As I mentioned in my last post, Steve is currently in Deltaville, VA working on boat projects, and Jake and I have taken up residence with Jessie and Will in Baltimore. 😄
I'm not happy about our extended period of separation but Steve and I agreed that carrying Jake up and down the ladder several times a day to get onto the boat while it's out of the water is getting too difficult.
I also feel guilty about Steve doing all of the work, but not so guilty that I'm foregoing the opportunity for a bit of fun with Jessie and Will!
The first weekend after I arrived, we decided to go to the Baltimore Inner Harbor and visit the four historic ships that are in residence there: The USS Constellation, Lightship Chesapeake LV116, USS Torsk, and USCG Cutter 37.
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| Baltimore's Inner Harbor |
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| Will and Jessie on the Lightship Chesapeake |
We started our tour on the Lightship Chesapeake LV116, which was in service from 1930 until 1971. A lightship is basically a floating lighthouse, and this ship marked the entrance of the Chesapeake for 20 years.
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| Light at Stern |
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| Bow of Lightship |
The Chesapeake was operated with a crew of sixteen and was secured with two 5000 lb anchors. Twice during its service, the Chesapeake was subjected to hurricanes so strong that the anchor chain broke and they were forced to drop the spare anchor and point into the wind with engines at full throttle in attempts to maintain position. Sailors' stories sound similar regardless of the size of the ship!!
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| Berths for the Crew |
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| Dining Hall |
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| Officer's Berth |
Next, we boarded the submarine USS Torsk which operated from 1944 through 1968. The Torsk patrolled the coast of Japan twice during World War II and, during the second patrol, sunk two Japanese coastal defense frigates. These ships were the last vessels of the war to be torpedoed.
After WWII, the Torsk was primarily a training vessel but also was actively deployed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean at various times.
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| View of the USS Torsk from the Stern |
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| Conning Tower of the USS Torsk |
One of the things that I really enjoyed as I toured all four of the vessels that day was identifying all of the equipment that I have experience with, now that I live on a boat. Although the technology of the equipment on these ships is obviously different than what we have now, the function is the same and it was fun to walk around and know what all the dials and gauges are needed for.
I also loved the display below because it looks very much like a schematic that Steve drew for me so that I could understand how the electrical system in Starry Nights works.
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Submarine Propulsion Schematic
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Engine Controls
Temperature and Pressure Gauges
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| Breaker Panel |
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| Drill Press |
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| (Very Large) Wrench |
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| Kleinschmidt Evaporator (Watermaker) |
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| Fuel Oil Purifier |
Up to eighty sailors lived aboard the USS Torsk, and it was also very interesting to see how efficiently space was utilized. The picture on the right below shows crewmember personal storage, which was in a shallow drawer under each berth.
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Not Your Mother's KitchenAid
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The complex apparatus shown below is the torpedo launch station, and while we don't have any equipment like this aboard Starry Night, I did spot another similar piece of hardware. At the bottom left of the picture is a silver roller painted red in the middle. This is exactly the same shape as the anchor roller that came with our boat. I had so much fun finding this sort of thing....it was like an Easter egg hunt!
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| Torpedo Tubes |
From the USS Torsk, we headed to the USS Constellation, a Sloop of War that was commissioned from 1854 until 1955.
From 1855-1858 she cruised the Mediterranean to protect American interests and served as flagship for the U.S. Africa Squadron from 1858-1861. The mission of this squadron was to find slave ships, arrest the slavers and free those who had been rounded up to be sold.
During the Civil War, the USS Constellation was used to blockade southern ports and guard Union merchant ships against attack.
During the remainder of the 19th century, the Constellation was used as a training vessel and, sometimes, a transport vessel. By 1920 the Navy had discontinued sail training, but the Constellation was kept as a historic monument which has been relocated and reconstructed several times over the last century.
The Constellation was the last sail-only US warship and is the largest example of traditional Chesapeake shipbuilding techniques. In addition, it's the only Civil War-era ship still afloat.
