The Schooner Wyoming was one of the largest wooden sailing vessels ever constructed. Built in Bath, Maine in 1909 as a collier ship, she was designed as a state-of-the-art sail freighter. Using a donkey generator and automated systems and winches for raising and lowering sails, and a telephone system for onboard communication, she was 450 feet long, but crewed by just 14 men.

Like many of the 20th century sail freight vessels, the Wyoming was a support ship for steamboats. Colliers carried coal to coaling stations around the world, allowing steamships to refuel and travel long distances. Because sailing vessels didn't use any of the coal they carried, they were ideal for transporting fuel efficiently around the world. But in order to stay competitive with steam vessels, sailing vessels had to be efficient in crew costs as well, which is why the Wyoming had such a small crew.

Sadly, this enormous sail freighter met with a tragic fate. To learn more about her disappearance in 1924, check out the short documentary film below.​

If you'd like to learn more about the Wyoming, visit the Maine Maritime Museum, which includes the site of the Percy & Small Shipyard, and a memorial to the Wyoming. 

If you'd like to learn more about sail freight, be sure to visit our upcoming exhibit, "A New Age of Sail: The History and Future of Sail Freight on the Hudson River," opening Sunday, May 29, 2022. 

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please ​make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!

As we approach the opening of our new exhibit, "A New Age of Sail: The History and Future of Sail Freight on the Hudson River," we thought we'd introduce this classic folk song about a collier named Nightingale by Stan Rogers. In it, a brave captain sacrifices himself to save his crew.

Rogers was a Canadian folk singer who wrote "The Flowers of Bermuda" in 1978, apparently based on a true story. He wrote of the song, "I took my first trip to Bermuda in May, 1978 and loved it. While I was there, I discovered that the whole area around Bermuda is a kind of ship graveyard. I found a map showing the location of most of the known wrecks and discovered that a coal carrier called the Nightingale sank off the North Rock in the early 1880s. The rest of the details are pure invention, except for the fact that Bermuda is lovely."

There was in fact a collier named Nightingale, although she foundered in the North Atlantic in the 1890s, not Bermuda in the 1880s. However, North Rock Reef in Bermuda was home to several shipwrecks, and you can still dive some today. Stephen Winick of Sing Out! magazine looked further into the history of Rogers' song and ship, and may have found the real vessel that inspired the song. 

Colliers were important cargo sailing vessels throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as they were able to ship coal without using any of it to fuel themselves. Bermuda was an important coaling station for the British Royal Navy's steamships and so the semi-fictional Nightingale would have been bringing coal from England or the United States to resupply the coaling station at Bermuda. Early steamships could not carry enough coal to go long distances without refueling, so stations like Bermuda were crucial to Naval operations. 

The Flowers Of Bermuda
by Stan Rogers

He was the captain of the Nightingale
Twenty-One days from clyde in coal.
He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale,
When he died on the North Rock Shoal.
​
Just five short hours from Bermuda, in a fine October gale,
There came a cry "O there be breakers dead ahead!"
From the Collier Nightingale.
No sooner had the captain brought her round,
Came a rending crash below.
Hard on her beam ends groaning went the Nightingale,
And overside her mainmast goes.

He was the captain of the Nightingale
Twenty-One days from clyde in coal.
He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale,
When he died on the North Rock Shoal.

"O Captain are we all for drowning?"
Came the cry from all the crew. "The boats be smashed,
How are we all then to be saved?
They are stove in through and through."
Oh, are ye brave and hearty collier men?
Or are ye blind and cannot see?
The captain's gig still lies before ye whole and sound.
It shall carry all O' we.

He was the captain of the Nightingale
Twenty-One days from clyde in coal.
He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale,
When he died on the North Rock Shoal.

But when the crew was all assembled,
And the gig prepared for sea,
Twas seen there were but eighteen places to be manned,
Nineteen mortal souls were we.
But cries the captain "now do ye not delay,
Nor do ye spare a thought for me,
My duty is to save ye all now if I can,
See ye return quick as can be."

