, these steady winds brought first the European voyagers and then the navigators of the new-fl edged American nations as we ll , into contact with anc ient kingdom s and long-establi shed civi lizations, com pleting at last the connections between disparate branches of the human race in the las t few centuries. But the original settlement of the islands th at freckl e the vast Pacific water pl ain ta king up full y one sixth of Earth ' s surface, was accom plished by remarkable navigators sai ling the other way, west to east from the Asian mainl and thousands of years ago.

But fo r the sailing ships that opened up our world to human understanding and interchange in the last 500 years the Trade Winds were a magic carpet carrying mankind into new experiences. And from their sa iling a new picture of the world emerged, a picture radi call y different from the slow ly evolving idea of our planet that phi losophers had developed in the prev ious 5000 years, from the beg innings of literacy in the Midd le East around 3500 BC to the opening of the ocean world

by E uropean voyagers ro unding the continent of Africa and reaching out to the Ameri cas just before 1500 A D.

M

No thoughts of any of thi s were in my mind, I confess , as our US Navy group flew fro m Hawaii toward China in October 1945. The Pacifi c world was winding down from World War II, ended two months earlier. That was in my mind , very much so. T he other matter haunting my im agination was simp ly the vastness of the ocean expanse we traversed. I had never tho ught of anything like this expanse of sea.

I had been in the Pacific since we embarked in a ship from San Francisco to Hawaii a couple of weeks earlier. A ship is a little world, with its own people and purposes , a planet cutting its own track across the sea. But an airplane, even a grey-painted m ilitary transport li ke the C-47 we were aboard, with its two noisy air-coo led engines and bumpy ride, was not its own world; it was more like a disembodied con sciousness hanging between sea and sky- and working at it.

Now and then, beneath the cloud galleons overhead, we ran across lo wer ra insquall clouds, barrier reefs in the deep ocean of air our propellers pulled us thro ugh with noticeable effort.

After hopping over one of these aerial sandbars the pi lot call ed back to us: "We' ve got a ship ahead! I' m going down fo r a look."

And there she was! A west- bound transport beating out a broad , lacy track across the sea, making perhaps 15 knots to our 200-odd. Even so it took some time to haul her back across the sea, and the pilot th ro ttled back so that we passed over her at an easy lope, perhaps 80 knots. The soldiers sunning themselves on the shi p's hatches waved at us enthu siasti cally, and I remember our waving back through our open cargo hatch. A couple of months earli er she wo uld likely have fired at us, a strange pl ane hunting them down across the empty sea.

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As early as 1643 Abel Tasman had noted the qualities of the fast-sailing Polynesian double-hulled canoes in Tonga, which the Polynesians had reached by 1100 BC. He included a sketch of one of these vessels in his Journal (left). Three canoes of this basic type, launched in September 1997, have kept alive the ancient mode of building this historic type-and also of sailing it! (See pp. 40-42.)

As it was, we must have been a welcome apparition in their unchanging blue skies. Leaving the steamer behind, we soon lost her on the gleaming noontide sea, grinding our way toward Guam, in the Marianas chain on the far side of the ocean, which we reached that evening. We circled in toward the airfield, passing over the ruined harbor with its bombed and burnt-out hulks of sunken and capsized ships attesting to the violence of the conflict just ended. I do remember thinking then, how far men had come across the curve of the globe to get here, to achieve such destruction at the end of the road.

The next day we flew northwest in a long day's hop to Shanghai on the mainland of China, a city of stone-faced buildings staring out blankly on the blue-clad, jostling crowds of Chinese who filled the streets. The Western businessmen who had built the European waterfront had been driven out during the wartime occupation of the city by Japanese troops.

Out in the river the gaunt shapes of grey warships and transports loomed beyond the jumbled foreground scene of river sampans. These graceful wooden hulls were topped by cabins of straw matting whose sides were rolled up on this sunny afternoon, with children all about and, often, a Ione woman in the stern standing at the yuloh, a long, crooked wooden oar worked with slow, deliberate strokes to drive the slipper-shaped vessel ahead at a respectable speed through the choppy river water. (I was to learn the difficulties of the yuloh later, from Stanley Gerr, who practiced with this oar on the Connecticut River.)

But what of the miles of ocean we had crossed? One wondered what kind of people had settled the fabled islands of the South Pacific which we'd read about. Who set up those outposts of humanity amid the sea?

Arcadian life of ease, abundance and freedom from European hang-ups about money, war, work and sexual repression.

In fact, the Polynesians resembled the Norse in their warlike ways and the European intruders were frequently welcomed for their cannon and war-making skills, which could assure victory in battles with neighboring tribes. The Polynesians tended to be careless of human life and shocked the Europeans by casually slaughtering captives taken in war and making slaves of the survivors. And their societies did have elaborate class structures, as rigid and even more brutally enforced than the Europeans.

But of their charming manners and generosity as hosts there could be no question.

Where did these spirited, far-traveled people come from?

Cook surmised that they originally came from China and the Indies. This was an inspired hunch. Study of their genetics and language has now established that their remote ancestors settled the islands oflndonesia, north of Australia, during the last Ice Age, around 50,000 BC, when sea levels were much lower than they are today and only rather narrow channels broke the land path to what is today New Guinea and Australia. As the Ice Age waned and the great mile-high icefields that had covered much of globe melted and ran into the seas, about 10,000 BC, the sea level rose.

In the warming climate the first civilizations arose that practiced systematic agriculture, built great cities and kept records of their beliefs and doings, first in the Middle East, along the Nile and Euphrates Rivers , before 3000 BC, and then quite independently along the Yellow River in China some 2000 years later, a little before 1000BC. Cut off by deep water from China, the islanders did not share in the progress of Chinese civilization. This was still unknown to them as late as Captain Cook's day. But a defining development was taking place among the people that became the Polynesians.

As the Chinese civilization was taking shape around 1000 BC an impulse to move on came over these people. Driven perhaps by new arrivals in New Guinea, they voyaged southeastward, down the Solomons and the Santa Cruz islands to Fiji and then Tonga, which they reached by 1100 BC, and Samoa, which they had settled by I 000 BC. There seems to have been a pause there, roughly from 1000 BC, the time of King Solomon in Israel, to the height of the Roman Empire 1300 years later-a long time!

The First Ocean Voyagers

The Oceanic Breakout-in Canoes

Captain Cook, sailing through the Pacific vastness 200-odd years ago in the later 1700s, noticed early on that the speech used by native people in scattered islands as far apart as New Zealand, Hawaii and lonely Easter Island-a thousand miles distant from any other land-was closely related. His guide from Tahiti spoke easily with the Maori of New Zealand. Over 1500 miles of empty, storm-lashed ocean separated the two peoples, who had never met or heard of each other.

What he had encountered was the far-flung settlement of the Polynesian peoples, oceanic voyagers of extraordinary seagoing capability. This tall, bronzed people with their courteous manners and generous ways appealed greatly to European sensibility-and not just to half-starved seamen who hadn ' t seen a woman, often, for over a year, but to the litterateurs and savants of the European enlightenment, who fabricated from sailors' yarns the myth of the No_ble Savage, who didn ' t work or fight for food or domination but lived an

But then these Stone Age sailors achieved an unparalleled oceanic breakout, traveling nearly 2000 miles against the Southern Trades and South Equatorial Current to reach the Marquesas, where evidence of their occupation has been found dating to 300 AD . Even the Vikings, coursing the Atlantic 700 years later, could show nothing to equal this performance. In fact nothing like this feat of sailing was to be seen in the West for over a thousand years, when Dias sailed around Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean and Columbus made the 3,000-mile open-water passage to the Americas, just before 1500.

Not content with this, these intrepid sailors, carrying their families, plants and livestock with them, reached Easter Island, which stands alone in the boundless ocean, farther east than our city of San Francisco, and then Hawaiifar to the north and New Zealand in the gale-ridden latitudes of the Roaring Forties some 3500 miles to the south.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

11

THE CAPE HORN ROAD

Reading the Swell How in the world did they do this, sailing off into the blue? In 1976 Mau Piailug, a native of the Caroline Islands north of New Guinea, sailed the traditionally designed 60-footdoublehulled canoe Hokulea from Hawaii to Tahiti using traditional methods of navigation, and since then other long voyages have been made reviving an art that had nearly vanished. This system, varying in different parts of Polynesia, has common elements which depend on memorizing what star is overhead at a given island, giving you the latitude you want to get to, and a thousand subtle senses based on changing cloud formations and wave patterns produced by distant islands. I have done a crude version of this kind of navigation myself, sailing without instruments in dense fog, andlrememberthe able sailorman Frank Carr telling me that the Faroe Islanders , north of England, with whom he fished in open rowing boats in the 1930s, were able to find their way home from long fishing trips by the feel of the sea-"reading the swell," he said, by methods they could not explain to Frank. Often such processes are unconscious and hence cannot be clearly explained-in fact, the act of explaining them can destroy them. The story of the centipede who became paralyzed when asked which leg he moved first illustrates how this can happen!

One obvious question is, granted all the navigating ability in the world, how would the navigator find the course to an island he'd never been to or even heard of, in the immensity of the sea? The flights of migratory birds must have helped the Polynesians, as an autumnal flight of birds to the Caribbean is known to have shaped Columbus ' s course to his first landfall in the Americas. But with all the instinctual and acquired knowledge in the world, there must have been voyages which never reached the goal-as indeed there have been in all the voyaging experience of mankind.

The Polynesian voyaging seems to have been mainly oneway, with little or no contact among distant islands after the initial long voyages had been accomplished. This is shown by the wide variations between eastern and western Polynesian cultures, in the design of their artifacts and indeed even the existence of a given useful item. The Maoris of New Zealand, for instance, had none of the pigs their cousins in Tah iti lived on, until Cook brought some there. And these fierce warriors had no bows and arrows when Cook first met them. The people of Tahiti did have this most useful instrument for hunting and war, a tool the Maori quickly adopted when Cook's people demonstrated the effectiveness of the Tahitian bow.

Further west, in Malaya and the East Indies, where the ancestors of the Polynesians had come from, more advanced seafaring cultures had evolved, albeit cultures whose ships did not make the great ocean leaps the Polynesians mastered.

These Indonesian peoples used iron tools and magnetic compasses developed by the Chinese to the north, and had developed a planked ship fastened with fiber line sewing the planks together, a technique perhaps learned from the Arabs who continued this practice down to our own century.

Only recently have Western historians begun to appreciate the tremendous role of the Arabians in opening the ocean world. Their ships were the long-distance carriers of the Indian Ocean, exploiting its steady monsoon winds for more than a thousand years before the Europeans had discovered the Trade Winds as the key to the Atlantic crossing. The great traveler Ibn Battuta, starting out in the early 1300s from Tangier in North Africa, visited Egypt, Arabia, Persia and 12

East Africa, and the Black and Caspian Seas, and traveled on to India, Malaya and China by sea, making use of existing Muslim trade routes to write his great book about his experiences. The contribution of the Muslim world to seafaring only begins with the lateen sail, the Arabian number system we use today, and the astrolabe, a latitude-finding instrument developed to guide camel trains across the vast deserts of the Middle East and Africa. They undoubtedly served also as the middlemen who brought the magnetic compass from China to Europe, and perhaps the sternpost rudder to replace the unwieldy medieval steering oar, as well.

The Portuguese learned about navigation from the Muslims of the Arab imperium, right down to the superb caravels that the Venetian Cadamosto called "the finest ships that sail the seas" in his voyage for Portugal down the African coast in the 1400s. Ironically, the Portuguese then became the invaders who broke up the Arab system of trade in the Indian Ocean in the following century.

Others Enter the Pacific World Armed with new weapons and a new resolution re-awakening the spirit of the Crusades as they began their ocean voyaging, the Portuguese were thus the first European power to arrive in Indonesian waters, coming east round Africa's Cape of Good Hope. Magellan had reached Indonesia in the service of his native Portugal before he conceived the project of sailing around the world to come into the Far East the other way, round the tip of the Americas via the Strait of Magellan in behind Cape Horn.

Magellan may be unique in having come into the Far East both ways, around Africa and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia, then around the other way, rounding South America via the strait that bears his name, to sail west to the Philippines, just north ofindonesia, where he was killed in 1521 pursuing an attack to support his allies in a war he was clearly more interested in fighting than they were. Magellan died at a point where he had personally completed the first circumnavigation of the globe through his eastward and westward voyages-a fact the late Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison liked to point out regarding the man he saw, with some reason, as the world's outstanding navigator.

The eastward voyaging of the Portuguese had as a primary goal the Moluccas, known as the Spice Islands, clustered just west of New Guinea. When they reached the islands the Portuguese found a developed civilization with ships that traded east to Malaya and beyond that to India, and above all, north to China where one of the world's great civilizations had taken shape over the past 25 centuries. The local rulers were a factor to contend with. Not overimpressed with European ships and armaments, they were not easily overawed or overrun. The Sultan of Ternate, ruling the most important principality in the Spice Islands, prized his independence and insisted on dealing with the European arrivals on terms of equality, as he had with the Arabian and Indian sailors who had served as middlemen in the age-old trade to supply European kitchens with the cloves which abounded in the Moluccas. When Francis Drake arrived at Ternate in the course of his round-the-world voyage in 1579, he found the harbor crowded with shipping. Ashore the Sultan welcomed him in considerable state, having first towed Drake's deepladen Golden Hind into harbor. As Drake was made to see, he had a well organized army and a navy at his service.

Drake also noted the Sultan ' s determination to maintain his SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

These Stone Age sailors achieved an unparalleled oceanic breakout, traveling nearly 2000 miles to reach the Marquesas. independence from Portugal. Portugal had smashed Arabian , Indian and Malayan sea power in battles that made the Portuguese the dominant power in the region. Working their way eastward to get at the source of the spices that Europe craved, they had outflanked the Venetians in the Mediterranean, who had amassed enormous wealth through their control of this trade, as it had come into their hands through the Arabi ans, the great sailors of the Indian Oceans. The Venetians had bought spices cheap from the Arabians-whose ships had been sailing east to India fo r more than 1500 yearsand sold their cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg at many times their purchase price to all comers in Europe, including the merchants in Portugal's great international seaport of Lisbon .

The Portuguese, the great sea traders of the Atlantic world , had pushed south around Africa after Bartolemeu Dias had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, and then surged eastward , smashing the existing Arab trading system in eastern Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, pressing on to subdue the leading seaports of India and taking the great seaport of Malacca in the Malay Peninsula.

Beyond that, in the South China Sea, lay their ultimate goals-the spices of Indones ia and the sophi sti cated wares of China, notabl y silks, porcelain and lacq uerware unmatched in the West. But here, in the Spice Islands, the Portuguese found themselves up againstdetern1ined opposition from local powers as well as the rival power of Spain entrenched in the Philippines immediately to the north .

The Sultan ofTemate was simply delighted to meet Drake.

And Drake for his part made it very clear that he sailed under another fl ag than the Portuguese, or for that matter the Spanish, who were in great strength in the Philippines immediately to the north . An informal agreement was struck that Drake would return one day with a fleet of English ships to protect

the Sultan from the European incursion and to open a lucrative trade in cloves. Unhappi ly for both parties, this agreement was never acted on. Drake fo und hi s hands full on returning to England in 1580, particularly in confronting the growin g threat from Spain. This imminentdanger reached a head in the seaborne invasion attempt of the Spanish Armada in 15 88, which Drake played a notable role in repelling. His attempts to get others to lead the promised fleet to the South China Sea coll apsed in the hands of leaders less resolute than he, and Philip of Spain, managing to secure the Portuguese throne in 1580, soon brought the combined powers of Spain and Portugal to bear against Ternate.

The Sultanate fell in 1606, a year afterthe new Sultan had sent a fmal urgent appeal to Queen E lizabeth 's successor James I for the help that never can1e. In the next hundred years the Dutch seized most of Portugal's holdings in Indonesia, but not Ternate, which remained a Po1tuguese enclave until as late as 1975.

The Sleeping Dragon to the North What of the mighty power of China, on whose doorstep these imperial games were being played out? Chinese junks plied the South China Sea regularly, trading with the Spanish in the Phi lippine capital of Manila, where they exchanged their valuable wares for silver fro m the Spanish mines in the Americas. The Spanish galleon sailing from Acapulco in Mexico in its yearly round brought that silver into Manil a, where it was presented to Chinese emi ssaries who accepted it as a proper tribute to their emperor. In exchange they brought rich gifts to Manila to ass ure these barbarian s on the water outskirts of their kingdom of the wealth and benevolence of their emperor. And they continued the ir age-old trade w ith the Indonesians and with the Arabians, who, as we've seen earlier, served as middlemen for the passage of Chinese manufactures to India and the Middle East. Us ually the

Zheng Ho voyaged from the East China Sea to Java , India , Arabia and Africa in the early 1400s, just decades before European sailors rounded the Cape of Good Hope and swept into the Indian Ocean. Th e map has been adapted from The Oxford Atlas of Exploration (New York , 1997) , p. 32.

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Subsidiary ships of Zheng Ho"s expedition

THE CAPE HORN ROAD

This big northern Chinese sea-going junk, with her marvelously articulated sailing rig, was one of a fleet still shifting cargo along China's coasts as recently as the 1950s and '60s. She might have stepped out of a scene 1000 years ago or more, so slowly did Chinese naval architecture change once it had found itself in terms of the ideas and technology of its time. (Photo from Surveyor, May 1969)

Arabian ships took up the Chinese carrying trade in entrepots in India for the long haul back to East Africa, Red Sea ports and the Persian Gulf, but there were apparentl y occas ional Arab dhows that reached through to Chinese ports, and still rarer Chinese junks visiting Arabi a.

That was the extent of the Chinese invo lvement in the Pacific world around 1500, an arena about to be brought into direct, often violent contact with the rest of the world . It made a scene on which the Chinese looked outward as citizens in a great city in the wilderness mi ght look out on the dark woods around them, with little thought of venturing fo rth into it, but a kind of contained curios ity as to what oddities the strange creatures of the forest might lay at their doorstep.

Theirs was not an irrational picture of the world, rather a natural outcome of their experience of that world. Thi s was radically different from the experience of the Western nations who were opening up the ocean world .

China by 1500 had ex isted surrounded by wild nomads on its land frontiers, except to the southwest where kingdoms related to both the Chinese and the Indi an civilizations arose and flouri shed, sometimes dependent on the great power of China, sometimes in vi olent opposition to that central force .

Ships and shipping had been a vital element of Chinese civilization, opening the great river avenues into the interi or with all the advantages that fl ow from bringing peoples of different cultures and materi al resources into touch with each other. An extensive canal system connecting the rivers in the coastal region greatly fac ilitated and expanded this trade, nourishing a civili zation adv anced in painting, poetry, and history as well as in such material arts as the matchless Chinese cerami cs , silks and wonderfu l formal gardens, which usuall y involved streams and ponds of water.

The great cities and great ships of China made an immediate impact on European and English thought, as Jesuit priests and other occasional travelers made the weary overland trek to China. Marco Polo in hi s trip to China (127 1-1 295) reported simply and convincingly that the Chinese cities were greater than any seen in the West. As a native of Italy' s Venice, who had al so been to Constantinople, he had surel y seen the 14

greatest that the Western world had to offer.

On Marco Polo ' s trip heentered the service of Kubl ai Khan for fifteen years. Kublai, leader of the Mongo l tribesmen from the north who had swept through Asia into Europe, founded the strong Yuan dynasty in China. Free passage to the West was now assured throu gh the Mongo l imperium , which stretched from the China Seas to the gates of Budapest in Central Europe. Straggling caravans could safely make their way through the historic Silk Road, on a long, difficult journey. But there was no direct contact by ship, only the seaborne trade through Indian and Arabi an intermediaries to the Middle East, which, as noted, reached European markets primarily through the Veneti ans, dominant traders in the Mediterranean. The arri val of Portuguese and then Spanish, Dutch and English changed all that fro m the 1500s on.

Less than a century before the Portuguese arrival on the scene the Chinese entered into a true seafaring mode, which their society was full y capable of supporting. The Muslim Zheng Ho, who started out in the Muslim trading enclaves on the coast of China, rose by merit to become a leading diplomat and naval leader-a pos ition fo r which his cosmopolitan background equipped him very well . Zheng Ho, whom the Chinese made a eunuch to prevent his having any heirs , dedicated himself to the service of the state. He led seven major voyages into foreign waters from 1405 to 1433. These ventures were mounted in the very large ships the Chinese had learned to build (their actu al dimensions are still debated, but they were larger by all accounts than any European ships of their day) carrying huge cargoes of Chinese products and armies of soldiers.

The nature of these expeditions, like the actual size of the great ships in volved, is still debated. They were not ventures of military conquest, but rather seemed to be aimed at reinfo rcing relati ons with allies (one use of military force was suppressing pirates in Indonesia) and accepting tribute from different nations in the South China Seas and the Indian Ocean- in exchange for which the emperor made magnjficent gifts to those he regarded as hi s vassal s. In this spirit, the voyages covered a huge arc of the world 's surface, from SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Shell-first construction is revealed in these photos of a Kwantung junk taking shape in a south China shipyard in the 1960s . The bottom of the vessel is form ed from edge joined planking before fram es are installed, to take th e planking for th e sides of th e hull. This survival of a praclice abandoned in Europe a 1housand years ago is a living il/ustra/ion of how the Chin ese became, in effecl, loo successful in th eir ways of doing things , so leading 10 a slasis which resisted in11ova1ive change .

(Photos from Surveyor, May 1969)

Shanghai 2500 miles south to Java, then up the Malacca Strai t to Ceylon (today ' s Sri Lanka), India, and right on to the Persian Gulf, some 4,000 miles to the westward. Subsidiary voyages went onward to Mecca in the Red Sea, capital of Islam , the Arab state relig ion, and south to Mogadi shu and Malindi, great Arab trading centers in East Africa.

Except for a few special items, such as a g iraffe to pique the emperor' s curiosity, these grand voyages brought nothing back to China which the Chinese fo und of value, save prestige.

And that they already possessed , in their own eyes and the eyes of the outer world. "China's territory produces all goods in ab undance," declared the Ming emperor Gaozong, less venturesome than his Mongol predecessors, "so why should we buy useless trifles from abroad?"

According ly, in 1433 , just 54 years before Dias led Portugal's breakout into the ocean world, overseas travel was forbidden to all Chinese.

The Middle Kingdom Ch ina, however, remained a magnet fo r foreign trade centering on unique Chinese goods, including innovati ve products rang ing from the magnetic compass to g unpowder. The superb Chinese porcelain so pri zed in the West has been dug up in spots ranging from Africa to San Franci sco on America ' s West Coast and Belize on the Caribbean coast. But these goods were carried in the despi sed foreigners ' ships, Arabian dhows on the African coast and the Spani sh galleon mak ing her annual trip from Manil a in the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico, making her landfall in California on the way.

What the Chinese did with the South American silver they received from the Spanish trade in Manila is instructive. As Walter McDougall points out in his lively history of the north Pacific , LettheSea Make a Noise , they used it as money to pay for building the Great Wall, to keep out barbarian inv aders from the north ! The Wall is of much more recent birth than legend has it. McDougall dates its heyday from 1572 to 1620.

The legendary building date of the 200s BC may well have been ado pted by the Chinese sages, who wrote consensus history-perhaps to give add iti onal protection to what they call ed the Middle Kingdom, namely the protection of time, in SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

the fo1m of centuries-old precedent.

It was ever a Chi nese thing to confo rm to the Will of Heaven as expressed in the flow of events over time and make their works fit in with the scheme of the universe, rather than go out and do battle to change the world .

China ' s one aggressive attempt to change the course of hi story outside the ir borders had fai led miserably in the Mongol emperor Kub lai Khan ' s two mass ive attempts to invade Japan , in 1274 and 1281. The Japanese, determined to remain outside the Chinese orbit, thereafter evolved a quite different view of the world , in whi ch they did more to welcome Western innovation , while fiercely resisting Western dom inance.

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Returning from Ch ina in 1946 aboard the crowded troopship Dashing Wa ve, our group, the same I had traveled out with , spent much time simply gazi ng out at the seemingly end less ocean we were cross ing. I was ab le to visit aboard a great variety of river craft outside Tangku , where the US Navy had establi shed a traffic contro l center for traffic to Tientsin , the seapon for Peking. I had been fascinated by the differences in these craft from anything I had seen in America. The Chinese had arrived at totally different designs for so simple a thing as the shape and contro ls of a sail , or how a boat ' s bow shoul d part the waves. I confe ss I fo und these designs quaint and cumbersome, though the fam ilies that li ved aboard handled the clum sy-looking craft with remarkable deftness.

One day, during a North Pacific blow, when cresting waves hammered o ur sh ip ' s steel sides and threw bursts of cold water across the decks , I spotted something like a large bird in the sea off the port bow. As we neared it yo u could make out the form and wet wooden decks of a fi shing junk, all sail stowed , lying to a sea anchor, bobbing to the boisterous seas that hurried by.

She was like a bird indeed, a bird with her head tucked under her wing, perfectly at home in her part of the universe .

J knew enough to know the vessel was an age-old designbut who would want to change it? She was perfectly at home in her corner of the vast Pacific, and could go where she needed to and do what she was called on to do.

J, 15

KNM Hitra: The ''Shetlands Bus''

by Theodore R. Treadwell he door of the Quonset hut opened and the light from inside flooded the wooden ramp leading down to the dock . Three men emerged carrying heavy cases of radio gear down the ramp to the waiting ship . The low reverberations of the ship 's generators were the on ly sounds in the sil ence of the cold night air. Dark figures in pea jackets and watch caps helped them load the cases aboard and in a few minutes all was secured. One of the men stayed on the dock to cast off the lines while the subchaser backed off, wheeled around and di sappeared into the bl ack ni ght. By the time the man had returned to the warmth of the Quonset hut the ship was already pitching and rolling in the cold waters of the North Sea. The Hitra had just left her secret base in Scalloway, a remote fi shing village in the Shetland Isles, and was on her way eastward to occupied Norway. She carried two men and two tons of equipment and food supplies for operating a radio station on Stavenes, a remote island outermost in the Strong fjord. The men would spend the next few month s secretl y reporting German shipping activity to the Allied Comm and in Britain.

Hitra was a " Shetlands Bus," one of three American-built subchasers that had become the only means of access to-and escape from-Norway and the claws of the German Gestapo. The subchasers were vital to Norway and to the Allied Supreme Command.

War had come to Norway on 9 April 1940 when the Germans surprised the littl e country with a swift, powerful invasion. Norway's King Haakon VII and his retinue barely escaped to England aboard the Royal Navy crui ser HMS Devonshire. Remnants of the Norwegian Army vanished into the hills or fled to the Shetlands using boats of all sizes , even rowboats! It took only two months for the Germans to gain complete control of Norway, which gave Germany greatly widened access to the North Sea and the Atlantic beyond .

Once in London King Haakon wasted no time setting up a government-inex ile, a body that existed for the remainder of the war. The secret coll aborati on between British and Norweg ian forces began almost immedi ately. Less than two weeks after the takeover, radio transmitters were sending information about German naval movements to Briti sh Intelligence.

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At its narrowest point, on ly 190 miles of North Sea separate Norway from Britain ' s Shetland Isles. Sma ll fishing vesse ls ca ll ed smacks were quickly pressed into service to cross this natural corridor, whi ch was an in vitation for escape, counter-resistance and sabotage.

By September 1940 the first secret agents had been ferried over to estab li sh contact between the government-in-ex ile and res istance groups forming in Norway . Soon more than 30 smacks were making cross ings, and by Christmas over 200 refugees and more than I 00 British soldi ers had been transported.

