MOVING ON - IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!

16 SEPTEMBER 2014: The celebration is over; the tall ships and the grey hulls (navy ships) have moved on, and huge congratulations should go to the Star Spangled 200 folks, the city of Baltimore, and the state of Maryland for the amazing show! It was truly spectacular! Thank you for the hard work, and particularly for the awakening you provided for so many about the history of their country! 

Some of you reading this may notice a slightly different appearance, and maybe you even noticed you entered a slightly different address in your browser to find it. Maritimemaunder has moved on, too! We finally could no longer deal with the frustrations of the former site, so the Web Cobbler (my web master) moved the whole shootin' match to this new site. Hopefully, I will learn how to use it before too long and we will move forward with ease!

I will be "off the air" for a few days - the rest of the week, actually, while I participate in the 10th Maritime Heritage Conference in Norfolk VA. This is a convocation of historians - maritime, of course,  who gather to discuss - what else? - maritime history. Since it only happens every four years, we have a lot to discuss! I will be presenting a paper on the creation of the National Anthem (the preceding posts were a sampling of my presentation!) during a segment of the conference titled The War of 1812 on the Chesapeake Bay. The site is next door to the Battleship Wisconsin, an awesome ship indeed, and Norfolk, of course, is still very much a navy town! When I return to my office next week, I will write about things that might be of interest and provide some pix if possible. The program will be covering all manner of topics, ranging from using social media to tell your story (hmmm!) to underwater archeology and preservation of artifacts and ships. With the successful conclusion of the 38th whaling voyage of the Charles W. Morgan, there will be lots of info on that cruise as well as the restoration of the ship herself. And surely an abundance of topics relative to the War of 1812, especially since this is the final year of the bicentennial celebration. I am sure it will be an exciting time!

"To reach port we must set sail - Sail, not tie at anchor. Sail, not drift."  Franklin Roosevelt

                                               Fair Winds, 
                                                                     Old Salt