Greenpeace offer to donate RAINBOW WARRIOR II to a maritime museum

Greenpeace have offered to donate RAINBOW WARRIOR II to a maritime museum.

The President and Executive Committee of ICMM pass this offer on for the information and possible interest of the world's maritime museums but ICMM does not endorse the offer or the principal.

Any interested museum should contact Greenpeace directly per the information in the attached pdf brochure (note: large 8Mb download)

Download Brochure

8/10

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust makes unique pen holder
as official gift to US President

On Friday 27th February, representatives of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust visited 10 Downing Street to hand over a special gift for the Prime Minister to take to the USA. 

The Trust had received a request from 10 Downing Street, via Jonathan Shaw, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, to provide a suitable gift for The Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP to present to the new US President Barack Obama on his official visit to Washington this week. 

The desk which sits in the Oval Office at the White House used by all but three US Presidents is known as the Resolute Desk and was presented by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes.  It was made from timbers of the British ‘discovery’ ship HMS Resolute by William Evenden, a skilled joiner, in the Joiners Shop at the Royal Dockyard at Chatham in England in 1879. 

The special gift - a pen holder - was made 130 years later in the same Joiners Shop at what is now The Historic Dockyard Chatham.  It has been made by ship keepers David Appleton and Chris Jones from an off-cut of timber salvaged from HMS Gannet - a Victorian Naval Sloop - during her restoration in 2002.  Gannet, an Osprey-Doterel class sloop entered naval service at Sheerness Dockyard in 1879, the same year that the arctic ‘discovery’ ship HMS Resolute was being broken up at Chatham.  HMS Gannet is now preserved for the nation at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Editors Notes (supplied by CHDT):

1.         The Joiners Shop (where the Resolute Desk was made) has recently been restored and is now a specialist Centre for Creative Business. SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency, have funded the refurbishment at a cost of just under £3.5m, including sourcing £1m of funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

2.         History of The Resolute Desk

A gift to the Queen
HMS Resolute was part of a four-ship squadron under Edward Belcher sent in the early 1850s to search for famed English explorer Sir John Franklin, who was searching for the Northwest Passage to Asia. The Resolute and one of her sister ships became lodged in the Arctic ice, and after two full seasons, remained stuck. Following the second summer, the commander of the expedition instructed the crews of the two ships to board the two ships that lay outside the ice and sail back to England.

After their return, Belcher was court-martialed for abandoning a seaworthy vessel, as the Resolute broke loose of the ice the subsequent summer and was found by an American fishing vessel captained by James Buddington. The Resolute was towed into port and purchased by Congress for $40,000 and refitted. The Resolute was presented to Queen Victoria on December 17, 1856 as a token of peace. The Resolute served in the Royal Navy for 23 years following its return.

A gift in return
When the ship was decommissioned in 1879, the British government arranged for a desk to be made from its timbers. It was built by William Evenden, a skilled joiner employed at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham. It was presented to President Hayes on 23 November 1880.

A plate on the front of the desk bears the following inscription:
“H.M.S. RESOLUTE forming part of the expedition sent in search of SIR JOHN FRANKLIN IN 1852, was abandoned in latitude 74 degrees 41 minutes N longitude 101 degrees 22 minutes W on 15th May 1854. She was discovered and extricated in September 1855 in latitude 67 degrees N by Captain Buddington of the United States Whaler GEORGE HENRY.
The ship was purchased, fitted out and sent to England as a gift to HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA by the PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES as a token of goodwill & friendship. This table was made from her timbers when she was broken up, and is presented by the QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND to the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES as a memorial of the courtesy and loving kindness which dictated the offer of the gift of the RESOLUTE.”

Mystic Seaport Names New President and CEO

Stephen C. White, former headmaster of the Fay School in Southborough, MA, has been named president and chief executive officer of Mystic Seaport.
White will assume his position January 15, 2009. Retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral Doug Teeson, the Museum’s current president and CEO, who last year announced his plans to retire, will remain in his position until that time.
“It was important to find a successor capable of building on Doug’s many achievements,” said Richard Vietor, chairman of the Museum’s board of trustees. “We’ve found that person in Steve White – an experienced educator, successful fundraiser and someone with a deep passion for sailing and for Mystic Seaport.”