The frequency of the cross ings gave rise to the name the "S hetlands Bus." The crews working the Shetlands Bus were civili an irregulars-young Norwegians , many of them fishermen-

When they saw the subchasers the Norwegians could hardly contain themselves. They cheered and punched and slapped each other, excited as schoolboys. To them the SCs looked like small destroyers.

with a strong sense of patriotism and a zest for adven ture. "The Shetlands Gang," as they called themselves, was dedicated to the task of transporting military pe rsonnel, saboteurs, rad io equipmen t and arm s to Norway , returning with condemned refugees or Norwegian s wishing to join the Allied fo rces fighting the Germans. One of the leaders was Leif Andreas Larsen, a man of great courage, initi ative and imagination , who had been go ing to sea since before he was 16. For Larsen, no mission was too risky or impossible and word of hi s deeds spread until he was known to everyone as "S hetlands Larsen." The British Admiralty called him simply "The Larsen." Hi s wartime exploits were so notable th at he became orway's most decorated hero, and a statue in his honor stands today on the waterfront in Bergen, Norway.

The Shetlands Gang was clever and resourceful at avoiding detection, and for many months the little smacks carried on the ir clandestine tasks without incident. With thousands of fishing boats

mov ing dail y through the many leads and fjords, the Germans found it difficult to adequately patro l the coastline.

But after two years of successful smugg ling the Norwegians began fee ling the effects of increased German vigi lance. During the harsh winter months of 1942-43 enemy patrol s combined with the savage weather to sink 10 Norwegian fi shing boats, res ulting in the loss of 44 crew members and 60 passengers. The slow-moving smacks, with the characteri stic "tonkety-tonk" of their single-cycle engines, could be heard for miles across the water. No match against enemy planes and patrol ships, they had to be replaced with vessels th at were quieter and faster.

A reluctant decision was made to cease operation of the smacks until faster vessels with better armament and longer crui sing capabilities were available. By August 1943 the right buttons had been pushed at Allied Headquarters in London and Admi ra l Harold R. "Betty" Stark, commander of US Nava l Forces in Europe, had come to the rescue by ordering three American-built SC-class subchasers to be tran sferred to Britain.

In the early days of the warthe major purpose of the 11 0' SCs was to deter and hamper the German U-boat offensive. The wooden subchasers and their larger sister ships, the 173 ' steel-hulled PCs, served more as stopgaps than as offensive weapons, to give the US time to build destroyers, destroyer-escorts and antisubmar ine aircraft to wage an all-out offensive aga inst the U-boats.

Armed with depth charges, the SCs and PCs screened merchant convoys with the ir underwater sound gear, keeping the U- boats submerged and on the defe nsive, unable to launch their torpedoes. When larger vessels became availab le as the war progressed, subchasers were deployed in a variety of other ways, from am phi bious landing control to minesweeping and from gunboats to picket patrol.

SCs were the smallest commissioned warships in the US Navy and were made of wood because steel was a ll ocated for larger vesse ls and other military uses.

SCs could be built qui ckl y in small boatyards by ex perienced craftsmen.

From keel-laying to launching took an average of six months. Each had a normal complement of three officers and 24 enli sted men. The SCs had a cruising radius of 1500 mil es and speeds up to 20 SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

SC-718 was delivered to Belfast aboard a Liberty ship in 1943 (above). (US Army photograph) Norwegian lngvald Eidsheim, here aboard the restored Hitra (rig ht}, was the wartime CO of the American-built subchaser as she voyaged between the Shetland Isles and German-occupied Norway. (Photo, courtesy Royal Norweg ian Navy Museum (RNNM} , Horten, Norway)

knots. With their shallow draft and qui et operation they were ideal vesse ls fo r the "Shetlandsbu ssen."

Consequently , in August 1943 SC7 18, SC-683 and SC-1061 , stati oned in Mi ami , rece ived secret orders to detach from the ir co mm and a nd re port to Broo kl yn Navy Yard to awa it further orders. One of them, SC-7 18, was destined to become the li ving symbol fo r all the "Shetlandsbussen."

A Survivor's Story Her keel of hard white oak was laid 22 September 1942 at the F isher Boat Works in Detroit, Michigan, and in May 1943 SC-7 18 became one of 438 subchasers launched during World War II .

On her foredeck she mounted a 40mm Bofors anti aircraft gun and mousetrap rail s fo r ahead-thrown depth charges.

Three 20mm Oerlikon guns were mounted am ids hips, and racks for 300-1 b depth charges were mounted at the stern . After shakedo wn she was sent to M iami fo r anti submarine patrol and convoy escort duty, joining several other SCs in thi s acti vity, including 683 and 106 1.

When the three subchasers arri ved at Brookl yn Navy Yard, the COs were given strict orders to warn their crews to button their lips about the ir movements and the movements of the vessels. They were told only that the ships had been selected fo r a special purpose, which would be made kno wn in due time.

Naturall y much specul ation and ru mor circul ated among crew members.

Some of them believed they had been SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

selected fo r a highl y dangerous miss ion.

Their suspicions were re info rced a few days later when giant cranes hoisted the SCs onto three L iberty shi ps and preparati ons began fo r transporting the crews and ships to an undisclosed destination.

When the day of departure arrived a pall of uncertainty weighed heavi ly in the minds of the sail ors and loved ones who had come to bid them farewe ll. The scene, always wrenching during wartime, was more poignant than usual.

After the ships were underway the men were told they were going to Belfas t in British Northern Ireland . The crossing took six days and was uneventful. In Belfas t the SCs were hoisted back into the water, and on 14 Octobe r 1943 the three vessels crossed the North Channe l and steamed up the F irth of Clyde to an American base at Roseneath, Scotland.

The men on the subchasers were not aware that a few days earl ier a group of Norwegian sailors had been sent to Rosenea th and was eagerl y awaiting their arri va l. On the des ignated day the Norwegians gathered on the dock, watching intently as the vessels rounded the headl and in column for mati on and steamed into the Gareloch. When they saw the subchasers the Norweg ians could hardl y contain themselves. They cheered and punched and slapped each other, excited as schoo lboys. To them the SCs looked li ke small destroyers.

Not until the ships ti ed up and the skippers reported to their command did the Americans learn the purpose of their

journey, which was to train the Norwegians in the operation of the subchasers, the guns, propul sion equipment and all o th e r m ec ha ni s m s aboard . Up o n completi on of the training they would hand the ships over to the Norwegians.

On learning thi s the Americans were dumbfo unded, di sappointed and even indig nant, but there was no choice except to fo ll ow orders. In the end the transition went smoothly, and, despite the language barrier, the men qui ckl y bonded in a sp irit of cooperation. The training period took only a week, the tra nsfer of command was completed, and the Ameri cans were sent back to the States full of whopping stories about their "suic ide mi ss io n."

To the Norweg ians, accustomed as they were to the bare bones rigor of their fis hing boats, the SCs were an extrao rdinary windfa ll . Not in their fondest dreams did they expect to take over such " luxury ships." They marveled at the central heating, oil -fired gall ey, refri gerators, water fountain s, hot showers, typewriters and toasters. The electri c generators, enthused one, " would li ght the vill age of Scalloway." 1 After taking command at Roseneath the Norwegians moved their newly acquired "yo ung destroyers" to Londonderry, thence to Sca lloway, fo r fi tting o ut. They removed all depth-charge racks , mousetrap projecto rs and K-guns and install ed an ex tra set of dav its so that in stead of one dinghy each ship carri ed two. The dinghy motors were 17

British officers aboard Hitra in 1945 (Photo, courtesy RNNM )

equipped with special mufflers for quiet operation . They removed one of the Oerlikon 20mm guns amidships and installed a two-pounder aft and two 50cali ber machine guns on the fl ying bridge. 2 The newly acquired vessels were christened Hitra (SC-718) , with Ingvald Eidsheim commanding, Hessa (SC683) , Pete r Salen commanding, and Vi gra (SC- 1061 ), Leif " Shetlands" Larsen commanding. It would take a book to re late their exploits during the two years that followed . For now , two incidents will have to do .

Once when the Vigra was approach ing the coast of Norway it passed a nest of German vessels moored 1,000 yards away . A heavy snowstorm provided cover, but while they waited at the rendezvou s point for agents who were supposed to meet them the sky suddenl y cleared and the glow of a full moon appeared. To avoid be ing seen, the Vigra quickly retired behind an isl and. Sending a dinghy ashore with a search party to loo k for the agents , the crew spent the rest of the night playing cat and mouse with the enemy. The agents never appeared. Just before dawn the search party returned and Vigra wasted no time standing out to sea and returning to the Shetlands. For "The Larsen" it was just another routine trip .

On a similar miss ion Hitra was approac hing Sunnfjord in the dark ofnight to pick up an agent on shore. The lookout spotted a Germ an patrol boat inspecting each creek and cove with powerful searchlights. Eidsheim had orders to avo id confrontations if at all possibl e.

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With only amomenttoconsiderwhether the agent might already have been arrested and they were heading into a trap , he decided to get out. It was a wi se move. He later learned that a coastal steamer had been torpedoed wi th 11 lives lost, and the Germans were making a widespread search for subs. Had

The SCs landed 192 agents, delivered 383 tons of stores and equipment and saved 373 refugees . ... 1t is quite possible that in all the history of man's seafaring no other series ofjourneys has been undertaken deliberately in such bad weather and in such small ships. he been discovered a force of German minesweepers would have swept in and Hitra wo uld never have surv ived the unequal battle. 3 Later in the war an observer from Admiral Stark 's office wrote: " It would be difficult to sum up the value of these three craft in their contribution to the United Nations. Hundreds of tons of stores and supplies have been delivered to Resistance groups. An enemy pl ane has been shot down. Countless agents have been taken in and out and great numbers of marooned a lli ed airmen, including Americans, have been helped to evade the Gestapo. Despite very heavy

weather the ships have required minimum repairs ."4 Hitra made 43 of the 116 total trips across the North Sea by the three subchasers. The SCs landed 192 agents, delivered 383 tons of stores and equipment and saved 373 refu gees . The numbers mi ght seem small compared with other war statistics but the achievements were huge ly criti cal to Norway and the Allies durin g the Occupation . Interception of German communications and the prompt reporting of German ship movements led to major successes, inc luding the sinking of the battleships Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz .

Without the Shetlands Bus to maintain the steady stream of agents and supplies such stunning victories would not have been possible.

In the wi nter months the seas between the Shetlands and Norway are among the stormiest in the world. The subchasers went to hundreds of different locations along the Norwegian coast, with some journeys two thousand miles in length and lasting three weeks. All the voyages required sailing alone in the depth of the subarctic winter. In thi s respect the journeys differed from the voyages of the Vikings. The Vikings made their explorations during the summer when, in latitudes that far north , there is continual dayli ght. In this case, each landing was secret and had to be made in darkness. It is quite possible that in al1the hi story of man 's seafaring no other series of journeys has been unde rtaken deliberate ly in such bad weather and in such sma ll ships. 5 In 1945 the war ended, and all clandestine fe rrying operations ceased. The three ships received letters of commendation from the British Chi ef of Operations. "Shetlands Larsen" of the Vigra became the most decorated individual in Norway's history , and Ingvald Eidshe im and Peter Salen, COs of Hitra andHessa, were close runners-up. The ir cool-headedness and bravery in situations of danger earned them permanent places in the annals of naval history.

In October 1945 the US transferred permanent ownership of the three vessels to Norway. For several years Hitra , Hessa and Vigra remained in service as patrol ships, but the day finally arrived in 1958 when they were considered outdated. As is so often the case, economi cs took precedence over sentiment, no matter how distinguished the record or how beloved the ship by her sailors.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Hessa and Vigra were sold to private owners. H essa changed hands several times and was finally wrecked on the coast of Sweden. Vigra, the ship that once carried Larsen to pinnacles of glory, suffered the humiliation of working as a sand barge until, in the mid ' 60s, laden with too heavy a cargo, she went down.

Hitra, only somewhat luckier than her sisters, was sold for one Norwegian kroner(about$0.14) to a junior seamen's school at Croftholmen. She became a training ship, although the engines never once turned over during her three years in this capacity. The school so ld Hitra to an individual who claimed he would rebuild the vessel for pleasure cruising, but that failed. After that she moved from one short-lived ownership to another like an unwanted foster child. In 1968 H itra was purchased for 600 kroner (about $80) by lngemann Nordfjellmark, who had acquired two 3,000-hp locomotive engines he intended to install. His plan dissolved when two Swedish teenagers vandalized and then scuttled the ship by opening her seacocks. It would have cost approximately 125 ,000 kroner ($80,000) to sa lvage the vessel so Nordfjellmark decided to give Hitra back to the Norwegian navy on condition that it be raised. The navy did raise it but transferred ownership to Martin Fransson, director of Sweden' s Karlskrona Harbor. Fransson spent 30,000 kroner ($4,350) for repairs but then gave up the idea of making Hitra into a pleasure vessel and towed it instead toTjurko, a ships ' graveyard. Vandalism and exposure to the elements over the years took their toll until , for all anyone knew or cared, Hitra was lost forever.

Reclamation The story would end here were it not for an incident of global significance that occu1Ted during the height of the Cold War. On 27 October 1981 a Soviet Whisky-class submarine ran aground near the Swedish naval base at Karlskrona. The event rocked the international community and was highly publicized. A Swedish naval officer, Captain Y. Roll of, wrote an article about the "Whisky on the Rocks" incident in which he concluded humorously that " not only the Russians were infiltrating Karlskrona waters , theNorwegianHitra has been here for years." The article, printed in a Norwegian magazine, was brought to the attention of Captain Stein Moen, director of the Royal Norwegian

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

The Hitra was in a sorry state in Sweden (top) when she was brought to the attention of the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum in 198 1. Wh en the Hitra was raised (above) her hull was found to he surprisingly sound, and she was placed on a barge to he taken to Norway for restoration. (Photos, courtesy RNNM)

Navy Museum at the time. He and Ingvald Eidsheim , Hitra's old sk ipper, hurried to the site and confirmed that, sure enough , the Hitra , though in sad shape, was there. "A sorry s ight," Eidsheim commented as he gazed at the once proud vessel , only her bow and foredeck visible above water, her equipment and fixtures gone.

Could Hitra be salvaged? The way she looked in the spring of 1982 it took a great deal of optimism to believe this was possible. An organization was formed cal led "The Friends of the Shetlands Bus" for the purpose of reconstructing Hitra. It soon became apparent thatHitra had lots of friends. The campaign for her restoration mounted quickly and monies began pouring in ,

notjustfrom Norwegians but from many other countries as well. From older citizens who vividly remembered, to schoolchildren who had heard her story, the Shetlands Bus would neither be denied nor forgotten. The campaign was overwhelming! y successfu 1. Two-thirds of the funds were raised by public contribution , and the remainder was furnished by the Norwegian government.

On 8 July 1983 , after her 36-year hiatus, Hitra was tenderly lifted onto a barge and brought to Oma shipyard in Leirvik, Norway. To everyone's surprise, much of her wooden hull was sound and usable. Drawings, original equipment and spare parts were obtained from the US and other countries.

It took four years of effort to completely 19

In the summer Hitra cruises

to towns along the coast where people are told about her World War II adventures. Veterans visit her for reunions and storyswapping. Hitra has returned three times to Scalloway and on one of these trips lngvald Eidsheim, her old commanding officer, went along.

The three Norwegian skippers of the SCs (above, from left): lief "Shetlands" Larsen of Yigra, Ingvald Eidsheim ofHitra, and Peter Salen ofHessa. Today, the restored Hitra travels the Norwegian coast and makes occasional voyages back to the Shetlands. (Photos: RNNM)

restore Hitra to her wartime condition.

On 8 May 1987 , a day that in 1945 became Norway's Freedom Day, Hitra was formally gifted to the Ro yal Norwegian Navy Museum in a stirring ceremony befittin g her rebirth to a life of dignity and purpose. Later that year she sailed to Oslo and was inspected by His Majesty King Olav, who was impressed by the restoration and the crew.

Today Hitra is basedatHaakonsvern , Norway ' s major naval base near Bergen.

Owned by the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum , Horten,Hitra leads a charmed life as a living reminder of her wartime role. She has earned a special place in the hearts of all Norwegians, especially those who knew of her during the Occupation years. Her restoration has been nothing short of a maritime miracle.

In the summer Hitra cruises to towns along the coast where people are told about her World War II adventures.

Veterans visit her for reunions and storyswapping. Hitra has returned three times to Scalloway and on one of these trips Ingvald Eidsheim, her old commanding officer, went along by invitation. Leaning back in hi s captain ' s chair in the pilothouse, eyes crinkling, the old hero reminisced . "I slept more here than in my bunk," he said. "Just in case something happened."

Hitra ' s current CO is Commander NielsOttoBoerresen,RNoN, who, with hi s engineering officer, Commander Johan Alden, RNoN, and crew, keeps her looking like new . The polished brightwork includes the ship ' s bell, engraved "USS SC-7 18," a quiet reminder of her American birthright. The engine room, the pride and joy of Commander Alden, is as spotless as a wedding gown.

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Old subchaser salts will be glad to know Hitra is equipped with two pancake diesel engines of the same type used during the war, probably the only such engines still in operation.

In 1992 Hitra was awarded the Gokstad prize for the best maintained restored vessel in all ofNorway. She is one of only six SC hulls today in good condition known to be floating . The other five are pri vately owned working or pleasure vessels . Hitra proudly lives up to her distinction as the only SC-class subchaser still afloat, still commissioned , still on active duty, armed and equipped in wartime "mint" condition exactly as she was in World War II. .t Having commanded SC-648 in the South Pacific in WWII , Mr. Treadwell became curious about the other subchasers. The story ()j'Hitra is one of many in his book

Splinter Fleet: The Wooden Subchasers of World War II, to be published by the Naval Institute Press.

For more information on Hitra, contact Royal Norwegian Navy Museum , PB 21, 3191 Horten, Norway.

1 Dav id Howarth , The Shetland Bus (Hammersmith , London: Grafton Books Division of Harper Collins, 1991) 2 The two-pounder porn-porn was later replaced by one six-pounder Hotchkiss Mk VII semi-automati c gun .

3 0dd Strand, H itra-With Engvald Eidsheim & his Men on Wartime Cruises A cross the North Sea. 4 R. R. Guest, LCDR, USNR Action Report covering ass istan ce rendered by US SCs manned by Norwegian crews dated 13 January 1945.

5 James Irvine, The Waves are Free (Shetland Isle, UK: Shetland Publishing Co., 1988)

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

300 Years of Service "Your staunch pilot boats are always ready in storm and fog, and it takes skill, courage and long years of experience to carry on this important and hazardous work so necessary to our commerce.

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OPERATION SAIL 2000 OFFICIAL PORT CITIES, PART II

Philadelphia, City of Pioneering Ships and People

by Peter Stanford illiam Penn wanted rich alluvial farmland for the " Great Towne" he dreamed of founding in the New World. So he pushed through De lawa re Bay with its tricky shall ows and on up the broad reaches of the Delaware River, more than 100 miles from the Atlantic he 'd come across, to fo und the city of Philade lphi a.

Thi s was in 1682, late in the morning of co loni al settlement. For nearly three quarters of a century New York had been establi shed as a flouri shing center of Dutch and then English trade with the suITounding Algonquian nations, and half a century earlier John Harvard 's College had been set up to en li ghten the grow ing seaport town of Boston and its environs. And far to the south the great Spanish cities of Santo Domingo, Mexico City, San Juan and St. Augustine had been establi shed for over a hundred years.

The Dutch had claimed the Delaware River in their drive to set up seaport cities built on trade in North America. They called the Delaware, in fact, the South River, making up one border of their claim to all New Jersey, with the Hudson River as the North River-a term that astonishingly survives in New York mariners ' argot to thi s day , though few know where the name comes from , and most New Yorkers don't know it at all.

The Dutch had pretty wel l g iven up thi s extended effort when Penn arrived in the Delaware to found Philadelphia.

They had yielded their Nieuw Amsterdam to the British, who renamed the town New York, and turned their energ ies to the East Indi es , where they built the perfect Dutch city of Batavia on the lu sh tropical island of Java, driving off all rival s in order to command the rich trades of the South China seas.

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A Brotherly Ethos William Penn had no such ends in view as he sailed up the Delaware. On the way, he passed the thriving Swedish settlement at Wilmington , where the Brandywine and Christiana Rivers flow into the Delaware. He landed some 30 miles upstream where the Schuylkill flows into the main river, to found Philadelphia-a name which translates as "City of Brotherly Love. " This was a Quaker city, devoted to the precepts and moral convictions of the Society of Friends-an ethos placing great value on open di scuss ion , hard work and cooperation.

The settlement prospered on the productivity of its farmers , preserving remarkably good re lations with the Indians and thus avoiding the horrors and the costs of the colonial drive for domination that resulted e lsewhere in the ghastly massacres of Indians , such as King Philip 's War in Massachusetts.

Besides brotherly love the Quakers brought with them the makings of a strong merchant economy- a thing built more with ideas than material s. From an earl y date Philadelphia merchants began shipping the products of an efficient agriculture south along the coast to feed the grow ing slave labor force of the plantations of the Caribbean world. This gave the coloni sts valuable island products to trade to England, notably sugar and rum. And thi s meant books, fine clothes and furniture, plows , guns for the hunt, and all the other accoutrements of a civilized society which the English colonies in their East Coast beachhead enclaves , could not yet produce.

With these things go ing for it, Philadelphia grew apace.

Within less than 100 years the city outshipped its older rivals and became the biggest, wealthiest and arguably the most cultivated of American cities. By the time of the American Revolution it was recognized as the second greatest city in the 22

English-speaking world-a stunning achievement, c learly based on its leadership in maritime trade.

The City, Teacher of Man "The city is the teacherof man ," sa id Aristotle in a line that any educated Philadelphian wou ld have recognized. Two great Philadelphians might serve as examples of the kind of Americans the city provided: Benjamin Frank lin , the internationally renowned scientist and philosopher, and Joshua Humphreys , designer of the frigate USS Constitution and her sisters.

Franklin, born in Massachu setts, came to Philadelphia to seek his opportunity in the printer's trade. He was a great talker who also was greatly interested in what other people had to say, founding societies and libraries and charitab le institutes so all could be hea rd in the American discourse of hi s day. He was not just tolerant of different points of view, he sought them out. But he was also a sc ientist in search of facts.

He pursued the factual reality of natural phenomena, and hi s inquiries ranged from sending a kite up in a thunderstorm to catch a lighting bolt to dipping a thermometer overboard during an Atlantic crossing to measure the extent of that great ocean current, the Gulf Stream. The English made him a member of the Royal Society in recognition of hi s achievements in such efforts and made much of him during hi s visit to Eng land to represent American interests shortly before the Revo lutionary War. Joshua Humphreys , a native-born Philadelphian , grew up in the shipbuilding business and eventuall y establi shed his own yard . It was natural that the design of the first frigates built for the American Revolution were developed in Philadelphia with Humphreys ' s participation. Afterthe Revolution he designed the first frigates for the newly estab li shed US Navy. These were the super-frigates that won a stunning series of single-ship actions in the War of 18 12, lead ing to the famous order of the British Admiralty that British frigates should travel in pairs. Humphreys's frigates we re sophi sticated warships built to a new concept of the type, not merely outsize versions of what had gone before. Isaac Hui I described the ir conceptual basis in crystal-clear language, and foug ht li ke a tiger to reta in such features as the li ve-oak framing which considerab ly increased the cost and difficulty of building them. It was iron-hard framing , spaced so close as to provide a virtual wall of support to the outer planking.

Upon Humphreys's retirement, the bright young Englishtrained architect Josiah Fox took over the building of the last ship of the class, USS President. He did away with the heavy , close-spaced framing Humphreys had designed into the class, making President a lighter, faster ship. Fortunately she never saw the close action in which Constitution and her sister United States won their staggering v ictories. Her light frame was wrenched cross ing the harbor bar at New York and a pursuing Briti sh squadron was ab le to catch her and force her surrender without a serious fight. This was no " Old Ironsides" they' d caught, but it's not clear whether the British rea lized that the ship was not the real thing.

Humphreys stood for something fundamental in the character of Phi ladelphia sh ipbuilding, in the utter honesty and integrity of his design and building practices-and hi s ability to shape an important new concept and carry it through to achievement in three-dimensional reality.

Similar qualities served Franklin (and America) well in hi s dealings with the Bostonian John Adams and the New Yorker SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

They learned what they knew in Philadelphia and used what they knew to make a difference in the world.

John Jay during his service as minister to France in the American Revolution . It was Franklin who conceived the noble idea of granting immunity to James Cook's Endeavour at the height of the hard-fo ught war fo r national su rvival, so Cook ' s scientific work could go forward undi sturbed. Adams fought thi s, say ing Franklin lacked authority to grant immunity. Fortunately, Congress upheld Franklin's action.

A more significant and perhaps related development came about when Franklin conn ived with John Jay , working out a peace settlement with England behind the back of John Adams, who had banned any such contact that did not involve France and Spain. The settlement Jay was working on gave to the US all the territory extending to the Great Lakes and the Mi ssissippi , including the entire Ohio Valley. Our French and Spanish allies were determined to keep the new American Republic out of these waterways, where they feared American competition. But the British had come to see the benefits of a strong America, thanks in part to Jay ' s careful bridge-building and Franklin ' s vision of a cooperative relationship-once the vital point of American independence was won. Thi s deliberate break in communi cation with Adams enabled the peace offer to be hardened before it was released, at which point nothing could stop it, not even Adams.

Aristotle would surely have recogn ized his description of a city in these two Americans, who learned what they knew in Philadelphi a and used what they knew to make a difference in the world .

The American Clyde The nation' s lead ing city continued to move ahead when peace at last came after the seven years of the American Revolution . Stephen Girard opened trade to China and India, becoming one of America ' s wealthiest merchants, and Phil adelphia ships coursed the seas to Baltic and Mediterranean countries. By 1800, however, New York, rebuilding fro m the ruins of the British occupation, forged ahead of its great rivals, Philadelphia and Boston.

Philadelphia ' s contribution to the maritime scene came to center on the shipbuilding that stead il y grew on the banks of the Delaware, extending to Camden on the Jersey shore, directl y across the river, and south to Wilmington , Delaware.

The gradually accelerating ri se of iron hulls and of the steam engine as the propulsion of the future offered Philadelphia's skilled artisans, backed by the abundant avai la bi lity of coal and iron from nearby mines, an opportunity to take the lead in building the effic ient new breed of ships which, from the mid-l 800s on , began to take over the world's sea lanes. Of the American seaports, Philadelphia was the first to capitali ze on thi s fundamental trend, which was go ing to change the who le nature of worldwide shipping as the 1900s opened.

Sh ipbuilding virtually abandoned New York and Boston .

Down easters-Maine-built sailing ships-crowded their wharves in the protected coastal trades , including the Cape Horn trade to San Francisco. American capital had fled the seas after the virtual destruction of the US flag merchant marine during the Civil War in the 1860. When peace came in 1865 the restored union watched other nations carry the growing stream of European immigrants and the manufactured goods the American market still demanded of Europe and carry away the food , timber and other raw material s Europe relied on from America.

British-built ships sailing under the ir own Red Duster dominated virtually all the avenues of oceanic trade. The immense capita l resources of what was then the world' s most powerfu l economy made it poss ible for the English to invest in world wide marketing and in the fast-changing technology of the ocean steamship . By 1885 steamships accounted for half the tonnage of the British deep-sea merchant marine.

More steamships floated under the Red Duster than the fl ags of all the other nations of the world , including America, a distinctly minor league player.

It was 1905 before the starveling US merchant marine achi eved enough tonnage in steamships to match the ex isting tonnage in sa il. By then, Maine had stopped building its wooden down easters, but huge wooden schooners were now being built in Maine to carry coal-6,000 tons of it at a single lift in the six-masted Wyoming. They sailed from the great coal ports of Phil adelphia and Norfolk north to the growing urban centers of New York and New England. The slow growth of US steam tonnage came almost entirely from the De laware Ri ver, notably the William Cramp & Sons yard in northern Phil adelphia and John Roach in Chester A racy- looking brig f lying her owner' s housejlag fr om the fore-ma sthead sits at her pier to the south , halfway between Philadelbefor e a Say fami ly warehouse next to a block of brick stores once owned by Stephen Girard in this image painted by Da vid J. Kennedy. (From Philadephi a on the Rive r, by Philip phi a and Wilmington . The innovative spirit of these pioneers in the new mode Chadwick Foster Smith (Philadelphia Maritim e Museum, 1986) of shipping-so different from the sailing ship technology of wood and canvas- is particularly remarkable in light of the formidable odds they were up against. England had begun using iron braces in ship construction as early as the 1600s , and by the late 1700s iron knees and other elements were replacing the increasingly scarce compass timber needed for these curved strengthening pieces, as English forests were ransacked to build the great ships that fought the wars of the French Revolution and Empire, 1791-1815.

