Dr. Craig O’Connell is the founder and executive director of O’Seas Conservation Foundation, Inc based in Montauk, along side his wife, Dr. Nicole O’Connell.  The nonprofit foundation focuses on researching different species of sharks through camera studies, bycatch reduction technologies, and underwater video surveillance. O’Seas Conservation Foundation also runs a program called “Shark Camp” which educates and inspires High School students to learn many of the basics of what a Marine Biologist does. Beyond O’Seas, Dr. O’Connell is a nature presenter for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and an adjunct professor at UMass Dartmouth.  He’s also a published author and has won numerous awards for his photography. 

I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. O’Connell to get his insight on the upcoming 2021 Shark research in the New York Bight along with finding out more about his O’Seas Conservation Foundation. It went as follows:

Marc: I remember reading your interview with Newsday last summer that you observed many young Whites in the New York Bight.  Can you explain if there is a difference between White Sharks and Great White Sharks?

Craig: White sharks and great white sharks are the same thing.  The media likes to refer to them as great white sharks, but the true common name here in the USA and other locations is ‘white shark’.  

Marc: Please elaborate on how the Bight might become a new breeding ground for the  White Sharks.  

Craig: There is a big difference between breeding grounds and nursery grounds.  The New York Bight is a white shark nursery ground.  This was discovered by scientists many years ago; however, our team is working to learn more about this nursery ground so we can find ways to better protect the area and the sharks. Now, the breeding ground – that is another exciting thing that many scientists all around the world are trying to locate.  Where are these white sharks breeding?  There are two known accounts of fishermen observing white sharks breeding; however, there are no photos and videos from these observations.  Therefore, many are still on a quest to film the behavior and learn more about the process.  Does the entire North Atlantic white shark population breed in the same location, I really don’t know but would hypothesize that it happens over a very broad area, which is why it is so difficult to observe.

Marc: Why do the older Whites still migrate north while leaving their young behind in the Bight if there is an ample food source for them in the Bight?

Craig: Good question.  There is ample food for the young-of-the-year (cool term for white shark pups that are less than a year old) and juvenile white sharks, including small fish (mackerel and menhaden), skates, rays, and smaller sharks.  However, as sharks age their diet changes (this is called an ontogenetic shift in diet) and they begin to prefer larger and more energetically beneficial food items, such as marine mammals.  When the white shark pups arrive in Montauk, the adults are making their way north (e.g. Cape Cod) to feed on seals (and other prey species).

Marc: What projects will the O’Seas Shark Camp enthusiasts be working on this year?  

Craig: We are actively conducting a variety of projects at O’Seas.  Projects include bycatch reduction technologies (e.g. technologies that aim to reduce unwanted catch from commercial fishing gears), camera surveys to study shark species diversity with baited remote underwater video systems (aka BRUVS), acoustic tagging research that aims to learn about the long-term movements of a variety of shark species that call Montauk their seasonal home, and FinCam technology research (cameras that we temporarily place on sharks so we can learn about their movements, habitat preferences, and feeding behavior).  

Marc: Do they get involved in tagging and data collection?   

Craig: Yes.  Our non-profit strives to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists, conservationists, and biologists.  Therefore, we feel that the best way to do this is to get them directly involved in our research efforts.  In fact, we run a week-long program throughout the summer known as ‘Shark Camp’.  During this week, 9th-12th grade youth from all over the world take part in our work and learn many of basics of what a Marine Biologist does.  They participate in activities from boat driving to tagging baby white sharks – so it truly is a one-of-a-kind experience.  Nothing quite compares to when one of our students sees a large shark for the very first time – their face lights up and you immediately know they are “hooked.”  It is our goal to ensure they have the best experience possible and thus far, our program has been such a huge success and we are grateful to all the support we have received thus far. 

Marc: Does the foundation recruit middle or high school age students from New York City for O’Seas’ youth education programs? 

Craig: Yes, we try to recruit high school students from all over the world.  In fact, we have had students from Singapore, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Canada, and from all over the USA.  Our original goal for O’Seas was to raise sufficient funds each year so that this summer ‘Shark Camp’ can be a free experience for 9th-12th grade youth.  More specifically, we hoped to raise sufficient funds to provide full-ride ‘Shark Camp’ scholarships to underprivileged children whose families may not have the necessary means to participate in these types of activities.  While we haven’t been successful in raising sufficient funds to meet this original goal of a fully funded ‘Shark Camp’ program (e.g. scholarships for all participants), there have been some truly amazing and generous families that have donated to our organization so we can provide up to 5 full-ride ‘Shark Camp’ scholarships each year for the past several years.  

If you would like to read more about ‘Shark Camp’ – please check out our website:  https://www.oseasfdn.org/shark-camp-cg0o

Should anyone be interested in helping to fund future campers and fund our research, we are actively accepting donations via email or our website:  https://www.oseasfdn.org/donate-c1f8a

Marc: Do your education programs also teach its students about ocean mammals such as the North Atlantic Right Whales that are of course critically endangered but often observed off Long Island?  I would like to learn more about the relationship between whales and sharks in the New York Bight.  

Craig: There are weeks of ‘Shark Camp’ where whales and dolphins are so numerous that no matter where we look, you will see some type of marine mammal.  Montauk is truly a special place and even though we focus our efforts on sharks, we absolutely take every opportunity given to us to learn about any types of nature we encounter while on the water.  We have never encountered a North Atlantic Right Whale, but we have encountered bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, humpback whales, minke whales, and fin whales.   During certain weeks in the summer, the pods of Atlantic Menhaden (what is known as the fuel of the NY Bight) arrive.  This is a preferred prey source for a variety of marine mammals and sharks.  During the right time of year, we often look for the pods, keep a reasonable distance away, and watch the humpback whales feed.   It is a true treat for everyone involved.