“What inspires me about Mystic Seaport is the pervasive sense of a clear mission – connecting Americans with the sea – and how palpable it is in everything the Museum does,” said White. “This is not just a challenging time; it’s an inspiring time. History is such a central part of our national fabric, and I am thrilled to be in an environment that is as rich and rewarding as Mystic Seaport.”

White served 18 years as headmaster of Fay School, the country’s oldest junior boarding school, founded in 1866. Fay School now educates an international student body in grades 6-9 as boarding students and day students in grades 1-9. “I have great confidence in Steve’s ability to steer the next leg of the race,” Teeson said. “With great generosity from trustees and other donors, we’ve ensured that our collections, including the national historic landmark vessels, will be here for future generations to experience. And we have ambitious plans to lift the Museum to much higher levels of educational and cultural achievement, on a year-round basis. I eagerly look forward to introducing Steve to Mystic Seaport’s many constituencies.”   White has relocated to Connecticut from Cape Cod with his wife, Maggie.

NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM NAMES NEW PRESIDENT/CEO

NEW BEDFORD, MA -The New Bedford Whaling Museum has appointed James P. Russell as the Museum’s President/CEO.

Formerly the Vice President of the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) and The Museum of Yachting in Newport, RI, Mr. Russell has a decade’s experience with maritime museums. At IYRS, he served on the senior management team during a period of dramatic growth.

A graduate of Harvard University, where he majored in science with additional course work in art, Mr. Russell has 15 years’ experience in nonprofit educational institutions, including the Attleboro (MA) Museum, the Boston (MA) Center for the Arts and the Herreshoff Marine Museum (Bristol, RI).

PHOTO CAPTION: James P. Russell, President/CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum 1/09 photo

Titanic museum gets go-ahead in Belfast

LONDON (AFP 28 Nov 2008) — A museum recounting the story of the doomed Titanic will be built in Northern Ireland after ministers gave the green light to a massive funding package.

The museum will be in Belfast, on the site of the shipyard where the ship -- which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, killing some 1,500 passengers and crew -- was built nearly 100 years ago.

Work is due to start next year and it is expected to be open in time for the centenary of the Titanic's sinking in 2012.

11/08 <More>

Eric Ruff was Director/Curator of the Yarmouth County Museum & Archives, Nova Scotia, Canada for 31 years and has been a member of ICMM since the 1975 Oslo Conference (having attended all conferences since except the Paris conference).  Eric and wife Barbara retired early (aged 60) to pursue their long-time dream of meandering the canals of England for a longish period of time.  An arrangement was made with the owner of the NB (Narrowboat) NETANYA (54 feet in length) to use the boat from early September 2007 to early January 2008 and from late March until the end of May 2008.  During the first period the Ruffs travelled from the mooring at Milton Keynes, on the Grand Union Canal, along the full length of the Trent and Mersey Canal to Manchester (with a brief trip onto the River Weaver via the Anderton Lift).  From Manchester they took the boat to Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey, via the smaller canals rather than the Manchester Ship Canal as the boat was not equipped with the necessary radio gear.  Train visits to Liverpool were made from nearby towns.  They then took NETANYA southerly along the whole of the Shropshire Union Canal, climbed the "Wolverhampton 21" locks into the Birmingham Canal Navigations where they took a side trip to Eric's birthplace in Oldbury.  Breaking ice occasionally, they spent Christmas Day near Warwick before returning the boat to Milton Keynes in early January.

At Easter this year they joined the boat again, headed north to the canal town of Braunston then down the Oxford Canal to Oxford, down the River Thames to Reading and along the Kennet & Avon Canal to Bath, returning via the same route to Milton Keynes.