British shipbuilding esta bli shed a strong presence on Scotland ' s River Clyde, where, by 1865, ri ght after the American Civil War, a Congressional

..

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

23

report noted that Napier's building yard and engine factory in Glasgow, on the Clyde, had "a world-wide reputation."

Napier's had built the Cunard liners that finally drove American packets and steamers out of the first-class Atlantic trade, and in 1861 they built the great 9,210-ton warship Black Prince, sister of the Warrior-of which it was noted at the time that she could have taken on all the navies of the world and steamed through them leaving nothing but floating wooden The 300-foor New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company's liner City of Washington is launched from John Roach' s yard in Philadelphia in August 1877, a proudly innovative wreckage in her wake. vessel in a backward US industry. (Oil painting by A. C. Stuart, from Philadephia on the War had forced the US to build River, by Philip Chadwick Foster Smith (Philadelphia Maritime Mus eum, 1986)) ironclads in Philadelphia, New York, Because of the great resource offered by the iron and later Boston and other ports. But these were pygmy vessels not fit to keep the sea-the famous USS Monitor was lost off Cape steel technology of the shipyards in and around Philadelphia, Hatteras after less than a year in service. Nevertheless, when the Philadelphia Navy Yard flourished. Relocated from the the innovative John Roach resolved to build iron steamships, central Philadelphia waterfront where Joshua Humphreys had he came from New York to take over a bankrupt Philadelphia built his mighty frigates, it grew to a huge establishment at yard in 1870, to use the industrial know-how and readily League Island in south Philadelphia, where the Schuylkill accessible coal and iron of the Delaware Valley to build in the flows into the Delaware. By World War I it was thought to be coming technology. By 1871 he was building the first of the the largest in the world. And indeed its record was impressive, famous fast steamers of Charles Mallory 's New York- rising to unheard-of levels of production to build the "Two Galveston line. Before that, the wooden Mallory steamers had Ocean Navy" of the late 1930s, which, with its British allies, been built in Mallory 's own yard in Mystic, Connecticut. won the battles of the Atlantic and Pacific on which victory in Cramp in the meantime built the first steamer in the US driven World War II depended. by the new compound engine, which was efficient enough to The civilian yards played their parts in this, including the compete with sail in any quarter of the ocean world, even on New York Shipyard, which laid its first keel in Camden in the long-distance trades with low-value cargoes where sail 1900, and the Hog Island Shipyard which produced 122 of the had up to then held on. standardized "Hog Islander" freighters too late for the war but The growing volume of steamship building in the Dela- in time to meet the immediate postwar shipping shortage. Sun ware was mainly financed by the railroads, which mustered Oil Co. opened its famous "Sun Ship" facility in 1917, the capital and interest to place the orders for multiple ships continuing in operation until just recently, and the pioneer which made efficient production possible. The Pennsylvania Cramp ' s of 1832-1927, which had closed in the delayed Railroad in particular built ships, which they ran cheaply shipping slump of WWI, reopened to contribute mightily to under Belgian flag, to bring European immigrants to Philadelphia. From Phila- By the time World War I began, the Philadelphia Navy Yard was considered to be the largest delphia they could travel inland by rail to facility ofits kind in the world. This tu~n-of-th~-century_ view ~y F. Cresson Schell looks north Pittsburgh and the American Midwest. along Broad. Street. At the upper left 1s the Girard Pom~ gram elev.ator. The ei:~rance to t_he Th" t .¡ f Schuylkill River appears farther left. (From Philadelphia on the River, by Phtlip Chadwick is was an a 1mos eene re-enactment Foster Smith (Philadelphia Maritime Museum 1986)) Brunel building ships to extend the reach ' of the Great Western Railway from London to the seaports of Bristol and Liverpool and so across the ocean to New York.

Roach also built a few sailing ships of iron in the 1880s. This didn't work out well, and it was to be left to Arthur Sewall in Bath, Maine, to pick up steel sailing ship technology by importing a British ship in pieces and assembling her on American ways to start the ball rolling. In all, only 13 American square riggers were built of steel, including the Kaiulani, the ship NMHS was founded to save. One sailing vessel by Roach has survived, the smal I iron sloop appropriate! y named Pioneer. Built in 1885 , she survives under schooner rig sailing out of South Street Seaport in New York today. When she sails back to her birthplace in Marcus Hook, there is cheering in the streets.

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

William Gilk:erson

" The Yawl Alembic in Arctic Ice," cover art for Ultimate Voyage The John Stobart Galleries are proud to announce that we will be representing the works of William Gilkerson. As of May/June , 1998 , Mr. Gilkerson's works will h e on display at all of our location s . For additional information , please contact u s at 1-800-989-3513

•

John Stobart Galleries Boston Edgartown Hilton H ead I sland Pittsburgh Washington, D.C.

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

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AN INTERNATIONAL SAMPLING Recovering Our Maritime Heritage A s this millennium draws to a close, cultures, nations and individuals are searching the past for identity and direction for the new millennium. Often, they find that their connections to each other and to their own histories are closely tied to their maritime heritage and the purposes that drew them to the oceans in centuries past. This collection of articles takes readers around the globe for a small sampling of how the maritime heritage is reaching out today, reviving skills, ideas and dreams that easily could have disappeared.

On Taumako in the Solomons an anthropologist docu-

ments a tradition long thought dead as the island's people bring to life the voyaging canoes that populated the farflung islands of the Pacific. Closer to home, a group on Martha's Vineyard reawakens the voyaging spirit in the unexpectedly landbound children who are the heirs of the island' sfounding merchant seamen and whalers. And across the Atlantic, history is a rediscovered country for generations of Russians, where some are reclaiming the forwardlooking naval heritage of Tsar Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, the city newly renamed for him. J USTINE AHLSTROM

The Return of Lata: Building an Authentic Polynesian Voyaging Canoe

by Mimi George, PhD e wanted to learn how stoneage Polynesian craft were built and how they perfo rmed at sea. We wanted to know what motivated Polynesians to voyage and how they fo und their way. Until Paramount Chief Cruso Kaveia of Taumako, a Polynesian island in the southeast Solomons, asked me to help hi s people document the building and sailing of a te puke , it seemed that we had missed our chance.

Renow ned maritime scholars swore that there was no one left who could make one and that no living Polynes ian could show us how to sail in the fully traditional way. Even David Lewi s, an expert in traditional Polynesian nav igation and author of We, the Navigators, believed that the last navigator who knew the old methods had died in 1970.

At that time it was still widely held that Polynesians colonized a third of the earth 's surface by acc id e nt. Wh en Lewis's We, the Navigators was publi shed in 1972, however, several centuries of European misapprehension and speculation ended. The efficacy of tradi ti onal Polynesian navigation became a sc ientifically verified fac t.

From 1972 to 1994 several modern replicas of Polynesian voyaging canoes were built in California, Kiribati, Hawaii , the Cooks, the Marshall s, the Societies , Papua New Guinea and New Zealand , and most were sailed long di stances. But these were not authentic Polynesian canoes. The builders thought that both the experiential knowledge and the natural resources needed were no longer avail able to them. Also, they were loath to risk the lives of the crew by experimenting with sennit or other natural fiber lashings at sea.

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Thus, all the replicas built since the late 1960s have featured modern materials and designs, depending on nylon cordage for structural lashings and epoxy and modern fas teners, plywoods and caulking materi als to hold together hulls and members and make them watertight. Each that has sailed long distances has used dacron sailcloth instead of woven Pandanus mats (except perhaps for ceremonial occasions such as launching) and marconi or modifi ed lateen rigs, meant to look as mu ch like crabclaw sails as poss ible without committing to the true fo m1 .

Nor was Polynes ian nav igational know ledge relied upon.

Researchers in Hawaii and elsewhere studied traditional navigational lo re fr o m w ritte n sources and living elders. But the information was insufficient and modern data from satellite weather coverage and pil oting charts were used freely. This synthesis of modern and traditi onal knowledge res ulted in non-instrumental methods that worked. That is not the same as learning traditional methods, but at the time it did not seem possible to learn much more about the non-instrument navigati on practiced by ancientPolynesians.

Suddenly, Another C hance Now the situation has changed.

A new voyaging canoe is not just a replica; it was built by the

Polynes ian heirs to an unbroken chain o f experienti al knowledge.

On 12 September 1997, the people of Taumako launched a one-hundred-percent authentic stone-age Polynesian voyaging canoe. It is their own traditional type of vaka called a te puke . Its name is Vaka Taumako-"a voyaging canoe for

Vaka Taumako was launched in 1997 with great celebration. (Photo: Jim Bailey)

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

flywheel , the engineers reach for their oilskins and seek help from forward, where there is a marvelous machine called a P-250, which sucks water fro m the bilge in a colossal stream . Starting the P-250 can be nerve-wracking, however-a littl e like a Model-T Ford on a cold day.

4 July 1976: Nineteen tall ships and countless others pass in review for President Ford, aboard USS Forrestal, then up beyond the George Washin gton Bridge before heading fo r our berths in the North River. New York is suddenl y like a small town, people actually speak to each other. As we observe, even the ladies of easy virtue on West42nd Street seem genuinely friendly.

5-6 July 1976: The Monday after the Fourth of Jul y celebration is largely devoted to ship ' s work, but by du sk a party develops on Gaze la and on Bel Espoir, a French topsail schooner tied up alongside. As the eveni ng progresses and with the aid of what appears to be an unlimited suppl y of liquid refreshment we discover amongst ourselves instrumental talent we never knew we had. Bel Espoir'scompany includes a brass band, which shares its instruments with our people. A tuba and a trombone appear on our deck, and as the evening progresses many of New York 's finest join us. There appear to be no serious casualties, and plenty of fo nd memories.

6 July 1976: At dawn the harbor is still qu iet except for the sound of a trombone at the end of the pier and a small inflatab le with outboard and bedraggled crew head ing down the river. I must leave Gazela fo r other duties and the ship departs fo r Philadelphia.

Heading for Her Winter Berth 7October1976: The Mannheim clutch defeats the engineers once more. We approach Bannister' s Wharf in Newport at dead slow. A full-astern bell comes down and two men lean on the reverse lever. A mild shudder, stop, we eye each other. When finished with engines finally comes down we discover that the bowsprit has swept the wharf, clearing it of some minor structures, but thanks to Gaze/a' s well-stocked bosun 's locker, the repair party is al ready at work . No hard feelings.

11October1976: Heading back to Portland for her winter berth. An American fis hing vessel overhauls us in the Cape Cod Canal. The skipper is Manuel da Silva, an old Gazela Primeiro hand , who emigrated to New Bedford and SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Gazela, today, at sea under full sail. (Photo: Lori Mager) managed to acqui1¡e hi s own Gazela.

13October1976: AITiving in Gloucester with littl e advance notice we ask the harbormaster if we can have a berth . "If an old Banks fishe1man can' t find a place to tie up in Gloucester, that will be the living end. " We ti e up alongs ide the Quincy Market Cold Storage pier.

16 October 1976: Another memory, under sail, so I actually witness this. We approach Portland in very light air, steering to clear Bell-22. With very little way on, Gazela and the buoy seem meant for each other, and the re lationship is gentl y consummated alo ng our port side. "A few scrapes" is entered in the log.

17 October 1976: Downri gg ing for the first time with thi s crew . Blocks and lines are carefu ll y tagged for next spring but are left on deck in the rain . Great consternation when we di scover that the ink has run and the tags are blank. Captain Steve Cobb and Mate deOrsay are able to identify most of the items.

A New Year 20 January 1977: Bitterly cold. The black gang is overhauling the recalcitrantclutch in comparati ve comfort while wo rk goes on on deck. The captain 's spaniel , Ag nes , is keeping an eye on things when she is called by the crew of a McAlli ster tug eas ing alongs ide. She races aft, where a bit of railing has been removed , and goes overboard. MOB drill. A dory is in the water so Agnes is recovered , soggy but happy .

6June 1977: Thi s time Gloucester, with its large Portuguese community, has been forewarned of ou r coming. We are open fo r visitors and a uniformed brass band from the loca l Portuguese-American Cl ub pl ays on the pier. Two fo1mer Gazela Primeiro officers come aboard

for an emotional reunion. As a departure gift we are given several greenheart logs, some of which will later become part of the anchor windlass drum .

9 June 1977: Heading south from New Bedford for New York the Mannhe im is shut dow n. We are under full sail with a fair wind . I wake up in the morning sure that we are becalmed; the moti on below is thatofa ship in a dying sea. Poking my head out of the companionway hatch I find us storming along, a 35-knot northeast breeze on the quarter, lower topsail only, Jogg ing close to 10 knots. Beautiful. I never saw those guys take in the rest of the sail in the dead of night.

16 June 1977: We are much more relaxed. Li ght air and warm weather off the Virgini a islands suggest a swimming party. At the same time we sight a basking sunfi sh, not the most active creature of the deep. Since a dory is in the water, one of our number, a Kansan affectionately know as Jughead , decides to pl ay Yankee whaler. After being attacked with a boathook, the beast rolls over lazi ly, inspiring what came to be called the "Kansas City Sle igh.ride."

O ne of the heroes of thi s period is Roland Wi llcox . Roland was an AngloArgentine who had experience in the last days of North Sea working sail and later as captain of a small coasting steamer trading fro m Buenos Aires to Patagoni a. He was also an officer in the Argentine navy and later came to Philadelphi a as the British consul. Until Roland came aboard whenever coming about was rea lly important we fired up the Mannheim to help her around .

20 June 1977: Gazela is beating up the Chesapeake in a li ght northerly. Roland, (Co ntinued on page 51) 27

MUSEUM OF THE ISSUE: MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM

America and tlie Sea

by Benjamin Labaree

The whaling ship Charles W. Morgan was built in 1841 at the height ofAmerican prosperity at sea. Jn a long career that lasted over three quarters of a century she travelled the oceans of the world in pursuit of whales. The Morgan, centerpiece of Mystic Seaport, has brought the seafaring experience to life for millions of visitors and has inspired restoration efforts across America. Two years ago Mystic Seaport devoted itself to the whole of America's maritime story as the Museum of America and the Sea. Here is a discussion of this theme by Benjamin Labaree, professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at Williams College and former director ofMystic's Munson Institute. It is excerpted from the museum's new book, America and the Sea: A Maritime History, and was presented at Mystic Seaport's annual Maritime History Symposium last November.

C

omprising more than two-thirds of the earth's surface, the oceans separate the great continents from each other, even as, paradoxically, they provide the means by which the world's peoples, cultures and resources have mingled together. These two contrasting themes, the sea as barrier and the sea as highway, underlie all of maritime history.

By the end of the fifteenth century, development of the vessels and navigational skills needed for deep-water voyages made possible the discovery of transatlantic sea routes favored by steady winds and currents. Settlers followed explorers in the seventeenth century, as thousands of Europeans looking for a better life arrived in the "promised land." In the course of the next two centuries some thirty million more people from Europe, Africa and Asia would reach these shores by sea, many with eager anticipation, others against their will.

At the same time, the Atlantic Ocean gave American settlers an essential lifeline back to the world they or their forebears had left behind, as well as to other colonies along the coast from Newfoundland to the West Indies. No new settlement of Europeans could exist without support from home or contact with other established colonies during its first difficult years.

The role of the sea as a moat separating America from foreign powers has also made an important contribution to our national development. While an ocean does not in itself guarantee immunity from invasion, as the Revolutionary War showed, bodies of water as extensive as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans offer considerable protection even against a strong naval power. In large part because of this geographical separation, the United States needed to spend very little on national defense during the century between 1815 and 1915, making more federal funds available for subsidizing such internal improvements as the transcontinental railroad and oceanic steamship lines. Diplomatic isolation from Europe, although never complete, was sufficient to leave the nation free to concentrate on resolving the domestic conflict over slavery. In the twentieth century, when two world wars brought enormous damage to the homelands of most of the belligerents, the mainland territories of the United States escaped virtually unscathed. For the first 350 years of its settlement by Europeans, the sea has provided the American people with an alm ost impervious shield. Not until the development of the intercontinental ballistic missile in the years after World War II have the oceans lost their defensive power.

These oceanic moats have been an important strategic legacy to the American people.

Where the sea met the land's edge along the Atlantic coast, 28

it gave North America yet another gift-scores of inlets, bays and river estuaries suitable as safe harbors. Some that were near the offshore banks became fishing ports; those close to forests were shipbuilding centers; and others with access to other coastal communities or interior settlements developed into major seaports. In the history of a land whose first several generations of settlers were predominantly farmers, the importance of seaports is not always easy to establish. Their significance to America's early history appears on several levels. First are the fishing communities whose efforts not only provided a source of food but an equally important commodity for trade throughout the Atlantic world. Second, the shipbuilding centers produced the vessels on which an independent maritime commerce depended. Without the capacity to construct vessels of their own, Americans would have been utterly dependent on British shipowners for the carriage of exports and imports , a situation that might well have continued for decades after American political independence and would surely have impeded the economic growth of the new nation for many years.

Seaports large enough to serve as entrep6ts made other, entirely different contributions to American life. Although modest in size until the nineteenth century, they nevertheless became the nation's first cities, attracting a diverse population of artisans, shopkeepers, merchants, and professional men, most of whom had special ski lls. Individually, they imported, sold or produced items needed by the vast rural population.

Their workers constituted a versatile labor force, and the flow of immigrants into the seaports constantly replenished the suppl y of labor for projects throughout the country. Collectively, seaport dwellers comprised a market for agricultural commodities, providing farmers a means of earning a profit for their surplus produce. Through their banks and insurance companies, seaport merchants accumulated the capital that gave American industry its start. Culturally, seaports connected the nation with the rest of the world, including other communities along the coast. Here were fo und our first newspapers, libraries and colleges. Here itinerant artists, theatrical performers, dancing instructors and architects all vied for the custom of the seaport's wealthier inhabitants.

Seaports were another legacy of the sea, bringing to the American continent all the benefits as well as the drawbacks of urban life.

The enduring symbol for American maritime enterprise has been the sailing ship, and what a complex symbol it is. The design of a seagoing vessel was one of humankind's most notable achievements, combining the often contradictory attributes of stability, strength, capacity, economy and speed.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

"These two contrasting themes, the sea as barrier and the sea as highway, underlie all of maritime history . "

The Charles W. Morgan of J84 J is the last surviving wooden whaling ship. Vis itors board the ship and learn about life at sea in the 19th century. Photo by Judy S eisler, courtesy Mystic Seaport Museum.

For Horatio Greenough, America 's premier sculptor of the mid-nineteenth century, the sa iling vessel was an inspiration.

"Mark the majestic form of her hull as she rushes through the water," he wrote. "Observe the graceful bend of her body, the gentle transition from round to flat, the grasp of her keel, the leap of her bows, the symmetry and rich tracery of her spars and rigging, and those grand wind muscles, her sails." The sailing ship represents the most natural of all artifacts-a hull constructed of several species of timber, planks fastened with wooden treenails and caulked with cotton, deck seams payed with pitch, rigging made of hemp , and sa il s cut from hemp or cotton duck . And, most impo1tant, it relied entirely on the winds and currents to drive it across thousands of miles of the world's most severe environment- the open sea .... No wonder that, unique among all of his artifacts , man has endowed the ship with human qualities, greeting its creation with the ceremonial bestowal of its own distinctive name. The sailing vessel , too, is an enduring part of our nation 's maritime heritage.

At bottom , however, hi story is about people. Herein li es the greatest appeal of the maritime world as a subject for the historian . The sea offered American settlers an alternative way of life to that of the faimer-not an easier way or a more rewarding way, but a different one, as Daniel Vickers has so persuasively shown in his compai路ative study of fishermen and farmers. For a dispossessed son in a family without much land, or a lad bitten by the wanderlust, or simply one who had reasons of his own to leave home, going to sea was another way to live his life, or at least a part of it. Many a country boy shipped out with every intention of saving up his pay until he had enough to buy a farm , ma1Ty his girl and settle down. It may not always have worked out that way, but the sea nevertheless seemed to offer that opportunity, at least until about the middle of the nineteenth century . The fact that life at sea was largely invisible to those who remained behind SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

exposed it to a lot of exaggerated romanticizing, especially by writers and painters who never left the shore. But one does not have to exaggerate the stature of a full-rigged ship under sail or the dangers faced by its crew to believe that the lives of the men and women who worked at sea or dwelled along its edge deserve a place in American history. Knowledge of who went before us and how they lived and worked broadens and deepen our understanding of ourselves and our surroundings ....

What makes the study of America and the sea so rewarding are the connection s it makes between so many different aspects of our past- its regions, its produce, its people, its workplace cultures. The sea connects the lives of a broad cross-section of Americans-shipmasters, sailors and fi shermen at sea, with shipbuilders, owners, merchants and mariners' wives at home. It joins the work of seafarers with that of farmers and factory workers. Mai路itime enterprise brings the American people more closely together with those of other nation s around the world. Shipboard life represents a microcosm of life itself, where hope and despair, courage and cowai路dice, greed and altruism, along with all the other human virtues and vices , are exposed by the never-ending struggle to bring order out of the chaos around us. For this reason, life at sea has provided countless authors, from Homer to Herman Melville and from Joseph Conrad to Patrick O 'Brian, with a special context in which to play out human dramas ... .

The largest number of Americans exposed to our nation 's maritime past do so in museums, at least fifty-seven of which specialize in maritime history. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people learn about life at sea aboard the historic vessels preserved in floating condition at numerou s sites aro und the country. The flagship of this fleet is, of course, the USS Constitution, still in commission at the Boston Navy Yard more than 200 years after its launch in 1797. Close by at Mystic Seaport lies the whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest commercial vessel still afloat in American waters, while other examples of significant commercial and fishing vessels can be seen at South Street Seaport Museum in New York, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St. Michaels, Maryland , the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and the San Diego Maritime Museum , among others.

Naval vessels abound, from the Spanish-American War cruiser Olympia in Philadelphia to the World War II battleships Alabama, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Texas in their respective States, the carriers Intrepid, Lexington and Yorktown and several dozen lesser warships ....

The role of the sea in American affairs has constantly changed over 500 years-from a moat obscuring this continent from the Old World to a bridge for European explorers; from a defense against overseas invasion to a means of projecting American naval power around the world. Until about 1920 the oceans brought millions of immigrants to enrich our culture. More recently they have enabled Americans to export the material s of their culture to other peoples.

American-flag merchant ships once plied the world 's seas carrying the nation 's foreign trade; now the ships that enter and clear our ports fl y almost every other flag butourown. The waters near our coasts were once a productive workplace for thousands of American fishermen ; now they are becoming the playground for millions of recreational boaters and beachgoers. Through all the centuries and despite all the changes, the sea still influences the lives of Americans all across the continent and will continue to do so fai路 into the future. ,t 29

MARINE ART: An Interview with Bill Gilkerson by Stuart M. Frank

Have You Ever Tried to Draw a Crocodile? rtists are often reticent about speaking of their work in the way that many ofus would most like them to speakto answer such questions as, What was going through yourheadwhenyoudidthis?or, Whyeverdidyoudecidetodo that? and so forth. I have known William Gilkerson for quite a few years and was glad to be asked to pose a few questions prompting him to address some of the causal features of his work and, perhaps, to reveal to us how some ofhis art comes to be. The answers for each artist are likely to be quite different. Gilkerson's answers, like his work, are unconventional and revealing, penetrating to the center of the creative consciousness.

-STUART M. FRANK

A

SF: You ' ve painted any number of hi storical ships and scenes; how important do yo u hold historical acc uracy to be in making a good picture?

WG: They are two different things, it seems. I can't think historical accuracy has much to do with how good a picture is as a picture. A good picture says something to the eye, whereas historical acc uracy is a concept that speaks to the rational mind.

These two things can co-exist very happily in a picture, as has been proven by a lot of marine artists from the Van de Veldes on down. Historical accuracy can add a tremendous amoun t of work to a picture without making it a better picture per se.

SF: How acc urate can an arti st be with something he or she has never seen?

WG : That depends on what source material is available and how impassioned one is with a¡y ing to get the thing right, which can be really complex with a ship pom¡ait. For instance, it took 20 years of what lean onl y call obsessive effort to find out what John Paul Jones 'sBonhomme Richard looked like. The breakthrough came in the fonn of 39 sheets of plans that historian Jean Boudriot was able to draw up so that I could commission a model built by Dick Boss out in Anaco1tes, Washington. With it, plus admiralty drawings of HMS Serapis, plus sources for the other primary ship involved in the Richard!Serapis battle, plus some 39 eyew itness accounts of that action , along with wind and sea conditions and computer calculations of the moon 's bearing and decl ination, as well as some other stuff that I'm forgetting , it was possible to make a picture that was at least eligible to be a fair guess as to how those ships might have appeared during that moment over 200 years ago. Of course, if I could be magically visited by a vision of the real battle, I'd no doubt be very surprised. So in the end it's still a fiction. It's fun to try, though.

SF: To clarify , what kind of accmacy really counts?

WG: You've gone stra ight to the heart of a fairly profo und question. In fac t, it 's so complex fo r my enfeebled brain that I can onl y deal with it picture by picture, on the spot, with whatever counts to me. Between the sheer muscle-flex ing of a picture that goes for minute detail and another that doesn' t give a damn about any kind of accuracy there has to be a balance of some kind .

•

Al left, Spanish galleons in distress off Ireland, 1588 . Below, posler for the Kendall Wha ling Museum, courtesy the Museum.

Henry Morgan' s fl eet bound for the Isthmus of Panama , December 1670.

All pictures are courtesy the artist unless otherwise noted.

~rulall

Whalirl!J

Museum

At least, there does fo r me, because there can be so much intricately researched deta il that it freezes up the picture as a whole, which can be a real tra p. Whenever I' ve been seduced by ri vet-counting, everything else seems to suffer. I don ' t know any formula for fi nding the balance, but I reckon it 's something everybody has to work out for him or her self.

For in stance, Turner illu strated a number of maritime scenes fro m centuries earlier than his own, and he was defi nitely more concerned with making a good picture than getting the exact lead of the rigg ing or, sometimes, even the huJI shape. Sometimes he exaggerated hi s portraits of ships fro m hi s own time, ships he actuall y saw. So he was a lot more interested in his visual statement than his technica l accuracy-thank goodness. Yet the earli er Van de Veldes-whom Turner revered- were so accurate that they provided pi ctures that are reliable in exquisite deta il. In their super-detailed grisaill es the Van de Veldes became " ri vet counters" par excellence, but without los ing the life of the overaJI work. So anything seems possibl e, as long as yo u can bring it off.

SF: So, what would you caJI one of yo ur historical picturesa recreati on or an interpretati on or an impression? An educated guess or something else?

$harOJL., S.llassacl111Ref{'ll

L~SA

WG: No doubt all of the above in varying degrees, with a dollop of intuition tlu·own in. Skies and seas haven 't changed much over the centuries, and sailing is still sailing. So if a marine aitist is familiar with these things, he ca.ii make a good guess at how, fo r instance, Henry Morgan 's hodge-podge fleet might have looked on a waim , Cai·ibbean evening in 1670, or how an Armada gaJleon in a gale might have looked a moment before hitting the rocks off the Connaught coast a century earlier, or a Dutch whaling ship at sea. The reconstructions, or interpretations, of those ships depend on what source materi al is available-models, orthographi c draw ings, photos, whatever.

31

Bard' s Wha1f, Ventura County , California , in the 1890s. Courtesy, Ventura County Maritime Museum.

