Tag: Al Bezanson
Name this Light from Al Bezanson
Al writes-
Many a mariner from Gloucester has sailed or steamed close by this lighthouse. It was built in 1802 and is operational today — Fl (2) R 12s (W sector) (3). A few days distant by sail.
Who can name it?
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Al MF Bezanson Expounds On The Perfect Snow Shovel. Do You Agree?
Al writes-
I’ve been shoveling for more than 70 years, starting back on the farm where we tended to the input and output of 20 cows. Later, I learned in IE 1-01 that 21-1/2 lb is the optimum shovel-load, as determined by none other than Frederick W. Taylor, the father of scientific management. This made perfect sense to me.
Now I have a long driveway, and I don’t mind shoveling it, within certain limits. Nice way to work out and it feels real good to gaze back at what’s been accomplished. And I never get a backache. Because I use a strong, lightweight LONG HANDLED SHOVEL with the perfect aluminum business end. No short handles for me. They should be outlawed – except for little people, of course. You can really send that snow flying off the slippery aluminum.
Where do you find the Perfect Shovel? No place around these parts. I buy mine at Big Blue Farm Supply in Clinton, NC, right in the heart of hog farming country. Perfect for grain, corn and SNOW.
Al Bezanson
PS — I just spotted that photo of David Cox with the exotic S-curve job …. but I will stand by my Big Blue Hog Farmer’s Special.
See Al I agree with you on the aluminum shovel shaped just the way yours is but I like it with a handle. The kind we used for years to ice fish down the dock before they came up with the stupid white plastic ones.
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The Infamous One Has The Answers To The Mysteries of The 19th Century Gloucester Windmill and It’s Photographer (Natch)
hey joey – this is the photo al mentions in gordon thomas’ ‘wharf & fleet’, shot by martha harvey (not hovey), one of gloucester’s photographer legends. she grew up on prospect court as martha rogers, married the artist george harvey and they set up shop in annisquam on river road. she stood about 4’10" in her socks and wandered all over the cape with a mammoth box camera and a suitcase of unexposed glass plates, some of them 11×14! she deserves an honorary chair in the lumpers’ lounge.
gordon thomas’ caption for this photo reads: "Winter Quarters on Five Pound Island, 1893. This fine Martha Harvey shot shows several schooners hauled up for the winter on the eastern end of Five Pound Island. Many vessels for various reasons were hauled up during the winter months and as most of the wharves around the harbor were busy, vessels were laid up at the Island until spring. In this photo, the inner harbor is frozen solid. The schooner, bow on with flying jib boom, is the beautifully names ‘Herald of the Morning,’ owned by John Pew and built in 1875. The clipper bowed schooner to the right is the ‘Columbia’, built in 1891 for Parmenter and Co. (not to be confused with the racing ‘Columbia’ of 1923.)"
Cape Ann Museum has a large collection of Harvey plates, as does the Annisquam Historical. CAM’s brilliant photo archivist has arranged a set of binders with inkjet prints from scans of the Harvey plates, available for browsing during regular library hours.
-infamous (and brilliant) fred buck
The infamous one is responding to yesterday’s post from Al Bezanson-
19th Century Gloucester Windmills From Al Bezanson
Posted on December 5, 2012 by Joey C
This illustration appears in History of the town and city of Gloucester, Cape Ann Massachusetts, 1892, by James R. Pringle, who wrote,
“A sketch of the town in 1817 was drawn by Capt. John Beach, from a point in the harbor opposite Ten Pound island, off Pavilion Beach. Standing out prominently in the foreground was an eight-sided wooden windmill erected on the site now occupied by the Pavilion Hotel. This had been built in 1814 by Ignatius Webber, and its long arms, fitted with sails, made it a conspicuous object, and gave the town quite a foreign aspect. It was subsequently removed to a position on Fort Square, where it became a familiar landmark, being destroyed by fire a few years ago.”
Another windmill, of more modern design, is prominent on Five Pound Island in an 1893 photograph by Martha Hovey, reproduced in Wharf and Fleet, by Gordon W. Thomas.
Al Bezanson
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19th Century Gloucester Windmills From Al Bezanson
This illustration appears in History of the town and city of Gloucester, Cape Ann Massachusetts, 1892, by James R. Pringle, who wrote,
“A sketch of the town in 1817 was drawn by Capt. John Beach, from a point in the harbor opposite Ten Pound island, off Pavilion Beach. Standing out prominently in the foreground was an eight-sided wooden windmill erected on the site now occupied by the Pavilion Hotel. This had been built in 1814 by Ignatius Webber, and its long arms, fitted with sails, made it a conspicuous object, and gave the town quite a foreign aspect. It was subsequently removed to a position on Fort Square, where it became a familiar landmark, being destroyed by fire a few years ago.”
Another windmill, of more modern design, is prominent on Five Pound Island in an 1893 photograph by Martha Hovey, reproduced in Wharf and Fleet, by Gordon W. Thomas.
