BRITISH MEMORIAL ON SANDY HOOK (NJ)

1 December, 2014: Wow! It's December already! I'm still trying to figure out what happened to summer! And speaking of summer - I live near Sandy Hook NJ, now a national park and recreation area (means we get lots of summer tourists here to sit on the beach and swim in the Atlantic Ocean). There is a wonderful bike/walking trail - paved - on the Hook which run almost to the end, about 7 miles, and during the summer and early fall months, I ride a bicycle there with a friend. Along the trail is a monument, a stone pedestal, a plaque, and a flagpole displaying the American flag, the colonial flag, and the British flag. Most people who visit the Hook are familiar with the monument but do not necessarily know what it's about. Here's what it looks like on a brisk, windy, late fall day:

Ok - So what's it all about? Well, I'm gonna tell you that right now! Remember the Revolutionary War? Yup! That one. The one where the fighting ended with the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. And the one where the Treaty of Paris that supposedly set the terms and conditions for England to leave us alone was not executed until September 1783. The British still occupied New York City until 25 November of that year. (Why did they hang around so long, one might ask!) Yes, that Revolutionary War. The one we Americans won! So OK, you say, what's that got to do with the monument?

 Hang on there. While the British left New York in November of 1783, they didn't ALL go. A couple of ships, including the HMS Assistance, hung around for some reason and, on 30 December of that year anchored in Sandy Hook Bay. A party of sailors was sent ashore to this uninhabited strip of land to get fresh water, and I suspect, firewood. Being British sailors, more than likely pressed, they saw an opportunity and took off. Deserted. So the next day, the first lieutenant (second in command - and the title is a position, rather than a rank) of Assistance sent another party in to accomplish the task and have a look about for the deserters. Well, guess what? That gang split for parts unknown as well!

Getting a bit frustrated at his dwindling crew,  the first lieutenant himself  took a barge and fourteen men - twelve midshipmen and a sailor - to seek out the rascals who deserted. His name was Hamilton Douglas-Halyburton, scion of a distinguished and wealthy Scottish family (his name probably hinted at that right off!). Did I mention it was snowing? Yep, a regular blizzard, and the crew and Lieutenant Douglas-Halyburton did not return to the ship. A couple of days later, 2 January, the storm quit, and a party was sent ashore to find out what happened the their first lieutenant. Find him they did, and his crew. Frozen to death in the snow. Their bodies were buried the following day, in a common grave on Sandy Hook.

When his mother, Katherine, learned of her son's death, she had a marble monument placed at the site of the graves; it read:
          "Here lie the remains of the Honorable Hamilton Douglas-Haliburton, son of Shoto Charles, Earl of Morton, and heir to the ancient family of Haliburton of Pitcurr in Scotland, who perished on this coast with twelve more young gentlemen and one common sailor, in the spirited discharge of duty, the 30th or 31st of December, 1783 - born October the 10th, 1763: a youth, who in contempt of hardship and danger, though possessed of an ample fortune, served seven years in the British navy, with  a manly courage. He seemed to be deserving of a better fate. To his dear memory, and that of his unfortunate companions, this monumental stone is erected, by his unhappy mother Katherine, Countess Dowager of Morton."

The plaque then goes on to list the names of the "young gentlemen" (by the way, those would have been midshipmen, referred to by that title), the "common sailor" and mention that they were "cast away, all found dead and frozen, and buried in this grave." 

Interesting, right? But that's not the end! Nope. In 1808, a French ship turned up in Sandy Hook Bay and, with the French being at war with the English (for a change), the sailors, when they discovered the monument t0 a BRITISH crew, destroyed it. Nothing of the original monument remains. However, a similar memorial to the lost men was placed in Trinity Church in Manhattan most likely at the same time as the original one was set in the soil of Sandy Hook. And time passed, the sailors' graves were forgotten, unmarked, as they were, but still there. 

In 1908, workmen discovered the bodies accidentally while digging in the area and the remains were exhumed and re-interred at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY (and no, I don't know why that cemetery). The site then went untouched until 1937 when, as part of a Citizen Conservations Corps project, a new monument and plaque was erected, but interestingly, they got the date wrong, saying the events occurred in January 1783, which of course was just a year early! Finally, in 1939, just after the plaque with the wrong dates was in place, Queen Elizabeth and King George VI (of England) went by the site on 10th June, but there is no record of their having stopped. 