SF: In the case of the poster that you made for the Kendall Whaling Museum , you had a contemporary Dutch model of a 17th-century whaling ship to work from .

WG: Yes, and a great luxury it was, having that. A reliable model is the most useful reference I can think of, bar none.You can pose it and it doesn 't sail off somewhere, and you can light it as you wish. I must add that, of the dozen or so maritime museum posters which I 've done, the Kendall Museum poster was the most fun- first, because the 17th-century model made an interpretation of the actual ship easy, and, second, the creation of a 17thcentury style "monstro" to go with it was a playful touch usually disallowed in the serious and hallowed halls of academia.

USS Constitution on her Bicentennial Sail, July 21, 1997. Courtesy, Beverly R . Robinson Collection , US Naval Academy Museum

Without the luxury of a model, any visual reference is a treasure. Photos are certainly valuable, when available. Some pictures would be impossible without them. A recent experience with that is a picture I was commissioned to make of Bard's Wharf at Point Hueneme, Ventura County, Southern California in the 1890s.

The old wharf was long gone, leaving only a pair of century-old photos by way of record, neither showing a very interesting view.But from them it was possible to build a cursory model allowing a drawing from a happier angle-not a copy.

I find that very important. Photos are so indisputable to a representational artist, it's easy to get sucked into their literalness. So they 're great for reference but deadening when copied. You find yourself altering the whole picture to accommodate a certain pose because that's the photograph you've got enshrined on your drawing board or easel.

Of course, for references from the time before cameras, you 're reliant on other artists ' views, which can be completely fictional, though contemporary. Often I'm thrown back on simply representing a particular ship with a picture of a ship of its rig and size. For instance, while Spanish galleons played a huge role in the sea history of the world, specific visual information about any one of them is extremely scarce, which makes for more guesswork in their portrayal.

In the best of all possible worlds, before starting a ship's portrait I would be able to actually sail aboard the ship, then view her from various angles outboard, sketching and making snapshots, then take these to my studio, where I would also have a reliable model of her, along with books loaded with more photos.

SF: Have you ever had that situation?

WG: Not bloody often. But yes, in fact, just last July during the bicentennial sailing of USS Constitution, which was some kind of dream come true. She' s, of course, a pretty well-researched ship besides actually being there, so I was able to make my roughs, get some snaps, retire to my model and books, and make a diptych portrait-two views. Of course, soon after framing it I discovered small but embarrassing errors. I always seem to.

SF: Bes ides your chronology of Constitution pictures, you've done others on a theme, such as American whalers in the Western Arctic, the ships of John Paul Jones , and now you've made some 60 pictures which have been the main focus of an exhibit, "Under the Black Flag," which David Cordingly curated. It opened last year at the South Street Seaport Museum, went on to The Mariners' Museum and is currently at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. My question is: Why pirates? Is it just for fun , or is there something more compelling about them ?

WG: Both. I certainly didn 't go into it with the idea of romanticizing the pirates-any more than you did in writing your new book, The Book of Pirate Songs. (See end note. -ED.) In your introduction to it you explicitly de-romanticize piracy and deplore the savage deeds which created quite a lot of human suffering, and I do, too. But I also see them as human beings who

32

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Sir Francis Drake leads the raid on Cadiz, 20 April l 587.

were often enough the instrume nts of governments that were as cruel and aggressive as any pirate you can think of. Quite a number were kidnapped into men-of-war, systemati ca ll y abused , and taught how to loot, pillage and destroy in the name of some monarch, only to find themselves (by a twist of colonial 17thcentury politics) branded as pirates.

It's hard for me to think of them as "the pirates," becau se they were such a collection of individuals. Some were savages, some more humane; there were gentlemen, like Sir Francis Drake (whom Elizabeth called " my pirate"), Henry Mainwaring, Sir Henry Morgan, to name a sample, and the re were s impl e boucaniers. The original ones were market hunters making a more or less honest living on Hispaniola before the Spaniards started treating them very unpleasantly.

My piratical pictures are more concerned with the details of the ships and their settings than sociological issues. Piracy was certainly an important factor in the world 's maritime history .

Anyway , I found great fun in peopling my pictures with portraits of my friends as the Brethren of the Coast. For instance, I did a picture of Hairy Glasby's trial aboard Royal Fortune using Lewie Howland for Glasby and Norm Flayde1man as one of the judges. Next time I'll put you in there.

SF: Mos tofus are awai路e that being a marine artist has in common with other callings the objective of putting bread on the table. Is there some key to making it all work as a livelihood?

.-

WG: All I've been able to think to do is make the best pictures I possibly can, to my own taste, and hope that there ai路e people who will want them. So far I've been lucky enough to support my family , plus a hungry old sailboat and a couple of large dogs .

WG: Almost always that's the one I'm working on at the moment, which is a feeling that staits to fade when it's finished.

(Hopefully not before that.) But I do have some lasting favorites, such as a chapter illustration made some yeai路s ago for a storybook which I wrote. It's a picture of a Renaissance port with five little boys sailing a sprit-rigged skiff along its waterfront.

It was tremendously enjoyable to be able to invent that scene.

SF: You are referring to your just-released novel Ultimate Voyage , A Book of Five Mariners. Although you 've always been a writer as well as an artist, how do you explain the impetu s to turn from your art to writing maritime fiction of all things? And why a novel?

WG : I don ' t know , except that as the written word can never say a picture, the reverse is true, too. I've been so profoundly Glasby' s trial aboard Roya l Fortune in 1720.

SF: But how does that work in the case of somebody such as you who has no gallery, no agent, very little participation in commercial exhibits, and no advertising at all?

WG: It is very important to somehow get the pictures out and seen. So far, enough of my work has been published here and there to accomplish this without use of any of the means you mention , although that's now changing. John Stobart has invited me aboard as an associate artist with Maritime Heri tage Galleries. John and I are long-time chums and colleagues.

His work and mine are quite different- as you know he works primaril y in oil and most of my recent stuff is in aquarelle. As of eai路ly summer, some of my things will go on display in the various Stobai-r galleries. I'm glad and honored, because I have tremendous respect for John , both as an artist and as a businessman, which I'm not. He's always run pretty much a one-man show, so this represents a considerable change for him-and for me, too , I should add.

SF: What would you say is the greatest satisfaction you've gleaned from your life as a marine artist?

WG: Just being able to pursue and develop my work and do a bit of sai ling.

SF: Is there any particular picture you would call your favorite?

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

33

~I

affected by the sea and what I've learned of it and fro m it, and fro m the people I' ve sail ed with and other teachers, I couldn ' t resist spinning it all into a yarn. T hen, of course, the yarn had to be illustrated, at least as much as the publisher would allow.

He's been very generous abo ut that, actually.

SF: What is it about the sea and a bout voyaging that prov ides so generous a canvas fo r transcendent thought and expansive notions, so rich a palette of viv id co lors and subtle shades, which, methinks, no other theate r can afford?

WG: I think it must have something to do with a voyage as a deeply mov ing symbol of our lives, which are like voyages, each one of us with our aloneness, groundlessness , and the necess ity to nav igate through all kinds of surprising waters without foundering or running onto rocks, or being taken by pirates.

It's a powerful metaphor, as you suggest-and a universal one.

SF: What project are you working on now?

WG: At this moment a picture of a royal dhow ghosting down an equatorial ri ver, as seen from a shore richly populated by hippos and crocodiles, and I'm finding both to be harder to draw than the ship and its crew. Have you ever tried to draw a crocodile? It 's a very complex creature. !-

View of a medieval seaport.frontispiecefor Ultimate Voyage.

The disaster of 1871; American whalers trapped in Arctic ice. From Ameri can Wh alers in the Western Arcti c.

34

Stuart M. Frank is director of the Kendall Whaling Museum in Sharon, Massachusetts, and author of The Book of Pirate Songs (to be published March 1998 by the Kendall Whaling Museum) and More Scrimshaw Arti sts (to be published May 1998 by Mystic Seaport Museum ). William Gilkerson' s Ulti mate Voyage, A Book of Five Mariners is scheduled for publication by Shambhala Books in May 1998 to be distributed by Random House .

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

NMHS Takes the Young Idea to Sea

by Peter Stanford o SEA-what a weal th of history, Libertad and Simon Bolivar, in port, providing another exampl e of the varietlore and challenge is wrapped up ies of cultures and experience that charin those two words! In a time when perhaps too much information acteri ze the human race. comes to young people in evanescent And who knows what experiences images on a screen, and too many mesour young sailors will encounter on their voyage? Or what impact the voyage will sages are encoded in sound bites dehave on their bodies, minds and spirits? signed to shock, not to inform, the idea of young people going to sea under sail We ' re not in business- in this business to encounter the wild ocean which makes in great waters-to forecas t or dictate up most of our globe has great appeal. answers to these open-ended questions.

In our work in the National Maritime It's the openness of the experience that Education Initiati ve, whi ch Walter we prize, from which we, too , will be Cronkite chairs for the Society, we have learni ng. And in another decade or so the world will be learn ing fro m these explored programs across the country which encourage that vibrant, slower- Nicole Scott , Walter Cronkite and Jonathan young citizens.

Numbers that Mean Something moving and farther-reaching experience Pappas aboard USCG Eagle,Ju/y 1992 (Photo: US Coast Guard) We're very pleased and proud to be of the seafaring heritage of mankind .

And we have increasi ngly turned our New York on Sunday, 20 July, to arri ve launching these sail training cruises attention to getting young people di- in Boston the following Saturday. These aboard the Rose . A total of sixty innerrectly to sea-not for an afternoon sail , will be young people from Boston, many city kids will share in this experience. valuable as that can be, but fo r the regu- of whom will have trained in the Hull We plan to ex pand this program until, when the year 2000 rolls around , we lar, watch-standing business of making Lifesaving Museum rowing programs. an offshore voyage in a sailing ship.

They will sail part of the way in have hundreds of young Americans at The Ride of a Lifetime company with the working replica of sea, sailing from many US ports.

In 1992, as part of the OpSail program Captain Cook's Endeavour, which will Butourpurpose doesn ' tend with this that year honoring the 500th anniver- jo in up with the Rose in Long Island achievement. We look fo rward to worksary of the voyage of Christopher Co- Sound. There will be interchange with ing with seaport citi zens to set up youth lumbus to the Americas, we collabo- the Austra lian crew of the Endeavour centers where we can stay in touch with rated with New York State in an essay and , perhaps for the first time for some the people who have sai led with us, to be contest, fro m which two winners were of o ur people, a realization that the other a resource for the further explorations, chosen. These young people and their side of the world we inhabit has people adventures and achievements that each teachers embarked with Walter Cronkite just as real as we are-with different person should have a chance to go for.

Wearea longwayfromachieving this aboard the US Coast Guard Bark Eagle speech and ways , but encountering the to sail from New York to Boston. same kind of difficulties we all meet in full-fledged program. But we are workThe high school students, Nicole Scott life and cherishing shared dreams . ing to get there. We had a good year last of Rockland County and Jonathan Pappas When a crew of young New Yorkers year, and the thing to do with good forof Long Island, had never imagined any- show up on the Boston waterfront to tune, we believe, is share it--espec ially thing li ke life aboard a big sailing ship board the Rose fo r the return voyage to to share it with the young people who can that makes her way across the shifting New York , they' ll find the crews of at bring such rich dividends to our nation !sea by leaning on the wind . least two South American tall ships, the and to humanity in coming years.

"We climbed the rigging and there The frigate Rose off France , 1996 (Photo: Philip Plisson) were a lot of ropes to be hauled," said Pappas, explaining that their job was basically to help the US Coast Guard I cadets in an unusual apprenticeship. This kept them busy, scrambling to perform their duties. There were quiet moments, too, in the still night watches when they could see the mastheads tracing their trail across the stars.

And they'll never forget the arrival in Boston. They saw thousands of people on the shore cheering them in , with people shouting and cannon goi ng off.

Not Just for the Few Not everyone can go to sea, but many more young people should share this experience than get any chance at it now. Accordingly, NMHS is sending 30 young people and their teachers to sea aboard the frigate Rose, sailing from

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

35

AlMakening the Next Watch Sail Training Aboard USCG Bark Eagle

by Captain Robert J. Papp, Jr. ail training is what Eagle was built crew has been the subject of significant and moved to the US in 1949, unaware for and she does it exceptionally interest, wonder and amazement. People that his ship had preceded him as a war well. Eagle is ofimmense value to frequently tell me that after meeting our prize after WWII. Taking a date to the United States. She helps train each fine young men and women, they can Connecticut 's Mystic Seaport in 1959, class of the US Coast Guard Academy understand the source of strength for the Tido caught sight of Eagle at her pier in ew London, Connecti cut, and knew at and plays an important role as a diplo- US. And memories like the sight of our mat. One of the benefits of Eagle, or any cadets marching through the streets of once that she was his former ship. He of the tall ships, is that they draw people St. Petersburg, Russia, will live with me doubled back across the Thames River, together in a nonthreatening environ- forever. reported in to the ship and has been a ment. And Eagle, in particular, friend ever since. serves as a very visible symbol of A few years back, Tido set plans in motion for a reunion of our country's maritime heritage.

For the pasttwo years, we have Horst Wesse l cadets to coincide set out across the Atlantic for with the ship 's 60th anniversary.

Eagle's 49th and 50th cadet sumSixty or 70 elderly gentlemen mer training cruises. The crew came to the reception we hosted and I had the unique pri vilege and on board on our last night in honor of representing the country Hamburg. They brought pictures of the Horst Wessel and themand the Ameri can public throughout Europe and Russ ia. selves , still recognizable in their Our crew usuall y includes youth . Perhaps the greatest reabout 14 officers, 70 enlisted ward fo r me was seeing these men, all in their 70s and 80s, CoastGuardsmen, 120 3/Cor second-year cadets, 20 J /C or senior stand a little taller, walk a little cadets, and an assortment of Napro uder and get the look of teenagers as they walked the decks of va l Academy midshipmen, merchant marine academy cadets and their ship one more time. naval sea cadets.

We left Hamburg with a fresh We had wonderful trans its group of cadets and proceeded across the Atlantic, and , as in all around Denmark to the Baltic to our training cruises, we took admeet more than 100 sa iling vesvantage of sailing as long as wind , sels from over 20 countries in the weather and schedules allowed. port of Rostock, Germany-the The crossing gives us weeks of kick-off point for the Cutty Sark uninterrupted training for the caBalti c Sail '96 Tall Ships' Races, dets as we work our way through organized by the Internati onal Sail Training Association. We a five-subject curriculum of deck seamanship, operations, damage are not frequent participants in the IST A sailing events, so when control, engineering and support acti vities.

Eagle is there, it 's a big deal and AJTival in European waters ofwe attract a Jot of attention. We fe rs the opportunity to work the Eagle crew furl the main royal. were given prominent moorings ship and deal with maneuvering in each port, and we attracted situ ations in some of the busiest waterAnother event that I won' t soon for- significant media coverage.

Over the past two summers, we ' ve ways of the world, including the Iri sh get is our historic return to Hamburg, Sea, English Channel, North Sea and the Germany, for a celebration of the 60th sailed nearly 25,000 nauti cal miles, Baltic. While in Europe we exchanged anniversary of Eagle's launching as the trained over 1200 people and represented our 3/C cadets with the other half of their German sai l training ship Horst Wessel the US in 14 ports in 10 countries, with class , who completed the European port in 1936. We moored a few hundred over 100,000 visitors crossing our deck. visits and sa iled back to the States. yards across the river fro m the Blohm In 1996 alone we entertained over 8,000 Europe offers us the benefit of expo- and Voss Shipyard, where the ship had visitors in Hamburg, 14,000 in Rostock, sure to the history and culture of other been launched six decades before. We and almost 25,000 in St. Petersburg. countries and to the experiences of other were overwhelmed by the outpouring of Hundreds of thousands ofothers learned sailors. We also get to put on display our friendship, camaraderie and apprecia- of us through the media. Considering finest product- the yo ung men and tion demonstrated by the German gov- our small operating budget, this is a women of the United States. The crew ernment, the navy, Blohm and Voss and tremendous return on investment. represents the country in an outstanding the public.

Are Another Sixty Years Realistic? manner wherever we travel. Eagle has A German-Am eri can sailor, Tido The questions to be answered are, first: been the centerpiece in every port she Holtkamp, organized the event. He had "Do we still believe in sail training?" visits, and our di verse, mixed-gender served aboard the Horst Wessel in 1944 and, second: "How long can we afford to

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Today's cadets swab Eagle's decks and haul on her lines.

keep Eagle operating?"

For me, Eagle is much more than just a means fo r sail training. But that role is vital to the US Coast Gu ard. Sailing Eagle offers us a cost-effecti ve method for giving cadets an experience that would be impossible to duplicate in our contemporary cutters. Every couple of months or so I see articles in the media about the latest fad in corporate team building-most recently the use of fo rmer America's Cup yachts. Sailing is not a fad fo r the Coast Guard Academy.

Our academy was started over 120 year s ago aboard the schooner I. C. D obbin, and sailing has been integral to our training program ever since.

The "Eagle experience" is summed up in the motto on our ship 's crest: Tradition, Seamanship , Character. Substitute "entry level skills" for seamanship, and I think you have a suitable motto fo r any profession. And we must always keep in mind that we a.re not training our cadets simply for a job, we are preparing them for a profess ion and to become career officers. In order to understand their profess ion they must know their heritage-Tradition; we must give them baseline skills to prepare them for their entry-level assignments-Seamanship; and we must convince them to embrace the work ethic and the Coast Guard 's core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty-Character.

First, Tradition: Our academy mission states that we will graduate young men and women "with a liking fo r the sea and its lore." Holystoning decks and making baggy-wrinkle are not always popular activities with the next generation, but all who sail in a square rigger do such tasks-and come away with a greater appreciation of our nautical heritage. In an age of rapid technological change, which is redefining the practice SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

of navigation and seamanship, Eagle reminds us that seafaring is an ancient and honorable profession.

And what about Seamanship? We not only teach the ancient and honorable craft of seamanship, we also teach the skills of today's flee t. At any time, on any day, we have cadets undergoing damage-control training by getting into the gear and fighting realistic simulated fires and flooding. Meanwhile, others may be occupied trac ing systems in the engine room, making a boat ready for lowering, plotting a fi x while transiting the coast, or taking care of the day-today support activities of mess cook and scullery duties.

Eagle has the basic electronics capabilities and engineering systems of contemporary cutters, and proposed upgrades of our rad ar, communications gear, and electro nic charting systems will continue to help us mesh modem technology with time-tested basic seamanship skill s.

Finall y, Character: A person lea.ms a lot about himself or herself aboard Eagle, often being pushed to levels higher than they may have thought possible. As my boatswain is fo nd of saying: "Any time spent in the ri gging is quality time for building character. " But in building a leader of character, we mu st first carve out a follower of character, with the proper work ethic and values. In this regard, Eagle offers a tremendous leadership laboratory, with the cadets running the entire show , under the supervision of officers and crew, learning the value of teamwork, sacrifice and the Coast Guard 's core values.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, president of the Sail Training Association in Britain , writes of his observations while

sailing aboard Eagle: It was a fantastic experience. I was particularly impressed by the [cadets] and the way they were allowed to run the barque, albeit under the watchful eyes of the permanent crew.

The system seems to bring fo rward the best leadership potential of these young future officers and my only regret is that we have nothing like her [in Great Britain].

Eagle also offers the opportunity for academy offi cers to strut their stuff, so to speak. Most of the summer officers are cuttermen, afl oat operati ons spec ialists, many of them coming off afloat tours when reporting into the Academy.

They volunteer to sail in Eagle, even though it means giving up some family time during the summer vacation season. They do so to keep up their afloat qualifications, but it goes beyond that.

They believe in the Eagle program and are committed to giving our cadets a quality educati on, both afloat and in the class room. I can' t help but think that these offi cers also enhance their credibility in the classroom by demonstrating their competence in their profes sional envirnnment.

Eag le is an outstanding classroom and lecture halJ-a "bully pulpit," as Teddy Roosevelt might say- and we have the opportunity to control the consistency of the baseline training as well as the message that we give the cadets.

The Eagle ex perience is the only training afl oat common to every academy 37

graduate, so we feel very strongly about its importance.

To Tradition, Seamanship and Character I would add a more info rmal word: Fun. But while I can tell the cadets abo ut the first three words, I can't tell them they ' re going to have fun. All we can do is work hard to create the environment, making special occasions out of personal and professional accomp lishment, great port vis its, taking an afternoon off for a sw im call instead of one more drill , celestial navigation contests, morale nights with officers cooking pizza for the crew, or the captain making chili for 200. But most of all , by having every officer, chief petty officer and petty officer gen uinely demonstrate the positive attitude, enthusiasm, satisfaction and joy that comes from meeting the challenges of a career at sea.

I hope thi s makes the case for Eagle training. I' II try the next question: "How long can we keep Eagle sailing?"

I'm not a naval engineer, but those who are have examined her and fo und Eagle to be in sound condition. As I look around the ship, I am encouraged by her basic durability and strength of design and fu nction.

I have seen many of today 's tall ships and , wh ile Eagle is certainly one of the sen ior citizens in the group, she ' s far from the oldest. Kruzenshtern is 72 and Sedov is 76; both still train cadets and are in pretty good shape in spite of years of hard serv ice and lack of resources in Ru ss ia. Back at home, Star of India is 134 years old and still capable of getting underway and setting sail. And in July, USS Constitution, a wooden-hulJed frigate celebrating her 200th anniversary, set saiI for the first time in 116 years. The Horst Wessel was built at the height of square-rigger experience and technology , by the masters ofwindjammerconstruction , with good German steel. I believe, with proper care, she is capable of another 60 years.

The real question might be "Can we afford to not sai l Eagle in the next century?"

What can we do to keep her sai ling?

The biggest problem I face is a lack of understanding of the depth of our modern Eagle program. We require yearround operation, not only to maintain the systems, sails and rigging , but also to maintain the crew 's damage-control training and proficiency both for ship ' s safety and to prepare them as trainers of cadets.

38

Eagle spends upwards of half the tually it will get better. And you learn year underway. The away-from-home- that no matter how difficult the problem, port target for major Coast Guard cutters no matter how severe the stonn, you is 185 days; in the fi scal year 1996, continue to struggle because the alternaEagle was away 241 days. Eagle is a tive is unthinkable and often carries tragic cutter with a major mission, a minimum consequences. Sailors are survivors , budget and a minimum crew, but in- optimists, problem solvers, believers.

It will take that sort of spi rit, and our creasing responsibilities.

The biggest challenge on the horizon collective efforts , to insure that all these is what the new leadership development upcoming events, particularly OpSail center, with OCS and the CPO Acad- 2000, are used to the best effect to proemy coming to New London , wi ll mean mote our profession and vision and to for Eagle. Will we transition from being recruit the next watch, so that sa il trainjust the academy's primary afloat train- ing is not simply the latest management/ ing ship to become the Coast Guard's teambuilding/training fad, not just a sideshow for the benefit of tourists and the primary afloat training ship?

In the near term, we are planning fo r sale of souvenirs , but rather a useful , a couple of big events on the horizon. character-building experience and a vital This winter, we will take a company of link between our past and our future . .t green enlisted recruits from our boot camp in Cape May, New Jersey, on a Captain Papp is commanding officer of training and diplomatic mi ss ion to the US Coast Guard Bark Eagle. This arCaribbean, visiting Venezuela, Colom- ticle is adapted from remarks given at bia and Mexico. Summer of 1998 will last year's Annual Conference of the take us from the Caribbean , through American Sail Training Association.

East Coast US ports and, we hope, up to Canada. We hope to visitthe West Coast For more information, contact USCGC in 1999, and we look forward with great Eagle, US Coast Guard Academy, 15 anticipation to the events of 2000, when Mohegan Drive, New London CT06320.

Eagle will lead the world 's sail training ships up the East Coast in Operation Sai l Eagle under sail (All photos courtesy US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle.)

2000.

And what about awakening the next watch? I see all these events as great opportunities-not just for Eagle , but for the US Coast Guard and all sail training programs- to promote the challenges, benefits and joy of sailing tall ships. You can say all you want about sail training, but it happens offshore, out at sea, out of sight. The port events attract attention and inspire the public to look into sail training. Over a career of going to sea, I will count as most memorable those tall ships events that I have attended , the races participated in , and the friendships made.

But most of all I believe I just like being around sailors. They tend to be people who have known great challenges and survived, who know that no matter how bad it gets in a storm, evenSEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

the Delaware production of WWII. In all, it is estimated that the Delaware yards centering on Philadelphia turned out 984 naval ships from the Declaration oflndependence in 177 6 to America's 200th birthday in 197 6.

Of this long line of ships, fully 534 grey steel behemoths were produced during World War II. New York Ship, a big shipyard planned originally for New York City's Staten Island, had moved to the Delaware, where its founders originated, because of difficulties in New York.

The company ceased operations 30-odd years ago now, but before it did, it launched the nuclear-powered cargo ship NS Savannah in 1959. This visionary ship was to promote President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program, but many foreign ports refused to receive her, and there were protests in US ports as well, so in 1972 she was laid up. Her hull survives, but only warships are atomic-powered today.

* * * *

*

We call Philadelphia's Delaware River "the American Clyde"

in honor of Britain's immense shipbuilding industry along the River Clyde in Scotland. Clydeside shipping has played a vital role in the century now ending, but the Delaware far outpaced the Clyde in the titanic effort Britain and America needed for survival in the wars of this century, due largely to the immense industrial might and spirit of innovation concentrated in and around Philadelphia.

In this brief account one may glimpse the elements that went into Philadelphia' s unique contribution to the American seafaring experience. If this great asset will ever again be turned to the service of the nation, it will be because Americans look seaward again, whether compelled to by fell events or awakened by peaceful opportunity.

And if a maritime reawakening does come about, it is good to know we have in our national experience the world-involved outlook of Ben Franklin and the "can-do" genius of Joshua Humphreys and his successors who built ships to encounter ,t the world in times of national danger and opportunity.

Penn's Landing, Philadelphia

by Karen Love "The situation is a neck of land between two navigable dedicated to preserving the maritime skills of another era, rivers, Delaware and Sculkil," wrote William Penn in 1682. and a virtual museum of sailing ship technology. As the "Of all the places I have seen in the world, I remember not Maritime Ambassador for the City and for the Commonone better seated; so that it seems to me to have been wealth of Pennsylvania, this 115-year-old barkentine visits appointed for a town." So saying, Penn proceeded to found ports along the East Coast of the US during the summer at the river junction, 135 miles in from the sea, the settlement months , ranging as far north as the Canadian Maritime that became Philadelphia, which soon became the leading Provinces, off which lie the fishing grounds of the Grand seaport of America. Today we celebrate his vision with the Banks, which Gaze/a visited each summer from Portugal in continuing development of Penn ' s Landing, a magnet for her previous career, catching cod on lines strung out from the dories she canied on deck. The last surviving square rigger tourism and maritime historical interests.

Situated between Market and Lombard Streets along the from the oldest continuous North Atlantic trade, her survival and passage into a new career are Delaware River, the 37-acre Penn 's Landing provides Philadelphia's resi- Th e cruiser USS Olympia and the submarine USS recorded in the following pages by dents and visitors with a wealth of Becunaare centerpieces ofPenn' s Landing. (Photo: one of her crew who has helped in this notable act of historic ship presopportunities. This site, only a few Rusty Kennedy) ervation. blocks away from "America' s most In the year 2000, Gaze/a will be historic square mile," features colorjoined by the tall ships of OpSail ful tree-lined plazas and walkways, 2000, ships whose masts and yards an esplanade, the International Sculpwill fill the sky, and whose crews ture Garden and the Independence from the world's seafaring nations Seaport Museum. Penn 's Landing will fill the streets with stories from Marina provides ample docking space the world ' s far corners. for visiting ships and local pleasure When the OpSail visit was anboats. Permanently moored at Penn's nounced in September last year, PhilaLanding are USS Olympia, Admiral delphia Mayor Ed Rendell said, Dewey 's flagship during the Battle "When the Gaze/a anives in Philaof Manila Bay in 1898, and the WWII delphia with the rest of the fleet, she submarine Becuna. will be a proud reminder of PhilaThe Philadelphia waterfront has delphia's historical importance as an hosted many of the city's major celAmerican seaport, and also a beautiebrations, including Tall Ships 1982 ful symbol of the multi-cultural spirit and 1992, events that reaffirmed which has become such an important Philadelphia's historical importance part of our great city ' s heritage." as a seaport and celebrated the City's strong ties to our rich ethnic neighMs. Love is executive vice president borhoods. of the Philadelphia Ship PreservaAnd Penn's Landing is homeport for Philadelphia' s own tall ship, the tion Guild, nonprofit owner of the Gazela and host organization for barkentine Gaze/a of Philadelphia.

