Waterloo Alexander Yurievich Averyanov Source |
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana. Source |
Waterloo Alexander Yurievich Averyanov Source |
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana. Source |
The Last of the Clan Thomas Faed Source |
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We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there. - Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon (I used this quote here as well.)
Not much going on around Rancho Juvat, lately.
So my posting material might be getting close to Rock Bottom.
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However, this past weekend made up for some of that. We had a semi-Family Reunion. Obviously, Little J, LJW and Miss B couldn't make it from Jolly Old, but MBD, The Rev, MG and Leon' made it from East Texas. In addition, some friends of there's from College joined up with them after escaping the Houston Jungle. They stayed in our two guest cabins, did a little out and back to a few wineries and joined us for dinner where war stories were swapped. Yes, Beans, the red BS Flag was thrown a few times.
At the start of the festivities, we met the gang on their arrival at our favorite restaurant in the 'Burg, El Milagro. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, that would be "The Miracle". For the first several years we lived here, our go to restaurant was "Rather Sweet". Primarily this was because it was about 5 doorways down from our wine store. Which was about the max distance we had energy to travel after a busy day. The business was actually a restaurant and a bakery and was owned by Rebecca Rather, a somewhat well known baker. The food was good, the baked goods outstanding.
But, she got a bit tired of it and sold it at a deep discount to a group of Hispanic ladies. Ms Rather also included all her baked goods recipes in the deal. So the new restaurant has excellent Mexican dishes, great sandwiches and fabulous pastries. I heartily recommend it although my Cardiologist has a few comments about the relationship between it and I.
Anyhow, that's where we met the gang Friday. Did I mention that El Milagro has a very nice patio and a band that plays on weekends.
MBD and MG fooling around |
What the heck are those two goofs doin' Gramma? |
Just Goofin' Round |
Not a lot of mind enhancing conversations, but a lot of good smiles and laughter, so well worth it.
Finally on the woodworking side, I'm working on a couple of projects for the two eldest grandchildren. Mrs J came up with the idea. Basically it's a book box.
Why Maroon, you may ask. Well...Since both sets of parents are from a small university in College Station TX, they are encouraging them early to go there.
Yes, Beans, Texas A&M. I didn't go there, but I'm very happy with the way my Kids turned out and think it likely my Grand Kids will turn out well there also.
As I said, been busy and not many earth shattering events happened this week, so you get what you get. Hope to do better next week.
Cheers and Peace Out Y'all!
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Master
Certificate (Square rigged) 25 June 1925 Source (The source listed has several certificates for Turner) |
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Commander Alexander Harper Turner in 1944 or 1945 in his “wavy navy” uniform |
“I was a sailor, and you should have seen us on the Garthsnaid. And this is no shit¹. Coming out of Chile, bound for Mozambique in 1920. It was blowing Beaufort force 9 or 10, and we sent men aloft to gasket the fores’l. And, I like a damn fool, decided to take my new camera out to the tip of the bowsprit to take a photo. I got the photo, and luckily lived to tell about it. Here’s the proof:”
Sailing Vessel Garthsnaid, 1920, outbound from Chile to Mozambique. Source State Library of Victoria [Australia] A sharper, larger version is available here and makes a great screen saver. |
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Sailing Vessel Inversnaid circa 1892. Source |
Garthsnaid in Iquique, Chile circa 1920, likely awaiting her cargo of nitrate. Source |
Ancestry.com member trees provided a photo of Alexander Harper Turner in his uniform, probably circa 1919-1921 when he was Second Mate aboard the Garthsnaid. Source |
The Argus, Melbourne, 4 April 1923 Source
BARQUE IN A STORMTHREE TERRIBLE DAYSBy the irony of fate the end of the long voyage of the barque Garthsnaid was almost in sight when she was struck by a storm which lasted for three terrible days and threatened her destruction. Good seamanship, combined with good luck and the timely arrival of the steamer Zealandic, saved her. Coastal reports on Sunday stated that the Garthsnaid was in tow of the Zealandic, and at 11 o'clock yesterday morning the barque passed through Port Phillip Heads, in appearance more like a dismantled hulk than the trim barque which was a familiar sight at Melbourne in September. For three days the crew, numbering 21, had nothing to eat except weevily biscuits and tinned beef, and were without sleep.
The Garthsnaid left Iquique in December, and on Friday morning was booming along about 100 miles east of Gabo, approaching Bass Straits, with lower topsails set before a freshening easterly breeze. Before nightfall, however, the breeze had freshened into a gale, [conditions very similar to those captured in Turner’s photograph!] which, veering suddenly to the southward, caught the barque. All hands were called on deck, but the master (Captain J. Roberts), realising that to send a man aloft was to throw away his life, did what he could by skilful navigation to avert impending disaster. With a loud report the main topmast carried away, bringing with it lines and sheets, which lay in a tangled mass over the port side, tearing the royal and topgallant yards and mizzen topmast down. The crew, which was all-British, "worked like [n-----s]" (to quote Captain Roberts, who cannot say enough for his men), and cast the damaged rigging overboard. Half an hour afterwards the main lower mast snapped 3ft. from the deck, and lay straggling over the starboard side. Rolling and pitching helplessly, the Garthsnaid shipped heavy seas, and movement on deck was hazardous. All movable deck gear was swept overboard. Large quantities of oil were released, but still the Garthsnaid lay awash.With great difficulty, and running under scant canvas, a course was steered for Gabo, when the long list of mishaps was added to by the snapping of the fore topgallant mast, which hung down, with its canvas flapping noisily in the wind. All night the crew worked to clear the wreckage away. An inspection was made of the holds, which were found to be undamaged and making no water. Two of the lifeboats were smashed beyond repair, and the third was severely damaged.With unabated vigour the storm continued all next day; but the wind began to ease as night came on, and with sighs of relief Gabo light was sighted at 2 o'clock in the morning. A little later the lights of a steamer were sighted, and in half an hour the Zealandic was alongside. She waited until daylight, and then passed a 5in. wire hawser to the barque, it broke. Four more attempts were made, and at last the Garthsnaid was secured. After a three-hour struggle the line was made fast, and the Zealandic set out for Melbourne with the barque in tow.The Garthsnaid was laden with a cargo worth about £50,000. When she entered the Heads she signalled for a tug, but probably on account of the salvage, perhaps because she could not operate her anchor, she was towed to Williamstown by the Zealandic, which then returned to Geelong. Substantial salvage money will probably be paid to the Zealandic for her part in the rescue of the Garthsnaid, the crew of which pay a tribute to their rescuers.
Dismasted SV Garthsnaid under salvage tow by SS ZEALANDIC, April 1923 |
SV Garthsnaid in Melbourne April 1924, showing storm damage. |
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“Too damaged to be worth repairing Garthsnaid was sold for use as a coal hulk, but proved unsuitable for that…. Various plans, including one for loading the hulk with scrap iron and towing her to Japan, and another to convert her to a dance hall fell through and the hulk remained idle in the river until in 1936 the harbor dues owing were more than the total value of the ship. The authorities were powerless to order the removal of the ship because of legal technicalities.”
S.S. UNITED STATES rotting at her unpaid for berth in Philadelphia, 2024. |
My last ship. Source |