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