Al Bezanson
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Ardelle Report From Al Bezanson
0630 Oct 9th…. Ardelle is docked at Baltimore Marine Center in Canton close to Pride of Baltimore II and a flock of other schooners who will be participating in the 127 mile Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race to Portsmouth, VA. The race begins Thursday afternoon and the wind that is forecasted may be a bit challenging for some of the gaff rigged boats. Harold is among a lot friends there, and Canton/Fells Point is swarming with cordial volunteers. About 38 schooners are entered. Each boat will have a transponder aboard for tracking. Avid schooner fans might enjoy watching the race all night, keeping an eye on the weather buoys and wind forecast along the route. On Saturday there is a Pig Roast and Awards Ceremony that goes on for most of the day in Portsmouth. More information here:
http://www.schoonerrace.org/schedule.htm
http://www.schoonerrace.org/pdfs/spinsheet12.pdf
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100#
Al Bezanson
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2012 Gloucester Schooner Race Results From Al Bezanson
Joey…..Terrific coverage here on the Parade of Sail, but for those interested in the race itself the information has been sparse and late coming. In the past the Times has had good reporting on the race but none this year. The Race Committee had a real challenge from a fizzling breeze that backed away from the SSE where it started and half the entries were unable to finish within the four hour time limit. Or they just fired up their engines so as not to be late for the 6:00 PM post-race festivities at Maritime Gloucester. (Good judgment.)
The hospitality extended to visiting schooners this year was extra special. Here is a little story on the American Schooner Association website.
Al Bezanson
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Wagging for Schooners From Al Bezanson
Joey…. Here’s a shot from GREEN DRAGON a couple years ago when BLUENOSE II was still around. Maggie here is savoring the odor of the haddock chowder wafting over from the Canadians’ galley and hoping for a chance to clean their bowls when they come ashore. What happened was that she missed out on the chowder but did manage to grab the skipper’s hot dog when he was on the dock. Hence the invasion of the BLUENOSE ll’s crew. Fortunately we had a good supply of Fishermen’s Brew iced down and were able to calm them.
Maggie was also in attendance at ARDELLE’S launching, and here can be seen interviewing Cooper. You can see Maggie’s blog here… it’s a long thread but scrolling down through it will acquaint you with some of her pals like Effie on Effie.
http://www.amschooner.org/node/639
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Schooner Captains At Your Service from Al Bezanson
Joey… Here are some faces to go with the schooner photos
Schooner captains Linda Gunn (FAREWELL) Steve Briggs (NORFOLK REBEL) and Nicholas Alley (VIRGINIA) at last year’s Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race Pig and Oyster Roast Awards Ceremony. Nicholas won the Mayor’s Cup with VIRGINIA in Gloucester in 2007 and in this photo had just collected his Gorton’s hat. He is now in BRILLIANT and has space for passengers this year coming and going between Mystic and Gloucester.
Captains Matt Sutphin (TYRONE) and Ted Romanowski (GOOD FORTUNE) at an early breakfast at the Fort Square. We were scoping out places to berth 60 ft TYRONE during the Schooner Festival. Matt has passenger spaces coming and going to Gloucester and also for these events.
http://www.chathamclassicyachtcharters.com/
http://www.blockislandschoonerrendezvous.net/
http://www.provincetownschoonerrace.com/
Al Bezanson
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25 days to the Beam Reach From Al Bezanson
Joey… more photos from GREEN DRAGON and another reminder…
The Gloucester Schooner Race takes place September 2nd. Nowadays the race is set up as a beam reach, usually three times around a pair of buoys set a couple miles apart. Schooners are at their best reaching, with the wind on the beam, and if there is a good breeze their big mainsails provide all the power they can use. Reaching is also the most comfortable point of sail – no rock and roll. There is still space available for paying passengers on the larger boats, and the cost is usually less than the price of a ticket to a major league sporting event.
So, spectators, get off the boulevard and get on a boat for an up close and personal experience!
Al Bezanson
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27 Days to the Gloucester Schooner Festival From Al Bezanson
Hi Joey…The 28th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival will soon be upon us. I wonder how many remember The Annual Great Gloucester Schooner Races of the late 60’s. This is GREEN DRAGON after the circa 1969 race where we were decked out as fishermen.
Here was the deal for those races. They handed you a little piece of paper with an “X” on it, a black & copy of a section of Gloucester Harbor. Go anchor on that spot and when the boatload of old schoonermen comes by, hoist your sails and get underway ‘like fishermen.’ They would judge you for up to 25% of your score. When everyone got underway we gathered by the breakwater where we got the gun to race up to Newcombs and back, boat-for-boat, no handicap as I recall. Another 25% of your score. Keep on going and anchor on your X. No GPS or other instruments. You found it with landmarks. Only one try. Eventually the old timers came back, a captain came aboard, stood at your foremast and figured out how close you were to X by shooting bearings with a sextant. 50% of your score. Tough luck if the tide changed and you swung off it before the judges got to you. First place boat went to Lunenburg to face the speediest schooner they had at the time. These were all small schooners of 30 to 50 feet.
As for the crew in the photo. All but one are still walking. That’s my kid with the yellow hair. First one to ID the lot gets a beer on me at the Cape Ann Brewery or the Gloucester House or wherever he can find me during the festival this year.
Al Bezanson
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29 days to the Gloucester Schooner Festival
Al Bezanson submits-
Polish your binoculars. The Gloucester Schooner Festival begins in 29 days.
AMERICAN EAGLE (1930) and ALABAMA (1926) from GREEN DRAGON in the 2011 race.
Good Morning Gloucester 