OpSail 2000 in Philadelphia.

Gaze/a serves as a living classroom SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

25

SHIP OF THE ISSUE

Gaze la of Philadelphia: A Bacalhoeiro Sails America's East Coast hrough my wife, Beatrice Bensaude, I found myself on a chill day in Lisbon in 1970, asked to accompany her nephew Pedro Bensaude to view the old bacalhoeiro Gaze/a Primeiro with Bruce Inverarity, then di.rector of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum . Bruce was to survey the vessel with a view to purchase by the museum , thanks to a generous gift of the late W .

Wikoff Smith. A launch carried us out to the ship, moored in the Tagus off Azinheira, opposite Li sbon, and a gloomy sight she was, rigged down to the lower masts, the deck cluttered with spars and gear. After 70 years in the cod-fishing industry , and 17 years before that in the European coastal trade, the woodenhulled ship had returned from her last campaign to the Grand Banks the previous October.

I seem to remember a cold drizzle starting about the time we boarded. No thought entered my mind then, a quarter century ago, that I would become so deeply involved with a "significant other," which relationship had, however, the complete approval of my wife, who became equally involved emotionally. I remember prowling about the engine room, admiring the fo ur-cylinder Mannheim diesel, an ex-U-boat engine.

My role ceased after we all went ashore.

In October of 1970, Inverarity and Wikoff Smith signed a purchase agreement with Parceria Geral de Pescaria, the Bensaude family-owned company, and Gaze/a Primeiro became destined for the States. She crossed the Atlantic bound for her new home in Philadelphia in the spring of 1971 with a crew of 22.

In 1972 I got wind of the museum ' s plan for Gaze/a to participate in our bicentennial celebration. The ship was then laid up in Philadelphia. I felt I might have a chance of getting a berth in some capacity and Bruce was cautiously encouraging. However, it was not until March of ' 76, by which time Dick Page was director of the museum , that Iseriously applied. In a letter to Dick I mustered al l the possible reasons why I could be a valued member of the ship 's company: my sea experience on oceanographic cruises; my contribution to very accurate celestial navigation ; and my yachting background. " Unfortunately," he replied, " we have more than enough fully qualified deck officers. You wouldn ' t, by any chance,

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26

by David Frantz know of an engineer, would you?" I quickly shifted gears, pointing out that I had majored in internal combustion engines at MIT, that I had "been involved" in the repair of an engine that had broken down at sea, and that, besides, I had been an engine enthusiast since childhood.

Something clicked, becau se after an interview with Dick I was signed on as chief engineer.

I was subsequently a little chagrined to discover that I had obtained my superior position because Jack Si lva, a fully qualified and licensed chief and the owner-operator of a harbor tug, said he would not ri sk his license by being in charge " of that engine room. " My lack of a license qualified me as chief; Jack was my first assistant, and we got along well-and he knew old diesels far better than I did.

Thus started my sea career with Gaze/a, and I will share a few of the many pleasant (and some not so pleasant) memories of the following few years.

The importance I attach to each of these episodes is strictly subjective; it does not necessarily represent the most significant happenings.

OpSail 76 For the United States' bicentennial , dozens of square-rigged ships from many nations were invited to New York City for the Independence Day celebration.

Gaze/a was to join the fleet in Bermuda for a "race" to Newport, Rhode Island, followed by the rendezvous in New York Harbor on the Fourth of July.

6 June 1976: After a brief shakedown through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal the ship is ready for departure to Bermuda. We certainly do have a wellqualified afterguard: Warren Miller, a deep-sea skipper, and John Tuso, a senior Moore-McCormack captain as assistant captain. Lacking square-rig experience, they have Rick Benson as sailing master. Our inexperience shows.

After clearing Delaware Bay we shut down the Mannheim and attempt tacking. After six tries fail to bring her about we get a bell for slow ahead and feel her fall off on the opposite tack.

11 June 1976: The deck log shows headings of around 180 degrees, hardly the rhumbline for Bermuda, but the black gang are unconcerned . There have been no sun or stars and the Loran is fini cky.

By afternoon the wind is southwest 40 knots or better, so we are essentially

hove to on the starboard tack with engine jogging. Captain Miller says he has never seen such seas.

13June1976: Now steering 260 degrees for St. George entrance, then to the channel north of the island for a brief stop at the Navy Yard annex. Finally we tie up in front of the Princess Hotel in Hamilton . Seven days for a 600-mile run.

20 June 1976: Nineteen ships of Class A milling about a starting line as iffor a Sunday afternoon race at the yacht club.

Gaze/a is one of the smaller ones, the largest being the four-masted bark Kruzenshtern, ex-Padua, one of the famous P-liners. The rules allow the use of power up to the starting line. The view from the engine room is of the mizzenmast, up through the sky light; the mizzen is stepped in the engine room.

Various bells come down but just before starting time we hear three blasts of our own horn and a full astern bell. Full astern means leaning hard on the clutch handle (the Mannheim itself does not reverse). The ship shudders, the mizzen shakes. After a stop bell the black gang gingerly pokes heads above. A shambles -Gaze/a has been the ham in the sandwich between Christian Radich and Mircea. We limp back to St. George.

21 June 1976: The US Navy to the resc ue with a great barge-crane. Frank and Mark Hopkinson and others are heroic riggers, working aloft with the crane, clearing spars and rigging. Mizzen topmast gone and the lower topsail yard down. Work continues.

22 June 1976: Amazingly, we are able to clear for Newport. A word about the Mannheim : four cylinders, about an 11inch bore, air starting, 180 horsepower.

The timing of the individual cy linders is tricky, providing at times a marvelous syncopation , at other times deafening silence . Our learning curve is long and slow. The run to Newport is under sail and power and the Mannheim I ikes that, but its temperament will show later.

26 June 1976: We enter Newport at slow ahead , the last to arrive. Word comes down that the harbor is " wall-towall boats." The Mannheim stops of its own accord , fortunate ly before we are part of the fleet, but we manage to get it fired up again and creep to our berth, outboard of Danmark.

Another word about theengine room.

Gaze/a leaks, and our pumping capacity is limited. When the water rises to the SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

With adze and axe the men of Taumako shape the hull of the te puke from a Kamani tree (right). (Photo: H. M. Wyeth)ParamountChiefCru soKaveialeads the launching of the finished Vaka Taumako (above). (Photo: Walter Nalangu)

Taumako."

The Vaka Taumako is 36 feet longthe shortest possible length for a real te puke (i.e. one that is minimally seaworthy). It is a proa, or canoe with an outrigger and two front ends (manu).

The mast is stepped between the carved wings of the te ube bird atop the manu.

When the te puke must tack , the mast, with the sail , is carried to the other manu and restepped . Then that manu is steered to windward.

The sails are of the radical crabclaw design. Long panels of mat woven from pandanus (jauhala) were sewn together with bark and sennit cordage (kaha).

In wind tunnel tests the distinctive crabclaw or "delta" shape of the sails captured 50 to 150% more wind force , as defined by C. A. Marchaj in Sail Performance (1996), than a Bermuda sail of the same area when reaching or running. At a 40° angle of incidence the crabclaw captured 90% of what the Bermuda sail did. The crabclaw sail generates more lift than the Bermudan when heading at angles from 40° to 180° from the wind. It is a slender foil, the tips of which remove the dead air from the planform when it is sailing both on and off the wind. Thi s creates both potential and vortex lift. The vortex lift increases with the angle of incidence. The startling fact is that the crabclaw is not limited to drag when sailing off the wind , as is the case with Bermuda and most other sail types.

A Kamani (tamanu) tree was cut for the hull , and several other types of hardwoods for various structural pieces were harvested from the unlogged bounty at Taumako. The parts of the massively outrigged canoe were lashed together SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

with over 400 fathoms of sennit or coco- that was not told to David Lewis when nut fiber cordage and over 200 fathom s he was researching Polynesian navigaof bark cordage, as well as several "Span- tion in the southeast Solomon Islands in ish windlasses" made with rattan. The 1968-69, perhaps because he had been main hull is made watertight and trimmed interested in star information and had with ballast to be 90% underwater. Thus stayed fo r a short time. According to it cuts through or avoids much of the Kaveia, the wi nd compass is what coorwave-making drag. .dinates and clarifies information already The watertight hull cover (tetau) and doc umented abo ut Polynesian navigathe main lashings that hold the outrigger tion , including use of stars, swells, searisers and the crosspieces (lakahalava) sons, weather, birds and sea signs.

The Heirs of Lata: A Traditional to the main hull were caulked with cocoPolynesian Community of nut fiber. Then seaweed paste (lumu) Shipwrights and Navigators was app lied as a protective paint.

Light and superbuoyant floats (ama) The people of Taumako say that they were attached to outrigger members with have made voyaging canoes (vaka) since a variety oflashings that have both shock- the time that Lata found out how to do it. absorbing and self-fastening qualities. They describe themselves as the heirs of If there was more cargo than antici- Lata, the first person to build ate puke, pated, more ama would be added. The the most seaworthy type of vaka they house on the main hull platform (papa remember making.

Across the Pacific today Polynesian lava) was constructed of sego palm leaves on a sturdily lashed and shock- peopl e still tell different versions of the absorbing frame. A breakaway lattice Story ofLata. At Taumako, Lata is best was constructed on the windward, ama- known both as the first man to build and side platform, so that the canoe could be sail a voyaging canoe and as god of the righted in the event of capsize. Small wind. The story describes how the first canoes that were often taken as cargo tree was felled fo r making a vaka. Lata were lashed to the leeward edge of the learned that if he did not get permission platform adjoining the papa lava where from the landowner, Si na, to cut down they served as a safety ama in case the the tree, it would rebuild itself at night when he was as leep. But once he asked canoe were knocked down.

There is still at least one person who Sina for permission to cut it, she gave it can show the younger people how to sail to him and he had no more problems. and navi gate this te puke to islands both The Lata of Taumako also befriended a near and far, in both fine and cyclonic forest bird (te ube), who advised him conditions. There are a few very old through the process of building the vaka, persons, including at least two women, step by step.

According to the traditional story, who can explain the nav igation methods while Lata was building the te puke that they used for most of their lives.

Paramount Chief Cruso Kaveia has everyone was happy and well behaved explained that their main method of navi- at Taumako. But after the vaka was gation is the "wind compass"-a method launched, Lata sai led away and never 41

W. Keizy uses natural fibers for one of the fou r fa u loi mata lashings between the hull and the crossbeam for the outrigger ofthe te puke (left). (Photo: H. M. Wyeth) The two te puke and rhe model were launched in September 1997 (above).

came back. He wanted to return but he could not. Lata had given Sina a conch shell to blow in answer to his own when he departed the reef pass. But when Sina tried to bl ow it she could not make it wo rk. So she threw coconut trees across the entrance to the lagoon and they turned to stone. Thus, Lata could not return .

People have lived on Taum ako for at least 2,500 years. It is among the remotest of the far-flun g islands o f Temotu Prov ince in the Solomons. Taumako was the shipbuilding center of Temotu and beyond for a very long time. In 1606 when explorer Pedro Quiros visited the island , he described seeing a 20-meter vaka with 50 passengers on board . In the 1920s there were 200 vaka in Temotu , and almost e very one was built on Taumako. And te puke were filmed sa il ing off Taumako in 1937 and 1957 by the crew of the Yankee Pacific. In 1960 the last old te puke was retired.

In 1996 onl y a handful of octogenarians had enough experience to adequately teach others how to build and sail te puke . These were the last heirs of La ta.

They knew that if they did not pass on their knowledge to the yo uth , there would be no more he irs of Lata.

Since La ta left, the people ofTaumako say they have been hav ing hard times and behaving badl y. But now they wa nt the ir lives to become peaceful and producti ve again. They want to return to the idylli c existence they knew when Lata was among them, and they have been wa iting anx iously for Lata 's return. It is their most important story, de fining their cultural identity and heritage to build and sail voyag ing canoes.

La ta returned on 2 January 1997 when a 25-meter tree was felled fo r the main 42

hull of the Vaka Taumakoand the people of Taum ako fi nall y started to build another te puke. Everyday for the next eight months they to ld and fo llowed the story of Lata. All 15 tribes and 450 people in T aum ako, men, women and children, were compe lled to cooperate and share whatever they knew or had.

There were great debates and controversies about ho w to cut the holes and tie the key las hings, ca ll ed fa u loi mata, that ho ld the mass ive ri sers and crossbeams of the outrigger to the hull .

The who le communi ty fo ll owed the example and directions of the oldest people, the ones who had actuall y built and voyaged on te puke. The children drove the process with thei r unbounded enthusiasm and the long hours of tedious and dangerous wo rk they contributed to the effort.

In the end, two te puke and one working model were buil t. One of the te p uke and the mode l are pri vate ly controlled.

But the Vaka Taumako, unli ke another they were ordered to build in 1979 fo r d isplay at the Pac ifi c Arts Festi val, will remain at Taumako. It is owned by the people of T aumako, and its mi ss ion is to sail on traditi onal voyages using traditi onal Polynes ian nav igati on methods.

In thi s way, the people of Taum ako plan to return to the ir place as shipbuilders and voyagers in a wo rld that has fo rgotten how, and perhaps why, to do these things . It was built as an educational tool fo r the yo ung people of Taumako and to show outsiders that there are still Polynes ians who know the ir most cul turally definiti ve o f arts.

Looking to the Future Thro ugh the Vaka T aumako Project the crucial skill s to build a true Po lynesian

vaka have been demonstrated and docume nted. The next step is voyaging.

Th roughout 1998 the Taumako elders w ill teach the yo unger generati ons how to sa il and nav igate thi s craft. They plan to beg in with interi sland voyages of 100 to 300 miles in length within Temotu Prov ince during the first year or so.

They aspire to go further into Polynesia, perhaps to New Zea land to sho w the ir craft at the America's Cup gathering.

And they dream of eventuall y building a larger te puke and sa iling to Hawaii .

When the tradewinds return to Taumako in May or June,. documentation of the knowledge that is passed on during first voyages, sail training and early apprenticeship proce!>s can begin . But this can happen only if there is enough funding for the traveling expenses of the crew and the home island ' s support work . Video equipment and transport for the research and documentation crew , most of whom will be people from T aumako, are other essenti al costs.

The Vaka Taum ako Project also needs funding to ed it and na1Tate the valuable foo tage taken in 1997 during the building of the vessel. If key people die before we can do the work, the traditional know ledge they ho ld will trul y be lost forever.

The work must beg in immedi ate ly if we are not to lose thi s las t chance. .t The Vaka Taumako Project, PO Box 2224, Li!nte HJ 96766; web site: http :// www.planet-hawaii.com/vaka; e-mail: vaka@aloha.net.

Dr. George is a cultural anthropologist a111d sailor specializing in the traditions of voyaging people, including A ustrone.1Sians and Eskimos .

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Sail, Martha's Vineyard

by Thomas Hale hen one thinks of Martha ' s Vineyard, sunounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, blessed with the warm waters south of Cape Cod and almost dail y afternoon sou' west winds, most people cannot help but assoc iate the island with sailing. Indeed , it is true that on almost any day in three seasons of the year the waters are dotted with scores if not hundreds of sails-everything from sai ling dinghies to our own sq uare topsail schooner Shenandoah. In fact, Vineyard Haven is certainly one of the wooden-boat capitals of the country , with an eclectic fleet of historic vessels and dozens of other boats with almost every rig imaginable, including a Zulu!

Add four boat yards, a commercial fish dock and the active ferry tenninal , and one begins to get the picture of a community rich in nautical tradition and activity.

Yet it is also a fac t that of Island you ngsters- those who live here yearround and whose parents are teachers or work in the service occupations that keep the Vineyard functioning as a resort- until recently less than a third had ever been aboard a boat smaller than the fe rri es from Woods Hole! Island sailors have competed in national and international sai Iing regattas , and their trophies are impress ive, but almost all these yo ung people are summer fo lk .

For years many of us have been concerned about this and efforts have been made to introduce yo ungsters to rowing, sa iling and the ability to handl e o ne's own boat. In the earl y 1990s it took the enthu siasm and energy of people like Nancy Hoffmann , Joe Hall (of the renowned Black Dog Tavern), woodenboat designer and bu i Ider Nat Benjam in , Walter Cronk ite (a dedicated sai lor and believer in America's mari time heritage), and a number of others to do something to make the Island as a whole more aware of its rich background through a new organization.

Sail, Martha's Vineyard started out by encourag-

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ing vessels to visit our harbors and hold open houses, bringing in vessels like the Ernestina, the Gaze/a , the Nantucket lightship, Bounty, Rose, and others, large and small. Last summer our featured guest was the eastern dragger Roann, recently donated to Mystic Seaport as an exam pie of the rapid! y disappearing type of boat that succeeded the great Gloucester fishing schooners .

Si multaneously, Nat Benjamin designed a beg inning-youngster's sailboat, in wood , of course. She is the Periwinkle - lapstrake , square-s terned , with a rockered bottom , a centerboard with a standing lug rig and an outboard rudder.

We now have a fl eet of them , some built

by Nat' s own yard, others by the Martha 's Vineyard Shipyard. On one of the Vineyard ' s many sa ltwater ponds Sail, MY has established its own sailing center where beg inners and intermediates are taught rowing, sailing and the fundamentals of racing. In the local prestigiou s yacht clubs, fe w of even the sailing instructors know how to row! At SMV the participants are taught to row early on, as they should be.

They learn thi s skill in "The Periwinkl e Jr.," a 9 ' rowing sk iff they build themselves in the Island school s. A wooden boat building program has produced seven such vessels. T he cl asses are open only to students enrolled yearround in the Vineyard schoo ls, and the program is supported by Island businesses and individual s. Other boats have been donated so that more ex peri enced youngsters get a chance to sail in more sophisticated craft such as the ubiquitous 420. In the spring two of the Isl and yacht clubs have donated the use of the ir waterfront fac ilities and some of their boats so that an interscholastic high school racing team has been es ta bl ished. The

cl asses have grown every year, and this past summer we had almost 80 chi ldren actively invo lved. Thi s represents over 7,500 hours of sailing instruction since the program began in 1994. Often they get to sail on some of the larger boats in the harbors, such as Shenandoah and the growing fleet of charter boats.

Sail , Martha's Vi neyard 's mi ssion statement describes its aim s: To encourage Island residents to be comfortable in and around the water ... ; support educational programs in our public schools and familiarize Island children with maritime traditions of Martha's Vineyard ... ; attract interesting and historic vessels to the Istand and support such local vessels so the Island residents can experience first hand the sailing ships of days past; sponsor programs that in other ways explore the maritime heritage of the Island in all its many fa cets; and to serve as a clearinghouse for other maritime-related organizations and initiatives on the Island."

This remarkably successful initiative shows every sign of continuing to achieve its goal and is something that other communities would do well to emu late. .t

Sa il, Martha ' s Vineyard, I I 0 Main St. , PO Box 1998 , Vineyard Haven MA 02568; 508 696-7644.

Mr. Hale,former owner of the Martha' s Vineyard Shipyard, is a board member of SMV , as well as an Honorary Trustee ofNMHS .

Island children e>.perience th e challenge and excitement of sailing through Sail, Martha ' s Vineyard.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

43

A Replica of Shtandart, First-Born of Russia's Navy

by Vladimir Martous and Gregory Palmer hen the first Shtandart was sea power. One of the earliest manifesbuilt in 1703, it was the sym- tations of its new place in the world was bol ofa revolution taking place the frigate Shtandart, the "firstborn " of in Russia. Led by Tsar Peter the Great, the Russian Navy . the country began looking towards the When Peter came to power in 1689 at West to influence its soc ial, intellectual, the age of 17, he showed an early interest economic and technological advances. in technology and in the application of Today , during another period of up- European ideas in Russ ia. At that time, heaval, a replica of Peter' s Shtandart is Russia ' s onl y access to the oceans of the rising on the ways in St. Petersburg, world was through the White Sea. At where Russ ia 's navy was born 300 years first his attention was directed towards ago. This new Shtandart will be an inter- the south against Turkey , with the goal national ambassador for Russia and the of acq uiring access to the Sea of Azov City of St. Petersburg and a representa- and the Dardanelles. Although he won a tive of the new spirit of Russia. qualified victory against Turkey in the Russia has a great maritime tradition Sea of Azov in 1695 , the Tsar realized stretching back to Viking times, extend- that Russia needed to make a quantum ing from the icy waters of the Bering Sea leap in shipbu ilding and associated techto the shores of the Black Sea. Distinc- nologies and that a move against Swetive types of vessels have developed den in the north might be more effective along her shores and inl and waterways , than a continuing push to the south. but fo r most of the 20th century, while In 1696 he encouraged the Duma other countries have sought to preserve (Parliament) to pass legislation estabtheir maritime past and make use of their li shing a permanent Russian fleet and traditional craft, Russia has been in tlu¡all decreed the "Great Embassy" in the to the idea of progress and the belief that cou rse of which Russian experts in varionJy modem ideas should surv ive. Dur- ous fields would visit European couning the last few years this attitude has tries to observe the latest developments changed and Russians are free to exam- in their areas of expertise. In 1698 Peter ine their past and to be influenced by it. visited naval shipyards in Zaandam in This new view of history has allowed Holland and at Deptford in England. more attention to be given to the role of On his return to Russia, Peter began indi vidual genius as a factor in history. a military campaign against Sweden, For the people of St. Petersburg and for defeating them at Noteborg on the Neva Russ ians interested in the sea, Peter the in 1702. This brought Russ ia within Great was such an individual. reach of the sea and orders were given Under Peter I, Russia emerged as a for the construction of six ships at a This model of the Shtandart shows the elaborate carving on the vessel' s stern

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and surrounding the gunports. Limewoodfrom St. Petersburg parks is being used to duplicate this carving on th e replica .

,,

44

'

shipyard on the estuary of the river Syas.

By the e nd of January two snows had been laid down and pine timber stockpiled for the other fo ur ships, but Peter was not satisfied that this yard could handle the volume of work required for the construction of larger ships.

The next contract, issued on 24 March 1703, went to the Olonets shipyard on the Sv ir. Thi s contract was for a frigate , two galli ots , five small sailing boats and two smacks. These vessels were to form the basis of the Baltic fl eet, and the frigate was to be the 30-meter, 28-gun Shtandart.

The construction was entrusted to Dutch master Vibe Ferense, assisted by the Russian Ivan Nemtsov. The frigate was launched on 22 August 1703. Peter himself had worked in the yard during August, and he had been responsible for the design of the ship. She was named Shtandart in honor of his new royal standard-a black double-eagle on a yellow background holding in its four claws charts of the four seas to which Russia now had access.

The ship was nominally in commi ssion from 1703 until 1728, although for much of this time she was not in service.

She was part of the defensive fleet stationed in St. Petersburg in 1704 and 1707 and participated in campaigns against Sweden in 1705 and 1706. She was put in for repairs in 1708 and was to be part of a campaign to take Viborg in 1709, but that plan was abandoned due to the poor condition of the fleet. Repairs on Shtandart were completed in 1712, but she was soon back in the yard for the addition of a false keel. She served with the fleet again from 1714 to 1716. After 1719 Shtandart was laid up in the Kronwerk Canal and Peter ordered " she must stay fo rever as a monument to the Russian art of shipbuilding. " Peter died in 1725 and was succeeded by his widow, Catherine I. Two years later a commission appointed by the Board of Admiralty reported thatShtandart was in poor conditi on. Catherine requested information on the possibility of repairing the vessel, but water and time had done their work and the hull was so rotten that any fo rce exerted upon it would have led to its destruction.

Catherine decreed thatShtandart was to be dismantled, but "fo r the memory of SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Th e replica takes shape at the original Admiralty Dockyard in St. Petersburg.

her name . . . which was given to he r by Hi s Hi ghness (Peter I) she is to be built anew." Unfortunately, her orders were not carried out.

The Reconstruction In 199 1, Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg. That year a new mu se um was opened in the city as a branch of the Hermitage. It was decided that the mu seum should include a replica ship as a memorial to the Russian shipbuilding art. The Shtandart was chosen because of its connection with St. Petersburg and Peter I; it was originally designed to sail the local waters; it is large enough to be used fo r ocean voyaging and to participate in tall ships races; and it was of a sophisticated design that could be used fo r wooden shipbuilding and sail training programs.

Historian V. G. Krain yukov was commi ssioned to recreate the Shtanda rt' s pl ans. No drawings of the vessel had survived, but he was able to build an accurate pi cture of the ship from d rawings and other documents from the earl y 1700s, including "Books of shipbuild ing at the Ol onets shipyard" and " Lists of ships built at Olonets." These gave info rmation concerning the principal di mensions of other frigates built at the yard . The Shtandart' s general appearance could be deduced from the Dutc h engraving "Russian ships in a battle with the Swedes in 1705 off Richa rd Island ." The new plans followed historic resources as closely as possibl e, with modifi cations necessary for modern safety requirements.

The main dimensions of Shtandart were fo und in archival documents: Overall length : 30. 5 meters Length on deck: 25 .4 meters Waterline length: 24.2 meters Maximum beam: 7 .0 meters Mast height: 27.4 meters SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Draft: 2.5 meters Displacement: 186 tons Sail area: 620 square meters Two independent organizati ons came together in October l 994. The Shtandart Club, a youth organi zation, had built a 12-meter, lug-ri gged gig in association with the Atlantic Challenge Foundation (run by Lance Lee in the US) . They had a waterfront site leased from the city on which a workshop and bunkhouse had been built. Several of the people involved had been trained in the US, and they had form ed the notion of building a replica of the Shtandart.

Separately, Vladimir Mait ous had laid out specific plans fo r constructing Shtandart and had experience in building wooden replicas, hav ing worked on a 12-meter pomor kotch-a local hi storic merchant vessel-and the 17-meter, 18th-century , Baltic topsail schooner St. Peter. He formed the Maritime Education Center, of which he is the director.

The two organizati ons are independently run and funded, but are partners in the building of Shtandart.

The ship has been underway since November l 994, when the keel was laid.

Much of the timber has been donated, including oak for the keel, keelson, stem and frames. The larch fo r planking has been arranged from the Lindoul ovsky fo rest on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland . This fo rest was establi shed at the behest of Peter the Great to provide timber for new ships for the fl eet to be built at Kronstadt, so it is a most appropri ate source of timber. Limewood for the carved decorations has been collected fro m several city parks.

The site is located on the riverfront in a public park. The main building is a traditional Russian loghouse of three stories built in 1993 with the assistance of the Ameri can Timber Framers' Guild.

The loghouse contains a workshop, a carving shop, a des ign loft, messroom and bunkhouse.

We have three sources of labor: volunteers (mostl y students), trainees from the city youth employment office, and paid staff (the director and instructors).

The trainees are paid minimum wages with fund s fro m the Federal Government, and thi s money has been subject to the delays and cance ll ati ons that have affected all government workers. Salaries for the paid staff have come from the fo undati on sponsor, Dolphin Exhibi tions. And hi storian Greg Palmer is on loan to the Shtandart Project from British Executive Service Overseas. Lack of funding has caused some moti vati onal problems. Therefore, we try to encourage the crew with special celebrations, shai¡ed meals, publicity, sailing expedi ti ons and the expectati on of sailing aboard Shtandart.

