Schooner Wawona Update; Filipino Fishermen Repatriated

The 1897 schooner Wawona, sister ship to the C.A. Thayer, which is undergoing restoration in San Francisco-area, was evaluated for its prospects for restoration. Here's the story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. [link] The story doesn't mention other important items, including the recommendation that the boat be taken out of the water at South Lake Union Park and placed in a shelter. More info on Wawona is available here. [link] The vessel is owned by Northwest Seaport. [link]

Four Filipino seamen were repatriated to the Philippines from Bahrain after a year in the country. The seamen were caught in the middle of a dispute between the owner of their vessel and its charterer. [link]

Sound Tourism Quotes Yours Truly in BMP Doc

Sound Tourism, a project of People for Puget Sound, quoted myself in a news release about its Marine Tourism Best Management Practices Guide. [link] The guide offers "practical recommendations tourism companies can use to protect Puget Sound, while sharing the wonders of the Sound with tourists and others recreating on the water." [link to release] I met project director Heidi Siegelbaum, who says connections between maritime heritage and environmental tourism is "intuitive." I think this is an almost unexplored area by most maritime heritage groups. Sound Experience, owner of the Adventuress, is the best example of leadership in this area. All maritime heritage groups should seek out alliances with environmental groups which advocate marine and coastal environmental health.

Story on Fishing Boat Death; Australian Maritime Documentary

The Seattle Times ran a story today on the death of a Vietnamese immigrant who was a member of the fishing crew aboard the trawler Northern Eagle. [link] I'll have to take back what I said yesterday about maritime stories being few and far between.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National program has produced a documentary called "Sea," which includes material about contemporary merchant seamen. [link] Definitely worth a listen.

I had more houseguests show up today for the holidays. I will try to get some work done anyhow.

Maritime Heritage Report; Catholic Seamans Club

4Culture, the King County (Seattle, WA) arts and heritage agency, released a report by the Seattle King County Maritime Heritage Task Force, which was organized to study numerous problems with maritime heritage preservation in the area. You can find links to the report at the Maritime Heritage Network task force page.

The Seattle Times had a nice story today about the Catholic Seamans Club and a Christmas Mass aboard the bulk carrier Zagora at Pier 86 in the Port of Seattle. I couldn't find a link to the story on the Times website, but I'll check later and update this entry. The local papers write this story every few years. The dailies here rarely cover real issues facing these workers. I wrote a piece on foreign seamen in US waters for Evergreen Monthly that took an in-depth look at some of the immigration issues. The story was headlined Human Cargo. [link]

The family survived Christmas. We watched the DVD version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last night.

Merry Christmas! Kalakala Nomination; Fremantle Museum Photo

Merry Christmas to everyone! And best wishes and luck to Steve Rodrigues and his Kalakala team. They have nominated the historic ferry for landmark status. If you'd like to read the nomination paperwork, e-mail him at olympicforum2000@usa.net. Visit his site at http://www.kalakala.org.

I found this photo of the Fremantle Maritime Museum in Fremantle, WA (that's western Australia to you).

It's been a good Xmas. I got a new desk chair to replace the old dining room chair I've been using in my office for 4 1/2 years. It was literally falling apart.

Welcome to the MHN Blog!

Welcome to the Maritime Heritage Network Blog, the companion blog to the Maritime Heritage Network website. The blog was created to track maritime heritage activities in the Puget Sound region and western Washington State, create community by encouraging discussion and information sharing, and encourage anyone interested in maritime history to visit more than 100 heritage attractions listed on http://www.maritimeheritage.net. You can reach me via the e-mail link on the MHN site.

Thanks!

Joe Follansbee