Marc: Does one hunt the other and if so, what species?  

Craig: Based on where we are located, we won’t normally see any shark-whale predatory events; however, if we expand the term to marine mammals, it is possible that we could witness some predations between larger white sharks and dolphins or seals.  During certain times of the year, the larger white sharks pass through and they most certainly can take advantage of all the prey (harbor seals, grey seals, bottlenose dolphins) that calls Montauk home. 

Marc: It has been reported that Orcas are making their way down to Cape Cod and possibly Montauk.  As climate change continues to alter the ocean environment, do you see a possible collision between great Whites and Orcas in the North Atlantic or even the  New York Bight?  I am fascinated by the Orca hunting behavior that has been reported off California or along the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand.  

Craig: Global warming is having quite a large impact on marine and terrestrial wildlife all over the world.  However, I’m not too sure Orcas will call Montauk home any time soon.  Is it possible that they may be spotted on very rare occasions in the future, sure.

Marc: Do you also focus on other species?

Craig: While we focus some of our efforts on white sharks, we work with a variety of other shark species in the New York Bight.  More specifically, we work with blue sharks, shortfin mako sharks, dusky sharks, common thresher sharks, and sandbar sharks.  What’s important to know is that some of these sharks are experiences huge population declines, therefore, our research is becoming more and more important.  For example, the shortfin mako shark is a recreationally and commercially sought after species.  Due to this, their populations have plummeted on a global scale and this species is now considered endangered.  With continued exploitation, this species may go extinct in our lifetime.  Therefore, we must do all we can to protect this species (among many others) if we truly want a healthy ocean for many generations to come.

NYHC will follow and report the research from O’Sea’s base camp in Montauk.  No doubt the Shark Campers will have great tales to tell as they explore life in the New York Bight!  

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Janie Meneely, a songwriter, wrote a poem some years back on Grandma Polly, a true story from the Radcliffe clan, and Senator from Maryland describing their feisty relative.  Apparently, Grandma Polly was upset when she found out the British commandeered the family merchant vessel and took her husband with it.  She rowed out to the anchored British ship and demanded to speak to Admiral George Cockburn.  The Brit was so impressed, he gave audience.  After tea, Cockburn bade Grandma Polly farewell with her husband in tow.  Days later, Cockburn proceeded to march 4500 troops into battle and burned down Washington, D.C.  Oh, and the poem is about Polly hiding the family silver under her cantankerous goose as she knew the Brits had no match confronting an egg protecting fowl.

A conversation with Janie brought a smile to my face. Our zoom interview caught her in England on the North Sea.  I had the pleasure of getting to hear some of her songs from her songbook ‘Sing The Bay Fantastic’ which were upbeat and optimistic.  Her partner, Rob van Sante, added the bass as well as a lower octave or two on the harmony of”Susquehanna Suzie” where we can all join in on the chorus to celebrate the thrill of buying a first boat.

Janie’s songbook, ‘Sing The Bay Fantastic’ is a time capsule filled with things about her growing up on Chesapeake Bay.  Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Janie threads her childhood through personal jealousies of friends’ home-cooked seafood stews, soups, and everything served up raw bar. It also pulls from her experiences gleaned from her job as a journalist.  In all, she was a sea sponge having anything to do with water on the Chesapeake.

Songs like ‘The Oysterman’s Wife’ was created while reporting a story in Deltaville.  Her most popular sea siren series is Nasty Nell.  Her fictitious character gives plenty of opportunity to explore the depths of the Chesapeake as well as the shallows.  Janie likes to focus her songs on anything that life on the water can make you happy.

Her love of oysters has an indelible environmental impact where there is great debate between power dredging versus hand tonging.  Indeed the Chesapeake has its own regeneration initiative of oysters that rivals the efforts of New York Harbor’s Billion Oyster Project.  As Janie is a true romantic, the arduous but eco-friendly method of tonging may have its return. Janie is eager to see these old bay vessels repurposed.

Janie participated in a ZOOM concert workshop on Sunday night February 21st, as part of a Folklore Society of Greater Washington program on local waterways.  The webcast featured Janie, George Ward, of New York and Lee Murdock from the Great Lakes.

So, while the harbors await Janie’s return, her newly released songbook is a great way for any musician to learn a new tune and share the language of song telling first hand.  The songbook is available to interested folks for $25 through Janie’s website janiemeneely.com.

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DAY ONE: August 15th, 1814.  The British Fleet From Bermuda Arrives off the Maryland Coast.

As soon as Napoleon’s French Fleet was decimated by the British in 1814, the Royal Navy was free to send its armada across the Atlantic to answer America’s declaration of War on Great Britain.  The naval strength of more than 130 battle ships, with 1800 guns of various caliber, was assembled and now in sight of the Chesapeake Bay.

 

But the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, was anxious to finally unleash his pride and joy on the seat of government of the former British Colonies in America.  In addition to frigates and mortar ships, the H.M.S. Erebus was the rocket ship carrying his proprietary weaponry. Wellesley was a hardened military man who fell victim to these very rockets three decades earlier at the hands of Tipu Sultan of India.  Wellesley never recovered from the terror that rained down around him over several campaigns to overthrow the Indian Sultan.  Wellesley finally defeated Tipu Sultan in 1799 and, as a trophy of war, brought the Asian manufactured arsenal back to Britain.  William Congreve harnessed the rocket technology and outfitted it on the Erebus.

