Explore history with the Fyddeye Guides || Enjoy amazing adventures at sea!
Explore history with the Fyddeye Guides || Enjoy amazing adventures at sea!
  Buy print book now! Just $17.95!Buy now for Kindle! Just $2.99!The Fyddeye Guide to America's Lighthouses makes your heritage travel planning easier by showing you hundreds of fascinating and historic lighthouses you can visit today on the east coast, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, and the west coast. Alaska and Hawaii included! |
 Buy now for Kindle! Just $2.99! Buy now for Nook! Buy now for iPad!In the ebook historical novel Bet: Stowaway Daughter, Lisbet "Bet" Lindstrom stows away aboard a tall ship to save her father from prison. Amazing adventures and daring rescues. Now on Smashwords! |
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 Buy print book now! Just $24.95!Buy now for Kindle! Just $6.99!The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History is a comprehensive travel guide to more than 2,000 tall ships, lighthouses, maritime museums and other maritime heritage attractions. Perfect for budget travelers, use the Guide to plan your trips to our historic sites! |
 Buy now for Kindle! Just $2.99!Buy now for Nook!Buy now for iPad!Blowing Out the Stink—a fisherman’s phrase for doing laundry at sea—tells the true story of the 1897 schooner Wawona and the quirky adventures of her captains and crews in the North Pacific. Now on Smashwords! |
About the Author — Joe Follansbee is the author of seven books, including three books on streaming media. He also works as the communications director for the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain. He lives in Seattle with his wife, two daughters, and four chickens.
America's 10 Most Endangered Historic Ships of 2012
- Details
- Category: News and Commentary
- Published on Thursday, 27 December 2012 00:00
- Written by Joe Follansbee
- Hits: 3086
We are slowly losing the patrimony of America’s maritime history. Of the 686 historic ships and boats listed in the Fyddeye directory, most are suffering from the inexorable decay that comes with age and forgetfulness. Not that preservationists aren’t trying to save these vessels. It’s just that money is tighter than ever, and public interest is fleeting at best. Fyddeye hopes to reverse this trend with an annual listing of the most threatened of these irreplaceable artifacts. For the first time this year, Fyddeye’s users nominated and voted on their choices for most endangered.
USCG Station Chicamacomico Surfboat No. 1046 (Rodanthe, N.C.) Surfboat No. 1046 played a key role in rescuing 51 sailors from the torpedoed British merchantman Mirlo in 1918. The rescue became the most decorated in U.S. history. The boat is preserved at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station.
Ernestina/Morrissey (New Bedford, Mass.) Launched in 1894, the fishing schooner Ernestina is now undergoing restoration in New Bedford. Formerly the Effie M. Morrissey, the ship also explored the Arctic under the auspices of several museums and the National Geographic Society. This year, she received new masts, which will be installed in 2013.
PTF-26 (Sacramento) Launched in 1968, PTF 26, called Liberty, is the last of the Fast Patrol Boats constructed. The vessel, which is still operational, saw service in Vietnam, and it is currently used for history education. The poor economy of the past few years has forced many donors to cut back support, and she is due for a haulout in 2013.
USS Olympia (Philadelphia) Listed as an endangered vessel for the second year in a row, the 1892 USS Olympia is the only warship left from the Spanish-American War. The Independence Seaport Museum plans to transfer the vessel to a new owner in 2013. The new owner will face severe problems, including a steel hull that is paper-thin in many places.
SS United States (Philadelphia) The luxury liner SS United States, launched in 1952, has been listed as an endangered historic ship two years in a row. Despite efforts by an active group of supporters, major donations, and intense coverage in the media, the vessel still languishes at an industrial dock, and plans to redevelop the area around the ship are delayed.
Lettie G. Howard (New York) The 1893 schooner Lettie G. Howard is one of several vessels owned by the South Street Seaport Museum on the New York waterfront. Hurricane Sandy caused severe flooding at the museum, and though it has reopened, financial issues threaten its entire ship collection.
Falls of Clyde (Honolulu) 2012 marks the second year the four-masted Falls of Clyde has been listed as an endangered historic ship. Built in 1878, the ship is the only surviving sail-powered oil tanker in the world. Until recently, the ship was threatened with sinking as a reef for recreational divers.
Baltimore (Baltimore, Md.) The 1906 steam tug Baltimore is the last hand-fired, coal-burning tug still afloat and still operational. Preservationists say the tug is “a ticking time bomb waiting to go down.”
Pea Island Life-Saving Station Beebe Surfboat (Manteo, N.C.) The Beebe pulling surfboat currently on display at the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum in Manteo, N.C. The boat is at the little-known museum that commemorates the African-American crew that once staffed the life-saving station.
Kalakala (Tacoma, Wash.) Listed for the second year in a row, the 1935 art-deco ferry Kalakala is quickly deteriorating at its moorage. The ship was sold at auction in 2012 to a lien-holder, and given its condition and the high cost of restoration, the Kalakala is likely to be scrapped, possibly as early as 2013.
You can view the entire list of nominated ships and boats at the Endangered Ships of 2012 poll page. Thank you to everyone who participated.
