News From Fort Schuyler

June 14, 2002 - Volume 6, No. 21

Ms. Azzolino writes: "For my son's extra sea term he worked for Weeks Marine. His report is found at http://www.mathnstuff.com/mv/seaterm/ssterm.htm " Check out the site. Cadet Vinik has done an excellent job on his sea project, which contains many diagrams, an extensive journal, and well-captioned photos.

PHOTO GALLERY - The Summer Sea Term web page has added a Photo Gallery - lots of pictures of life aboard the EMPIRE STATE VI and fun in port. Now, if there were some captions, viewers would even know the "who, what, when, and where" of the images. [You can right click on an image, however, and go to "properties" to see the name assigned to the image, i.e. 'sstfirefighting", "deckiesonbow", etc..] Go to http://www.sunymaritime.edu

PERSISTENT UPDATE - A recent note from JANE FITZPATRICK, Associate Librarian at the Luce Library, ("PERSISTENT, stack now painted for GLMA, with State of Michigan at its bow, is back at the college.....") came in the same e-mail delivery as this comprehensive report from ERHARD KOEHLER, Class of 1987, Schoolship Program Manager at the U. S. Maritime Administration:

"Thought I'd update you on the exploits of the PERSISTENT, now that she's returned once again to layberth at the Fort. The PERSISTENT's assignment to SUNY Maritime ended at midnight on May 14. She reverted to MARAD custody, assigned to Apex Marine Ship Management of Lake Success, NY as General Agent. Shortly thereafter she shifted to GMD Shipyard in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard for drydocking. She emerged from GMD with a new name and livery - STATE OF MICHIGAN with dark green hull and white upperworks. Still under Apex' care, the STATE OF MICHIGAN returned to the campus pier under the command of Captain JOHN RYAN. Class of 1989, where she will layberth until the end of July (will shift outboard of TSES upon her return). On July 29 we expect to assign the STATE OF MICHIGAN to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, whose crew will sail the vessel to Traverse City - with a scheduled departure from Fort Schuyler on July 30."

"From January through March we (MARAD/Apex/SUNY) worked to complete the ship's initial inspection as a Subchapter R Public Nautical Schoolship. The challenges involved were far greater than we expected at the outset, and our success was due in no small measure to the dedicated efforts of the SUNY staff, crew and cadets. STATE OF MICHIGAN joins the fleet as the first schoolship of the newest (relatively speaking) state maritime academy - with a fine assist from the first and foremost. So I'd like to take this opportunity to publically say thank you to Captain RICK SMITH [Class of 1981] and everyone who was involved in the project. Well Done!"

ADIEU, PROFESSOR SENNISH - The Humanities Department has sent out a notice that Professor ROBERT SENNISH died at his home in Piermont on June 5, 2002. Prof. Sennish taught literature in the Humanities Department from early 1960's until his retirement in 1989. Dr. KAREN MARKOE, who chairs the department, remembers: "He taught literature, no subject was off base in his class. His 'Quality and Kitsch' course was especially popular with Maritime students. [Bob, who was] "affectionately dubbed 'Commie Bob' by his students, was a familiar sight in his Spanish leather hat. Alumni remember him well and ask me about him often."

His June 11 Journal News obituary (http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/061102/11sennish.html) noted that Prof. Sennish was born "1924 in Cleveland... A high school dropout, Sennish went on to play jazz guitar at Cleveland nightspots until he was drafted into the Navy during World War II. After the war, he finished high school, then spent a year at Kent State University and two years at the University of Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English. He then enrolled in Columbia University and moved to Camp Shanks in Orangetown [NY] which was used after the war for Columbia graduate school housing. Sennish earned a master's degree in English from Columbia."

Bob was articulate, humorous, and provocative, an activist who relished the parry and thrust of debate and thrived in the political arena. He usually had as many opponents on campus as he did supporters, especially in the days of the anti-war 'sit-ins' in the 1960's and 1970's. Outside the classroom Bob was a leader in campus faculty governance on both the local and SUNY-wide stage. He was a dedicated faculty adviser who worked with cadets in connection with student government and numerous campus publications. Prof. Sennish was also a physical activist, for, as noted in his obituary: "He was an avid tennis player and had canoed the length of the Hudson River at various times."

After retiring Bob continued to be a strong supporter of the intellectual life of the Maritime College. He and his third wife, Peggy, who is an editor for a major publisher, visited campus on a regular basis to donate all their latest maritime books to the Luce Library, many of which were added to the Robert W. Gove Memorial Collection of Professional Literature.

Bob is survived by his wife, Peggy, two daughters, Brownwen and Maggie, a son, Alexandre, and one grandson. The date and place of a memorial service in July has not be set.

NEW LIGHT ON MARINE ELECTRIC - There is a new book about the 1983 loss of the 38-year old converted T-2 vessel MARINE ELECTRIC. The Doubleday publication, "Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death and Survival in the Merchant Marine," was written by Robert Frump, one of the journalists who covered the sinking for the Philadelphia Inquirer. An essay by Steve Weinberg in Tom Paine Common Sense: A Public Interest Journal (http://www.tompaine.com/features -The Lost Art of Muckraking) notes that: "The Inquirer's first investigative stories appeared in May 1983. Congress held hearings, and numerous politicians promised reform. Then, as often happens after investigative reports are forgotten, nothing changed. But the Inquirer team did not give up. They published articles about delays in the MARINE ELECTRIC investigation and the larger reform measures needed to halt the sinkings. The stories embarrassed the corporations that owned the ships, the unions staffing the ships, the government agencies inspecting the ships, and even the legislature. Eventually, the Inquirer's unrelenting initiative forced the authorities to pinpointing blame, take responsibility and become involved in altering a fatal system." Other web sites related to the MARINE ELECTRIC may be found at: 1.) http://webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/radiostor/sosmsg.html (which provides a transcript of the MARINE ELECTRIC's SOS messages, along with an interesting side story at the end of the transcript); 2.) http://www.webandwire.com/wreck_of_the_marine_electric.htm (an extensive narrative in the "Wreck of the MARINE ELECTRIC"); 3.) http://www.uscg.mil/d7/units/as-savannah/pao/AST-PAO.htm (A press release in which the U.S. Coast Guard cites the loss of life in the MARINE ELECTRIC sinking (31 died, 3 were saved) as the impetus for its Rescue Swimmer program.)

BLTN - This week's 'better late than never' item is the news from the March 2, 2001 Newsday that DENNIS COMPTON, Class of 1971/76 (See NFFS Dec 21 1998 - "What's in a Name III ?) "...has received the U.S. Maritime Administration's Bronze Medal, the highest award the administration may give in recognition of extremely competent performance of official duties. Compton, Assistant Dean for Registration and Institutional Research at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, was recognized for his leadership in implementing new international standards for training merchant marine officers at the academy...Compton was in the forefront in clarifying the standards at both the federal academy and state maritime schools....Compton joined the academy's faculty in 1981 as an Assistant Professor of Nautical Science and Marine Insurance."