The sea calls to my son

Anthony stands on the deck of Maine Maritime's ship, the Ned, and braves the sea mist and cool temperatures on Penobscot Bay.

Maine Maritime's pride and joy —the State of Maine.

The bow of the State of Maine in Castine, Maine.

1. 

A true mariner.

The Turret house in Bar Harbor, Maine.

“For whatever we lose (a you or a me). It's always ourselves we find in the sea.” 

― E.E. Cummings

CASTINE, Maine — Our young sailor is back on land after his short trip around Penobscot Bay.

Anthony was one of 16 lucky Edward Little High School students who took a whirlwind, two-day tour of colleges around northern Maine.

He thought it was a worthwhile endeavor to take a peek at Unity College and the College of Atlantic, but Maine Maritime Academy was at the top of his list, and the school certainly got his attention. The students were given deluxe accommodations at Maine Maritime and really good chow.

He was impressed with the school and felt right at home on the bow of a fast-moving ship that took EL students on a sight-seeing adventure around the bay on a murky day. With the help of other students and the crew of the Ned — a 70-foot, twin-screw vessel — Anthony took the helm and docked the boat.

Students were also given a tour of Maine Maritime's pride and joy — the State of Maine — a 499-foot training ship that was built by the United States Navy. Its former name was the USNS Tanner and was launched in 1990.

 I would be remiss in not thanking the Edward Little guidance department for making this trip possible for students. Say what you will about public education, but there are many dedicated teachers and administrators who go the distance for their students, and they work right here in Auburn.

You see, my son has been captivated by the sea ever since he waded in the cool waters of the Atlantic as a 2 year old. Our ancestry is filled with seafaring men who found their calling traveling the planet's vast oceans. Throughout our history, our family tree is littered with mariners and beachgoers. I grew up in the coastal town of Revere. The beach was our playground during the summer. We are all beach bums in this family.

During his brief visit, Anthony saw a stunning rainbow over Acadia National Park, a fjord, the awesome power of Thunder Hole, Fort George, the Turrets — a large home in Bar Harbor — and used a ship simulator to navigate computer-generated boats at Maine Maritime.

During his brief excursion on the Ned, he stood on the bow, braved the windy, salty air and called his dad from a cell phone. It was one of the best conversations we had.

His fascination with ships began with large plastic boats that he placed in the path of large waves at Popham Beach. He watched the destructive force of waves toss and turn his small vessels, sending many of them to the bottom.

His passion never waned for ocean-going vessels. He can name many of history's famous ships dating back to the 1400s.

He has built numerous models of warships and has walked the decks of fighting vessels at Battleship Cove. I even tried my hand at building a seaworthy, wooden ship so that he could sail it on the calm waters at Range Pond in Poland. It still floats.

We sailed his model ships at a crowded Wells Beach on a hot summer morning. As we waded through a sea of  beachgoers,  comments like, "Dude, cool ships," emanating from a crowd of sun worshipers as we rushed toward the water.

Look, sailing the seven seas can be a dangerous profession, but so isn't driving over the Tobin Bridge and into Boston or trying to stay alive on Route 128 at the height of rush hour in Massachusetts. But this is a good paying, honest job, and it won't go away no matter how many super computers they build. Somebody has got to run those ships and deliver all those goods around the globe.

Perhaps my son will be at the helm at one of those behemoths, but that will be his decision to make in a couple of years.

It is a wonderful feeling watching your kid find his passion in life, but it is also hard on the heart letting him go. But I wouldn't have it any other way. 

He was impressed with Maine Maritime and all it had to offer a student whose heart lies somewhere out there on that vast ocean.

The sea has been calling to Anthony since he was a child, and I think he is about to give the ocean his answer.

Sailing the seven seas

“I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.”

 John Masefield quotes (British poet, 1878-1967)

BATH - There's a place where Maine's maritime history is on display and offers visitors a unique perspective on the life of hardy mariners, master shipbuilders, the state's shipping industry, and the role it played on the high seas.