The project has introduced young Ru ssians to the ideals of individuali sm, enterprise, voluntari sm, service and adventure. It also provides opportunities fo r profess ional development in technology , management and marketing.

When the building of the replica of Shtandart began in November 1994, the builders had little but their enthusiasm to support them, but the project seems to have a momentum of its own. As the physical structure has grown, other aspects of the project have fallen into place: the site, the labor force, the sponsorship , materi als, the coincidence with the 300th anniversary and the interest of the citizens of St. Petersburg. We have received local support as well as sponsorship fro m abroad, particul arl y from organizations in Great Britain and the Netherlands. Currently, everything is in place fo r a launching in 1998. 1The Maritime Education Center, PO Box 100, St. Petersburg 195112 , Russia; (7 812) 230 3736; PAX: (7812) 112 4551; email: rusmedia@mail.wplus.net.

This article is excerpted from a paper presented at the International Confe rence on Historic Ships in Bristol in 1996.

Mr. Martous is director of the Maritime Education Center. Mr. Palmer is a British historian and sailor teaching at the Philological Facuity ofthe University of St. Petersburg.

45

To All Organizations Committed to the Marine Industry:

Please ...

''Stand by to give way'' ... Together Sea History is committed to several very important educational programs in connection with OpSail 2000. These will greatly expand our ability to tell the important stories of seaports, ships and the sea to the widest cross-section of youth ever.

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But ... this takes money. YOUR ADVERTISING HERE will help this effort and will also be a great way to let your peers, clients, suppliers, and even competitors know that you have grabbed onto an oar for this noble cause. Please call the Sea History Advertising Desk without delay at 914-737-7878.

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IN THE ARCHIVES

Tracing American Merchant Vessels, Pre-20th Century

by Charles Dana Gibson

A

nyone who attempts to trace the far as the seasons and ofa duration long doc umentation of American enough to be useful and valuable in merchant vessels of the J 700s transportation . ... Fitness for use by and early 1800s will find the process steam and sail vessels is not essential: it fru strating, if not imposs ible. During suffices that, f or example, light-draft thi s period, the record keeping for li - barges, propelled by animal power and censing and enrollments was a spotty avoiding falls by portages, carry a conand haphazard affair. Starting in 1868, siderable tonnage. the issuance date of the 1867 List of US Licensing or Reg istry became manMerchant Vessels (now entitled Mer- datory in order for a vessel to enter into chant Vessels of the Un ited States) , the any trade. Irregul arities ofany kind were federal government began a centrali zed not to be tolerated once the system besystem for inventorying merchant ship- came establi shed . ping. Thi s article describes the systems Certain vessels, defined as flat boats that were in place prior to 1867 and that and canal boats engaged in the coastwise were refined following that date. trade, were and still are exempt from By an Act of Congress of February mandatory enrollment and licensing. Ap1793 , vessels in foreign and coastwise parently, thi s was generally understood, trade were required to carry documents although it was not established within iss ued by the District Collector of Cus- case law until 1900 (Witherbee v. Taft, tom s (Act of February 18, 1793, c. 8; l 51 App Div. 87, 64 YS 347, 1900). In Stat. at L305). Customs Di stricts were the case of self-propelled steamboats, fo1med to encompass all the coast lines the law became firm in its application of the then United States, including ports starting with the Act of Jul y 7, 1838. bounding the Great Lakes and other That act did exempt one class of steamnavigable inland waters of the US. These boa t se rvice-"ferry boa t[ s] pl y ing di stricts were subsequently organized wholly within a state." (U S v. The James by the Act of 1819 into five Great Di s- MmTison , D . C. Mo 1846, Fed Cas. No. tricts (Act of March 2, 1819, c. 48 , 15, 465; also US v. Jackson, D. C. NY Section l , 3 Stat. 492). This act required 1841, Fed Cas. No. 15 , 458) registry of vessels in foreign trade and Even though a vessel might be emenrollment by licensing of al 1vessels of ployed in some fashion that made it 20 ton s and upward whose owners exempt from li censing, it usuall y bewished to become engaged in the coast- hooved the owners to 1icense them in the wise trade. "Coastwise," in its original event some opportunity might arise to sense, was probably thought to encom- profitably use the vessel on some other pass those trade routes between ports in route. There was no prohibition on dodifferent states, both in the coastal zones ing so. and upon major rivers , but soon it beIt is probable, then , that by the end of came generally recognized as encom - the Civil War most vessels over20 gross pass ing all navigable waters of the US. tons that were used in the domestic trades, Thi s last meaning was made clear by the upon the open oceans, the bays and succeeding act of May 7, 1822, which sounds, the Great Lakes, or the major defined the meaning of coastwise trade, western rivers had been enrolled and stating it "expressly included all the licensed. Those in foreign trade had, of navigable rivers of the United States." course, been entered under a registry To make the te1m even more definitive, since Customs clearance out of US ports we point to a court opinion of 1889: and entry back into a US port required "Coasting trade" means commer- such a document. cial intercourse carried on between difA question arose followi ng the Civil f erent districts [Customs Di stricts] in War as to whether a vessel that had been different states, between different dis- entered into the Confederate service tricts in the same states, and between could be reentered under federal enrolld!fferent places in the same district, on ment and license to the US coastwise the seacoast or on the navigable rivers. trade. In 1865 , the Attorney General of (Raveries v. US, cc Ala 1889, 37 F 447) the US settled the matter: The definition of"navigable waters" Steamboats owned by citizens of the as used in that opinion has been since US may be enrolled and licensed, aldefin ed quite liberally. To give one though they may have been employed in widely recognized opinion: the rebel service under papers issued by Navigability need not be continuous the rebel authorities (1865 , 11 Op. Atty. throughout the year but must be as regu- Gen. 359).

48

A further police power over enro ll ment and licensing of steam vessels went into effect by Act of Congress, February 28, 1871. This law required safety inspection by federal Steamboat Inspectors of all steamboats operating in foreign or coastwi se service. Inspectors wou ld , of course, have ensured that a proper enrollment and license were in effect on the vessel. Enforcement was g ive n extra teeth in 1884: Every vessel ofthe United States must have a register or an enrollment, the fo rmer for fo reign trade, the latter for domestic commerce, and without them, and without the right one, a vessel is entitled to no protection under the United States Laws (Badger v. Gutiereg, LA .

1884, 4 S Ct. 563, 111US 734 , 28 L. Ed. 581).

Put into very elementary terms, thi s decision meant that if a vessel did not possess a valid registry or license through enrollment, or if the document had been altered , the US could seize the vessel from its owner.

Between 1793 and 1867, Customs District records were maintained on vessels under registry as well as those under enro llment and licensing, but they were on ly kept at the respective Customs Houses with in each District. (No official numbers were issued to vessels during thi s period .) Without centrali zed record keeping, records maintained at District Customs Houses occasionall y fell victim to fire and often simply di sappeared from the files. This changed in 1866 when the Congress authorized and in stru cted that annual reports be prepared by the Bureau of Statistics of the Treasury Department, effective by 1867.

This same act provided for the awarding of an official number to each documented vessel of the US, sa id numbers to be issued by the Commiss ioner of Customs. Thi s was meant to apply to all vessels that were registered or enro lled and licensed (Act of July 28, 1866, c 298 Section 13, 14 Stat. 331). The List of Merchant Vessels of the United States was started in 1867 as a way to inventory all such merchant vessels for customs inspectors and other interested parties.

Each vessel was entered by its name with its corresponding number. The first vessel to be numbered was Arlington, a 28-ton steam screw homeported at Arlington , Virginia. Under the law, those vesse ls whose numbers had not been marked on the main beam were liable to a fine. Twenty years later, by an Act of SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

1886, the noncompliance could resul t in the vessel being removed fro m doc umentati on as a "vessel of the United States." In other word s, she lost her registry or license.

So, from 1867 onward (the firs t annual report was issued on June 30, 1867), the US government wo uld maintain a centralized published account of all US flag vessels in excess of20 tons engaged in commercial service.

In 1884, the local Customs offices in the Di stri cts began sending to Washington at 3-month intervals a record of all new registries and enro llments under licenses as well as notifi cation of any documents thathad been surrende red by ship owners. It also became a requirement in 1884 that whenever a vessel was renamed, her previous name be recorded, thus putting an effecti ve end to those circum stances when a vesse l s imply dropped o ut of recorded sight thro ugh a name change. (Act of July 5, 1884, c .

22 1 Secti on 2, 23, Stat 11 9) How to Start When dea ling with steam vesse ls, a reliable inventory concerning the years prio r to 1868 is Steamships Built in the United States During and Including the Years 1807to 1866. Thi s was compil ed by the US Department of Commerce duri ng 193 1. The spearhead in that endeavo r was Wi lli am M. Lytle, Acting Commissioner of Navigati on. In hi s preface, Lytle acknowledged that his reco rds were not complete, as some info rmati on had been burned in Customs House fires o r had otherwise been disposed of witho ut Congressional sanction.

Later, Lytle compiled a pri vate version of that 193 1 li st, with addi tions and coITections and extending the time fram e to 1868. Thi s was publ ished by the Steamship Histori cal Soc iety. A later format using Lytle's earlier work, b ut wi th upda tes and certain other add itions, is entitled Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790-1 868, by Lytl e and Holdcamper (Steamship Historical Society). Thi s was first made avail abl e in 1952and was reprinted in 1975. Three supp lements to thi s list have since been publi shed, the last in 1984.

The researcher is cauti oned that these inventories did not contain the names of vessels that were owned by the govern ment. The reason is that such vessels were not entered into documentation by the US Customs Districts.

For sail vessel records pri or to 186 1, we suggest Merchant Sail by Willi am SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Armstrong Fairburn (Center Lovell ME: Fairburn Marine Ed ucational Foundation, 1945-1 955), or some of the studies (mostly private) th at have been done for various ports using Customs House and other shipping records of those ports.

These last studies, being of a localized natu re, vary considerabl y as to their reliability and compl eteness. Some were done by local marine societies; in others, lists were compiled as part of the federal government 's Work Projects Administrati on in the 1930s.

Records fro m 1868 onward fo r steam or sa il vessels are authoritati ve ly listed in List ofMerchant Vessels ofthe United States, beginning with the Third Annual Report, which covers the peri od July 1, 1868, to December 3 1, 1870, and which was publi shed in 187 1. A ll earlier listings are in the Third Annual Report, a publication that also contains valuable corrections not made in the first two reports. The reports were published by the Treasury Department. Thi s was followed by subsequent updated volumes initially appearing at roughl y 18-month inte rvals but later publi shed annually.

Thi s series continued under the Treasury Department until 1903 when it was taken over by the Commerce Department. In 1943, it became the responsibil ity of Customs under the Treasury Department. In 1968, the Coast Guard took over and continued pub I ication until 198 1, when the system became computerized and the publi shed volumes stopped-an economy measure that is already regretted by maritime histori ans.

Over the years, the fo rmat of the List ofMerchant Vessels of the United States has changed. ln 1884, the year of a shi p's building, the name of its builder and place of building were listed. In 1885, dimensions began to be given.

U ntil 1876, vessels were carried over from year to year with no serious consideration be ing given as to their continued existence, although an asterisk was sometimes placed bes ide the name to note that the vessel had been abandoned or lostprovided that such inform ation had been brought to the attention of the Customs offices. After 1876, those ships lost, abandoned, or transferred to fo re ign ownership were dro pped from the listings. It was not until 1906 that the Lists began to contain info 1mation as to the reason for the vesse l be ing dropped, i.e., the cause or circum stance of its loss, abandonment, etc.

When researching seagoing steam

vessels, both pri or to 186 1 and subsequent to 1868, an excell ent secondary source can be Erik Hey l' s Early American Steamers, a 6-vo lume work pri vately publi shed between 1953 and1 969 at Buffalo, New York. Heyl 's research sources, as he li sts them, are extensive, and we be lieve his work can be largely relied upon. A real plus are the shi p drawings, which he states were taken from illustrations done at the time that each vessel was operati ve. Heyl 's drawings are all done to scale. To avail oneself of the full advantage of the Heyl work, a ll six volumes mu st be at hand.

He compil ed the volumes as info rmation became availabl e to him over the years; thu s, vessels whose names begin , say, with the letter "C," can be fo und scattered th ro ughout the six volumes.

Fortunately, in Volume VI, he prov ided a genera l index. Although Heyl's vo lumes onl y encompass a limited number of the steam vessels that operated in the decade of the 1860s, many of the more signifi cant ones are presented.

Another helpful source when dealing with the peri od from just before the C ivil War through approximately 1880 can be Cedri c Rid ge ly-Nev itt 's American Steamships on the Atlantic (Newark DE: University of Delaware Press, 198 1).

Ridgely-Nev itt 's work covers many of the larger steamships of that era that were in oceango ing service. He also describes in deta il many of the companies and indi viduals who managed those vesse ls. There are, however, some inaccuracies that have fo und their way into what is otherwise an impressive volume. For in stance, he confused two steamers, one a ri ver boat, the other an oceango ing vessel, both named Empire City. Upon examining the bibli ography used by Ridgely-Nev itt, one is surprised to note that it does not include War of the Rebellion: Official Records ofthe Union and Confederate Armies, that being, at least to our mind , an essenti al source fo r anyone attempting to develop a grasp of the immensity of the nation 's steam propelled merchant marine that operated during the mid 1800s. ,t

,t

,t

Mr. Gibson is author of six books on American maritime history, two ofwhich received the John Lyman Book Award.

This article is excerpted from Dictionary of Transpo rts and Combatant Vessels, Steam and Sail , Employed by the Union Arm y, 186 1-1868.

49

MARINE ART NEWS AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM

Exhibitions

Presents Beaumont Exhibit

• ConstanceLindholmFineArt: l5May26 June, "Messing About In Boats," a juried art show of2D and 3D work (Artists may request a prospectus by sending a SASE.) (3955 North Prospect, Milwaukee WI 53211; 414 964-6220) •Independence Seaport Museum: 15 November 1997-April 1998, Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists (21 l S. Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia PA 19 l 063199; 215 925-5439) • Kurt E. Schon, Ltd. Fine Art Gallery: 5September-August1998, "Wooden Ships and Iron Men: Marine Oil Paintings from the Bradshaw Collection" (523 Royal St. , New Orleans LA 70130; 504 524-5462) • The Mariners' Museum : 28 February17 May 1998, "The Bard Brothers: Painting America Under Steam and Sail" ( I 00 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 236063759; 804 596-2222) • San Diego Maritime Museum: 14 November 1997-10 May 1998, "A Celebration of Pacific Maritime Heritage: The Art ofJohn Stobart" ( 1306 North Harbor Drive, San Diego CA 92101; 619 234-9153) •Stamford Art Association: 14 June- 12 July , 1st ann ual Stanley & Vivian Reed Marine Art Show (39 Franklin Street, Stamford CT 0690 I )

This spri ng visitors to the American Merchant Marine Museum are in for a treat when we present "From Sea to Shining Sea-A Tribute to Arthur Beaumont, 18901977." This exhibition features more than 30 of the artist 's works owned by the US Merchant Marine Academy-some never before displayed at the museum.

Although the " Artist Laureate of the US Navy" is best known for his beautiful and fac tual renderings of naval vessels, the numerous works that are owned by the Academy demonstrate that Aithur Beaumont was truly a man who loved the sea and all things maritime. A master watercolorist who worked en plein air, Arthur Beaumont's studio in Southern California was the ideal place for him to monitor the day-to-day activities of the harbor. When he saw an interesting scene or event, he would walk down to the harbor with pencil or paints in hand and render rich interpretations of the vessels at work. It was Beaumont's personal interpretation and love of hi s subject that gave life to each and every one of his paintings and sketches.

Beaumont's accuracy made him famous , but hi s accomplishments as an artist were numerous. He was one of on ly two civilian arti sts to be invited to record the events at Bikini Atoll when the US tested the atomic bomb. Prior to his death , Beaumont was the only artist in the world to paint both the North and South Poles.

The artist also painted two series of works for National Geographic. Paintings from his travel s to Antarctica and his work depicting the Army on maneuvers which appeared in the November 1942 issue of National Geographic will also be featured .

Throu g hout hi s career, Beaumont sketched the great battle scenes of WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. He sailed with and painted the ships of the Seventh Fleet in the Orient and the Sixth Fleet in Europe, and he was the portrait painter for great admirals. But time Beaumont's rendering of SS Manhattan and time again , he would return to his studio in California to paint, sketch and chronicle the activities taking place in America 's harbors and the merchant vessels that helped make America a great nation.

"From Sea to Shining Sea" will be on display at the American Merchant Marine Museum , 2 1 April-19 June and 4 August-21 September. The museum is closed to the public from 20 June-3 August. For information on this exhibition, please contact the museum offices at 516 773-5515 .

LINDA FASBACH, Director

(AMMM, US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point NY 11024; 516 773-55 15) ERRATUM

I must take issue with the statement in " American Merchant Marine Museum News," (SH83, p. 49) that "Constitution 's original double wheel is on permanent display in the Ameri can Merchant Marine Museum. " The ship 's first double wheel was placed on board in the months prior to her recommissioning in February 1809 and was shot away by raking fire from HMS Java on 29 December 1812. Ja va's wheel was taken to replace it after her s urrender. Yet another double wheel is known to have been put aboard in the 1830s.

TYRONE C. MARTIN, CDR, USN (Ret)

Perhaps we should have used a word other than "original" when we referred to the wheel we have. Although not aboard Constitution when she was launched, it is certainly the oldest wheel from the ship in existence. We realize, however, the importance of historic accuracy and will be more careful in choosing our words in the future. Thank you for calling these discrepancies to our attention. Regardless of its pedigree, the double wheel is greatly admired by all our visitors.

CHARLES M. RENI CK, CAPT, USMS/USNR (Ret) President Emeritus, AMMM 50

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Roland, as sailing master, at last teaches us how to tack: strike the fisherman, flatten the mizz.en, clew up the course, let go the jib sheets, stand by the braces, hard alee.

(Continued from page 27) as sailing master, at last teaches us how to tack: strike the fisherman, flatten the mizzen, clew up the course, let go the jib sheets, stand by the braces, hard alee.

Later: All night and all day we beat up the bay, to the joy of the black gang, who are manning the braces for a change. We get it down to five minutes.

"Why Are We Here?"

27 June 1978: The black gang is not always below. Since Gaze/a is a square rigger and the engine is shutdown whenever possible, we call ourselves the propulsion department and are thus allowed in the rigging on occasion. Sundown, northbound, off Long Island. Grant Gambell, the sailmaker, and I are furling the mizzen topsail for the night when a pod of perhaps five whales appears off the port bow on a collision course, preceeded by a much greater number of dolphins . The whole parade drops under us and surfaces on the quarter, retreating into the advancing darkness.

4 July 1878: Joaquim Bensaude comes aboard. Quim is the grandson of Vasco Bensaude, the deceased owner of the fleet ofbacalhoeiros that fished the Grand Banks for almost l 00 years. He has never sailed on these ships and he is to get a rough introduction. Because of weather the parade of ships is cancelled and Captain deOrsay elects to leave. We plow into seas and set the main staysail and double-reefed mizzen. Bill Gaynor is on the bowsprit (the widowmaker) when she takes green water over the bow. Thanks to hi s harness he stays with us but with a badly sprained leg. Fortunately a doctor is aboard, but it' s a sad sight in the fo ' c'sle; Bill horizontal and the doctor losing his lunch into a number 10 tin can while ministering to the injured. "Why are we here?" The question is often asked. For fun .

28 September 1978: Bound for Portland , leaving the Cape Cod Canal. We immediately plunge into Cape Cod Bay against a 30-knot breeze and corresponding sea. The engineers nervously tend the Mannheim until we are well clear of the lee shore. After an hour of this motion B. Frantz is the only surviving cook, having prepared a generous pan of macaroni and cheese, a practical dish for a heaving, rolling ship. Alas, the only takers are the captain, the engineer, and B., who instead breaks out the saltines and ginger ale for those who feel up to it.

30 September 1978: Portland, the '78 cruise is over, the vessel secured at

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Gowen ' s Wharf, her winter berth. A party is developing, there is liquid refreshment and some instruments. We check that the clutch is disengaged and give the engine the little air that is left.

Twenty people start the Mannheim stomp, from the weather deck to the saloon to the engine room , marching to the syncopation of that great old engine.

The end of an adventure.

How She Sails Today My Gaze/a experience ended in 1979, but an important chapter that follows deserves a note.

In 1979 it became apparent to the crew that the Philadelphia Maritime Museum was no longer going to operate the vessel. The first manifestation of our concern was semi-humorous, the Gaze la Liberation Front (GLF) with a flag and fantastic dreams, even to highjacking the ship. The origin of the more serious organization, Sail Gazela, is a little obscure but probably started over drinks in Dr. Bill Tolford 's kitchen in Portland.

When the museum finally did turn the ship over to the City of Philadelphia, the movement saw as its mission the preservation of Gaze la by keeping her sailing, prompted by the conviction that no wooden ship could poss ibly survive while merely tied up. The secret of Gazela's long life is that she was in active service the whole time.

Thus began the bad years. The hi storic Mannheim was broken up and removed, bulkheads were cut through to facilitate the flow of visitors, and maintenance was a bit of paint now and then .

Sail Gazela had about 100 members , a board of directors, a paid (very modestly) coordinator, and a mission: to find a homeport that would promise to keep her sailing. We personally interviewed prospects in New York, New Bedford, Gloucester, Portland, Bar Harbor, and Saint John, New Brunswick, and at a further remove, St. John 's, Newfoundland, Norfolk and Savannah. The fact that we did not at first negotiate directly with Philadelphia was perhaps a mistake, a reaction to the worsening condition of the ship, but in fact, Philadelphia was always a candidate.

The Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild took over the maintenance and later the operation of Gaze/a. While its means were limited the nadir had passed.

No miracles happened immediately but in the years from 1980 to the present the situation has progressively improved, particularly since the Guild took actual

In the early 1970s, Frank Braynard, a founder of Operation Sail, traveled the world, sketching the tall ships of many nations and inviting them to come to New York in 1976. This sketch of Gazela was done in 1976. (From Search for the Tall Ships, by Frank 0. Braynard (New York, 1977))

ownership of the ship. The improvement is due to the enthusiastic work of volunteers, to the individuals who organize the work, to substantial financial help from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to a generous and charitable landlord , the Penn 's Landing Corporation , to private donations, and to receipts generated by the ship itself by port appearances. She is not yet sailing free , but the fair winds are rising. ,!,

Today, the 115-year-old, woodenhulled Gaze la serves as a sail training vessel and as a good will ambassador for Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is owned by the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, whose staff and volunteers keep her in sailing condition and teach others the skills needed to work the ship. Anyone over the age of 16 is encouraged to participate fully in sailing the square-rigged ship.

To join the crew or for further infonnation, contact The Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, Columbus Blvd. & Chestnut St. , Philadelphia PA 19106; phone: 215 9239030; FAX: 215 923-9202; e-mail: gazela@usa.net; web site: http:// www .gazela.org.

51

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S;EA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS SPUN YARN Full information on these news items appears in Sea History Gazette, November/December 1997 and January/February 1998. Write and ask, and we' LI send you these issuesfi'ee. To subscribe to the bi-monthly Gazette for one year , send $18.75 to NMHS (add $10for foreign postage).

Cutty Sark Scots Whisky is offering 10 berths on a European Tall Ship racing in the 1998 Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Race from Spain to Ireland, 12-22August. To enter, applicants at least 21 years old are asked to submit a letter explaining why they feel they can "cut it on the Cutty Crew" to Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race, PO Box 1073,BostonMA02117. Travel expenses are paid for by The Tall Ships Foundation. No prior sailing experience is necessary. The deadline for entries is 15 June 1998. Info1mation can be found athttp://www.cutty-sark.com/tall-ships/ or 1 800 94-CUTTY (28889) .... The keel of the replica schooner Amistad was laid at the Mystic Seaport shipyard on Sunday, 8 March 1998. They expect construction to continue through the spring of 2000. The building of the ship will provide a forum for teaching as students from Connecticut will be invited to participate in the construction.

The museum has also opened "Voyage to Freedom," an exhibit featuring hi storical documents and objects from the film, and a web site, "Ex ploringAmistad: Race and the Boundaries of Slavery in Antebellum Maritime America," at amistad.mysticseaport.org. (MS, PO Box 6000, Mystic CT 06355-0990; 860 572-0711) ... The Los Angeles Maritime Institute has purchased the gaff-

National Maritime Heritage Grants Program Applications Available Applications are now available for the much anticipated National Maritime Heritage Grants Program. The application deadline is 17 April 1998. You can get all the forms and information sheets from the National Park Service, National Maritime Initiative (2280), 1849 C Street, NW, Washington DC 20240, Attn: Hallie Brooker; phone: 202 343-8170, FAX: 202 343-1244, email: hallie_brooker@nps.gov.

Much of the information contained in the packet can also be found at the National Maritime Initiative 's web site: http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/maritime.

The program is a national, competitive matching grants program that provides funds for Maritime Heritage Education Projects and Maritime Heritage Preservation Projects designed to reach a broad audience and enhance public awareness and appreciation for the maritime heritage of the US. The Grants Program is authorized by the National Maritime Heritage Act (P. L. 103-451) and is administered by the National Park Service and State Historic Preservation Offices.

Education Projects provide information about the maritime heritage of the US and include, but are not limited to, curation, instruction and interpretation of maritime heritage collections, traditional maritime skills, historic maritime properties and maritime history topics. Preservation Projects encompass all facets of preservation planning and treatmentfor historic maritime properties (which include mai:itime archaeological sites).

This year, grants will be awarded for a variety of Education and Preservation Projects. Awards will range from $2,500 to $50,000. However, due to limited funds , greater priority will be given to activities that raise awareness of our maritime heritage, increase involvement in maritime heritage activities, plan for future maritime heritage efforts, and help to maintain what is already preserved. .t topsail schooner Bill ofRights to operate with their Swift of Ipswich to accommodate the Los Angeles Unified School District's demand for maritime programs afloat. (LAMI, Berth 84, 6th Street, San Pedro CA 90731; 310833-6055) ... The rebuilt freighter Do/mar has emerged as the bark Picton Castle, which, with a professional and fare-paying crew led

by Capt. Dan Moreland, is circling the world carrying trade goods bound for Caribbean and Pacific islands. The ship will also be carrying a cargo of knowledge and international cooperation as she and her crew were chosen by

Picton Castle carried out sea trials in September 1997.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

OCEAN98, headquartered in Rijswick, The Netherlands, as its ambassadorial flagship during the "International Year of the Ocean." (Windward Isles Sailing Ship Co., 31 Summer Street, Nashua NH 03060; 603 881-9377; FAX: 603 881-4492; web site: http://www.page creator.com/-pictoncastle) ... The replica of Capt. Cook's Endeavour wi II be on the US East Coast throughout the spring and summer of 1998. Their first port-of-call will be Palm Beach FL on 6 March. They will spend approximately nine days in each port and six days sailing between ports. The itinerary includes Brunswick GA, Charleston SC, Wilmington NC, Norfolk/Portsmouth VA, Alexandria VA, Baltimore MD, Philadelphia PA, New York NY, Norwalk CT, Newport RI, Boston MA, New Bedford MA, Portsmouth NH, Bath ME, and Halifax NS. For updates, contact the maritime museums in each of these ports or H. M. Bark Endeavour Foundation, PO Box 1099, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia; 61-8-9336 1399; FAX: 61-893361540; web site: www. greenwichuk. com/endeavour. .. . The Marine Museum of Upper Canada is moving to a waterfront site in Toronto that will open inJuly 1998.(MMUC,HeritageToronto, 205 Yonge Street, Toronto ON, M5B IN2, Canada; 416 392-1765) ... The Mariners' Museum has launched a new 53

SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS on-line Age of Exploration curriculum guide addressing discovery and exploration from ancient times through Capt.