And that's the story, folks. And thanks to my good pal and biking buddy, Hank Gulick, who suggested this would make an interesting post for Maritime Maunder. 

"Things are not always as they seem!" unknown

                                      Fair Winds,
                                           Old Salt  

BEAT THE RUSH

29 November 2014: Ok - this is not what I had planned on for the next posting, but given that yesterday was "Black Friday," today is "Small Business Saturday," and Monday is "Cyber Monday," I could not resist this one. Way too timely! If I heard it once on the television or radio, I must have heard it a hundred times: "beat the rush."

And through a twitter post from the U.S. Coast Guard, I learned where the expression originated, thought it worth sharing because this is, after all, a maritime blog and the origins of "beat the rush" are maritime! Curious yet? OK, then, here you go:

In the mid and late 19th century, the prime export from the state of Alaska was seal furs, especially the fur of baby seals. Apparently when they are born and for several months, the fur is pure white and very soft. Also very desirable. The sealers were limited in their catch and were taxed on the pelts they brought in. They were also fined - heavily - for exceeding the limit or hunting "out of season." These taxes and fines were the primary source of revenue from Alaska and were used to defray the $7 million cost of the territory paid by the federal government. This of course, was before gold and oil were discovered up there.

Rush in Sitka AK 1901

In an effort to enforce the law, the forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Revenue Service, sent two ice-capable vessels to Alaskan waters exclusively to check the sealers and collect the fines for over hunting or out of season hunting. The two ships were the Bear and the Rush.

 Revenue Cutter Rush

Revenue Cutter Bear

 

 

 

And now, you're probably ahead of me. But I am sure you got it! The sealers, in an effort to avoid the limits, the fines, and the long arm of the law, would get to the sealing grounds early, collect as many baby seals as they could carry, and beat it out of the area before the cutters arrived. It was called, eventually, "beating the Rush." 

So now you know where that oft-repeated expression originated!



                               "Live is uncertain; eat dessert first!" words to live by

                                                               Fair Winds.
                                                                  Old Salt

THANKSGIVING +1

28 November 2014: Well, it's done; we all ate ourselves stupid (at least I did!) and it was glorious! The food, family, fun, and football were all great - and while some enjoyed variations, many of us ate the traditional turkey. Mom (or someone) cooked the 10-25 lb bird, fixed platters of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes (often with toasted marshmallows on top - yum!), peas, onions, pies, ice cream and all manner of tasty treats that we have come to associate with over-indulgence and this holiday. A holiday, which, legend would have us believe was created by the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony in 1621. In fact, they only did it the one time and, except for a few other places in the world, the United States is the only place where it's celebrated, courtesy of President Abraham Lincoln who, in 1863, decreed the the 4th Thursday in November would be a national day of thanks in memory of those who died at Gettysburg, allowing the Union to prevail! President FDR and Congress set it in stone in 1941 after the Prez tried to switch it, in 1939, to the 3rd Thursday in November to allow retailers another week of Christmas shopping during the Depression.

I mentioned above that there are only a few other places in the world where Thanksgiving is celebrated; one of them is Norfolk Island (off Australia)! Wow!  You say? Really? Why? Well, the New England whalers brought it with them - even before 1863, the holiday was fairly big in New England and that's where most of the whaleships came from. So when they happened to be in a place far away on that day, sometimes the locals got caught up in the festivities and the tradition continued! 

Cut to modern times and yes, still aboard ship; of course, the United States Navy celebrates Thanksgiving on their ships (and yes, I speak from personal experience) no matter where they might be. Always have, and, I hope, always will. But while the meals are frequently  reminiscent of that which I described above, the quantities are frequently somewhat different. To wit: the USS Carl R. Vinson, a nuclear aircraft carrier (on which I have sailed - wow! what an experience that was!) served the traditional Thanksgiving dinner yesterday to the crew and embarked airwing. There are about 5,000 sailors, officers, Marines, and airmen embarked at any given time. I will leave you today with graphic of their meal:

Courtesy of U.S. Navy

 "The taste of a meal frequently depends on those who share it!" old Chinese proverb

                                                           Fair Winds,
                                                                  Old Salt  

MAYFLOWER - Come on - what else at Thanksgiving?

