The CAPTAIN LARRY DON

My brother Shaun's band, Frontrunner, was playing a gig on the CAPTAIN LARRY DON at the Lake of the Ozarks. The night was dark and stormy, the waves were crashing on the windows behind the band.The old tub was rocking and rolling, literally. When they began to play Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", a 200 pound dancing drunk fell on me. There were no injuries, except maybe to his pride. Its something we still laugh about. It was always fun watching the band on the CAPTAIN LARRY DON. The CAPTAIN LARRY DON is one of those party barges on steroids that ply our lakes and rivers where Saturday night is party night and the beer flows freely.
The LARRY DON was built in 1948 at the Lake of the Ozarks. The hull was fabricated in St. Louis and shipped to the lake in four pieces. It was originally a WWII landing craft. She was named for the owner Lawrence Fry's son Larry Jr. and brother Don, who died in the war. Tex and Mae Bemis operated the boat in the 50's and 60's. She is powered by two Cummins 220 diesels with twin 32 inch propellers. Its decks have been modified over the years from it's original two decks to three with a pilothouse. CAPTAIN was added to the name in the 1960's. The CAPTAIN LARRY DON can still be found at Casino Pier near Bagnell Dam in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.
LOA 65'

Beam 24'
Passengers 240

HMS BELFAST

I won't take a trip to London, England without a stroll along the Thames. I love to watch the boats working up and down the river. From little fishing boats to larger cruise ships, it's a dance of vessels that only a busy port can offer.

In the shadow of the Tower Bridge along the Thames river is moored the HMS BELFAST. The BELFAST, an Edinburgh class cruiser was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A cruiser is a smaller ship usually attached with a battle fleet, it is faster and can brake away to defend or attack. Launched in August 1939 She was damaged by a mine in November of the same year. After repairs that lasted until 1942 she was engaged in the war in the North Atlantic and was instrumental in the sinking of the German battleship SCHARNHORST . She worked the Normandy invasion and was on her way to the Pacific theater when the war ended. She was damaged in the Korean War and was put in reserve in 1953. She finally retired in 1963 and was converted into a museum ship in 1971.

LOA 613'6"

Beam 69'

Draft 19'9"

Speed 32 knots

The STEWART J. CORT

On a chilly September day in 1991 Elaine and I were locking up through the Soo locks in the NOKOMIS. Locking up bound in the neighboring Poe lock was the largest ship I had ever seen, the STEWART J. CORT.

The STEWART J.CORT was the first 1000 footer on the great lakes. Built in the Ingalls Shipbuilding yards of Pascagoula, Mississippi as HULL 1173, she was constructed as just the fore and aft ends welded together. This vessel nicknamed "Stubby" was mated with it's mid section in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1971. It was christened STEWART J. CORT after the late vice president of Bethlehem Steel. She is powered by four General Motors EMD diesels generating 14000 horsepower and is the only "1000 footer" with a foward pilothouse.

I have seen her several times in the Straits of Mackinac shuttling between Superior, Wisconsin and Burns Harbor, Indiana. She is still one of the most impressive sights on the Great Lakes.

LOA 1000'

Beam 105'

Depth 49'

South Street Seaport Museum

We were walking on a cold November day in New York City. After a sobering visit to Ground Zero we strolled down around Battery Park then up towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Between the foot of Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge we came across the South Street Seaport Museum.The museum consists of several historic buildings and in water boat displays including tug boats and tall ships. The tall ships were an amazing sight in the shadows of the skyscrapers.

One of the largest sailing vessels ever built, the four masted barque PEKING was launched in 1911 in Hamburg, Germany for use in the Europe/ South American nitrate trade. In 1921 she was handed over to Italy for war compensation. She served as a school ship in England for 40 years and was aquired by the museum in 1974.

337' LOA

47' wide

Sail area 44,132 Sq. Ft.

WAVERTREE built in 1885 at Southampton, England was used to carry jute from Bangladesh to Scotland. It was one of the largest ships built with a wrought iron hull. After being demasted crossing Cape Horn she was used as a floating warehouse and then a barge. She was aquired by the seaport in 1968. The seaport recently recieved a grant from the city of New York for 4 million dollars to restore the WAVERTREE.

LOA 279'

Breadth 40.2'

Southeast Asian Long Tail Boats

Koa Tao (Turtle Island), Thailand.
Knowing that I am always interested in native wooden boats, my niece Christine sent me a photo of boats she saw on her recent semester in Thailand. These are long tail boats native to Southeast Asia. They get the name from the long drive shaft running from the engine to the propeller. The motor is balanced on a pivot so it can be moved left and right and up or down. Power plants range from one cylinder diesel to V-8 automobile engines. The hulls are generally made of wood. These boats can be rather top heavy and unwielding but are driven with skill and are the backbone of the fishing and tourism industries. Colorful cloth ribbons are tied to the bow to please the spirits for a good catch and for safe journeys. Thousands of long tails were destroyed in the tsunami of 2004 and a huge effort to repair and rebuild the fleet has begun.