There are a few historical fiction books that explore the global climate just prior to the War of 1812.  One by Mark Sysson cleverly reveals the balance of power that existed at the dawn of the nineteenth century and how the story culminated in the Chesapeake Bay with The Star Spangled Banner.

DAY TWO: August 16th, 1814.  Tangiers Island, Chesapeake Bay

 

British Vice-Admiral Alexander Cochrane orchestrated the invasion.  British blockades were in place up and down the entire U.S. coastline. An attack on the U.S. Capitol was in the works months in advance.  Cochrane planned the destruction of the U.S. Capitol along with the surrounding major port cities along the Chesapeake Bay. Cochrane saw the strategic significance of Tangiers Island in the heart if the Chesapeake.  For a brief moment in history, it served as important of a naval military center as Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

In advance of the attack, Cochrane took advantage of the political tensions that were evident in America.  Once again, there were British sympathizers who feared the American experiment was not long for.  British agents targeted properties bordering the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia.  In an attempt to entice local blacks to join the British fight on U.S. soil, Vice Admiral Cochrane formed the Corps of Colonial Marines a year earlier.  British loyalists recruited slaves and promised them and their families freedom.  Many blacks in the region accepted the offer.  The British trained them as equals and the former slaves received pay, uniforms, and the promise of a pension.  They became Britain’s newest mercenaries.

With land reinforcement in place, the British ships were assembled.  Tidal pools and shallows plagued the rivers and it became a known threat to the advance of the British warships.  Cochrane did his best to secretly mark the channels.

 

According to local Chesapeake folklore musician and chronicler, Janie Meneely, there was a Methodist parson named Joshua Thomas who lived on Tangiers Island when the British took residence.  It seems the British welcomed Parson Thomas’s ministry and attended his sermons.  It is noted that Thomas, who was patriotically American, was not muzzled and predicted the failed British Campaign in the Chesapeake.   With that, Vice Admiral Cochrane and his officers went off prepared to board their vessels the next day, ready to perform their God-given work and face their fate

DAY THREE: August 17th, 1814. Ships Enter the Mouth of the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers.

As Admiral George Cockburn returned to his squadron near Taylor Island, Maryland, his officers were busy interacting with the local Americans.  Commandeering local vessels and provisions were a priority order.  Those who protested were taken along with their assets.

On one of her assignments for her publication in the 1980s, Janie Meneely interviewed the Radcliffe family who had many family stories tied to the War of 1812.  Most famously was the tale of their Grandma Polly.  It seems Polly’s husband was taken prisoner when Admiral Cockburn’s troops appropriated his boat and provisions.  Polly was determined to row out to Cockburn’s ship and speak to the Admiral directly.  Cockburn was so impressed with Polly’s decisiveness and courage, he immediately released her husband right after tea.   Janie Meneely’s poem is a wonderful celebration of the working Chesapeake Bay community and her most recent collection of music is found in her songbook, Sing The Bay Fantastic.

The first phase was to have a squadron of mortar vessels led by British Captain Alexander Gordon take his invasion force up the Potomac River.  Lack of navigation knowledge of the local waters played an essential outcome of preventing a British victory.  Shallow places like those local American mariners called ‘Kettle Bottom’ would be key in frustrating the British squadrons.  Meanwhile, Sir. George Cockburn and General Robert Ross land 5,000 troops at Benedict, Maryland on the Patuxent River.

DAY FIVE: August 19th, 1814.  British Navy Lands at Benedict, Maryland on the Patuxent River.

With minimal resistance aside from the brutal summer temperature, Rear Admiral George Cockburn and Ross marched 4,500 men in the sweltering heat toward Washington, D.C.   Over the next two days, the American mariners making up the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla was assigned the protection of Washington from approaching British warships up the Patuxent; however, the Americans set ablaze their own gunboats as the British land and sea forces neared.

DAY NINE: August 23rd, 1814. North to Baltimore or West to Washington

The  future 5th President, James Monroe, acted as a scout to detect the landing and thwart the advance of Admiral Cochrane’s campaign.  Meanwhile, back on the Potomac, British Captain Gordon’s mortar bombardment squadron found a scanty presence of a garrison manning Fort Washington approximately 50 miles downriver from the U.S. Capitol.

President Madison was almost shot by the British as it was reported he rode aimlessly through the countryside on horseback attempting to organize defenses.  At a critical juncture, British General Ross’s intentions confused the American forces.  It was unknown which direction the British troops were going to march.

Baltimore was in range to the north where Britain’s dreaded American foes, the Privateers, called home.  Privateer maritime operations on open waters maneuvered regularly from the Chesapeake, stealthily breaking the blockades and plundering British ships in the Mid-Atlantic.  In addition, Baltimore was known as a vital shipbuilding center where America’s future frigate fleet was under construction. Therefore, Baltimore was a choice target.

Meanwhile, Washington was directly west. Symbolically, Washington, D.C. was of equal value as a target.   U.S. politicians and military tacticians knew that Britain was driven to take revenge for America’s short-lived occupation of Toronto, Canada the previous year as the U.S. invasion forces attempted to annex Lower Canada.  During the American incursion, the Parliament building was set ablaze and looters took symbolic British ‘trophies of war’ as they retreated.

DAY TEN: August 24th, 1814.  The Battle of Blandensburg

As Cockburn and Ross stood eight miles northeast of Washington, D.C. the British advance met the first organized U.S. militia in the campaign.  Maryland slave-owners must have been shocked to see their runaway slaves return in British uniform with muskets aimed waiting for the order to open fire.   However, other blacks refused the British offer of freedom and remained on the side of America.

