News From Fort Schuyler
May 28, 2001 - Volume 5, No. 20
A VISIT TO THE BOSUN - One of NY Maritime's legendary characters in its
early days was WILLIAM M. DREILICK. By the time he retired, he had served as
Boatswain aboard the New York Nautical School's training ships ST. MARY'S
and NEWPORT for nearly forty years. According to an obituary in the New York
Times, "It was said that Boatswain Dreilick knew most of the officers on
American ships for two generations. A tall Finn, whose broken English
carried 'five miles above a gale,' he gave more than a thousand merchant
marine cadets their first training in seamanship." Among his cadets were
RIESENBERG, SHERIDAN, BAYLIS and MCMURRAY, all of whom returned to the
school to serve as Superintendent.
The Luce Library archives contain a 17-page reminiscence about the bosun
in the Papers of FREDERICK S. McMURRAY, Class of 1898, that begins: "In a
quiet grave in the cemetery of a village on the banks of the Connecticut
River a few miles from the sea, there lies the body of a seafaring
personality whose reputation was wide." During this Memorial Day 2001
weekend, the editor went to Haddam Neck to find this cemetery. With a little
detective work and luck it was found. The bosun still rests peacefully in
this small, well-kept cemetery. His grave, already decorated with a new
American flag for the holiday, was marked by a tombstone which read:
"DREILICK -- Master Mariner -- William M. Dreilick -- June 7, 1859-October
26, 1932 -- Boatswain of Schoolships ST. MARYS and NEWPORT 1885-1922 --
Erected by Alumni Association -- New York Nautical School." (Contact
rcorson@nyc.rr.com if you would like to receive a photo of it via e-mail.)
ALUMNUS IN THE NEWS - The May 22 Palm Beach Post printed an interesting
profile of that man of many parts, STAN LLOYD, Class of January 1944,
entitled "Owning marina keeps him young." Once Stan left the Navy after WWII
he was into cars (repair centers/ auto dealerships service manager) ran a
service station, had a potato chip route, sold marine insurance, served as
mate for yacht deliveries, and finally, in 1997, purchased the Jib Yacht
Club and Marina on Jupiter Island. The Post quotes Stan: "I had always had
a yen for ships and the sea....I graduated from the New York Merchant Marine
Academy and went right into the Navy." Stan notes that alumni are closeknit
"After more than 50 years those of us who have settled in Florida still get
together to swap sea stories. My being able to hang out at the Jib and go
fishing with the family is the envy of my old shipmates." For the whole
story go to: http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/ Click on Tuesday in
"Past Issues" in the left column. On the next screen click on "Accent" and
look for the headline.
NEWS FROM ANOTHER ALUMNUS - Stan's classmate, EUGENE L.SULLIVAN, reports
that he finally retired his Master's license in April. He also gave NFFS
this heads up, too late for last week's issue: "You golfers may note my son,
Chip Sullivan, will be seen on the Golf Channel (if he shoots well) at the
Kemper Open starting May 24 - 27. A former SEC champ ... and currently head
pro at the Ashley Plantation Club (Roanoke VA) he was the only club
professional to quality for the 1997 PGA tour." (www.pga.com )
FAST FERRIES PASS SCHUYLER - If you arrive at Fort Schuyler a little before
0800 on weekday mornings, you will see two high-speed catamaran ferries
commuter ferries pass by, one heading for Pier 11 at Wall Street in
Manhattan, the other returning for more commuters at Glen Cove. These
ferries, Fox Navigation's SASSACUS and TATOBAM
www.foxnavigation.com/cvessel.htm ) were built at the Pequot River
Shipworks of the Mashantucket Tribal Nation in New London
http://prs.tripod.com/profile.htm ) The ferries are based on the TriCat
design developed by its partner, FBM Marine on the Isle of Wight
(http://www.bmec.org.uk/b20.htm)
NATIONAL MARITIME DAY - The 68th National Maritime Day has come and gone.
According to a proclamation by President George W. Bush, "In recognition of
the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the Congress, by joint
resolution approved on May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 of each year as
'National Maritime Day' and has authorized and requested that the President
issue an annual proclamation calling for its appropriate observance .... I
call upon the people of the United States to celebrate this observance and
to display the flag at their homes and in their communities. I also request
that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/20010521-4.html)
GREAT LAKES SHIP DATABASE - The Librarians's Index to the Internet
http://www.lii.org ) recently featured Wayne University's Great Lakes Shipping
Collection Database with the following review: "This database indexes
historic information on vessels that have worked the Great Lakes. Searchable
by ship name, builder, owner, type of vessel, year built, tonnage, hull
number, register number, length, and keyword. The database provides ship
registry numbers, year built, final disposition, company, physical
measurements, name of shipbuilders, and other data. Both company name and
shipbuilder are cross-referenced to additional ships owned or built, and
many entries include photos." Check the site at (which may be down this
weekend) at:
http://webpac.wayne.edu/wepac-bin/wgbroker?new+-access+top.udmship
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