He was the captain of the Nightingale
Twenty-One days from clyde in coal.
He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale,
When he died on the North Rock Shoal.

Oh there be flowers in Bermuda. Beauty lies on every hand.
And there be laughter, ease, and drink for every man,
But there is no joy for me.
For when we reached the wretched Nightingale,
What an awful sight was plain,
The captain drowned, lay tangled in the mizzen chain,
Smiling bravely beneath the sea.

He was the captain of the Nightingale
Twenty-One days from clyde in coal.
He could smell the flowers of Bermuda in the gale,
When he died on the North Rock Shoal.

In 1964, New York hosted the World's Fair. The theme was "Peace Though Understanding."  As part of the festivities, an unusual sight was to be seen in New York Harbor that summer - a sight likely not seen for at least a few decades (although probably less time than most spectators would expect) - a gathering of large square-rigged vessels from all over the world. 

Operation Sail - also known as OpSail - was founded as a non-profit in 1961 and coordinates international sailing events centered around promoting goodwill and cooperation between nations as well as celebrating maritime history and sail training efforts around the world. The 1964 World's Fair was OpSail's inaugural event. On July 14, 1964, a parade of some of the world's last windjammers took place through New York Harbor. British Pathe covered the event: 

"Gathering of Great Ships" by Anthony Anable, Jr. 
The Jan-June, 1964 issue of Boating magazine included the following article describing the origins and plans for the 1964 OpSail:

On July 14th, if the wind is fair, New York Harbor will be treated to a sight not seen in over half a century; a fleet of square-rigged ships slipping in under thousands of square feet of sail. As they pick up their moorings in the river, they will be completing a history-making voyage that for most of them began in Lisbon six weeks ago. "Operation Sail" will be the largest rendezvous of square-riggers - now mostly maritime training vessels - assembled in any port in modern times.

As of this writing, 13 countries will send some 25 sailing craft to participate in "Operation Sail," and by the time July 14th - the rendezvous date - rolls around it is hoped that the latter figure will be doubled. While the fleet will consist of all manner of ships, boats and yachts, the most spectacular sight will be ten, or more, full-rigged ships, barks, brigantines and topsail schooners towering above their smaller sisters as they move up the river.

Nations sending vessels are, in alphabetical order: Argentina, the full-rigged ship Libertad and the yacht Fortuna; Canada, the privately-owned brigantine St. Lawrence II; Chile, the four-masted schooner Esmerelda; Republic of China (no training ship, but a contingent of midshipmen and a 70-foot junk from San Francisco); Denmark, the bark Danmark; Dominican Republic, the bark Patria; Germany, the bark Gorch Fock; Great Britain, (two yachts, as yet unspecified); and Italy, the yawl Corsaro II. Also Japan, a motor training ship; Norway, either one or all of the Christian Radich, the Sorlandet and the Staatsraad Lemkuhl, all full-rigged ships; Panama, the three-masted schooner Wandia; Portugal, the full-rigged ship Sagres; and Spain, the four-masted schooner Juan Sebastian de Elcano.

Undecided as of this writing are Sweden's Albatross; Poland's three-masted schooner Iskra; Romania's bark Mircea; and Nova Scotia's Bluenose II, a replica of the original fisherman owned by Col. Victor deB. Oland. 

The United States will be represented by the bark Eagle from the Coast Guard Academy, which will be the host ship; the Icefire and Mariner from the Merchant Marine Academy; Freedom and Royono from the Naval Academy; the brigantine Tabor Boy from Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass.; and the bark Joseph Conrad and the schooners L. A. Dunston and Brilliant from Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Conn.

Operation Sail grew from one man's dream
Nils Hansell, an ardent yachtsman and Art Director of the IBM Journal of Research and Development, was among an admiring crowd gazing at the Coast Guard's stately bark Eagle lying along a New York City dock in the early spring of 1960. He wondered to himself what it would be like if most, if not all, of the square-riggers in the world were to convene in New York Harbor and then participate in the ceremonies to be held in the city and at the grounds of the World's Fair.