The Battle of Blandensburg did not last long.  The U.S. forces quickly disbanded when the casualties became heavy.  The British easily won and turned to the west marching unimpeded to the nation’s Capitol.  After the Chesapeake campaign, the British kept their word and the blacks were transported to Halifax, Nova Scotia where they started their new life.

The paltry response of local militia paled in comparison to the bravery of Dolly Madison’s heroic actions, with the help of her 15 year old enslaved servant Paul Jennings to sneak the life-size portrait of George Washington out of the Presidential Mansion.  Absence of any organized U.S. force remains a stunning fact with the only plausible military explanation was that the British would not waste their time attacking Washington, D.C. because it had no tactical value.  Instead, all attention, troops, and weaponry was directed to the defense of Baltimore instead.

DAY ELEVEN.  August 25th, 1814.  The 26 Hour Occupation of Washington, D.C.

Cockburn’s short list of targeted buildings included the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the Presidential Mansion.  As the buildings burned, George Cockburn was shrewd enough to enter the city’s most popular newspaper office and destroyed or removed every letter C in the building.  The American newspaper would not be able to print neither his name or Vice-Admiral Cochrane’s name properly as the perpetrators of the historic attack.   Both of them were already subject of harsh ridicule in all the local American newspapers.

The British mortar ships and the H.M.S. Erasmus never made it up the Potomac to shell and rocket Washington, D.C. but they were certainly within striking distance of Alexandria, Virginia.  Seeing the U.S. Capitol ablaze from across the Potomac, a delegation representing the citizens of Alexandria offered their surrender of the city to the British. Cockburn was surprised by the news Captain Gordon’s squadron was well south of their destination. The naval bombardment of Washington never happened. Wellesley’s rockets never flew over the capitol.

At that moment, it is reported a tornado spun viciously toward Washington, D.C. spawning furious lightening strikes.  The tornado halted Cockburn’s devastation and Ross’s troops quickly departed Washington, D.C. with a few choice trophies of war that included a grandfather clock and Madison’s personal accounting ledger of the U.S. revenue. Perhaps with Thomas’s sermon filling Cockburns head, the burning abruptly ended. Was it Devine Intervention?

DAY TWELVE:  August 26th, 1814. PRESIDENT MADISON APPOINTS FRANCIS SCOTT KEY TO ARRANGE A PRISONER RELEASE WITH THE BRITISH

As Cockburn and Ross traversed across the Maryland countryside back to Benedict where their ships were anchored, many patriotic citizens took arms or shouted disapproval of the Redcoat pestilence.  The American countryside was encouraged to hurl rocks or hurl insults.  Dr. William Beanes was one such patriot who reportedly did both.  He was summarily taken prisoner by the British.

President Madison was alerted to such actions and he immediately dispatched local attorneys to appeal for prisoner release arrangements.  Francis Scott Key was one such attorney.  U.S. officials approached the British military authorities and Key was notified he would subsequently be allowed audience before the British authorities on the H.M.S. Minden in hopes of releasing his client and friend, Dr. William Beanes.

DAY FIFTEEN: August 29th, 1814. THE FALL OF FORT WASHINGTON

Back on the Potomac, U.S. defenses were quickly gathered at Fort Washington to meet the British mortar squadron.  Captain Gordon ordered the warships to open fire on the fort.  Americans fled the fortification leaving Alexandria, Virginia completely vulnerable.  The British entered the city and in exchange for not lighting the city on fire, troops were allowed access to plunder stores of tobacco, flour, and cotton.

DAY EIGHTEEN: September 1st,1814.  SHALLOW WATER ONCE AGAIN

As the British bombardment squadron retreated, they continued to eliminate U.S. fortifications as they moved down the Potomac.  The British retreat was hampered by unfavorable winds leaving them anchored in the Potomac for days.

DAY TWENTY: September 3rd, 1814. THE BRITISH PULLBACK ON THE POTOMAC

The British mortar ship, Devastation, was grounded in the shallows of the Potomac.  U.S. gunboats unsuccessfully attempted to capture the ship as the rest of the British squadron propelled the attack.  The skirmishes lasted for another 3-4 days. Erebus suffered the single death of a British seaman although there were reports of at least a dozen more with shrapnel wounds.

The British captured merchant vessels and sailed into the safety of the Chesapeake where they reassembled and planned their full attack on the city of Baltimore and Fort McHenry.  There wasn’t a single U.S. warship in the vicinity.  Two frigates that were supposed to be dispatched to protect the cities along the mid-Atlantic were blockaded by the British in New London, Connecticut for the duration of the British invasion of the Chesapeake Bay.  It was known that anti-Federalist pro-British support groups aided the British in many places along the U.S. coastline.  U.S. Senator Henry Clay led the WarHawks who demanded a stronger militarization of the U.S. Navy; however, the lack of American warships spoke for itself.  Cochrane turned his sights to Baltimore.

DAY TWENTY SEVEN: September 10th, 1814  THE EMERGENCE OF MAJOR ARMISTEAD

Twelve British sailing ships were spotted off Annapolis, Maryland that confirmed the all-out assault of Baltimore.  Additional American scouting parties reported smaller craft well up the Chesapeake Bay heading toward Baltimore.  Local city and state militias were fortified with federal regular Army troops.  Major George Armistead served as a commander the previous year at Fort Niagara where he defeated the British thereby allowing the Americans to enter Canada.  President Madison ordered Armistead to take command of Fort McHenry.  Knowing the inevitability of the naval attack, he reinforced gun positions around the harbor and along the Chesapeake.

