I was directed today to the website of an outstanding photographer named Shaun O’Boyle. Shaun has found a niche in recording the demise of industrial areas that have been abandoned. His photo essay about the tugboat graveyard in New Jersey is an astonishing work of imagery. He has captured the essence of the transition from the maritime world of the past.

The tugs and ferry boats that served the waters of New York Harbor have come to rest as rotting hulks in Arthur Kill, New Jersey. There are hundreds of these vessels locked in the mud, rotting to their keels and stringers. It is a sad sight, yet the observer knows that there are thousands of stories told of these vessels in the watering holes frequented by sailors of this bygone era.

As a child growing up in New York, my family would occasionally drive by this area on our way to the New Jersey Turnpike. My father and I would look down on this site from the “Outer Bridge Crossing”and know that one day we should turn off the road and have a look. I never have had the chance to do this. It would be a sad trip through a forgotten place in time.

Shaun O’Boyle’s work is not to be missed. Click on the link at left to be taken to his site. The photo essay on Arthur Kill is called “The Boat Yard.”

Technorati Tags: tugs, tugboats, towboats, mariner, professional mariner, sailor, ferry Staten Island, New York Harbor, Arthur Kill, New Jersey, wreck, derilict, ship wreck, boatyard, graveyard, shipyard,

MonsterMaritime.com reader Wayne Marshall pointed me to the website of the HMS Trincomalee. This website has a virtual tour of the ship that is not to be missed.

I will be putting together a more comprehensive listing of floating museums in the near future.

Dan

Technorati Tags: Trincomalee, 1812, war of 1812, floating museum, uss constitution, hms victory, american revolution, age of sail, Napoleon, Nelson, John Paul Jones, square rigger, tall ship

This weeks featured websites revolve around the Napoleonic Wars and the British naval hero Horatio Nelson.There are literally thousands of sites on the web that speak of this interesting era in history.

Of particular note are sites pertaining to the floating museums in England and the United States.

HMS Victory can be found at the Portsmouth Naval Yard in England. The ship has been fully restored to her 1805 fighting trim and is available daily for tours. A website giving a synopsis of Nelson’s life can be found by clicking on the following link: The Life of Nelson.

The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world and can be seen at the Boston Naval Yard.

I have a friend in North Carolina who once lent me an old leather bound book entitled, “A primer of Navigation for the Young Midshipman.” This book was written in the late 1700’s and was used as part of the young gentleman’s nautical education. My favorite chapters involved the sequence of orders given to get the ship underway from anchor and also to “exercise the great guns.”

I have recently come across an “e-book” project that is making available old texts that help explain the workings of these old sailing ships. The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship is a comprehensive textbook of rigging, seamanship and naval tactics in the age of fighting sail. This is an amazing “must visit” reference for those studying this period.

Dan

Technorati Tags: uss constitution, hms victory, American Revolution, Napoleon, Nelson, John Paul Jones,