The Bodrum Yacht

When I am traveling I like to take walks along the wharfs and marinas. In Bodrum, Turkey I was wandering along the promenade and was struck by all the beautiful wooden yachts. They were all lined up waiting to be chartered.

The Bodrum Yacht or Gulet, is styled after the ships that plyed the coast of Turkey for centuries. Most are built of wood on the outskirts of town in family run boatyards using techniques passed down for generations. The Egyptian, Ptolemaus, had his warships made here in 300 B.C. The wood used to build the boats is mainly local. Red and white pine, mahogany, mulberry and imported woods such as Iroko. Many are built without the aid of plans. They are wide beamed, ketch rigged and spend as much time motoring as sailing. The interiors are built for luxury.

If you find yourself in Bodrum, Turkey, one of the must sees is the Bodrum Castle or Castle of St. Peter. At the castle is the shipwreck of Uluburun, The oldest shipwreck dating back to 14 century B.C.

The CITY OF CHEBOYGAN

My grandparents used to take their young family camping in northern Michigan. It was an inexpensive way to see one of the most beautiful parts of the country. They would camp at Wilderness State park on the Straits of Mackinac. In the days before the construction of the Mackinac Bridge, the state run car ferries would shuttle between the upper peninsula and the lower.

After the death of my grandfather I ran across an envelope of old negatives in a box of rocks.( My grandfather was a rock collector.) In it I found negatives of some old ships. Knowing that they were probably from the straits area, I set out to identify them.

The first ship I was able to identify was the City of Cheboygan. The City of Cheboygan began its life as railroad car ferry Ann Arbor #4. It was launched in 1906, was 258 feet long, and held 24 rail cars. It had a pair of notable incidents. On January 24 1909 near Manistique it ran aground. After futile attempts to power off, two crewmen were sent in a boat to get a tug at Manistique. The men had a hard row to shore and a walk of several miles. When they returned to the scene the ship was gone. They spent the night in an old wrecked schooner and were reunited with the ship the next day. On May 29 of the same year, while loading rail cars at dock, a mistake was made and the vessel was loaded unevenly. In the span of ten minutes the ship rolled over on its port side and came to rest on the bottom. Although no one was injured the Ann Arbor #4 sat on the bottom for over a month while salvagers removed the rail cars through holes cut into its side.

In 1937 the Ann Arbor #4 was sold to the state of Michigan and became the City of Cheboygan. In the winter of 1946-47 a "scooped bow" was added to save time by allowing cars to be driven in one end and driven off the other. On the opening day of the new Mackinac Bridge, the ferries stopped operations and were put up for sale. The once grand City of Cheboygan was turned into a floating warehouse to store potatoes. And sadly, in 1974 she was scrapped in Italy.

MESABI MINER

One of the most impressive sights on the Great Lakes is the Mesabi Miner. Launched in 1977 and christened in Duluth, MN this "1000 footer" is named for the Mesabi Iron range in Minnesota.We took these photos as it locked down in the Poe lock at the Soo. Elaine and I happened to visit on Engineers Day and were able to cross the MacArthur lock over to the Poe. We got a first hand view of the ship as it pulled in the lock with very little room to spare. Engineers Day is the last friday in June. The public is invited into the area between the locks to watch the ships, tour the buildings and go onboard some of the Corps boats. To really appriciate these ships, you have to see them up close.

She is powered by two Pielstick V-16 turbocharged diesel engines developing 8000 b.h.p. each giving her a rated service speed of 15.5 m.p.h. She is capible of carrying 63,000 gross tons.

L.O.A. 1004' 00"

Beam 105' 00"

Depth 50'00"

Draft 29' 00" Loaded at 63,000 tons

BLACKBIRD

Around 1993 my younger brother Shaun got the idea he wanted to build a boat. I was skeptical at first. He had never picked up a saw in his life. However, he did it and Blackbird leaves a legacy of voyages taken and dreams fufilled.

Blackbird was built from plans for Hartley Trailer Sailor 18. The hull is formed by 3/4 inch marine plywood over mahogany frames, all sheathed in fiberglass cloth and epoxy. I assisted in some of the finishing work such as fiber glassing the hull, applying the decking, painting and decorative scroll work.
It's hard chined hull rolls gently in a breeze then stabilizes at a nice heel. Her cutter rig with staysail allows her to point up a little higher in a close haul, she is a little heavy. Below deck is spacious with a bench along either side that also serve as berths. The centerboard trunk was cut down and a steel centerboard was reconfigured to fit.

We have sailed Blackbird at Carlyle Lake in Illinois for many years. Shaun has since moved twice, once to Milwaukee, and then to Connecticut. Although I miss Shaun and his boat at Carlyle, we have since had some good sails on Lake Michigan and Long Island Sound.