The Constellation required a crew of 325 to operate. I can't even imagine the complexity of raising and setting so many sails or - even worse - managing the sails when unexpected squalls inevitably arrived.
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| USS Constellation |
The ship has four decks, and we boarded on the Spar Deck where sailing operations took place.
The capstan in the photo on the left was used to weigh anchor. Levers would have been inserted into the rectangular holes at the top of the capstan, which was then rotated by six of the crew.
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| Capstan |
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Fog Bell
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The next lower deck is the Gun Deck where, in addition to artillery, the galley and the captain's quarters were located.
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| USS Constellations Canons |
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| The Galley |
The salon in the captain's quarters was quite sumptuous and I learned that the captain would entertain and otherwise meet with foreign heads of state there. This prompted me to wonder if this was the genesis of the term "stateroom".
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Captain's Salon
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A pantry was adjacent to the salon and had a private door so that the cooks and servers could enter with food prepared in the galley without disturbing the dignitaries.
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The Pantry
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The actual sleeping quarters for the captain were more sparse but still luxurious compared to the living space of the enlisted men, located one deck down on the Berth Deck
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Captain's Quarters
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The enlisted men slept in hammocks which they removed and rehung each day. The hammocks themselves were placed in bags around the perimeter of the spar deck to act as fenders for the ship.
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| Enlisted Men's Berths |
The enlisted men ate on the floor on the Berth Deck in groups called "messes". One sailor was assigned, on a rotating basis, to go up to the Gun Deck and bring the food down for his mess.
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| Crew's Mess |
Most of the crew's non-working time was spent on the Berth Deck, and the Dispensary and Surgery were also located here.
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| Dispensary |
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| Surgery Cabinet |
The very bottom of the ship is the Ship's Hold, where food, water and gear were stored.
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| Bottom Level Used for Storage and Ballast |
The last ship we toured was US Coast Guard Cutter #37 which was active from 1935-1986. This vessel had quite a storied past and served in both peacetime and war. The ship was designed as a vessel to be used in law enforcement, search and rescue, and maritime patrol and began service in the Hawaiian Islands capturing opium smugglers and performing rescue missions. She was later equipped with armament and was active at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked. After that, #37 patrolled Pearl Harbor for submarines.
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| USCG Cutter #37 |
From 1946-1960, the cutter was stationed in California carrying out peacetime missions including fisheries patrols and search and rescue.
In the late 1960's Cutter #37 was the last US vessel still commissioned that had participated in Pearl Harbor and gained renown as "The Last Survivor of Pearl Harbor".
In the Viet Nam war, Cutter #37 participated in Operation Market Time in the South China Sea. In this operation along the coast of South Viet Nam, she intercepted illegal arms and supplies and provided medical assistance to 5000 Vietnamese civilians.
After Viet Nam, the cutter was transferred to Virginia, outfitted with a Doppler weather radar system, and spent 4 years hurricane hunting.
Number 37's last decade was spent on search and rescue, fisheries patrol and illegal drug seizures.
In 1986, Cutter #37 was decommissioned and donated to Baltimore where it was preserved as a memorial and museum.
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| The Cutter's Dinghy |
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| Barber Shop |
My last big "find" of the day: a Westinghouse nameplate!
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| Power Courtesy of Westinghouse Steam Engines |
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| Engineer's Office |
We ended our day of touring at a Baltimore brewery in a part of town known as Upper Fells Point. The Ministry of Brewing is located in a building which was formerly St. Michaels Catholic Church, which was desanctified in 2010.
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| Ministry of Brewing |
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| Relaxing, Post-Tour, at the Ministry of Brewing |
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| My Vote for World's Most Beautiful Brewery |
The setting was simply gorgeous, the refreshments were delicious, and it was a lovely way to end our day.
In my next edition, I'll bring you up to speed with Steve's latest creative endeavors!
Until then, Cheers!
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