26 November 2014: Well, it's that time of year again - turkeys, yams, family, football, and Pilgrims. But we're not going to talk about all that stuff today, but rather how that first Thanksgiving - the one we ostensibly celebrate - came to be. Sure, everyone knows about the Mayflower, the Pilgrim's ship that sailed from England to Cape Cod, bringing the religiously persecuted Puritans to start a new life in the new world. But what you may not know - yet - is the story of the ship itself. She's just kind of there, in the background, the transportation that was quickly forgotten once she had done her job. So, let's have a look at Mayflower.

artist's rendition of arrival at Cape Cod

Mayflower was a typical English merchant vessel - designed mostly for coastal trade - of the 17th century. High bowed, with a high stern castle both of which were designed for protection of the crew from the elements. She was square-rigged with a spritsail on her bowsprit. Of particular interest is her size: she was 80-90 feet on deck (her bowsprit added another 10-20 feet to her overall length) and displaced 180 tons. While her actual capacity is unknown, she did carry 135 souls during her most famous voyage. She was built before 1609, most likely at Harwich, in England. She had four decks:

One can only imagine the living conditions aboard - winter, North Atlantic, at sea for over two months  . . .

Of course, the winter winds in the North Atlantic are generally from the west and the design of the ship made her unimaginably difficult to sail in a generally upwind direction. It took her over two months to make the crossing. As a matter of interest, the ship's return voyage to England in April of 1621 took less than one month!

During her trading days, Mayflower would have been fairly heavily armed, a protection against the pirates and privateers of the various European nations where she sailed. Her gun deck, a space of some 50' by 25', housed seven cannons that fired a 3.5 lb ball and three smaller ones for close in defense which fired what became known as grapeshot - a bag of musket balls - which impacted like the discharge of a shotgun, as far as the recipient was concerned. The gun deck also housed the Pilgrims. There was no access to the weather deck for them, save a vertical wooden or rope ladder and no heads - bathroom facilities. They probably used a bucket for that purpose. And of course, there was no heat. It was noteworthy, that Captain Jones off loaded four of his cannon for the Pilgrims to provide some defense for New Plymouth, should it be necessary.

Christopher Jones had been her master for eleven years prior to the Pilgrim voyage, trading across the English Channel to France carrying woolens over and wine back. He owned a quarter share of the ship, which of course, included profits from her trading voyages. For the famous one, there was no trading anticipated and she was chartered for the voyage by Thomas Watson of the Merchant Adventurers investor group.

The voyage had originally consisted of two ships, the Speedwell being the other, and left England in August. Speedwell quickly sprang a leak and the two put into Dartmouth for repairs. A second start was attempted in early September, but again, Speedwell began to leak, only now the two were about 200 miles out. The decision to leave the leaky Speedwell to go back by herself was born by by the time of year, the paucity of funds remaining, and desire of the passengers to get to America. That they were getting low on provisions probably also played a role in the decision. It might be worth noting that some think the leaks in Speedwell might have been "man-made" out of a fear of staving to death in the New World.

As one might reckon, the voyage was miserable. Huge seas, contrary winds, low food stocks, and damage to the structural members of the vessel. In mid-November, they sighted land - Cape Cod - and turned south to head for their intended destination, the Virginia Colony, but after several days of fighting strong and contrary winds and high seas, they turned about to seek shelter in the "hook" of Cape Cod, present day Provincetown. She anchored there on 21 November in freezing conditions.

The rest, of course, is what every school kid learned: they moved across Cape Cod Bay to form Plymouth Colony, help from the Indians, death, disease, and struggle. Captain Jones agrees to stay through the winter (I suspect he was not being terribly magnanimous - it would have been beyond miserable to head back straight away!) 

So, what happened to the ship? She made a couple of trips to France after that, but Jones died in March of 1622 - his health was likely badly compromised by the 1620 voyage - and the ship was laid up in Rotherhithe, England after that. Most probably, her useful life was at an end and she is assumed to have been broken up in 1624. There appears to have been a mill built using some of her timbers. 

A reproduction Mayflower was built and sailed across the Atlantic in 1957. She was/is entirely authentic, a true reproduction. And by today's standards, small! Here's what she looks like: 

 The ship is docked at Plimouth Colony in Massachusetts and is generally open to tourists. She sails infrequently and is, I believe, either in or about to go in the yard for much needed repairs.

               Happy Thanksgiving to all from Maritime Maunder and the Old Salt!