The statistics for the trip:  980 miles, 690 locks (plus 30 Thames Locks - mainly lock keeper operated), 57 lift or swing bridges, 19 tunnels (totalling some 18.2 miles) and 202 pubs! 

Barb says she would like to visit the canals again for short periods; Eric would do another similar trip at a moment's notice.

9/08

UNITED KINGDOM - Portsmouth
NEW BUST OF NELSON UNVEILED ON 250th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH

On the 250th anniversary of the birth of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson a new bust of Britain’s greatest naval hero has been unveiled at Portsmouth Naval Base.

The life-size bronze by Bath sculptor Robert Hornyold-Strickland, was unveiled by the Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Alan Massey, in the historic wardroom (officers’ mess) at HMS Nelson on Monday, September 29 2008. Among the guests was Mrs Anna Tribe, a direct descendant of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson.

The bust was commissioned by an anonymous donor who wishes it to be exhibited in Nelson’s spiritual home of Portsmouth as part of the Ministry of Defence Art Collection. The sculptor, the son of a naval officer, decided to produce the work to show the great man as he really looked on the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar – his last and greatest triumph – rather than the romanticised vision often portrayed in paintings and sculptures of earlier generations.

With the benefit of the internet, books and advice from experts at the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth and the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, it became clear to Mr Strickland that the best likeness would be achieved by studying the life mask produced in Vienna in 1800 and used for Franz Christian Thaller’s marble bust in 1801.

The mask, which has only recently been authenticated, shows Nelson with his eyes closed, while a further mask produced from that work shows him with eyes open. The masks are now in the collections of the RN Museum and the National Maritime Museum.

Mr Strickland comments: “Having satisfied myself that the first mask was the best likeness I could get, I used it to depict Nelson a few years later, on the eve of Trafalgar in 1805.”

The museums helped him to portray the correct uniform details through archive material, books on Nelson, contemporary fashion and the artefacts and personnel mementos gathered for the bicentennial exhibition at the National Maritime Museum.

The sculptor decided not to depict Nelson wearing his naval hat but with a queue (or ponytail) held in place by a piece of cloth tied in a bow. After his death the queue was cut off and has been preserved.

Strickland also deduced through research that Nelson wore his hair low over his right eyebrow to hide the scar from an injury inflicted at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, and the finished sculpture shows this.

Commenting on the presentation of the sculpture, Admiral Massey said:

“I am delighted to mark the auspicious Anniversary date by unveiling this generous gift to the MOD Art collection, it is a fitting tribute to Vice Admiral Lord Nelson and I am particularly pleased that it will find a home in HMS NELSON’s Wardroom.”

Robert Hornyold-Strickland is originally from Sizergh Castle, Cumbria. He studied sculpture at Heatherly School of Art, Chelsea, before moving to Bath. He specialises in portrait and figurative sculpture commissions and his work has been exhibited in London, Edinburgh and Bath. Photo 10/08

Cutty Sark blaze was accidental 

Tuesday, 30 September 2008 13:21 UK
 
 
A fire which caused £10m damage to the Cutty Sark was sparked by an industrial vacuum cleaner that was left switched on for two days. Police said the vacuum did not have a vital cut-off switch that prevents overheating because it had been adapted for a lower UK power voltage.

The fire caused serious damage to the 19th Century ship, based in Greenwich, south-east London, in May last year. Conservation work was taking place on the vessel at the time. The fire damage raised the total cost of the ongoing restoration by £10m to £35m. The vacuum cleaner was being used to remove waste from the ship as part of a renovation work.

Investigators said it had been left on throughout the weekend before the fire broke out in the early hours of Monday 21 May, 2007. More than 40 firefighters battled the blaze for almost two hours as it burned through each of the ship's three decks, destroying all the building work structures and tools on board.
The damage could have been far worse, however, as the ship's masts, deckhouses and saloon, along with half of its planking, had been taken to Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent for conservation or storage.

