Models in swim suits by fashion photographer Toni Frissell, 1950.
from Shorpy
Archive for the 'History' Category Page 2 of 2
Hats off all, and a moment of silence to commemorate a black, black day in nautical history. For on this day in 1970 the Royal Navy stopped the 300-year-old practice of issuing noon spirts to crews around the world. After “Black Tot Day” things just haven’t been the same.
Grog tub for mixing rum
Black Tot Day - July 31st, 1970, when the last “tot was drawn in the fleet around the globe; a rather touchy subject with the old and bold!”
Half gill (2 oz) rum tot cup (replica)
The Blackburn Challenge is the east coast’s premier open-water human-powered boat competition (no sails allowed). This 20 mile challenge sends rowers, kayakers and canoeist around Cape Ann Massachusetts. The race will be held this year on July 21 and entries are due July 7
The race in named in honor of Howard Blackburn, a famous Gloucester fisherman. Blackburn was born in Nova Scotia in 1859. At the age of 18, he moved south to Massachusetts, seeking work as a fisherman, and became part of the Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing community.
Blackburn first rose to fame in 1883. While he was fishing on the schooner Grace L. Fears, a sudden winter storm caught him and a crewmate unprepared while they were in their dory, leaving them separated from the schooner. Blackburn began to row for shore, despite the loss of his mittens; he knew his hands would freeze, so he kept them in the hooked position that would allow him to row.
After five days with virtually no food, water, or sleep, he made it to shore in Newfoundland; but his companion had died during the journey. Blackburn’s hands were treated for frostbite, but could not be saved; he lost all his fingers, and both thumbs to the first joint.
Blackburn returned to Gloucester a hero, and with the help of the town, managed to establish a successful saloon. Not content with this, he organised an expedition to the Klondike to join the gold rush; rather than go overland, he and his group sailed there, via Cape Horn.
After the quest for gold failed, Blackburn turned his attention to a new challenge — to sail single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean. This had been done before, by Alfred “Centennial” Johnson in 1876, and Joshua Slocum had completed a single-handed circumnavigation in 1898; but for a man with no fingers to undertake such a voyage would be quite an accomplishment. He sailed from Gloucester in 1899, in the sloop Great Western, and reached England after 62 days at sea.
Returning to Gloucester, Blackburn continued to prosper as a businessman; but he still hankered for adventure. In 1901, he sailed to Portugal in the twenty-five-foot sloop Great Republic, making the trip in 39 days. In 1903 he again set out alone, this time in the sailing dory America, but was defeated by bad weather.
Blackburn died in 1932; his funeral was attended by many of the people of Gloucester. He was buried in the Fishermen’s Rest section of Beechgrove Cemetery.
Links
- The Blackburn Challenge Race
- Howard Blackburn on Wikipedia
- Lone Voyager: The Extraordinary Adventures Of Howard Blackburn Hero Fisherman Of Gloucester (on Amazon) I own this book, it is a great and inspiring read.
BOSTON - A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt — more than a century ago. The 49-foot male whale died when it was shot with a similar projectile last month, and the older device was found buried beneath its blubber as hunters carved it with a chain saw for harvesting. Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3 1/2-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale’s age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old. The bomb lance fragment, lodged a bone between the whale’s neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time. It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890. The small metal cylinder was filled with explosives fitted with a time-delay fuse so it would explode seconds after it was shot into the whale.
“Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able,
And on the seventh—holystone the decks and scrape the cable.”
— The “Philadelphia Catechism” from Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast
Sadly, holystoning was discontinued by the US Navy way back in 1931.
From Harper’s Weekly magazine, Saturday February 4th, 1860. Page 77 features the Japanese Mermaid from a sketch from Dr. Phillips, U.S.N. Most likely a fake, as described in an earlier post.
Today’s mermaid brought to you by Shorpy.
From Plan59. Click the pic for the full size image, and look at the book’s title.
Nuns clamming Long Island Sound in 1957. From Shorpy.
Mermaid interest, 1966. I’m not sure exactly why readers of a mens mag would want to delve into “The Queer World of the Beefcake Boys”…
Henley in its heyday (1893). From the era of Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat. Punts, Thames Skiffs, and even a Venetian gondola. Talk about the good old days…
Pictured: The Star of India
The Through Mighty Seas website covers the maritime history of the merchant sailing ships of the North West of England and the Isle of Man, through the period from the late 1700’s until the First World War. There are histories of more than 900 ships, indexed by region, and over 100 historic photographs.
The history covers the area from Lancaster to the S of Morecambe Bay, and the Cumbrian coast to the Solway Firth, and includes the Isle of Man. The main content is individual ship histories, but also included is information on shipbuilders, shipyards, lifeboats, sea captains and mariners, shipping lines and other maritime history information. The site deals only with merchant sailing ships, but there are links to other sites covering steamships and the Royal Navy.
(…) Just before Sunrise Mr Christian & The Master at Arms & several officers came into my cabbin while I was fast asleep’ and seizing me tyed my hands with a Cord & threatened instant death if I made the least noise’ I however’ having a reverie’ called sufficiently loud to alarm the officers’ who found themselves equally secured by Centinels at their Doors - There were now three men at my Cabbin Door & four inside (a) - Mr Christian had a Cutlass & the others were armed with Musquets & Bayonets - I was now carried on Deck in my shirt’ in torture with a severe bandage round my wrists behind my back’ where I found no man to rescue to me. (…)
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