Last Sunday, the Maine Maritime Museum threw open its doors to the public for free to celebrate its 50th anniversary. You could say our ship came in for this family of three. A visit would have cost us $40.00 for the day. That was generous of the museum to do this for a public who undoubtedly enjoyed its fine exhibits, the back drop of the Kennebec River and its life-affirming sea breezes.

My son has a passion for maritime history - especially naval vessels from all nations. For a baseball fanatic, this is like going to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox come undone.

A cool fall day and brilliant sunshine made for spectacular afternoon to catch a glimpse of the Bath Iron Works, which is just up the river from the museum. It took us nearly four hours see everything the museum offers. If you enjoy walking, love the ocean and all its lure, and had a secret desire to become a swabby and sail the seven seas, this is the place to spend a day.

There are numerous exhibits and illustrations inside the main lobby and there are also informative outdoor displays.

If you are a reader, it will take you about 90 minutes to visit the indoor exhibits. During our tour, the museum featured "The War of 1812" display,  cannon and a two-shot flint-lock pistol, two cannons from the HMS Boxer, gowns from the Saco Peace Ball, and Letters of Marque signed by President Madison. 

Model ships of the past will make you pause and stare as you marvel at these complicated exhibits. There is a large, working engine of a ship, whaling gear, a ship's doctor's surgical instruments, sabers and numerous pictures of Maine's maritime past. 

The gift shop has an impressive array of books about the maritimes.

For children, there are working displays, and what child wouldn't want to get behind the helm of a ship, watch a boat launch or tour a mansion.

Master Anthony aboard the Sherman Szwicker

One of the most impressive, working exhibits is the Sherman Szwicker - a sailing yacht that is a twin-mastered schooner built in Canada in 1942. It offers a great deal of room thanks to its deep draught, and the entire yacht is 142 feet long. It is beautiful sailing vessel that is moored at the museum.

The museum is also restoring a section of the Maine-built, American clipper ship, Snow Squall. 

According to the museum's Web site: "She made voyages all over the world, carrying valuable and time dependent cargoes. In 1864, she was heavily damaged trying to round Cape Horn and was abandoned in the Falkland Islands. Through conservation efforts, In 1987 she was brought back, a fragment of her former self, as a unique surviving artifact of the age of American clippers. The bow section and others parts of the Snow Squall were recovered and are now housed at Maine Maritime Museum."

The museum's location is so large it includes numerous outdoor exhibits. There is the Boat Barn that features small, sleek boats, and the Lobster Shack houses about dozen lobster boats.

Across from the museum sits the Donnell House - a roomy Victorian-era home. According the Museum's Web site, the home of shipbuilder William T. Donnell is being restored. You will marvel at its rooms and priceless furniture.

If you are drawn to the sea, then hop aboard and take cruise through time as the Maine Maritime Museum helps all visitors navigate the Pine Tree's ocean-going past.

A stitch in time for my valentine

A valentine for Terri

"I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are."

                                                                                                                                    J. D. Salinger

AUBURN, Maine — I didn’t want to go the traditional route and shower my beloved wife with flowers on Valentine’s Day.

Sure, I purchased a small box of chocolates to go along with a Hallmark card, but my valentine deserved more than a dozen roses and a warm embrace after 22 years of marriage.

Going out to eat and spending a small fortune on food that adds to the waistline was certainly an option.

Been there, done that.

I wanted this token of my love to be unique.

What to do?

Well, it just so happens I was heading to the Waterfront Flea Market located at Fort Andross in Brunswick on Sunday.

Well, we strolled up and down the isles nearly a dozen times, hoping to spot the perfect gift for a woman who has devoted so much of her life to her son and husband.

While my son, Anthony, was busy looking through antique books, I got the notion to check out the dozens of old paintings.