DAY TWENTY NINE: September 12th, 1814  THE BATTLE OF NORTH POINT

Canon blasts alerted the city of Baltimore on a Sunday morning of the arrival of the British fleet.  General Ross and Cockburn landed their 5,000 troops at North Point, Maryland on the far eastern reaches well beyond the protection of Fort McHenry.  To Admiral Cochrane’s shock, 12,000 Americans were ready.  General Ross was killed by sharpshooters and the advance was halted.

DAY THIRTY: September 13th, 1814  THE STAGE IS SET AT FORT MCHENRY

U.S. Commanders successfully sunk merchant ships to block the entrance to the Patapsco River leading into Baltimore.  But the shallow waters kept the bulk of the British Fleet 5 miles away from Fort McHenry.  Erebus successfully positioned itself 2.5 miles away.  It was as close as the rocket ship would get to Fort McHenry or the port of Baltimore.

The Beginning of the 26 Hour Bombardment.

Armistead’s gunners shot burning cannonballs fired from Fort McHenry that skipped a half mile across the harbor successfully striking the wooden hulls of the British ships.  24 pounders rained down on the British ships with a range of 1800 yards.  36 pounders rained down on the British ships with a range of 2800 yards.  Royal Navy retreated to safety after the first 3 hours of the attack.  With news of the American heroism, Yankee Doodle could be heard from the inner harbor of Baltimore.

Captain Gordon and the British Commanders executed a Mortar ship assault.  Among the second wave included the  H.M.S. Volcano and H.M.S. Devastation.  They moved closer to Fort McHenry.  These ships were designed to volley with a massive recoil as they were built with heavy construction on the decks and in the hulls.  The 200 pounders had a range of 4200 yards.  Armistead later estimated 1500 British shells were fired upon the fort but only 400 struck the grounds, ramparts, or buildings.

H.M.S. Erebus also was part of the attack flotilla.  The Congreve rockets launched and streamed with blood red brilliance.  As the shells whistled overhead, the Fort McHenry garrison watched the rockets fall short into the water, well short of the ramparts.  Amistead ordered a cease fire at the 25th hour knowing it was best to save his ammunition.  At the end of the attack, only four Americans were killed.

DAY THIRTY ONE: September 14th, 1814. THE MARYLAND MILITIA AWAITS THE SILENT OARS

The British amassed one last fail-safe plan that was devised well in advance.  A landing attack of 3 bayonette regiments where Commodore Cochrane, aboard his H.M.S. Surprise, initiated a diversion to cover the ground attack on Baltimore.  An assembled fleet of rowboats and barges that would stealthily oar up the Patapsco Ferry Branch.

Shelling commenced at midnight and the silent oars moved the force into position.  As the dragoons lit their gun matches, their position was given away.  The Baltimore militias took advantage of the situation and commenced firing their muskets.  The British attack quickly fell apart as they were caught in the crossfire.

Francis Scott Key was still aboard the British treaty ship, H.M.S. Minden after successfully arranging his client’s release.  As the naval attack was already underway, Key was instructed to remain on the ship until the naval battle’s conclusion.  At dawn’s early light, the awesome spectacle of Erebus’s rockets was so shocking, Key was inspired to write his now famous poem that ultimately came to be known as ‘The Star Spangled Banner’.

EPILOGUE

The retreat was ordered by Admiral Cochrane and Major Amerstead had the fort’s new U.S. flag of 15 stars hoisted.  Key and his party were allowed to return to Baltimore.

Back in Great Britain, Arthur Wellesley would learn that his rocket hellfire that won him fame in the Anglo-Russian War in the Baltic and the victory in Algiers over Napoleon failed in the Battle of Baltimore.

The British Fleet sailed south and eventually participated in the Battle of New Orleans even though the treaty was signed between Britain and the United States weeks earlier.

Within months, Washington, D.C. began restoration of the burned buildings.  The scorch marks on the walls of the Presidential mansion were quickly covered with white paint.  This renovation gave the mansion its familiar appearance that is known from that day forth as The White House.

The ‘Star Spangled Banner’ remains America’s national anthem and foremost hymn sung at every major venue and public event.

The Chesapeake Bay continues its position as one of America’s premiere bodies of water essential to the port of Baltimore and local professional and recreational sailing communities.  It is well on its way to returning oysters to their once pristine stature.

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TODAY IS ‘HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA’ DAY’

January 26th is known throughout the Land Down Under as ‘History of Australia Day’.  Here in New York, the significance of Sydney’s Botany Bay is celebrated from the shores of New York Harbor and Brooklyn’s Lower Bay.  The back-story of Australia’s colonization is a central theme of the traditional folk song lyrics of ‘Botany Bay’.

As the recording session evolved on the eve of History of Australia Day, American football fans watched two bay city teams compete in the playoffs for the upcoming Super Bowl.  The Green Bay Packers challenged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Under the aura of modern day sport spectacles, these host cities should be recognized for their historical significance in the pantheon of coastal port centers.  In this light, New York Harbor’s Lower Bay offers a welcome to its distant equal across the planet.

New York and Sydney share a lot in common, especially in times of climate change and the pandemic.  We share the pain that has affected all countries as quarantines are mandatory for all professional sports, music, and social gatherings.  In advance of the Australian Open in nearby Melbourne, the players have all arrived in Australian two weeks before the start of the Grand Slam tennis tournament.  New York’s U.S. Open tournament will follow this August in our summer season.  The global health protocols in large venues will obviously remain the same.  Meanwhile, Climate Change has ravaged Australia recently.  Flora and fauna slowly returns from the devastating fires along the Australian East Coast in 2019.  Both port cities have architectural plans to battle the rising sea levels that threaten their infrastructures.