Cook, available at www.mariner.org, to help teachers meet new social studies standards. Recent grants from the Virginia General Assembly have enabled the museum to begin building a database of its library and photo archive holdings.

(TMM, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 757 596-2222) ...

Last summer the Door County Maritime Museum celebrated the grand opening of its new $2.8-million, 20,000sq uare-foot facility on the waterfront.

(DCMM, PO Box 246, Sturgeon Bay WI54235;414 743-5958) . .. TheMaine Maritime Museum has announced 1998 as its "Year of the Tugboat."

Events will include an exhibit, visiting vessels, a towing symposi um, a rendezvous of historic and modem tugs, and special adult and children's programming. (MMM, 243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-1316) ... The Nautical Research Guild is surveying maritime museums to provide researchers with improved access to archival resources. The info1mation gathered so far can be accessed at the Guild 's homepage athttp://www.N aut-Res-Gui ld.org.

(Justin F. Camarata, 19 Hadley Court, Noank CT 06349; 860 536-3087 ; email: j ustincamarata@sprintmail.com) ... The Columbia River Maritime Museum has recently acquired three vessels of unique significance to the region' s maritime history: the Darle, a wooden-hulled fishing troller built in Astoria in 1945; the CROD #1 , a 1934 Columbia River One-Design sailboat; and the US Coast Guard motor lifeboat #44300. (CRMM, 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria OR 97103; 503 325-2323) ...

The Mariners' Museum is calling for entries for its 2000 Scale Ship Model Competition and Exhibition. The deadline for entries is 29 May 2000. For more information or an entry form contact Patty Andresen at 757 591-7751 or visit the muse um ' s web site at www. mariner.org .... The cruiser USS Olympia of 1892, in Philadelphia, will undergo restoration in time to commemorate her role as Admiral Dewey's flagship during the Spanish-American War (Crui ser Olympia Association, Penn 's Landing, PO Box 829, Philadelphia PA 19105; 215 922-1898) ... An emergency fund drive has been launched to pay for $75,000 worth of unexpected (Continued on page 57) 54

Spanish Shipwrights to Repair Damaged Columbus Fleet The 1992 replicas of three of history 's most famous vessels have been docked in Corpus Christi, Texas, since 1993. The Ships of Christopher Columbus Association entered into a unique contract with Spain to operate and manage the Spanish recreations of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria as a result of a winning proposal to use the ships as an educational and cultural resource.

The dreams held by the Association were cut short in April 1994 when, while the ships were moored at temporary berths in the Port of Corpus Christi, a commercial barge under tow broke its tow cable and Th e Columbus Fleet at sea in 1992. veered into the Pinta , smashing her port bow and causing damage to the Santa Maria.

Since then, only the Nina has sailed regularly on Corpus Christi Bay. She operates from the more secure Corpus Christi Marina while the two damaged vessels were moved into a shipyard setting under a cooperative agreement with the Museum of Science and History.

Locating skilled workmen to make repairs proved a major obstacle, but recently, a solution has appeared on the horizon.

Francisco Monsalvete, consultant and owner of the shipyard that built Santa Maria and supervised construction of the Pinta , has agreed to repair the ships within the small budget available, according to Ricki Whittle, ~-jlLi;jl pres ident of the Ships of Christopher Columbus Association. A contract has been signed with Construcciones Navale de Isla Cristina S. L., the shipyard in southern Spain, to perform the necessary work to make the ships seaworthy once again. Jose Zamudio Diaz, master shipwright of the company, and five of the organization 's shipwrights are expected in Corpus Christi to begin the project.

Monsalvete expects the Pinta to be ready for launching by August. Association officials hope that by the end of the year the three ships will sail together once again.

Plans include the construction of protected docks for the ships in an area off the ship channel alongside the Museum of Science and History and, further down the line, creation of an historical pier, reminiscent of Spain in the 1400s, Whittle said. -t

Expo '98: The Oceans, A Heritage for the Future Sea History readers will wantto attend the last World 's Fairofthe century. Opening in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May and running to 20 September, the theme of "Expo '98" is "The Oceans, A Heritage for the Future." Five major pavilions are cuITently under construction al the site in eastern Lisbon and will house exhibits addressing ecological and damage-limiting measures for the world's oceans, reconstructions of the eco-systems of the North Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic and Indian oceans and , quite naturally fo r the Portuguese, who pioneered in European exploration and navigation, an enormou s di splay on how man discovered , learned to sail and eventuall y recognized the need to protect the oceans.

The International Areas will represent over 100 countries as well as international companies with maritime and inter-modal interests. In conjunction with Expo '98, the Portuguese National Commission for the Commemoration of the Discoveries (CNCDP) has planned cultural events such as conferences, publications (including an interactive CD ROM on Portuguese historical navigation), and the reconstruction of a caravela of the 1400s (the vessel of early exploration). Further events include an international regatta scheduled for the summer and a tall ships parade.

Information on Expo '98 may be obtained directly from Portugal (phone: 35 1 1 831 98 98; FAX: 351 1 837 31 33) or via the internet at http://www.expo98. pt oremail: info@expo98.pt. For information on cultural events, you can contact Dr. Roberta Delson, Humanities Dept., US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point NY 11024-1699.

ROBERTA DELSON

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

SCHUYLER M. MEYER, JR. 1918-1997

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"Well, let 's do it!" Thi s favor ite say ing of Schu yler ' s is an Schu yler had served since 1966 as president of the Edwin affirmation of hi s positive outl ook on life and his strong Goul d Foundati on fo r Chil dren when he joined NMHS in the des ire to be up and do ing to "change the world," to use earl y 1980s. He was interested in our work w ith hi stori c ships another of hi s fa vori te express ions. He was e ver a kni ght and stood in awe of the great shi ps in South Street. He was errant embarked on an unending quest. The quest was to he lp interested in o ur efforts to in vo lve yo ung peopl e in these d isadvantaged young people ac hieve the ir goals, to ass ure ships and soon fo und him self ed ucati on chairm an of NMHS. full opportunity to American Ind ians and des ti tute hill fo lk in After five years in that pos iti on, he became chairman of the Appalachia, and to invite people of all so rts and conditions to Soc iety to see us thro ugh diffic ul t times fo ll ow ing the death share his enthusiasms fo r an enlig htened politics, the natural of our cha irman Jim McA lli ster. Schu yler served as chairman environment, and the canals and waterways of America- fro m 1990 to 1992. He went on to rev ive the State Counci l on parti cularly New York's Champl ain and Erie Canals, Cana- Waterways (SCOW), which he had fo unded with us a few da's Rideau Canal, and the fasci nati ng backwaters of New years before, and the George Bird Grinnell American Indian York Harbor. He was extrao rd inarC hildren 's F un d, whi c h he had ily well-read and liked to send hi s fo unded in 1989 in fu lfi llment of a fri ends passages from books he knew long-cheri shed dream. they' d never otherwi se read. Few Wi thin a few months of hi s retirethings deli ghted him more than a ment as chairm an, Schu yler jo ined wide-rang ing discuss ion of some reus w ith Wa lter Cro nkite, Jako b cent literary or histori cal discovery lsbrand tse n and other stalwarts to he' d made, on which he never inlaunch the NMHS Mari time Ed ucasisted on agreement with hi s viewstion Initi ati ve, an effort born of hi s the shared experience was what the dedication to opening the seafaring di scovery was ail about. heritage to young Americans. He was generous in hi s praise of our wo rk on He was passionately commi tted thi s, unde r Alan Choate's leaderto education and never more at home than when d iscussing some new conship, largely on the lines he and Alan cept or program in learning, be it the had worked out when Alan served 700-mile classroom of the Eri e Caunder Schu yler as plans chairm an. nal, where for some years he personIn 1995 there was a grand reuni on of interests, when Schu yler carried all y conducted environmental, hi sSchuyler aboard Nawat III, 21 July 1990, torical and cultural programs on the the NMHS banner across the waterdoing what he loved, exploring rhe warerdecks of the New York State Cana l ways of the eastern states and Canada, ways of America. Photo , Peter Stanford.

Corporation tug Urger (whose exfro m Kentucky to Montreal, ending pl oits will be found in a spec ial booklet he published on the the voyage as the star of our Celebrate the Waterways Urger and her work, avail able o n req uest from NMHS). recepti on in Peekskill , where State Parks Commi ss ioner Naval service in World War II made a profound impres- Bernadette Castro presented Schu yler w ith our Di stingu ished sion on Schu yler, prov iding him with a rich fund of anec- Service A ward fo r this wonderful voyage. dotes, refl ecting hi s deep interest in the peopl e he encoun And what memories he gave us, pres id ing at our Ann ua l tered. As captain of the nava l tu g Nawa t , working in New Dinne rs, where hi s playful ribbing and comi c banter bro ught York Harbor, he greatly admired A lex T rooni n, veteran of the ho wls of deli ght from members and guests!

The thing that was wonderful in Schu yler's voyag ing was Tsarist navy of Imperial Russ ia and former skipper of the famous wishbone ketch Vamarie-a tiger of a man who always the peopl e. The lockmasters who greeted him by would jump on top of the boom that supported the wartime net name on the Erie Canal d id so because he knew them by name barring the harbor entrance and challenge Schu yler to bring and often their families, too. Sometimes people in tro uble hi s tug up to the boom gently eno ugh not to knock him off into wo uld be helped to pay a hospita l bill or some other thing the icy water. This kind of lesson had never been taug ht at needed to get on with the ir li ves or keep the ir fa mil ies Yale, where Schu yler had rowed in the vars ity eight. But he together. Thi s, however, was not the source of the real joy learned in the school of hard knocks and never had to fi nd out with which people greeted him , because no one knew abo ut what wo ul d have befallen him if he had fl ubbed the approach these charitable acts except the rec ipients-some of whom spoke to me abo ut his acts of kindness. and knocked the giant Ru ss ian overboard.* No, the source of peopl e ' s joy in Schu yler' s presence was Promoted to a much larger seagoing tug, he learned about manag ing people as well as shiphandling, resolving di sputes simpl y hi s embracing interest in people, their li ves and conand e ncouraging perso nal progress in the lo ng, slow, hot cerns. Staff members at the New York Yacht Clu b, where j ourney south through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal Schu yler and I often met, came spontaneously up to condo le then on across the seemingly end less Pac ific. T alki ng to me w ith me on hi s death last fa ll. Hi s whole fa mily was with him of thi s adventure 45 years later, he eas ily recalled the names at the end-his wife Barbara and their children Schu yler Ill, of the ship 's people and the ir strengths and weaknesses , Moll y, Aileen, Scott and Allen. At his memori al service in December they were jo ined by people as varied as Norbert which I am qui te sure he j udged ri ghtl y.

Hill of the Ameri can Indi an Sc ience and Engineering Soc iety *The Nawat became the di scoverer of the German minefield laid off in Co lorado, the educator Cynthi a Parsons of Vermont and the New York, an incident fo rtunately comic rather than tragic in its bag piper Christopher Layer of the Urger crew-all Schu yler's people, come to celebrate the li fe of the ir great fr iend.

PS outco me. See SH44, pp. 50-56.

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRIN G 1998

55

SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS

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INVENI PORTAM Arnaldo J. Mendes, who died on 31 December at age 76, was one of the last captains to bring immigrants to the US under sail. As owners and captains of the Gloucester fish ing schooner Ernestina he and hi s father Henrique made several trips across the Atlantic carrying supplies to the Cape Verde Islands and bringing Cape Verdeans to Massachusetts in the 1940s and ' 50s. The ship , bui lt in 1894 as the Effie M . Morrissey, was given to the US by the people of the Cape Verdes and sails today on educational voyages out of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The West Coast lost two members of the International Cape Homers Association last autumn . Both men sailed o ut of Puget Sound in Sewall ships (Raynaud in the Edward Sewall and Tweeddale in the William P. Frye) within two weeks of each other in the autumn of 1914, but did not meet until 1995.

Capt. Adrian Raynaud died on 30 November, aged l 02. He first went to sea aboard the barkentineLahaina in 1909 and enlisted in the US Navy during WWI, after which he voyaged in steam and sail , as opportunity offered. After a stint during and after WWII as port captain for the Ameri can Mai l Line, he turned to ship surveying, in which trade he continued until hi s 90th birthday, when hi s wife pulled the plug on hi s electric typewriter.

Capt. Duane S. Tweeddale, also a veteran of voyaging under sail, died at the age of 101 in San Francisco on 26 October 1997. Hi s career included command of a Liberty ship during WWII. HAROLD H YCKE Harry E. Morgan , the marine engineer who spearheaded the mechanical restoration of both the WWII Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O' Brien and the 1907 steam tug Hercules, died at the age of 83 on 18 Novem ber 1997. He embarked on a maritime career in the 1930s and sailed as chief engineer of five Liberty ships and a Victory ship during WWII. Hi s first hi storic vessel restoration project was the paddlewheel steamer Delta Queen of 1926.

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On Sunday, 6 September 1998, crew and trainees from the schooner Harvey Gamage will celebrate the vessel's 25th birthday. The evening event follows the Great Schooner Race in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Everyo ne who has ever sailed aboard Gamage is invited to pai1ic ipate. Di stingui shed guests of honor wi ll include Capt. and Mrs. Eben Whitcomb. Built in South Bristol, Maine, in 1973, by master shipwright Harvey Gamage, the vessel has sailed the waters be- _H_ar_v_e.:_y_G_a_m_a..::.g_e_a_ts_e_a_ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ tween Canada and the Caribbean whil e hosting educational and recreational programs. In 1994 , she began ope ratin g Ocean Classroom , the nation 's only full y accredited semesterat-sea program for high school students. For more info rn1 ation on the vessel and to RSVP for the birthday event, contact them at Schooner Harvey Gamage Foundation, Inc. , PO Box 446, ComwaUNY12518; 1800724SAIL (7245). ,t SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

Port of New York Historical Society Established After several years of "gams" the Port of New York Historical Soc iety has been fo rmally establi shed. The new organization is headquartered on the Hudson River, in lower Manhattan, at the North Cove Marina/World Financial Center.

The society is headed by Patrick Harris, as director, and guided by a board of editorial adv isors. Mr. Harri s says the organization will be most active on a seasonal bas is, May through October. Activities include publishing a twice-monthly new sletter, "The Harbor Current," which focuses on historic events, peopl e and tales of New York Harbor. The Nat Herreshoff sloop Ventura, launched in 1921 as the private yacht of Citibank fo under George Baker, will be operated by the organization and will host educational and fund raising cruises.

"Our mission is largely editorial , followed closely by hands-on boating activities in the Harbor, such as cruises on Ventura and a small boat handling course for children," said Harris.

The editori al advisors include two profes ionals from fin ancial history and two lawyers-a mi x that sho uld yield diverse editorial fodder. The advisors include James Mercante, maritime lawyer and commissioner of pilots for New York Harbor, Charles DeStefano, an attorney and New York City historian , Meg Ventrudo, assoc iate director of the Museum of American Financial Hi story, and Steven Goldsmith, president of R. M. Smythe and a scripophilist.

For more information- including what scripophily is-write or call The Port of New York Historical Society, Church Street Station, PO Box 978 , New York NY 10008; phone and FAX: 2 12 786-1 204. ,!,

(Continued ji"om page 54) repairs, including the rewelding of an 18-foot section of the tail shaft, on the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien (National Liberty Ship Memorial, Building A, Fort Mason Center, San Franci sco CA 94123) ... Supporters of the restoration of the Yavari , a steamer prefabricated in England in 1862 and assembled on the shore of Lake Titicaca, are hoping to use Peru 's surge in tourism as a rallying point for the vessel. The cost of the restoration is estim ated at £1 million.

(The Yavari Project, 6 1 Maxfi eld Road, LondonSW152RG ,UK; 18 1 874 0583) ... T he memories and mementos of WWII service men and women are being collected and maintained by the Institute on World War II & the Human Experience at Florida State University .

For more information or to donate your mem orab ilia , co ntact Dr. William Oldson, Dept. of History , Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-5402; 850 644-954 1; FAX: 850 644-6402; email: woldson@garnet. ac ns.fs u.edu ; web site: http ://www.fsu.edu/-ww2 ....

The Waterfront Center has announced its 1997 Top Honor Awards.

The winning project was "Riverfront Recapture" in Hartford and East Hartford CT and the winning plan was the " Mississippi Development Framework" in St. Paul MN. Other winners ranged from work in California, Washington , Oregon, Colorado, New York and Japan. (TWC, 1622 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20007; 202 337SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

0356) ... Mel Fisher 's salvage company, Salvors Inc., was assessed a $589,331 fine for damages in a precedent-setting federal court dec ision in July for destroying more than an acre of sea-grass beds in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 1992 .... The 1758 Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck in New York's Lake George was denied National Hi storic Landmark status by the Department of the Interior in November despite its designation by the Smithsonian Institution as " the oldest intact war vessel in North America."

T he nomination will be referred back to the advisory board , which will meet again in the spring. (Bateaux Below, Inc. , PO Box 2134, Wilton NY 1283 1; 518 587-7638 ; e- mail : zarc uws@ aol.com) ,!,

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Festivals, Lectures, Etc.

Exhibits

• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum: 15-17 May, 4th Annual Middle Atlantic Maritime Festi val; 26-28 June, 7th Annual WoodenBoat Show (PO Box 636, St. Michaels MD 2 1663; 410 745-29 16) • Door County Maritime Museum: 1617 May, 5th Annual Door County (WI) Lighthouse Walle (120 N. Madison Ave. , Sturgeon Bay WI 54235; 902 743-5958) • Hudson River Maritime Museum: l3 June, Tugboat Day (One Roundout Landing, Kingston NY 12401 ; 914 338-0071) •Inland Seas Maritime Museum: 27-28 June, Antiq ue and Classic Boat Show (480 Main Street, PO Box 435 , Vermilion OH 44089-0435; 440 967-3467) • Joshua Slocum Society International: 26-28 June, Centenn ial Ce lebration of Joshua Slocum 's return , in Newport Rl and J-airhaven MA (15 Codfish Hill Road Extension, Bethel CT 06801 ; 203 790-66 16; e-mail: JSSpray@ao l.com) • Kalmar Nyckel Foundation: 9 May , Kalmar Nyckel commissioning (11 24 E. 7th Street, Wilmington DE 1980 I ; 302 429-SHIP; FAX: 302 429-0350) • LosAngelesMaritimeMuseum:2April , James Taylor, Curator of Paintings, National Mari time Museum on "Yachts on Canvas: The History of Yachting as Depicted through the Eyes of Marine Artists" (Berth 84, Foot of 6th Street, San Pedro CA 90731; 3 10 548-76 18) • Mystic Seaport: 6-7 June, Small Craft Weekend; 12-14 June, Sea Music Festival; 25-26 Jul y, Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvo us; 3 1 Jul y- 1 August, Melville Marathon (PO Box 6000, Mystic CT 063550990; 860 572-0711 ) •Wooden Boat Foundation: 15-1 8 May, 8th Annual Pacific Challenge youth competition in traditional wooden ships ' boats in Bellingham WA ; 19 June-1 9 August, Summer Youth Sea Camp (Cupola House, 380 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend WA 98368; 360 385-3628)

• Calvert Marine Museum: February-April 1998, "Freedom Voyagers: African-American Mariners and Their Legacy" (PO Box 97, Solomons MD 20688; 410 326-2042) • Florida International Museum: 15 November 1997- 15 May 1998, "Titanic, The Exhibition" (100 Second Street N., St. Petersburg FL 33701 ; 813 822-3693) • Hampton Roads Naval Museum: 6 November 1997-5 May 1998, "The Sailor's Best Friend: Animal s and the United States Navy" (1 Waterside Drive, Ste. 248 , Norfolk VA 23510- 1607; 757 322-2987) • Hudson River Maritime Museum : from 25 April 1998, "Rondout: Hudson River Port" (One Rondout Landing, Kingston NY 12401; 914 338-0071 ; FAX: 914 338-0583) • Independence Seaport Museum : 11 February-August, "UndertheB lack FlagLifc Among the Pirates"; 8 May-23 August, "For a Lifetime of Thrills-Chris-Craft in the '50s" (2 11 S. Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia PA 19 106-3 199; 2 l5 925-5439) • John Carter Brown Library: 15 January-I May, "The Ethics of Conquest, 1492-1 750: Mainstream and Dissident Views" (Box 1894, Providence RI 029 12; 401 863-2725) • Maine Maritime Museum : from 15 Febru ary, "We Remember: The Battleship Maine" (243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-1 316) •The Mariners' Museum : December-7 September 1998, "Disasters at Sea"; 24 January-7 September 1998, "Titanic: Fortune and Fate" (100 Museum Drive, Newport News VA 23606; 757 596-2222 ) • National Maritime Museum : 2 April27 September, "Peterthe Great in England , 1698 " (Greenwich, London SElO 9NF, UK; 181 858 4422) • New Bedford Whaling Museum: from 16 Ja nuary 1998, Whaling Prints from the Museum 's Collection (18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford MA 02740-6398; 508 997-0046) • Rockefeller State Park Preserve: 14 Decembe r- I 0 Apr il , " Defendin g th e Hu dson , 177 5-1 783 " (PO Box 338, Tarrytown NY 10591-0338; 91463 1- 1470) • South Street Seaport Museum : from 20 March 1998, "By Appo intment to the King: Photographs ofBeken of Cowes"; 16 April26 June, The South Street Seaport Museum at Paine Webber (207 Front Street, New York NY 10038; 2 12 748-8600; Paine Webber, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY) • Texas Maritime Museum: FebruaryApril 1998 , "For a Lifetime of ThrillsChri s-Craft in the '50s" (1202 Nav igation Circle, PO Box 1836, Rockport TX 78382; 512 729-1 27 l ) • Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum: from 20 January, "America 's Splendid Little War with Spain: A Centenni al Perspecti ve" (734Marin St. , Vallejo CA 94590; 707 643-0077)

Conferences • Council of American Maritime Museums: 6-9 May, Annual Conference, in Vancouver BC (Katie Fitzgerald, Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver BC V6J 1A3, Canada; 604 257-8310) • International Congress of Maritime Museums: 26-28 August, 1998 Interim Congress in Gdansk, Poland (Jerzy Litw in, Centralne Muzeum Morskie, ul. Szeroka 67/68 , Gdansk, Poland; FAX: 48-58-30 18453; http ://www. marmu s.ca/ icmm) • International Economic History Congress: 24-28 August, Seville, Spai n (Dr. David J. Starkey, Dept. of Hi story, Uni versity of Hull , Hull HU6 7RX, UK; 1482465624, FAX : 1482-466126) •Maine Maritime Museum : 1-3 May, 26th Annual Maritime History Conference (243 Washington Street, Bath ME 04530; 207 443-13 16)

SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

REVIEWS Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail, by W. Jeffrey Bolster(Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA & London UK, 1997 , 31 Opp, illus , notes, index, ISBN 0-674-076249; $27hc) This long-overdue book takes us on a voyage of discovery in what we thought were fami liar waters as W. Jeffrey Bolster-a veteran seaman and University of New Hampshire associate professor of history- lifts our collective awareness of a little known maritime subject.

The vivid portrait of an unknown I 9thcentury African-American seaman on the cover appropriately introduces the adventuro us subject matter presented in this story.

Bolster eloquently articulates his keen knowledge of 18th- and 19th-century American sea history as it relates to those of African descent, slave and free , seamen, laborers, statesmen and entrepreneurs. The impact of the Black Diaspora in the maritime realm traditionally has been limited to discou rse on the M iddle Passage. Here, we learn that these men, too, hoisted sails and piloted vessels, and as slaves or free men, they helped stoke the flames of a young Arr}erica's economic growth in o ur coastal Atlantic waterways or in deepwater Nantucket whalers traveling halfway around the world in search of oil.

This book is a porthole onto a world that reveals something of their identities as men of color whose roots were the cosmopolitan Atlantic seascape as they oscillated between three worlds-Africa, Europe and America. In a Western society where slavery was a foundation for America's agrarian economy in the 1700s and early 1800s, we learn that these men found greater solace offshore where they had a modicum of control and contributed to a demanding collective effort more or less as equals, in a vocation rich with cultural exchange.

The author candidly explores a rarely seen aspect of American maritime history, adding concrete evidence and anthropological insight to what has been an opaque tangential subject. He introduces us to such seamen as Briton Hammon, whose autobiography (ca 1747) vividly desc ribes 12 Horatio Alger-like years at sea; Olaudah Equiano, a fonner slave and self-taught statesman who lobbied Parliament to abandon the slave trade; Richard Crafus, a prisonerof-war known as King Dick of Dartmoor No. 4; Jam es Forten, sail maker and civic SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

leaderof Philadelphia; John Jea, seaman and evangelist; Crispus Attucks, wellknown patriotic martyr of the Boston Massacre; Denmark Vesey, whose illfated slave revolt fomented a rash of Negro Seamen Act legislation; Paul Cuffe, merchant, philanthropist, Civil War hero , and US Congressman. These men and others who toiled without leaving records were common figures on American waterfronts and contributed greatly to our maritime heritage.

We, as late-20th-century Americans, who collectively recognize the invaluable contributions of maritime hi story and those who made it, as well as its living impact on our present and future lives , areindebted to Bolster. Blacklacks intellectually broadens our perspective by bringing this unsung saga to a bright light and its rightful position on American and sea history 's hori zon.

STEVEN W. JONES Middletown , Delaware Voyage of the Forest Dream and Other Sea Adventures, A Memoir, by Captain Niels Peter Thomsen (publi shed by the author, 1997 , 167pp, illus, index, appen, gloss; $25pb) Available from the author at 19222 Olympic View Drive, Edmonds WA 98020) In the long history of sail, published chronicles of voyages in square riggers by foremast hands such as this book are rare; no more than half a dozen come to mind. The author, born in Denmark and brought to California as a child, left home at the age of 15 to go to sea and two years later, in 1925, joined the fivemasted barkentine Forest Dream in Victoria, British Columbia. She was bound for Mauritius with a lumber cargo including a ten-foot deckload. Built in 1919 in Aberdeen , Washington, like so many war-built sailers, she was to have a short active life.

The Forest Dream was a sizeable vessel to be taken to sea by only 13 men, of whom only six were sailors, or three in each watch , especially since the gasoline donkey engine that was meant to ease the heavy labor on deck failed to work. So began a voyage of many hardships including a fatal fall from aloft, drunken bickering between the captain and his chief mate, harassment of the crew, and rudder trouble that forced a course change to Australia for repairs.

Reaching Mauritius, they found that because they were long overdue, the consignees had bought lumber elsewhere

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REVIEWS

It Didn't Happen

On My Watch

by George Murphy, retired United States Lines Chief Engineer and Port Engint:t:r. 50 % autob iographical; 50% sea stories; 100% entertaining. Written from the unique down under perspective of the engine roorn.

Spans over 40 years United States Lines history from WWII and its glory years to its slow decent into bankruptcy. Includes 11ia11 y fascinating, heroic and humorous sea stories and photos.

"Any person who served in the merchant marine or military will relate to It Didn 't Happen On My Watch. This book tells it like it is! Sometimes serious, sometimes sad, but mostly humorous. Recommended reading for all veterans."

George Searle, National President Merchant Marine Veterans Hard cover, 360pp, photos $26.00 incl: s/h. NC res. add $1.38 ORDER VISA/MC:

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The cure for cabin fever: Our current catalog featuring vintage photography, moderately-priced paintings and prints, contemporary scrimshaw, nautical artifacts, and out-of-print books.

See our catalog in color on our Web site at http://www.rnarineantiques.com.

For a b&w copy, please send $5 (refundable with purchase) to:

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60

and refused the cargo, but after a long stay in port it was disposed of. Proceeding back to Australia they put into Newcastle where the vessel was sold at auction, the owners having gone bankrupt.

Two of the six sailors kept journals on the voyage, and they had a talent for writing. It seems remarkable that these diaries survived all the years since and became available to Captain Thomsen, who is , at 91 , the last living member of the crew. He has interspersed long passages from them with his own recollections. The result is a waim and often funny tale of human relations at sea-and adventures ashore in one of the last American square riggers.