Renovation of the ship is now expected to be completed by early 2010 when it will be raised 3m (9.8ft) above the bottom of its dry berth and suspended so visitors can walk underneath.  Richard Doughty, chief executive of The Cutty Sark Trust, said the charity would "certainly be considering our position with our lawyers" following the report. "Obviously the fire was a huge setback to the conservation project. We would have been on the programme to complete our work this year. Inevitably, therefore, the costs of our project have increased very significantly."

Mr Doughty praised the efforts of the fire brigade and subsequent police investigation into the cause of the blaze. "We are very grateful to the police and to the fire brigade and would like to thank them for their diligence."

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Garwood, who led the inquiry, said two security guards who failed to spot the fire could have reported it sooner and a fire marshal inspection before the weekend could have helped prevent it. Mr Garwood said the guards, who were both fired after the incident, were "vague and inconsistent" witnesses.

He also said that renovation workmen were responsible for dangerous practices onboard, including electrical equipment often left plugged in, debris not removed immediately and loose electrical connections. It was also not clear if fire alarm tests were completed properly in the weeks before the blaze.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7643420.stm 10/08

FALLS OF CLYDE falls on harder times

The rigging on the historic sailing ship FALLS OF CLYDE will be removed as a safety precaution. The ship, which is berthed at the Hawaii Maritime Center, has been closed to the public since 2007 because of its deteriorating condition. The masts are being taken down as a safety precaution so that the ship can be moved without more damage. The Bishop Museum said it does not have the money to repair and restore the ship, a project that is estimated to cost $32 million.

ARTHUR M HUDDELL, Liberty Ship, to become Greek Museum Neville Smith - Lloyds List Friday 6 June 2008

CLASSIFICATION society ABS has announced a donation of $250,000 towards the restoration of Liberty ship Arthur M Huddell and its preservation as a maritime museum in Greece. The Liberty ships, including Arthur M Huddell, were built and maintained to ABS class and their sale to Greek owners at the end of the Second World War began the resurgence of the Greek fleet. US Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton and SeaCrest Shipping chairman Spyros Polemis, who has been appointed as project manager of Liberty Enterprise by the Greek government, were presented with a cheque by ABS chairman and chief executive Robert Somerville. The ship is the gift of the US government to the Greek government and is currently in Virginia being prepared for the transatlantic crossing to Greece. Mr Sommerville said the contribution to the project was a reflection of the long association ABS has had with the Liberty ship fleet and the Greek market. ABS opened an office in Piraeus to support this new fleet and to establish the strong bonds between the classification society and the Greek shipowning community, which have only strengthened over the last 60 years,” he said. Arthur M Huddell was specially converted to lay a gasoline pipeline across the English channel to supply fuel to the Allied forces after D-Day in 1944 and subsequently it served as a cable layer in commercial service. It has been laid up as part of the Marad reserve fleet in the James River since being withdrawn from service.

More 6/08

The USS MONITOR Center’s Ironclad Revolution exhibition was recently awarded the American Association of Museums’ (AAM) 20th Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition Award. The new $30 million Center is one of four winning entries out of the 33 AAM received this year. 6/08

The Richardson Maritime Museum in Cambridge MD is planning a $300,000 restoration of what may be the largest surviving skipjack in the Chesapeake Bay.
More 4/08

The USS MONITOR Center’s Ironclad Revolution exhibition was recently awarded the American Association of Museums’ (AAM) 20th Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition Award. The new $30 million Center is one of four winning entries out of the 33 AAM received this year.

The Richardson Maritime Museum in Cambridge MD is planning a $300,000 restoration of what may be the largest surviving skipjack in the Chesapeake Bay.
More 4/08

Relocation relocation
THE famous lightship Calshot Spit, which guided vessels in and out of Southampton Water between 1914-1978, has been on display on at Southampton’s Ocean Village complex for the last 20 years. Now, however, it could return to the water as a major attraction at Southampton’s new £19m ($38.2m) cruise terminal, which Associated British Ports announced it was building in December after signing a new 20-year deal with Carnival UK.
The distinctive red ship will be relocated to an abandoned dock alongside the new terminal when it opens next year. Moving the 200 tonne vessel from Ocean Village to the port’s Eastern Docks will be a major operation and ABP have kindly offered to help.
- Lloyd's List 12 March 2008

Dubai: The UAE's first maritime museum will be built in the Academic Quarter of the Maritime City.
9/07 Details

Too junky to junk?
6/07 Full Story

CARRICK THROWN A LIFELINE??
5/07 Full story      More

24 May: Results of a forensic examination of the remains of the ship, which was badly damaged in the early morning blaze on Monday, have proved inconclusive.