Contronted with Nils' idea, the Coast Guard and the State Department were among the first to endorse the proposal. An "Operation Sail" committee was formed and included Hansell, Frank O. Braynard, Director of Information for Moran Towing and Transportation Co., and Commodore John S. Baylis, former Superintendent of the New York State Maritime College and a retired Coast Guard officer. General Chairman of "Operation Sail" is John J. Bergen, Rear Admiral USNR (Ret.); Chairman of the Executive Committee is the well-known yachtsman Walter S. Gubelmann.

Further endorsement came from many sources including New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who sent out invitations to more than 20 countries requesting participation; New York Senator Jacob K. Javits; New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner; General Dwight D. Eisenhower; Capt. Alan Villiers, skipper of Mayflower II; Edouard A. Stackpole, Curator of Mystic Seaport; and Prince Philip of England. Also endorsing "Operation Sail" are the federally-sponsored People-to-People Program; the Sail Training Association of London; and most recently, the late President John F. Kennedy. 

Impressive as are these, and other endorsements, the success of "Operation Sail" will be due to the efforts of Braynard, Baylis and Hansell, all of whom have given freely of their time and money to arrange the whole program.

A trans-Atlantic race will begin many events
The program will begin on June 5th with a race from Lisbon, Portugal to Bermuda. Sponsored by the Sail Training Association, there will be four classes of vessels competing; Class Ia for square-rigged vessels of 500 tons and over; Class Ib for square-rigged vessels between 50-499 tons; Class II for fore-and-aft rigged vessels of 50 tons and over; and Class III for fore-and-aft rigged vessels under 50 tons and over 30 feet on the waterline.

Those ships participating in the race will convene with others at Bermuda and will embark in company for New York City, where they are expected to arrive on July 12th. They will lie at anchor off Graves End for two days, until the fleet is complete, and on July 14th will set sail and head out to sea for about 10 miles for the benefit of press photographers and the huge spectator fleet which is expected to cluster about the windjammers. The flotilla will then come about, make for the Narrows, and will enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. Whether they will be able to sail up the river is anybody's guess at the moment, but if a fair wind fails to materialize the ships will power, or be towed, along the parade route.

Upon making fast to moorings assigned to them, all hands will take up review positions on deck and the yardarms as the Reviewing Vessel proceeds along the formation. Although not yet assigned, either the Navy's Enterprise, the country's newest carrier, or Mystic Seaport's Joseph Conrad, the maritime museum's famed square-rigger, may be the Reviewing Vessel. Whichever wins the honor, she will have an impressive company of dignitaries striding her decks, including the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of New York, the Mayor of New York City, several Ambassadors, distinguished guests, and reviewing officers. 

The second day of the planned ceremonies will see the crews of the various ships assembling at the Battery with escort contingents from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy and/or the New York State Maritime College. Thus formed, the cadets and their escorts will proceed under a ticker-tape parade to New York's City Hall for the Mayor's Reception.

Following the formalities, numerous events are planned throughout the week for officers and crew alike. A full-dress inspection of the ships is planned; a symposium for the officers and contests of seamanship for the crews will be held; and it is expected that television networks will program various national groups singing sea chanties. Receptions at the Merchant Marine Academy and various consulates are planned, as are such divertissements as longboat racing near the World's Fair Marina, soccer games between ships's [sic] crews, and sightseeing trips to Washington, D.C., the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and Mystic Seaport.

The program will come to a close at the World's Fair grounds, where plaques, prizes and certificates will be presented. That evening an Operation Sail Grand Ball will be held at Madison Square Garden with the Naval Attaches as Honorary Patrons. The following day the cadets will set sail and the ships will disperse for their various home ports. 

The project is a tribute to training under sail
In this modern age of nuclear power and Polaris missiles, it may seem odd that so many nations train their naval and merchant marine cadets under sail. However, such training has many advantages, not the least of which is learning a respect for the sea - which makes equal demands of a huge carrier or a brigantine. There is no better way to gain an intimate knowledge of these natural forces than to serve in sail.