AUSTRALIA’S COLONIZATION HISTORY

Historically, both New York and Sydney have their modern origins thanks in large part to colonization of the eighteenth century.  Native American Indians and Australian Aborigines alike witnessed the sudden in-habitation of strange new cultures on their native lands.  Emigration from one region to another is a constant global movement.  There isn’t a single continent that hasn’t experienced mass relocation.  Cultural integration is planet Earth’s story.   The harmony sung by the Brooklyn Bards is nothing short of a historical celebration.  The song lyrics cry, ‘For to take a trip on an immigrant ship to the shores of Botany Bay’.

 

 

With the end of Britain’s colonization in North America at the hands of the American Revolution, Britain’s Colonization efforts shifted to lands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Captain James Cook’s landed on the peninsula in 1770 that eventually became known as Sydney.  The HMS Endeavor carried the naturalist, Joseph Banks, who studied and catalogued flora and fauna.  So respected was Bank’s scientific discoveries, the waters were called ‘Botanist Bay’.  Eventually, the name changed to Botany Bay in the newly claimed colony of New South Wales.

Despite Banks’ report of poor soil and no reliable water source, more than a thousand settlers arrived on January 26th, 1788.  Included were 736 ‘convicts’ who were banished from England.  As criminals could no longer be shipped off to the American colonies with the victory in 1783, Australia had the distinct honor of becoming the British Isles new ‘penal colony’.  It was a sixty year practice by the British government to transport convicts to Botany Bay.  The six month ocean journey was marked by no less than a ten percent death rate of the passenger list, most of them chained in the cargo holds for the duration of the trip.

EMIGRATION FROM THE BRITISH ISLES

The Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1855 was Britain’s most devastating natural event causing the exodus of two million people.  780 thousand emigrated to America.   Many of the Irish became Longshoremen of America’s East Coast Port cities.  The 1849 California Gold Rush attracted miners and farmers who brought their pick-axes and shovels.  Sydney Australia welcomed a good portion of the rest.   Stories abound of Irish families that worked the soil or worked the seas taking up new residence in far-away lands.

The Botany Bay folk song offers the following lines as the good ship Ragamuffin sets sail from the British Isles.  The Bards harmonize, ‘When I reach Australia I’ll go and search for gold, There’s plenty there for digging up or so I have been told.  Or maybe I’ll go back to me trade, 800 bricks I’ll lay for an 8 hour shift and an 8 bob pay on the shores of Botany Bay.’

THE TUNE’S THEATER ORIGIN IN LONDON

‘Botany Bay‘ became popular as a show tune first heard in a London musical burlesque in 1885.  The British composer waited thirty years to honor, with great derring-do, the men and women who took the daring yet desperate journey to foreign countries as immigrants.  ‘Botany Bay’ was considered the ultimate romantic notion in the theatre circuit district of Piccadilly and West End.  Before the turn of the nineteenth century, it was fashionable in entertainment circles to popularize folk music and integrate it into theater spectacles.  Until this time, traditional Irish Folk Music could only be found in the British Isles port-side pubs and countryside taverns.

JOIN IN AND CELEBRATE THE HARD-WORKING LYRICS OF THE SONG

In the years before Covid-19, patrons of Irish pubs and taverns would sing along to the Bards, hoisting a pint, reveling in ‘The best years of our lives we spent working on the docks building mighty wharves and quays of earth and ballast rocks.’

But recently, the Sea Shanty craze on Tik-Tok caught fire.  Stephen Colbert’s nightly show occupied two consecutive monologues where he encouraged his followers to join the chorus.  Brooklyn’s answer to the Wellerman’s Irish Fair performance is also found on Tik-Tok.  We invite you to add your contributions at  LINK.

There you’ll hear….

‘Farewell to your bricks and mortar, farewell to your dirty lime,

Farewell to your gangways and gang planks and to hell with your overtime’.

 

THE RECORDING SESSION

Port-side pubs and countryside taverns are exactly the atmosphere Brooklyn Bard music breathes.   Listen to some choice takes from Botany Bay, one of the album tracks that will be available on social media music platforms later this month.  The Brooklyn Bard band members take a few minutes to express their feelings about performing the song, origins of their instruments, as well as offering their own histories.

The post BROOKLYN MUSIC: LOCAL BAND TIED TO ‘HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA DAY’ appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.

The 5-11-19 Program and Topics

10:55AM 

WHITMAN’S ‘CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY’

RECITE: ‘FLOOD-TIDE BELOW ME! I WATCH YOU FACE TO FACE;’

Stanza to Recite

 11:00AM 

WHITMAN’S “CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY”

GERRY GIOIA BACKGROUND INSTRUMENTAL

RECITE: ‘FLOW ON, RIVER!  FLOW WITH THE FLOOD-TIDE,’

Stanza to Recite

11:05AM 

A MESSAGE FROM AHMIR OJELEDA

WALT WHITMAN’S HARBOR & THE SANDY GROUND OYSTER HARVESTERS

THE CIVIL WAR & ABOLITIONISTS

11:10AM 

A MESSAGE FROM ANNE WALDMAN

FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO ALLEN GINSBERG TO THE POETS OF THE FUTURE

LINES FROM ‘THERE WAS A CHILD WENT FORTH’ & A HOMAGE TO WHITMAN

11:15AM 

A MESSAGE FROM ANTHONY MAGISTRALE

LEAVES OF GRASS TO THE WATER IMAGERY OF THE FERRY

UNIVERSAL WATERS

YESTERDAY’S GREAT INVENTIONS & TODAY’S POLLUTION

11:25AM 

WALT WHITMAN’S ‘CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY’

RECITE: ‘WE DESCEND UPON YOU AND ALL THINGS-‘

Stanze to Recite

MESSAGES FROM NEW YORK HARBOR SCHOOL STUDENTS

11:30AM   

LIVING IN THE SOLUTION

PETITION FOR THE BAY RIDGE PIER ECO DOCK

SIGN UP!

