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Rosanne Cash. Photo: duchessofyourke via Wikipedia
From BWW MusicWorld.com: The South Street Seaport Museum today announced a gala concert starring singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash to raise funds to restore the schooner Lettie G. Howard. The gala event will be held on Monday, April 8th at the New York Academy of Medicine on Fifth Avenue.
Ms. Cash’s ancestors arrived in Salem, Massachusetts aboard the ship Good Intent in 1643, and many of her ancestors were whalers and fishermen.
“I’m honored to support the restoration of Lettie G. Howard, a treasure of maritime history, a completely unique teaching vessel, and a precious fixture in New York Harbor,” Ms. Cash said.
The Lettie G. Howard sailing the New York City Harbor in the fall of 2010. Photo: Nelson Michael Chin
Tickets to the performance – which will begin at 8 PM – can be purchased online at http://www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org/rosanne-cash. Those purchasing tickets at the $500 “Jib” level or above will be invited after the performance to a private reception with Ms. Cash at the Museum of the City of New York.
The event is being held to raise funds to repair and renovate the 120-year-old Lettie G. Howard, which in recent years has served as a sailing school vessel for the New York Harbor School, the New York City public high school on Governors Island that trains students for maritime careers. Repairs to make her seaworthy again are estimated at $250,000; $140,000 has been raised to date.
“It is clear that Lettie is as tough as she is beautiful,” said Susan Henshaw Jones, Ronay Menschel Director of the Museum of the City of New York and President of the South Street Seaport Museum. “But today she needs help. She has developed rot in her keelson, the interior spine that holds her together, and we will have to take her apart in order to repair her. The project is estimated to cost approximately $250,000.” Read more here…
reblogged by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Tall Ship Peking at South Street Seaport. photo Wikipedia
For years, the tall ship Peking has graced the dock at South Street Seaport – her 4 wooden [the masts are steel–Thanks to Jim Chambers for the clarification] masts piercing the sky alongside the glass skyscrapers in downtown Manhattan. But now, she is leaving, for good.
Built in Germany in 1911, the Peking is a steel-hulled four-masted barque – one of the “Flying P-Liners” sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz of Hamburg. In the 1880s, a barque was named Pudel – the owners wife’s nickname. From that point on all F. Laeisz ships were christened with names starting with “P” and they became known as “the P-line”. Their excellent reputation for speed and reliability soon raised their nickname to “the Flying P-Line“.
Footage filmed on board the Peking by amateur filmmaker Irving Johnson, shocked even experienced Cape Horn veterans and landsmen alike at the extreme conditions Peking experienced during the 1929 voyage around Cape Horn. His footage on the barque Peking would become the famous film, Around Cape Horn.
Here is a snippet from Irving Johns’ documentary of the Barque Peking sailing.
The South Street Seaport Museum who has been searching for a new owner for the Peking, reached an agreement with the city of Hamburg to return the ship back to her city or origin, where it was built in 1911.
From the Tribeca Trib: “Happily, the city of Hamburg is eager to bring Peking home and to incorporate her into a maritime museum there,” Zac Roy, the [South Street Seaport Museum] spokesman, said in an email to the Trib. The Peking will be loaded onto a heavy-lift ship for her transatlantic voyage as early as next month.
The Peking is one of several ships that will be leaving the Seaport this summer, as the institution struggles to get on firm financial footing and prepares to hand over its docking space at Pier 15 to the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
Helen McAllister. photo: Will Van Dorp/tugster
With the loss of Pier 15, the museum will say goodbye to 3 ships, leaving five in their fleet. A barge will also move to a Staten Island shipyard.
The 1907 lightship Ambrose, tall ship Wavertree, Pioneer and Lettie G Howard will stay at the Seaport, while the 112-year old Helen McAllister tug will return to McAllister Towing Company who will find a home for her. Little Marion M., a wooden tug will also be moved, to where is unknown at this time.
A fireboat welcome for the Ambrose Lightship’s return to South Street Seaport. photo: Stephen Nessen/WNYC
As reported in the Tribeca Trib: Peter Stanford, Founding Chair Emeritus of Working Harbor Committee and founder of the South Street Seaport Museum said, “The overall reduction is sad. I regret it, and I don’t think anybody understands what the public is going to feel.”
Stanford expressed hope on Friday that the museum can acquire enough docking space in the Seaport to host visiting tall ships after the Peking is gone, and one day have a second tall ship of its own again. “We have to live with what’s happening, but I think we better have a larger vision for the [Seaport],” Stanford said.
The EDC has issued RFPs for Pier 15, at this time there is no word on what will become of Pier 15′s berths.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Sal Polisi, master maritime woodcarver, has been a regular sight on the docks of South Street Seaport for more than 30 years. His quaint woodcarving workshop has been a popular tourist destination on the NY harbor for decades.
Sea Captain, South Street Seaport Museum Workshop.
photo: Michael Dolan
Six days a week for the past 30 years, Mr Polisi has arrived early in the morning to create hand-carved wooden masterpieces for historic vessels, maritime area-businesses and for the South Street Seaport Museum. Early in his career he had spent time studying with master carvers at the Bartolozzi & Maioli studios in Florence, Italy.
From his website: Sal can be seen at work at the South Street Seaport Museum, where he maintains a studio that is visited by travelers from all over the world. Sal has created and restored items for many of the Museum’s historic vessels, including the squarerigger Wavertree, 1885; barque Peking, 1911; schooner Pioneer, 1883; schooner Lettie G. Howard, 1893; tugboat W.O. Decker, 1930; and paddlewheeler Andrew Fletcher (reproduction), 1985.
Polisi’s handiwork can be seen all around the South Street Seaport district – from historic nameplates and ships figureheads – his workshop is often the first stop for tourists. He greets every visitor with a hearty welcome, “This is the workshop for the South Street Seaport Museum.”
Sal Polisi at his workshop. photo: Randy Duchaine
Mr. Polisi works 40 hours plus a week, all for FREE. He has volunteered 30 years of his time and expertise in return for the little, barely heated / un-airconditioned 13 foot x 32 foot space, at pier 15, to do his work.
From DNAinfo.com: The Seaport Museum covers the cost of materials, but Polisi does not charge for his work. “I don’t do it for the money,” Polisi said as he painted a red border on a sign Wednesday morning.
The woodcarver at work. photo: Michael Dolan
From DNAinfo.com: But now, the city says Polisi’s carving shop blocks a future bike path and walkway that is part of the new East River Waterfront esplanade, several people familiar with the situation said.
In 2011, Polisi was told by the NYC EDC that his workshop would be relocated underneath the FDR Drive, near the current location. That offer has been taken off the table (with no clear explanation) and he is now facing eviction.
From DNAinfo.com: “It’s the last traditional marine craft that is actively pursued in the Seaport area,” said Robert Rustchak, 56, a member of Save Our Seaport‘s steering committee who has known Polisi for 28 years. “We don’t see a good reason for [the shop's eviction]. Everybody’s very confused.”
Tall Ship Wavertree at Sunrise by Artist Naima Rauam
Long-time NY waterfront painter and friend of Working Harbor Committee, Naima Rauam says in the DNAinfo.com report, “I can’t imagine the waterfront without him, [the shop] gives visitors a chance to visually connect with the history of the waterfront of New York City.”
What will happen if he’s forced into retirement? Could we ever find another treasure like Sal Polisi? How will our historic ships fare without his skilled hands? The waterfront without Mr. Polisi is too grim a scenario to even contemplate.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