                                             Fair Winds,
                                                    Old Salt

AND YET ANOTHER NAIL IN THE AULD MUG'S COFFIN

23 November 2014: What have they done to the America's Cup program? How did we get from this:

 

 

The schooner America in 1851 for whom the Cup is named.

to this? 

And the boats are only the visible and obvious departures from the concept. Let me 'splain.

When the "low black schooner" sailed to England on her own bottom and whipped up on the best of England's sailing (they were all sailing then) yachts to win the "Auld Mug" - the so called 100 guinea cup - a tradition was started. The Cup, quickly named the "America's Cup" in honor of the schooner that first won it and not the country, was given via Deed of Gift  to the New York Yacht Club which then laid down the rules for the future races which would apply to challenger and defender alike: the boats had to sail to the race site on their own bottoms, the crew were amateurs and, most important, were all of the nationality of the challenger or defender. The boats were designed and built in their country of origin as were the equipment, sails, etc. 

For 132 years, the Cup resided in America, specifically the New York Yacht Club and then, in 1983, Australia came to Newport R.I. and won, beating Dennis Conner to take the cup to Australia.
The boats had evolved, changing with the times to be less expensive to build and sail, require less crew, and with that change, came the abandonment of getting to the race site on their own bottoms. But the crews and boats were still national icons, representative of their country of origin. And still traditional sailboats.
Somewhere along the way, the defending yacht clubs (not American and without a shred of historical conscience) began to evolve the boats themselves into more modern, evolutionary vessels, finally reaching the zenith last year in the boat shown above and here, below. And since America held the Cup, it was sailed in American waters (the defender gets to chose), specifically San Fransisco Bay. 

The boat, combined with the constant blustery winds there offered what Larry Ellison, sponsor of the American boat, labeled "NASCAR on the water" with the boats reaching speeds in excess of 50 MPH! Was it exciting? You better believe it! I was there and wow! It was amazing. It was thrilling to watch, even when the U.S. boat lost. But it was NOT the America's Cup. Not a bit. And to top it off, on the American boat, there was exactly ONE AMERICAN. In fact, the crew mostly hailed from New Zealand! All professional, paid, "rock-stars." And the tactician,  Sir Ben Ainsley, who was hired after the U.S. was down 1-8, came from England to save the day! 

The final straw for many of us who used to follow the Cup closely, defenders and challengers, boats, and technology, was leaked a week or so ago: the American held Cup would be sailed in BERMUDA in the next iteration, in 2017. (It will be "announced" on 2 December.) And the boats, still the foil sporting, go-fast catamarans, will be a bit smaller at 62' (vs.72' for the previous) with a smaller crew (8 vs. the 11 of last year), lighter, and under a smaller load. But still capable of startling speeds and spectacle producing sailing. 

Why Bermuda? Hmmm. Who knows? Probably not the wind, tourist viability, or convenience. Maybe a deal was made by Mr. Ellison to help the island which is in huge financial difficulty to refill its coffers? Maybe due to the favorable tax laws there? But clearly, not America . . . for the first time a defender has CHOSEN to sail in a foreign country. (Don't count Switzerland in that: Lake Como was not a viable locale to race so they raced off Barcelona.)

Geeze! What happened? And how can they actually call it the America's Cup anymore? Many of us think that there is surely a place for this high tech, high speed, exciting sailboat race, but it is NOT the America's Cup. That should adhere to least some of the tradition inherent in this long standing and prestigious event. 

Just sayin'!

"Madam, there is no second!" Queen Victoria's consort to the queen when the schooner America finished 20 minutes ahead of the next boat.



                                                       Fair Winds!
                                                                  Old Salt

AMERICA'S FIRST BATTLESHIP

18 November 2014: Today marks the anniversary of the launching of America's first "true" battleship, USS Maine. Yes, that Maine! The one that blew up mysteriously in Havana Harbor in February 1898. The one credited with the start of the Spanish American War. We'll talk more about the demise of the ship - the first one to be named for the state of Maine - in February, as appropriate. But first, a word or two on the great ship, a so-called "2nd class" battleship.

Her launch was a "big deal" - a major capital ship that would show the world American might where ever she sailed. And while she was launched in 1889, she was not commissioned for several years, 1895. Her sponsor ("godmother") was Alice Tracy Wilmerding, granddaughter of the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Tracy. 