As Nils Hansell - whose feeling for the sea resulted in the project - put it:

"Operation Sail in New York excites the imagination of so many of us. Sailing ships of all kinds, large and small and fore-and-aft and square-rigged, will crowd the harbor for a sight that few shall have seen before, and one that may never come again.

"But for all the excitement of the many masts and sails, the show will be meaningful, for these are sail training ships manned by seamen trainees. Their work aboard is not easy. Discipline is firm. They will have sailed from distant shores, on foul winds probably as much as fair or, sometimes, no winds at all.

"Theirs should prove an exciting demonstration of training under sail as a way for character building of young men in today's world."

This, then, is "Operation Sail." Not only a demonstration of training under sail, but a reaffirmation of the fact that great sailing ships still span the seven seas.

The following tall ships ultimately participated in the 1964 Operation Sail:

• Argentina, Libertad
• Canada, Bluenose II
• Canada, St. Lawrence II
• Chile, Esmeralda
• Denmark, Danmark
• Dominican Republic, Patria
• Germany, Gorch Fock
• Germany, Peter von Danzig
• Great Britain, Merlin
• Great Britain, Tawau
• Indonesia, Dewarutji
• Italy, Corsaro II
• Norway, Christian Radich
• Norway, Sørlandet
• Norway, Statsraad Lehmkuhl
• Panama, Wandia
• Poland, Iskra
• Portugal, Sagres
• Romania, Mircea
• Spain, Juan Sebastián de Elcano
• Sweden, Albatross
• United States, Eagle

​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​

In the spirit of Earth Day last week, for today's Media Monday, we are sharing information about dam removal in the Hudson River Valley. According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Hudson River watershed has more than 1,600 dams and as many as 20,000 culverts. Most of these are remnants of the Hudson Valley's industrial past. Although dams can play an important role in flood mitigation and hydroelectric power generation, they also serve as barriers to migratory fish such as herring who swim up the Hudson's tributary creeks and streams to spawn. Of particular concern are abandoned dams in poor repair.

In 2019, Riverkeeper worked with documentary filmmaker Jon Bowermaster to produce the short documentary film, "Undamming the Hudson River," all about the science and efforts behind removing abandoned and unnecessary barriers to the watershed. Watch below for the full film.

Learn more about dam removal efforts in the Hudson River watershed:

• "Dam Removal" Riverkeeper
• "Disappearing Dams, Rebounding Ecosystems" Scenic Hudson
• "Aquatic Connectivity and Barrier Removal" New York State Water Resources Institute, Cornell University
• "It’s Fish vs. Dams, and the Dams Are Winning" New York Times, 01/20/2020
• "Two Dams Removed in the Hudson River Watershed" Princeton Hydro, 02/23/2021
• "147 New York dams are ‘unsound’ and potentially dangerous" Times Union, 12/17/2021

Happy Earth Week! Wednesday is Earth Day, so today's Media Monday features a 1941 Encyclopaedia Britannica Film describing the sources of city water supplies with a focus on the New York City Water system from the Catskill Mountains reservoirs to the faucets of New York City. Video courtesy of archive.org.

Last fall we hosted author and historian Frank Almquist for a discussion of the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir as part of our Follow the River Lecture Series. You can watch the recorded lecture below:

Want to know more? Check out these previous blog posts about New York's water supplies: 

• ​Ashokan Reservoir in the Early Days
• History of the Croton Aqueduct

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​

This week is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The "unsinkable" vessel struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14, 1912 and was sunk by the morning of April 15, 1912. Of the 2,240 people on board, only 706 were rescued, and were taken aboard the RMS Carpathia. It took several days of bad weather for them to finally reach New York City on April 18, 1912. After dropping off the rescued lifeboats of the Titanic at her original destination - the White Star Line's Pier 59 - the Carpathia docked at Pier 54, of the Cunard Line, to crowds of thousands.

To learn more, watch this 100th anniversary special by CNN about the two New York City piers. 

For more about the Carpathia, a Cunard line transatlantic immigrant vessel, check out this short film about her and her role in the rescue of Titanic survivors. 