The Metropolitan Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire but say they have no major leads.

A police spokesman said: "Greenwich Police continue to make inquiries and view CCTV footage from around the area. At this stage, we have no major leads and inquiries continue."

6/07  website     photographs of fire       the restoration interactive    News digest

Sunken ships reborn

The Korean National Maritime Museum in Mokpo, South Cholla Province, is Korea's only national maritime museum and institute of underwater salvage and research.

The museum was originally a place in charge of the preservation and restoration of the hull and remains of a ``Sinanson'' (Sinan ship), which was salvaged from the seabed off Chungdo, an island in Sinan County in 1976.

It was one of the world's richest underwater archeological discoveries in terms of historical and artistic value. During salvage operations that were conducted until 1984, 23,502 pieces of remains were found, including pieces of celadon, coins, metalwork and spices.

Among them, the main exhibition item is the 34.8-meter-long wooden sailing ship Sinanson, which has an 11-meter beam, a largely intact keel, seven bulkheads and three masts. It was a Chinese merchant ship belonging to the Yuan Dynasty that was on its way to Japan to sell its goods in the 14th century, according to the museum.

The remains of Sinanson and other restored ships provide people with an insight into East Asia's economy, art, handicrafts and shipbuilding technology of those times.

3/07 The Korea Times. For more information: www.seamuse.go.kr

Townsville Maritime Museum attempts to secure HMAS TOWNSVILLE
2/07 Full story

THE world's oldest clipper, SV Carrick, is finally to be broken up.

Permission for the 143-year-old ship, which is currently stored on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, to be dismantled has been given after a study concluded it would cost £10million to restore.

Enthusiasts from across the world had hoped that the beleaguered vessel, which sank in Glasgow 15 years ago, could have become a top tourist attraction, but North Ayrshire Council decided the wreck was too far gone.

Museum trustee Graham Kennison said: "It's a very sad end."

Source: www.eveningtimes.co.uk 19 Jan 2007

Rabelo Boats from Portugal full details
11/06

Museum Director leaves in historic style! The outgoing Director of the Royal Naval Museum, Dr Campbell McMurray OBE, left the Museum for the final time after 17 years at the helm - onboard one of the Museum's historic craft. Dr McMurray who joined the RN Museum in Portsmouth (UK) was previously Director of the Scottish Maritime Museum. He left the Dockyard on the Steam Pinnace 199, which is the only remaining craft of its type in opwrking order, having served at the Battle of Jutland 90 years ago.
Built in 1911, the pinnace was restored to full working order under Dr McMurray's directorship. Admiral Sir Peter Abbott, Chairman of the Museum Trustees, said "This is a most fitting send off for Campbell. His remarkable contribution to the development of this museum was inspired by his love of ships and all things to do with the sea. "
Dr McMurray's directorship saw remarkable changes including a 5 million pound redevelopment, award-winning new exhibitions, and visitor numbers soar with 2005's Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations.
- 'first base' magazine Autumn 2006 10/06

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates in the Arabian Gulf, will soon have a Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum , called the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (GAD). The 323,000-square-foot contemporary art facility, slated to open by 2011 in the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island , became official with a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New York-based Guggenheim Foundation. A natural island just offshore the UAE capital, Saadiyat Island will also serve three other museums-a national museum, a classical art museum, and a maritime museum-as well as a performing arts center and an arts center park. About half the size of Bermuda, the island is part of a massive new $27 billion mixed-use development project, expected to be completed in 2018. 7/06