The ship, at her launching, was touted as the cutting edge of modern naval warships, but by the time she was completed and commissioned, she was out of date, not as fast as she was designed to be, and had too narrow a beam to handle bad weather safely. It had been anticipated that she would be commissioned within two years of her launch, but delays in procuring the nickel steel armor plate cost the Brooklyn Navy Yard another two years and the ship was not commissioned until 1895. 

She was armed with sponson mounted gun turrets on each side, the superstructure cut away to allow her to fire both forward and aft, as well as across her deck. She did not have full masts as the reliability of steam engines had greatly increased by then. She was not strongly  enough built to allow her to ram an enemy ship without sustaining serious damage herself. Ramming had been a tactic which began to appear in regular use with the advent of iron-clad warships (Monitor vs. CSS Virgina (Merrimac)). But in spite of these short comings, Maine was still considered a major advance in American warship design.

She was sent to Cuba to ease tensions there and protect American interests  in the struggle between Spain and Cuba (Cuban revolt against Spain) and, while anchored in Havana Harbor, mysteriously exploded in the dark hours of 15 February 1898. As I said, we'll have more on that in February.

 "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!" Rallying cry following the demise of the ship.

                                                                               Fair Winds,
                                                                                   Old Salt

FOLLOW-UP TO PREVIOUS POSTS

17 November 2014: A few weeks ago, 8 October, to be specific, we posted a piece about the reproduction French frigate l'Hermione beginning her sea trials. You might recall (if not you can go back to the original post and check it out!) that the original ship was the one that brought the Marquis de Lafayette to America. His mission was to tell George Washington that France would help the Americans in their quest from freedom from England. The reproduction project has been underway for twenty years and I can only imagine the thrill the backers and workers must feel now that their efforts can come to fruition. Well, the good news is that they are complete now and she passed, apparently with flying colors!

 











The current plan is that in April 2015, l'Hermione will sail from France and visit 12 ports in the United States and Canada, both on her own and in conjunction with Tall Ships America (formerly, American Sail Training Association). Of course, it is only fitting that her first port of call, 5-7 June, should be Yorktown VA, the scene of the British surrender in 1781 that functionally ended the American Revolution. She will visit Mt. Vernon and Alexandria immediately following and then move on to Annapolis MD, Baltimore and Philadelphia. 
She will be in New York over the Independence Day holiday (7/2-4) and then head to Greenport NY, Newport RI, and Boston. Castine ME and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia will round out the visit. We will post more on this brilliant accomplishment as the time draws near! Stay tuned. For those of you who want more info, here's the website for l'Hermione: http://www.hermione2015.com/about-1-1/

NEW SUBJECT: In a post on 2 October, we told about the wonderful discovery of the wreck of what appeared to be HMS Erebus, one the ships, in fact the flagship, of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition to the Arctic find a northwest passage. Two ships, Terror and Erebus carried the expedition led by John Franklin and both disappeared, leaving nothing but rumors from the native population behind. Six previous attempts to find the ships were unsuccessful but, in September of this year, Parks Canada, using side scan sonar and later a remotely operated vehicle, found one of them, determined with some degree of certainty to be Erebus.

 But in the shipwreck business, nothing is certain without proof positive, and it is generally the ship's bell which provides the provenance and identity of a given wreck. Well, they hit the jackpot with this wreck; the bell has been recovered, identified, and has begun the conservation and stabilization process. 

 

Even his this picture of the bell in situ, one can clearly see the "broad arrow" mark, signifying that an item is the property of the Royal Navy (they marked everything, from cutlasses to cannon to spars, and even trees in the forest designated for harvesting!). They also noted the date cast into the bell, 1845, the year the expedition left England. The Parks Canada divers then went down (can you imagine how cold that water must have been!) and over a period of 7 dives, recovered the bell, took photos and video of everything, and measurements to document the site.

The date, and the broad arrow are clearly visible in these photos.



The bell, now out of the water and undergoing conservation and stabilization in Ottawa, a process that could take as long as 18 months. Once it is free of any salt content, it will be the subject of further study.



















So there you have it, friends. A couple of interesting (in my opinion) follow-ons to previous stories we offered.

"In war, it is not the men who make the difference, but the man." Napoleon Bonaparte

                                        Fair Winds,
                                                Old Salt