Included is an abbreviated autobiography of the author from his troubled early yeai¡s to his later cai¡eer at sea in the Alaskan trade and long service in the Coast Guard. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and recommend it to anyone with an interest in the old sailing ships. It is not only a good read, but it seems safe to say that it will be the last book of its kind.

ANDREW J. NESDALL Waban, Massachusetts The British Battle-Fleet: Its Inception and Growth throughout the Centuries, by Fred T. Jane (Conway Maritime Press, orig 1912, repr 1997, 406pp, illus , index , ISBN 0-85177-723-6 ; $29.95hc) Available in the US from Brassey ' s Inc. , PO Box 960, Herndon VA20172; 1800775-2518.

The name Fred T. Jane is a by-word among naval buffs. A journalist by trade, Jane achieved immortality by compiling the first systematic catalogue of current warships at the end of the last century-a work universally known under its short title, Jane' s Fighting Ships.

Few who peruse Jane's may know his lively, readable opus on Britain' s Royal Navy. This history, published in 1912 on the eve of World War I, focused on the ships of the battle fleet. Four years later, the battle fleets of the Anglo-German naval arms race met in their one great encounter, at Jutland. Jane offers no penetrating insights, and, perhaps understandably, he did not foresee the day when the worldwide dominance of England and the very fact of empire would be washed away by the surging tides of nationalism.

But his work, marinated in the unconscious but deeply held assumptions of an era now quite removed from ours, makes fascinating reading. Marvelously

evocative photographs convey the story through the changes from sail to steam, and spirited paintings by W. L. Wyllie, reproduced in color, depict the changing shape of the ships from the time of King Alfred (849-99) through to the dreadnoughts that fought the Kaiser' s Hoch See Flotte at Jutland , carrying the day once again for England, though at heavy cost in ships and men . Jane died just before Jutland, at age 50. We ' re fortunate he furni shed this highly readable magnum opus of his lifelong concern a few years earlier.

PS The Perfect Storm, by SebastianJunger (W.W. Norton & Co. , New York NY & London UK, 1997, 225pp, ISBN 0-39304016-X; $23 .95hc) Sebastian J unger is not the first writer to attempt to penetrate the highly insular community of commercial fi shermen. Most writers come away with a handful of anecdotes or a collection of stories that are clearly the result of the fisherman ' s legendary fl air for embellishment.

But Junger' s approach is different, simultaneously subtle and complex.

It is the story of one exceptionally violent storm in late October 1991 , " the storm of the century ," as meteorologists dubbed it, which he centers around the loss of one particular fi shing vessel. In his analysis of thi s simple tragedy the author incorporates the numerous factors that brought the fishing boat into the heart of thi s storm , where the worst fears of the men aboard the F/V Andrea Gail were to be reali zed.

The author 's research is extensive and thorough: there is a detailed analysis of the meteorological forces that created thi s exceptional storn1 , descriptions of the boat, her equipment and the tasks involved in maintaining and operating a fishin g boat. We are introduced to the strategies of fishing and we see intimate portraits of the people involved, whom he captures well . There ' s a woman like Ethel Shatford behind the bar in every fishing town, yet she is distinctly individual, as are Bobby Shatford, Murph , Billy Tyne and the others aboard the Andrea Gail. We get to know and like these people and to understand the v icissitudes and challenges of the fi s herman 's life and the motives that lemd them to pursue their living on the watter and to risk their lives time and ag<ain , including this one last time.

The result is a picture, both broad SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

and detailed, of the fisherman 's world, which Junger develops naturally in recording this event. And he gives us a look at those in the Coast Guard and air rescue service who risked their lives to save other mariners caught up in the deadly nor ' easter of 1991.

The author, however, clearly bit off a little more than he should have when he ventured into science. As both a trained physici st and a professional fisherman with years at sea, I found serious flaw s in his descriptions of a vessel's behavior at sea, the formation of storm systems, and the complex interplay between wind, current, the sea bottom and the things that happen on the surface.

This is understandable, as the author is not a fisherm an. It would have been better if he had given these areas a lighter touch .

But, in theend he gives us a solid piece of work, and we are grateful for a hard, realistic and thoughtful look at a group of men from a little-understood community otherwise unnoticed by the main stream.

It is wel I worth a read.

ROBERT T. STANFORD F/V Ida , Ft. Bragg CA Clipper Ship Captain, by Michael Jay Mjelde (The Glencannon Press, Palo Alto CA, 1997, 266pp, illus, notes, plans, biblio, index , ISBN 1-889901-05-9; $39.95hc) The ship Glory of the Seas, built by Donald McKay in East Boston in 1869, was the last and longest-lived of all the vessels from that famous shipyard. Her long career ended in 1923 on a beach near Seattle where she was burned to recover the metals used in her construction.

Michael Jay Mjelde wrote her history in his book Glory of the Seas , published in 1970; his present work is a biography of her third master, Daniel McLaughlin.

A native of Grand Manaan, New Brunswick, he went to sea as a boy and progressed rap idl y in his profess ion, becoming an American citizen and attaining the command of some well-known vessels before he was asked to take the Glory of the Seas in 1876. Much new material has turned up since the first book came out and the author makes good use of it.

The book is as much about the ship as it is about her master, who commanded her for only eight years. The Glory, whose fi gurehead is one of the treasures at India House, a private club in Lower Manhattan, and whose half model is at The Mariners' Museum , was one of the SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

famous ships of her time and Mjelde in his two books has done full justice to her. He conveys well the stiffing competition of the grain trade , which attracted so many fine sailing ships to San Francisco for over 40 years .

The research as expressed in the extensive notes is irnpressi ve, and the ship 's plans that appeared in the previous book have been added to and will be of interest to ship modelers and anyone interested in sh ip construction.

ANDREW J. NESDALL Waban, Massachusetts The Lightships of Cape Cod , by Frederic L. Thompson (Congress Square Press , Portland ME, orig 1983, repr 1996, l 12pp, illus , biblio, ISBN 0-9611320-00; $21.95pb) Distributed by Kenrick A. Claflin & Son, 30 Hudson Street, Northborough MA 01532-1922.

The recent revived interest in the American lightship has resulted in a notable movement to save these beacons of the sea and tell their stories as the last sh ips have now gone out of service, replaced by deepwater towers or buoys.

Anyone who thinks of lightship duty as a sinecure will learn quite a different story in the pages of this book, first issued in 1983, which includes the story of the Nantucket lightship in one of the most exposed lightship stations in the world.

The opening chapters cover the general hi story of the American lightship, richly illustrated with period photographs and with such tragic vignettes as those found carved on a cabin door of a Great Lakes lightship when she was raised after being overwhelmed in a huITicane: "Goodbye Nellie, ship is breaking up fast. " There were no surv ivors from that misadventure, only this message from PS the captain to hi s wife.

Oxford Atlas of Exploration (Oxford University Press , Inc. , New York NY, 1997 , 248pp, illus, index , ISBN 0-19521353-X; $40hc) In his foreword to this volume, John Hemming, director of The Royal Geographical Society, says that what sets us apart from other animals who migrate and travel "is our ability to comm unicate our discoveries to others and to develop a collective awareness of the known world." This atlas distills our collective awareness into chapters that take today's readers from the ancient world to the great European exp lorations of the last six centuries and to

BOATS &SHIPS THROUGH TIME JULY 9 - 30, 1998 Study boot and ship desig1i!lrofuilncient tifues through nineteenth century · .materials and tools .used in their construct.ion long and round ships, and· s and cultures. U under· with ental

For more inlormotion, pleose contort the Science Museum of Long Island, PO Box 908, Plondome , NY 11030; call (516) 621-9400 ext. 13 or lox (516) 365-8921

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61

REVIEWS recent work in oceanography. The text is necessarily painted in with a broad brush, but we found the nautical details accurate and judiciously chosen, without the pretentious jargon that is so often used as a substitute for sound basic understanding in broad-gauge work. The maps are cleanly presented , with the sweeping movements so vital to the tale effectively brought out. Examples may be found on pages lOand 13ofthisSea History. PS A Maritime Album: 100 Photographs and their Stories, ed. John Szarkowski, essays by Richard Benson (The Mariners' M useum , Newport News VA and Yale University Press , New Haven CT and London UK, 1997, 245pp, illus, notes, ISBN 0-300-07342-9; $39.95 hc) Thi s beautiful collection , publi shed in a large format reproduction worthy of the occasion, presents stranded schooners, burning battleships and a wonderfull y catholic range of other subjects from the work of many photographers recording the changing maritime scene over the last 150 years. Here you' ll meet Donald McKay, builder of clipper ships, with the visage of a hardheaded visionary, and yo u' ll attend the launc h of the

clunky-looking battleship l llinois poised on her launching ways before a welldressed crowd who hold umbrellas to ward off the hot sun of a hundred years ago. The Mariners ', always generous in providing access to its unexcelled photograph collection, is to be congratulated on this fine volume, which opens its riches to all who cherish the sea. PS

get together. A clue to the difference is found in the dedication to this book: "To the Andrew, with gratitude and affection." The "Andrew" is an open code, in the lower-deck argot of the Royal Navy, for the Navy itself, with all its arbitrary ways and the difficulties and dangers of its service. It will be a fortunate outfit that next enlists Mr. Badham 's service! PS

My Road Leads Me Seawards, by Michael Badham (New Millennium , London UK, 1997,520pp,illus,$ 17.95pb) Available in the US from Michael Badham, RDF 2, Box 180, Bath ME 04530.

This rollicking memoir of an adventurous life only begins with wartime service at sea in England ' s Royal Navy (at ages 13-19); it goes back to an Australian childhood, through long residence in Ireland and years of running a yacht for private charter in the Caribbean, when the author sailed away to new horizons with his young family. With enormous candor the author relates adventures and mi sadventures, thelikeofwhichmostof us do not encounter in a lifetime. Badham ' s seamanly style makes hi s writing something more than the casual " moaning at the bar" one hears when old hands

Enlightenment and Exploration in the North Pacific, 1741-1805, ed. Stephen Haycox , JamesK. Barnett and Caedmon A. Liburd (University of Washington Press, Seattle WA & London UK, 1997, 220pp, illus, index , ISBN 0-295-975830; $19.95pb) Various scholars explore, in this lea.med but lively work, the motivating ideas and achievements of the movement to bring the wide reaches of the North Pacific into the ken of the civi lized world. On-the-spot testimony enli vens and authenticates this work. PS

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Ships for the Seven Seas: Philadelphia Shipbuilding in the Age oflndustrial Capitalism, byThomasR. Heimich (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD & London UK, 1997, 290pp, illus, notes, biblio, index , 0-8018-53877; $39.95hc) A fine sense of the dramatic events and personalities, as well as the financi al and technological developments of Philadelphia's rise as the leading center of iron and steel shipbuilding in the Un ited States infuses this important work, which is built on solid scholarly foundations.

PS

Jonesport Nautical Antiques Visit our web site at http ://www.nauticalantiques.com or call 978-537-1413.

We have nautical art, nautical antiques, and a line of nautical reproductions of sextants, telescopes, and compasses.

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SEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

CLASSIFIED ADS EDITOR'S BOOK LOCKER Llncoln P. Paine now brings us his longawaited Ships of the World, a project we discussed around the office when he was editor of Sea History in 1988. The resulting product is well worth the wa it!

The classic sea writer Patri ck O'Brian calls this " a most uncommonly valuable book," and so it is, covering the ships known to hi story in fact and fiction , with scrupulous attention to such detail as the names of the two characters (Charlie and Rose) who drove theAfi'ican Queen to glory in C. S. Forester's grand yarn.

And what joy to find Arthur Ran some' s fictional cutter Goblin along with his very real Racundra!

Paine wisely reached out to a wide circle of advisors in this monumental compilation covering some 1,000 ships.

Each comes with her own story , ably told in brief compass with minimum loss of color. Coverage is necessarily uneven in a work of this kind, however, and one ship that got short shrift is the famous battleship HMS Warspite.

Her epic performance at "W indy Corner" at Jutland in May 1916 is described in confused fashion, and she was present only at the Second Battle of Narvik in April 1940, not the first-having been sent in specifically to finish the German destroyers remaining after the first battle.

And her blowing the German fortifications in Walcheren off the map, thus opening Amsterdam as a supply base, took place in November 1944 rather than 1945. Finally , she was decommissioned in February 1945, while the war sti ll raged, not in 1946. She was out of it, limping around with battle damage too heavy to be feasibly repaired.

Ge1many came close to cutting the vital No1th Atlantic supply line in World Wars I and II using essentially auxiliary craft, submarines and aircraft operating under and over the sea. Had the Germans established control of the surface, they would have without question conquered Europe. Thirty-odd capital ships stood between the world and that fate at the outbreak of war in 1914, and just 15 in 1939. The Warspite served prominently in both conflicts.

For the great surface engagement at Jutland in 1916, a grand new book by Andrew Gordon, The Rules ofthe Game, explores the command problems stemming on the one hand from Admiral Jellicoe's inflex ible system and on the other from hi s subordinate Admiral Beatty ' s excessively loose system which seems to have produced inferior gunSEA HISTORY 84, SPRING 1998

nery (the point is still debated) and lamentable lack of signals discipline. Gordon goes back to the inbred habits of a navy which, as the wars of this century approached, had rested too long on the glories of Trafalgar. He brings fresh perspectives to the well-established facts of an institution more addressed to paintwork than to gunnery , and to perfection in drill rather than individual initiative. He rightly points out that in the infamous collision of the Victoria and the Camperdown in 1893 , it was not Sir George Tryon 's defective signal which cost the Royal Navy one firstclass battleship and 358 lives, but the blind obedience of the watchstanders on the flagship's bridge and of the captains of the other ships in the squadron.

Another problem was the technolog ical inferiority of British gunpowder, shells and, in some cases, the design of the ships. These problems came to a head in the heavily armed , lightly protected battlecruisers of the British fleet, three of which blew up at Jutland . A searching account of these colorful, fast marauders is given in the new book Battlecruisers, by John Roberts, a balanced account of a tragically unbalanced class of ship. Roberts's earlier work, Dreadnought (unfortunately out of print) , gives an equally authentic account of the British battleship of 1906 which, rushed to completion in one year, gave her name to the subsequent battleships of all nations-a case where the eccentric genius of Admiral Fisher, which also gave the world the flawed battlecrui sers , stood Britain and the world in good stead in the struggle against the onslaught of armed totalitarianism in this century. All these ships are gone now , with the men who fought thembut despite their flaws they wrote their names large across history 's pages , and did their part, at whatever cost, to contain and ultimately defeat Germany ' s naval forces in two world wars.

PETER STANFORD

The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command, by Andrew Gordon (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1997, 708pp, iUus, appen, notes, biblio, index, ISBN l-55750718-X; $48.95hc) Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia, by LincolnP. Paine(HoughtonMifflin, Boston & New York, 1997, 680pp, iUus, biblio, index, ISBN 0-395-71556-3; $50hc) Battlecruisers, by John Robe1ts (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1997, l 28pp, illus, biblio, notes, index, ISBN 1-55750-068-1; $49.95hc)

Small Ship Anchors-lnglefield 's or Hall's type ship anchors ( 1-2 pounds, 4- 7" long), the type associated with large 20th C ships, no sailing/pirate sh ip type anchors. Often produced as paper weights, advertising gifts, commemoratives. Call Bruce, 2 19-489-5004, Indiana.

10 books, new: mixed titles, paper/hard cover, tax, shipping $15 ($ 100 +value) prepay visa, mastercard, check: LRA Inc. 474 Dunderberg Rd., Monroe, NY 10950, 9 14-783- 1144.

Ship Paintings Restored. Museum quality restoration of old paintings. Damaged old ship paintings purchased. Peter William s, 30 Ipswich St. , Boston MA 02215. By appointment: 617-536-4092 Maritime Books-Used and rare. All maritime subjects. Free catalogs upon request.

American Booksellers, 102 West 11th St. , Aberdeen, WA 98520. 360-532-2099.

Marinas/Boatya rds on Chesapeake Bay, buy or sell. Call Wilford Land Company, PO Box 953, Easton, MD 2 160 l. Tel: 410-822-4586, Fax: 4l0-226-5205 Collection: Korean diving helmet. Ship: wheels, paintings, models. President FDR model. Dollond Telescope. Books. Memorabilia. SASE, Box 231 , West Covina, CA 91793. Fax: 909-595-6655. E-mai l: jimpinxit@aol.com.

Chart your course through New England ' s maritime heritage. Send for your free copy.

Cubberley & Shaw Maritime Museum News, Box 607NM , Groton MA 01450-0607 Important Historical Artifact - the bow battle lantern from Spanish flagship Maria Teresa, recovered by US naval cadet after battle of Santi ago, where the ship singlehandedly took on the entire American fl eet.

Beautiful , brass,$ I 0,000, or best offer. Photos available. 30 1-340-6600, leave message.

To place your classified ad at $1.60 per word, phon e Carmen at 914-737-7878.

Or you may mail your message and payment to Sea History, Attn: Advertising Desk, PO Box 68, Peekskill NY 10566.

'CevtO?I~ LIGHTHOUSE Oil Paintings &

Limited Edition Prints P.O. Box 1143 Olympia, WA 98507 (360) 357-8368

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D OUGLAS MUSTER R ONALD L. O SWALD

H ON. J AMES J.M OORE

TH E J. M. K AP LA

G ERHARD E. K URZ

M A IN STR EET PROPERTIES

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M OBIL 01L CORPOR ATION

MR. & MRS. SPENCER L . MURFEY, JR. BRYAN OLIPH ANT D AV ID A . O'NEIL

LTCOL W A LTER E. JORGENSEN

CHRISTOS N. KRITIKOS

M AR IN TUG & B ARGE M AR INE SOCIETY OF NEW Y ORK W AR REN M ARR, LI BRI AN A . M cALLI STER D ONALD M c GR AW, JR . MR. & MRS. J. WILLI AM MIDDENDORF,

PETER M AN IGAU LT JAMES P. M A RENA KO S H AR RY W. & M ARY M ARS HALL M ATC H FILM I NC. D AV ID M . MILTO N TR UST

STEPHEN JoH NSON

K EY B AN K OF NEW Y ORK

TH E NAVY L EAGUE, NEW YORK C OUNCIL Y POWER A UTHOR ITY R ALPH M . & D OROTHY PACKER, JR. PAC KER M ARI NE W ALTER H . PAGE

C LAY M AITLAND

A NTHONY D. M ARSHALL MI LFORD B OA T WORK S

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M ORMAC M AR I NE TR ANS PORT, I NC.

F UND

G EORGE R. L AMB

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M ORRI S,

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N ORTON LI LLY l NTERNATIO AL WILLI AM A . PALM R. PEKELNEY

D ONALD W. PETIT MRS. A. T. POUCH, JR. THOM AS POWNALL MR . & MRS. ALB ERT PRATI L ESLI E C. Q UICK, JR. CRA IG A. C. REYNOLDS WI LLIAM RICH , [][ CH ARLES A. R OBERTSON L AURANCE S. R OC KEFELLER M. R OSENBLATI & SON, [ NC. EDMUNDS. R UMOWICZ M ARY A.H. R UMSEY F OUNDATION SAFE H ARBOUR CH ARTER ING JoHN

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SALI SBURY

A. H ERBERT SANDWEN

MRS. ARTH UR J . SANTRY,

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S. H . & H ELEN R. SCHEUER FAMILY FOUNDATION

RI CHARD W. SCHEU! G

MICHAEL D . SHEA ROBERT A. S1NCERBEAUX A NN C. & C. H AM ILTON SLOAN FOUN DATIO N H OWARD SLOTNICK B AILEY SMITH EDM UND A . STANLEY, J R. STATE COUNCIL ON W ATER WAYS Jol! N STOBART STOLT-N IELSEN, S.A. TE XACO I NC. D AN IEL L OUIS A. TR APP, J R.

A NNA GLEN VIETOR

W!LLAIM R. W ALS H

D AV ID B . VI ETOR

W ES TCHE STER RESCO

H AR RY & CAROL VI NA LL,

WILLI AM H. WHI TE

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JOHN WIL EY AND So S, I NC.

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NORMA & PETER STANFOR D TH ORNE FOUNDA TI ON , I NC .

SH ANNON W ALL

R AYMOND E. W ALLACE

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ED WARD G. ZELINSKY

DONORS

B ENJAM IN B. B AKER JESSE M. BoNTEcou FRAN K 0. BRAYNARD ALICE Ross C AREY D Av m D. CHOMEAU C APT. JAMES C. CooK P. S. D EB EAUMONT JAMES P. F ARLEY MR. & MRS. W.W. FR AZ IER, I V R OBERTS. H AGGE, lR. CARL W. H EXAMER, II H OWA RD E. H IGHT I NTR EPID M USEUM FOUNDATION R OBERT W. JACKSON NEIL E. JONES H ARO LD K APLAN ELLEN B. K URTZMAN CLIFFORD D. M ALLORY PETER M AX D AVID J. M c B RIDE H ARRY & JOYCE NELSON, JR. R OBERT B . O'BRIEN, JR. MRS. G ODWIN L . PELI SSERO H UGH M. PI ERCE SKIP R AWSON JOHN V. R AWSON, JR. H AV EN C. R OOSEVELT SA ILORS' UNION OF THE P ACIFIC BR ADFORD D. SM ITH KIM BALL SMITH M ELBOURNE SMITH STOLT PARCE L T ANKERS, I NC. D AN IEL R. S UK IS CHARLES J . V ADALA MRS. WILLI AM F . WISEMAN D ONALD R. Y EARWOOD

PATRONS

JAMES D. AB ELES RICHARD A NG LE MICHAELE . B AILEY CAPT. J. H OLLI S B owER, lR. STEPHEN J . BRECKLEY TH E BRESSLER FouNDATION

ALAN B EARDEN STEPHANIE B EGLEY RICHARD W. B ESSE D ONALD W. B LODGETI PETER J.P. BRICKFIELD C APT . J. B URROWS CRAIG B URT, lR. JOHN M. B UTLER

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WILLI AM J. C ANAVAN NORMAN CARATHANASIS G EORGE W. CARMANY, Ill G EORGE F. CLEMENTS, JR. COLTO & COM PANY SEAN H . CUMMI GS ALI CE D ADOUR IAN D OM INIC A. D EL AURENTIS, MD R EYNOLDS D u PONT, lR. H OWARD H. EDD Y EKLOF M AR INE CORPORATION CDR . L ELAND F. E STES C APT. JULES G. fLEDER BRENT FOLLWEJLER CHARLES FREEMAN , ESQ.

J.E. FRICKER,

JR.

PATRICK H. F ULMER

G EN. PATR ICK J. G ARVEY, USMC ( R ET)

PETER P. GERQUEST

C APT. D WIGHT GERTZ

THOMAS C. GILLMER LCDR B. A. GILMORE, USN ( R ET) BRUCE G ODLEY C APT. WILLI AM H . H AMILTON FREDERIC H . H ARWOOD R OGER A. H ASK INS JAMES H. H AVASY D R. & MRS. D AVID H AYES H . D ALE H EMMERDINGER MR . & MRS. D AVID H ENWOOD M R. & MRS. CHARLES HILL T OWNSEND H ORNOR JAKOB I SBR ANDTSEN G EORGE M. I VEY, JR. MRS. B ERNICE B. JOHNSTON CHARLES KILBOURNE PETER K NIFFIN ELI OT K NOWLES JAMES L ATHAM TIM OTHY L EEDS ARTHURS. Liss PI ERRE M AN IGAULT M AR INE SOCIETY OF B OSTON RI CHARD M AURER RICHARD D. M c 1JSH JOHN MECRAY JACQU ES MEGROZ ELI ZA BETH M EYER l. A. M ORRIS

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R OBERT E. M ORRIS,

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C APT. G. M. M USICK

CLIFFORD B. O ' H ARA

R AY R EM ICK CAPT. JOSE RI VE RA VI CTOR SAMUELSEN EDWARD W. SNOWDON SPIRIT & SANZONE DI STRIB UTERS, [ NC. THOM SON I NDUSTR IES, I NC. ROBERT J . TYO T ERRY S. W ALTON

JOHN B. THOM SON

ALFRED T YLER, R AY ER W EIR

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RADM THOMAS J. PATIERSON

CAPT. D. E. PERK INS

PHILLIP PERSINGER

M ARCOS JOHN PSARROS

SANDY H OOK PILOTS. NY &N J ]J M SARGENT JOSEPH & JEAN SAWTELLE SEAREEF CH ARTERI NG, I NC. RI CHARD J. STIEGLITZ R OBERT G. STONE, JR. BENGT STROMQUIST BRUCE SwEDJEN MR. & MRS. JAMES SYKES

D R. NORMAN B. TH OMSON,

Ci·JARLIE J. V ADALA CAPT. RI CHARD G . WILEY

D AN IEL

lR. C.

S AMUEL THORNE VERDI ER

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CARL W. TIMPSON, JR.

Tor SHELF GR APHICS

MR. & MRS. ALEXA ' DER W. VI ETOR

H OLGER W1 'DEL0V

THOMAS H. WYSMULLER

WI LLIAM

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T OWER,

R OBERTS. YOUNG

Request for licensing Proposals Legendary American instrument maker John E. Hand & Sons is seeking qualified licensees in the marine and instrument markets. Desirable categories would be marine electronics, instrumentation and propulsion, measuring devices, clocks and watches, and similar categories. Other proposals will also be considered. No up-front cost for use of name, and all royalties will contribute to extensive brand awareness marketing for first three years.

The Visolette Loupe is a unique combinatio n of condenser and 2. 7X magnifier. Its abili ty to bundle ambient li gh t makes the reading within the glass easier. This 65mm (2.5") diameter lens is precision ground and polished, mo un ted in a solid brass r ing with anti-slip bottom and enclosed in a solid waln ut case. It makes a stu nning addition to any chart table or desk and a beautiful and useful gift for any fla t piece collector. $69.00 plus S3.00 shipping per order.

WESTCHESTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 8 John Walsh Blvd.

Peel<sl<ill, NY 10566 914-736-1034 • Fax: 914-736-1217

II

C APT. A USTIN N. VOLK , USN (RET)

John E. Hand & Sons is one of the oldest companies in the USA to specialize in marine navigational instruments. It has been in continuous operation for 125 years and has provided binnacles, compasses, peloruses and other navigational instruments to much of the military and commercial fleets. More than 30,000 lifeboat compasses alone were manufactured by John E. Hand & Sons during WWII, and the New York auction house Christie's will be featuring a large collecti!On of vintage Hand instruments in its annual maritime auction. John E. Hand & Soms is among the most well-known and · highly regarded names in tthe marine field.

Sail the winds of history . â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

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The only Class A size sailing vessel under the US flag upon which the publi c may embark-all who sail aboard her participate to the best of their ability. Come alone or with family or friends-sign on fo r a few days or a few weeks. No prior experience is necessary, nor is extraordinary fi tness required. Reasonable rates.

To receive a schedule, rates and additional info rmation, wri te or call:

"HMS" ROSE Foundation, 1 Bostwick Ave. , Bridgeport CT 06605 "B' (203) 335- 1433

"fi" (203) 335-0932

Fax: (203) 335-6793

website: www .tallshipro se .org

ROSE is a US documented vessel, inspected and certifi ed by the US Coast Guard. Safety standards f or Sailing School Vessels differ from those of passenger vessels on a comparable route, because persons aboard training ships are not passengers but participants who share in the ship's op eration . ROSE meets or exceeds all safety requirements fo r a vessel of her size and class.

* ** ** * * ** * * * *** The licensed civilian men and women of the U.S. merchant marine-skilled, reliable, driven by history and tradition, ready to serve in routine trade in peacetime and in defense sealift in wartime. No one does it better.

American Maritime Officers

2 West Dixie Highway Dania , Florida 33004 (305) 921-2221

Michael R. McKay

Jerome E. Joseph

President

Executive Vice President

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