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New exhibit in Seattle celebrates history of recreational fishing
- Details
- Category: Maritime Museums
- Published on Sunday, 23 December 2012 07:47
- Written by Joe Follansbee
- Hits: 259
Recreational fishing is important to Puget Sound's quality of life, as well as its economy, and Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats has mounted a new exhibit to celebrate its history. The exhibit, titled "Fish On!", examines a time when resorts, such as Cama Beach on Camano Island in central Puget Sound, and boathouses from Olympia to the San Juan Islands invited men, women, and children to venture on the water with a hand line, spoon, bamboo pole, and rented rowboat.
CWB’s new exhibit, which opens December 29, records the stories, preserves the small watercraft, and shares images of the “glory days” of recreational salmon fishing in the region. The story of the development of Puget Sound communities is told by exploring how people interact with the waterfront.
“Recreational salmon fishing in the early part of the last century was as much a cultural experience as a sport," said Betsy Davis, CWB executive director. "Businesses, like boathouses, resorts, boats shops and tackle manufactures, that serviced western Washington’s love affair with salmon sportfishing drove local economies and buoyed entire communities.”
The boathouses and resorts phenomenon peaked in the late 1950s. At nearly 200 rental operations, anglers gathered not just to rent boats, but to swap lies, compare fishing rigs, and make friends. Fishing was a social experience. By the mid-1960s private boat ownership, declining fish runs, more stringent regulations and televised sporting events combined to forever change the spirit of recreational salmon fishing in Puget Sound.
The new exhibit includes historic photographs of many well-known Puget Sound resorts and boathouses, the stories of the people who ran and visited them, as well as actual boats that were used at some locations. Resort boats will be available for public rides on Seattle's Lake Union, others will be on display or undergoing restorations in the CWB floating boat shop.
The exhibit was funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Ivar's Seafood Restaurants. CWB currently operates historic cabins at Cama Beach State Park. The exhibit is staged at the CWB Boathouse in Seattle and continues through the fall of 2013.
Source: Center for Wooden Boats
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New Summersville Lake Lighthouse to be dedicated in June, 2013
- Details
- Category: East Coast
- Published on Monday, 17 December 2012 09:01
- Written by Summersville Lake Retreat
- Hits: 366
The Summersville Lake Lighthouse was erected in Mount Nebo, W. Va., on October 17th, 2012. Standing 104 feet tall with a top elevation of 2,164 feet above sea level, the 77,000 lb. structure has a cylindrical tower constructed entirely of ½-inch thick steel. With a base diameter of 12 feet receding to eight feet at the top, visitors can climb 122 steps to reach a 360-degree gallery deck offering unparalleled views of Summersville Lake and the Gauley River National Recreation Area.
The second tier lamp room houses a fully restored. 36,000 lumens rotational beacon complete with a double bullseye Fresnel lens capable of projecting a beam a distance of over 30 miles. The lighthouse is privately owned and is not an official aid to navigation.
The unique location and classic architectural design of this landmark project provides spectacular views of West Virginia's largest lake and surrounding mountain region, while at the same time re-using almost 72,000 pounds of structural steel first intended as a tower for a wind-power generator.
“This has to be the most innovative second use of a tower section that I have ever seen” stated Geoff Kerr, Construction Manager for Invenergy LLC. “In fact, in all of the energy projects that I have been involved with worldwide, this is, to my knowledge, the first time that anyone has ever utilized a wind tower in a recycling project.”
The official dedication and Lighting of the Summersville Lake Lighthouse will be held on West Virginia Day, June 20th, 2013 when the state celebrates its sesquicentennial. Among the scheduled guests are Senator Joe Manchin. More information is available at summersvillelakeretreat.com.
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Burnt remnant of Francis Drake's expedition put on display in Florida museum
- Details
- Category: Maritime
- Published on Monday, 10 December 2012 08:38
- Written by Joe Follansbee
- Hits: 187
Adventurer and entrepreneur Pat Croce has placed on display a rare burnt wooden remnant of one of two 16th century ships attributed to explorer Sir Francis Drake. The remnant is included in a new Drake Exhibition exhibit at the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum in St. Augustine, Fla. Drake raided and burned the town in 1586.
Croce discovered the remnant--believed to be from one of two ships attributed to Drake--in Panamanian waters in October, 2011. Croce and hs team spent more than two weeks targeting specific areas in Panama's Portobelo Bay under the direction of subsea specialists, Deeptrek, as part of a larger Panama expedition by IMDI Eco-Olas. "It was a dream come through then to find the ships of the most successful pirate in history and it's a dream come true now to be able to share it with the world," Croce said in a statement.
This latest permanent exhibit in St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum also includes an exact model of the shipwreck site of Drake's two ships, the Elizabeth and Delight, scuttled and sunk by his crew in 1596 to the bottom of Portobelo Bay; a replica of the Elizabeth, Drake's imposing 194-ton, 12-cannon galleon, handcrafted by St. Augustine artisan Tom Rahner; and a video chronicling Croce's Panamanian adventure to find Drake's ships and coffin.
Francis Drake was the most successful privateer in maritime history. A brilliant navigator and naval war hero, Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.
Source: St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum
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