Sadly, the Carpathia was sunk by the U-boat U-55 during the First World War, but nearly all her passengers were rescued. 

We'll be posting more about the Titanic disaster this week, so stay tuned!

Piermont, NY was once the terminus of the longest railroad in the world - the Erie Railroad. Hampered by rules about railroads crossing state lines, the Erie RR built a pier nearly a mile long across the marshy bay at Piermont and out to the deeper parts of the Hudson River, where steamboats could pick up passengers and take them on to New York City. 

To learn more about the fascinating history of the pier, check out this short video produced by the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, whose Hudson River Field Station is located in Piermont. 

You can learn more about the history of Piermont Pier, especially its role in World War II from the Piermont Historical Society. 

Some of the older portions of the pier were also historical hazards, as the Tugboat "Osceola" found out in 1903.

​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!

Today's Media Monday post features Frank LoBuono/Sojourner Productions circa 1990 Shad Fishing the Hudson feature for "Metro Magazine". Hudson River Maritime Museum thanks Frank LoBuono/Sojourner Productions for allowing us to share this video. 

"Since the beginning of time, in early Spring, the Shad have made their annual trek from the ocean to the fresh waters of the upper Hudson River to spawn. And, for centuries before Europeans set foot on this continent, the Native Americans were on the banks of the Hudson to harvest them. Eventually, Europeans replaced the Native Americans throughout the region. However, they continued the tradition of harvesting the Shad every Spring.

In fact, at one point, there were hundreds of small shad boats fishing the river, from Fort Lee, NJ to Poughkeepsie, NY. They took them by the thousands to be sold mostly at fine Manhattan restaurants. Many of these boats were operated by families who passed the tradition down through generations.

People forget that in the 1970’s the Hudson nearly died from the ravages of pollution. It became unsafe to eat fish taken from the river. This decimated the industry and most of the boats disappeared. Eventually, the EPA cleaned up the river to the point that it was safe once again to harvest SOME fish, including the shad.

One of the families that had made a tradition of fishing for shad were the Gabrielson’s of Nyack. The father and son team returned to the Hudson year after year to claim their prize. It was backbreaking work, but they wouldn’t miss it for anything.

​TKR Cables “Eye On Rockland” decided to feature the shad fishing Gabrielson family and their time on the Hudson as Spring returned to the river. This is their story."

Click on the button to listen to more Hudson River Commercial Fishermen Oral Histories.
​

In this virtual lecture from March 17, 2021 Hudson River Maritime Museum Director of Exhibits and Outreach Sarah Wassberg Johnson discusses the role of women as lighthouse keepers and caretakers of Hudson River lighthouses. From the 1830s to the present, women have played a special role in staffing and preserving Hudson River lighthouses.

For more information about Hudson River Lighthouses, visit http://www.hudsonriverlighthouses.org

Or purchase the book "Hudson River Lighthouses," published by the Hudson River Maritime Museum, available here: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-River-L...

​The Hudson River Maritime Museum's Follow the River Lecture Series is sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank. For upcoming lectures, visit http://www.hrmm.org/lecture-series

For Women's History Month, we're revisiting all the ways in which women have had an impact on the Hudson River. Today, we're highlighting a lecture we hosted in 2020 - only our second virtual lecture ever! - with conservation expert Cara Lee. 

In "Women and the Revival of the Hudson River," Cara discusses how the Hudson River has had a revival in the last sixty years and the roles that many women have played in this epic story, including the ways they created important narratives about the river against the backdrop of societal change. Cara is accompanied by special guest Aidan Mabey. 

To learn more about the environmental history of the Hudson River more generally, check out our online exhibit, "Rescuing the River: 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the Hudson." You can also read about the women of the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission in Jeanne Haffner's "Women in the Forest: Tree Ladies and the Creation of the Palisades Interstate Park." 

For more about other remarkable women in the Hudson Valley, check out this article by Scenic Hudson.

For more lectures, check out our Follow the River Lecture Series, sponsored in part by Rondout Savings Bank.

​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​