GUEST SPEAKER: SYLVIA D’ALESSANDRO, FOUNDER SANDY GROUND HISTORICAL

11:35AM

GUEST SPEAKER: AGATA PONIATOWSKI, EDUCATION OUTREACH COORDINATOR FOR BILLION OYSTER PROJECT

View Billion Oyster Photo Gallery

11:45AM

GUEST SPEAKER: GLEN GREENBERG GLASS TECHNOLOGY PRESENTATION

Learn More

11:50AM 

“I CAN SEE THE LIGHT” PERFORMED BY MARC HITTNER

11:55AM

“CATFISH BLUES” BY GERRY GIOIA

12:00PM 

SOUNDS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE

NOAH, NOAH, AND N.O.A.A.

THE MELVILLE BUOY

A MESSAGE FROM PAUL SEISWERDA, FOUNDER OF GOTHAM WHALE & TOM PALADINO , CAPTAIN OF AMERICAN PRINCESS

SHINNECOCK NATION MOURNS THIS WEEK’S PASSING OF A HUMPBACK WHALE

Learn More

THE N.O.A.A. DILEMMA

Learn about the Save the Whales Initiative 

12:15PM

WHALE MIGRATION THROUGH THE NEW YORK BIGHT

FACETIME CALL FROM AMERICAN PRINCESS CRUISES

GOTHAM WHALE ‘MENHADEN PETITION’  SIGN UP

Learn about the North Atlantic Whale Calves 

12:20PM  

ROCKAWAY ARTIFICIAL REEF, NEW YORK BIGHT, THE HUDSON CANYON

A MESSAGE FROM NYS DEC MARINE SPECIALIST JESSIE HORNSTEIN

DEEPWATER CORAL, AND GLOBAL CORAL BLEACHING

Learn more

12:30PM

A MESSAGE FROM LIEUTENANT ANNA LAMACCHIO, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

A.I.S. GLOBAL TRACKING

Learn more

12:35PM 

HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS & ISSUES

A MESSAGE FROM LIEUTENANT ANNA LOMACCHIO

A MESSAGE FROM GADI ZOFI

12:45PM

A RECOGNITION OF THOSE WHO WORK THE HARBOR TODAY’

A MESSAGE FROM NITZAN LEVY

A MESSAGE FROM JESSIE HORNSTEIN,

A MESSAGE FROM GADI ZOFI

12:50PM

‘THE HARBOR OF DREAMS’ FRANK BRAYNARD AND THE TALL SHIPS

Learn More

12:55PM

‘NEW YORK FLEET WEEK’

A MESSAGE FROM LIEUTENANT ANNA LOMACCHIO

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018 FLEET WEEK AND A PREVIEW OF 2019

Learn More

1:00PM 

WHITMAN’S “CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY”

RECITE: ‘OTHERS WILL ENTER THE GATES OF THE FERRY’

Stanza to Recite

GUEST SPEAKER: NO LAND, A MEDITATION ON WALT WHITMAN

1:05PM

GERRY GIOIA CLOSING REMARKS & CLOSING MUSICAL PERFORMANCES

The post The Rebirth and Rejuvenation of New York Harbor appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.

“Behind The Scenes Making Of Ascending A Ladder To The Stars” not only gives viewers clear meaning to the song lyrics through images and narration, but it also gives us an interesting inside look on how it was created in the studio. Pedulla, who is the audio mixer says “I tried to get a nice foundation and Joe filled in the instrumentation. It was nice that we were able to use the B3 and the fender Rhodes through the Leslie that added a nice kind of vintage vibe to it.”  Pedulla, who is also visually impaired uses a screen reader to help lay the audio tracks for the song.  You can hear it 8 mins and 40 seconds into the video.  Joe Mayer, who is the melody composer, focuses on his choice to use the mandolin, fiddle, and organ as the instruments to be used in the the song ; “What I tended to do was take the chords structure and I just kind of like to move around with one or two notes within those chords, slide them up and down and then I just hear something in my head and I try to follow it.”  True words of an artist!  

Singer, songwriter Marc Hittner, explains, “I wrote this song to pay tribute to the workers of New York Harbor.”  His reference to “A sister’s acrobatics trapeze, backflips of the gymnast” depicts the everyday workers who literally bend over backwards to do their jobs, such as ship painters dangling off the sides of ships too boat pilots climbing up accommodation ladders; workers we often tend to forget about.  The song also focuses on the dangers of the accommodation ladders that ship pilots need to climb up in order to dock ships.  

Ascending A Ladder To The Stars is available when you click here for streaming platforms of your choice. NYHC intends to feature a new artist every month with these docu-scensory videos.  Want to share your songs backstory or even need help recording a song?  Look no further because NYHC is here to help. Reach out to our content department at [email protected]. Of course, the musical themes should be marine related to appeal to our water-loving audience but we are always open to creating content for any musician.

The post NYHC PRESENTS ITS FIRST DOCU-SCENSORY “BEHIND THE SCENES MAKING OF ASCENDING A LADDER TO THE STARS” appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.

