ABOUT THE BOATS |
KANAWHA
 | Our Whaleboats are replicas of the Beetle Whaleboats 28 foot long 6 ft wide fiberglass, weighing about 700lbs built by Edey & Duff, Ltd in Mattapoisett, MA. Fixed seats Oars Range 13 – 15 feet the steering oar is 26 feet. Our first Boat the “Kanawha” was launched in May 2005 "Kanawha" comes from an Indian name meaning "place of white stone." This was probably because of the salt that was found in the area. Based on reports of conversations between pioneer settlers and friendly, it is assumed that an obscure Indian sub-tribe, with a name similar in sound to Kanawha was once located on the upper reaches of New River, which, in Jefferson's time was known as the Kanawha River. The Kanawha tribe left the Kanawha River to rejoin the Iroquois Indians in New York.
|
FLYING CLOUD
| Our second Whaleboat the “Flying Cloud” was launched in October 2005 The Flying Cloud of 1851 was the most famous of the extreme clippers built by Donald McKay in East Boston, Massachusetts. She sailed from New York and made San Francisco 'round Cape Horn in 89 days, 21 hours under the command of Captain Josiah Perkins Creesy. In the early days of the California Gold Rush, it took more than 200 days for a ship to travel from New York to San Francisco, a voyage of more than 16,000 miles. The Flying Cloud's more-than-halving that time (only 89 days) was a headline-grabbing world record that the ship itself beat three years later, setting a record that lasted for 136 years. The Flying Cloud's achievement was remarkable under any terms, it was all the more unusual because its navigator was a woman, Eleanor Creesy, who had been studying oceanic currents, weather phenomena, and astronomy since her girlhood in Marblehead, Massachusetts. With her husband, ship captain Josiah Perkins Creesy, she logged many thousands of miles on the ocean, traveling around the world carrying passengers and goods A reporter for the Boston Daily Atlas of April 25, 1851 wrote, "If great length [235 ft.], sharpness of ends, with proportionate breadth [41 ft.] and depth, conduce to speed, the Flying Cloud must be uncommonly swift, for in all these she is great. Her length on the keel is 208 feet, on deck 225, and over all, from the knight heads to the taffrail, 235 — extreme breadth of beam 41 feet, depth of hold 21½, including 7 feet 8 inches height of between-decks, sea-rise at half floor 20 inches, rounding of sides 6 inches, and sheer about 3 feet."
|
PHOENIX
| Phoenix, or Phenix, was an American wooden whaler plying the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean from its base in Nantucket, Massachusetts, from 1821-1858. Built and owned by Zenas Coffin of Nantucket, Ma until his death in 1828 then taken over by son in law. It was one of many Whaling ships that had women aboard as documented in the journal Mrs. Israel Morey, the captain's wife in 1853-55.
A phoenix is a mythical bird. It has a 500 to 1,000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of myrrh twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible - it is also said that it can heal a person with a tear from its eyes and make them temporarily immune to death.
Fort Phoenix State Reservation One of the smaller parks in Massachusetts, Fort Phoenix State Reservation combines historic features, scenic views and a variety of recreational facilities. Minutes from downtown New Bedford, the park contains a half-mile of Buzzards Bay beachfront. Adjacent to the park (and managed by the Town of Fairhaven) is Fort Phoenix, a national landmark Fort which gives the park its name. From the ramparts remnants, one can gaze across the bay where the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War was fought, to the rolling meadows of the Elizabeth Islands. |