 

The “Boatbusters! Halloween Parade, Race & Fundraiser” sure was a success! According to the History Channel, Halloween tradition is dated back 2000 years ago, where the Celts marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. This tradition was spread through Europe and was modified by the church and different ethnic groups. In America, as the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups and the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included “play parties,” which were public events held to celebrate the harvest. Neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing. In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. To me, Halloween has always been a holiday I had mixed feeling about. On one hand – I am all in when it comes to wearing costumes, decorating houses and having fun. On the other hand – I always felt a bit quite uncomfortable with the Trick-or-Treat tradition, as kids who are Trick-or-Treating are expecting to get candy, get upset when they don’t get enough and get pulled into crazy sugar-rush caused tantrums.

If there’s one good thing that came out from 2020 is a shift in attitude. Some sociologists and politicians thought that the long months of lockdown, learning, adapting and becoming accountable to new standards of behaviors, such as: personal hygiene, social distancing and mask wearing, would be detrimental to our society. In reality, people who care stepped up in solidarity and took action to make an impact on the lives of the less fortunate.

A few months ago I wrote an article telling about Michele Wiemer and Barry Richards, a sailor couple, who started cooking meals on their boat and delivered them along with masks to Jersey City Homeless in Journal Square. A couple of weeks later, Michele & Barry started a Go-Fund-Me campaign – “Sailors and Seniors Helping Jersey City Homeless” to raise money to fund food products and mask materials. Since then, Michele & Barry’s network of friends and family across the country got inspired by this initiative and joined them in making different nutritious meals every week and making sure that the homeless – who are part of our community and society, are protected and protect others who they come in contact with from Covid-19.

Halloween is always a bitter-sweet time of the year for us, sailors. While it’s fun to go sailing wearing costumes, it’s also the last sail for the season… Remembering Kennedy’s famous quote, I decided not to let covid-19 to get in the way of celebrating our community through extending kindness beyond. In that vein, I decided to re-imagine the Trick-or-Treat custom, from an act of getting something or feeling entitled to something, to an act of giving to others. The Trick-or-Treat became a way to either raise donations to the “Sailors and Seniors Helping Jersey City Homeless”Go-Fund-Me campaign (Trick) or donate a coat, a warm clothing item or a non-perishable food item to the homeless (Treat).

As a new member of Liberty Yacht Club, I was able to present this idea and gain their support. The officers of Liberty Yacht Club recognized the impact we can make as a community by supporting its members in bringing awareness a local NY Harbor region cause, through bringing members last opportunity for this year to get together on the water and to start an annual club tradition. With the assistance of LYC members, LLM tenants and others, I was able to present a day long event that included a boat parade, a sailboat race and a Trick-or-Treat contest.

 

The event started on a very cold morning of Saturday 10/31/2020, with the Boatbusters Boat Parade, led by Le Peniche – with Captain Jim Chambers at the helm. Le Peniche led the 9-boat parade along the Morris Canal from Liberty Landing Marina’s fuel dock west, and then back east towards green buoy 1 at the entrance to the Morris Canal. The parade participants stepped up for the game with decorating their boats, having Halloween theme accessories and costumes. A few kids were sited on board the different boats, and in spite of the cold temperatures, everybody seemed delighted and amused. After the boat parade, 7 of the boats prepared for the race start.

 

The special custom made prizes, created by glass artist Stephanie Baness of Moxie Sorbet Designs. Thank you Liberty Landing Marina and Dockmaster Andrew Licata for your help and support in coordinating the event.

The post Liberty Yacht Club’s First Boatbusters! Halloween Parade, Race & Fundraiser was a great success! appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.

Money donations from the fundraiser will be made through a go-fund-me campaign Sailors & Seniors Helping Jersey City Homeless started by Michele Wiemer and Barry Richards, who are boat owners in Liberty Landing Marina. In addition to money fundraising, they are also looking to collect coats and food items for this same grassroots effort.

The event, presented by Liberty Yacht Club, will take place on Halloween Day, Saturday 10/31/2020 and the schedule is as follows:

• 10:00am -10:45am – a Halloween Boat Parade along the Morris Canal
• 10:45am-12:45pm – Sailboat race in the NY Harbor
• 1-3pm – Trick or Treat on marina’s docks – fundraising for the above cause.

In order to prevent the spread of covid-19 we instruct participants to team up with groups of up to 6 people max on each dock, maintain a social distance and wear masks (not just Halloween masks.

Attached please find a digital copy for the Boatbusters flyer, as well as a banner you can use for a Newsletter in case you’d be willing to participate.

The website link to find more information and to register to the event is: Go to the Quarter Deck section of www.libertyyachtclub.org for more info. (the QR code in the flyer takes you there). Must register no later than October 28th.

So come Join the Liberty Yacht Club for one more Race for the year, along with a food, clothing and Trick or treat fundraising event! It will surely be SPOOK-tacular!

The post Liberty Yacht Club Presents: BOATBUSTERS a Halloween Fundraiser Race for Sailors appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.

ROSH HASHANA, HEBREW CALENDAR YEAR 5741 /  SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2020

NEW YORKERS MOURN THE LOSS OF THEIR OWN BROOKLYN LEGAL EAGLE

A NEW LONG-TERM PLACE OF REST AND CONTEMPLATION

After the commission votes on the spot, when all is said and done, the entire stretch of Brooklyn Bridge Park from Atlantic Avenue on the south to Dumbo’s Fulton Landing to the north is a magnificent way to spend the day.  The New York City Ferry has stops at both extremes of Brooklyn Bridge Park and it is well worth the short four minute ride in either direction.

THE NOTORIOUS RBG CONNECTION TO BROOKLYN AND THE NOTORIOUS BIG.

TWO LADIES OF THE HARBOR

The post RUTH BADER GINSBURG’S LIKENESS TO FACE OFF WITH NEW YORK HARBOR’S OTHER LADY OF LIBERTY appeared first on New York Harbor Channel.