Nothing stood out as I wandered the floor, hoping to find that perfect gift for her. Anthony had settled on the book, “They Were Expendable," a 1942 book about the men who manned the U.S. Navy’s PT boats during World War II.

After another 30 minutes of checking out a treasure-trove of relics from the past, I was about to give up and pay a visit to the florist to purchase roses.

Anthony suggested taking one desperate last look before we shoved off. I peaked inside one room and there it was - Terri’s gift. It was the perfect combination of intricate needle point and cross stitching of an Amish farm scene.

Terri is an Amish fanatic. She reads books about the Amish's way of life and really can't tell you why she has such a fascination with the Amish.

The 12-by-16 needle point was impressive and was done by an 89-year-old women who spent months making each stitch count. I don’t know where this elderly woman got the patience to complete this work of art.

Anthony and I agreed to purchase the needle point with hopes that Terri would appreciate the gift.

When Terri opened the wrap and took a good look at the needle point, she smiled and couldn’t stop thanking me. Anthony said, “Dad, you scored big.”

I knew that 22 years ago when I married Terri.

Save the Olympia

Olympia

What shall be done with such a mass of floating steel?

Should she be sunk to become another ocean meal?

For though she belongs to us, we belong to her.

And if they say she should be scrapped, I cannot concur

For across the seas and in the enemy's grasp, she sailed to them and let loose her mighty blast.

And when this cruiser at last avenged the Maine, she sailed herself and America onto better fame.

And when she brought our last soldier home in the fall of '21, this great deed, we all know, did not go unsung

And when our children ask, where is this brave ship now, will we tell them where and will we tell them how?

Even though she survived her wars, the enemy sinking her not.

Is it our American duty just to let her rot?

And though you may sink her, or tear her up for scrap, you will not destroy her legacy or find it in that trap.

And posterity will read of her and think of her with pride. Will they see her at the wharf, as Philadelphia pride?

- Anthony P. Blasi, 2011

"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace."

                                                  - President Theodore Roosevelt, 2 December 1902, second annual message to Congress.

AUBURN, Maine - Anthony's passion for ships and boats began when he cast his oversized plastic vessels into the sea and watched them being tossed about by large waves at various beaches across New England.

He would study the toy ocean-going vessels being pummeled by breaking waves at Popham and Revere beaches. This 4 year old found it fascinating as the ocean's force capsized his fleet over and over again. He would marvel at how some of his boats would slowly sink to the bottom of the raging waters. 

Although he was still fascinated with cars, planes and trains, Anthony was eventually consumed by his passion for ships and the sea itself.

The years would pass, but his fascination of ships, particularly naval vessels, grew as well as his love of the ocean and all its sweet mysteries.

He began reading book after book about sailing ships and then set his sights on the world's navies and their amazing and destructive warships. The introduction of ironclads and the construction dreadnoughts between 1870 and 1920 fueled his passion to learn more about these behemoths and their deadly force.

Anthony also embarked on building his own fleet of Lego and plastic model warships, organizing battles between these toy fleets on our parlor floor. He would bring his Lego ships to the ocean and navigate the vessels on the tranquil seas as parents gathered to watch this young man let his fleet loose upon the world's oceans.

During our visits to the waterfront in Portland, we visited the U.S. Coast Guard's training ship, "Eagle," which was a Nazi vessel that America received for war reparations. We have seen huge cruise ships and toured the U.S.S. Cassin Young and the U.S. Constitution in Boston.

But his particular interest in dreadnoughts steered him to great warships like the Cruiser Olympia, which was Admiral Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish American War and also saw action during World War I. He created the Olympia out of Legos and sailed his toy masterpiece in pools and on the high seas.

He was astounded to learn that this great ship with a storied history was in danger of being scrapped because of a poor economy and lack of funds to preserve the Olympia.

His disgust prompted him to write a poem entitle "Olympia" about her uncertain fate for a classroom project. 

I am forwarding this article to the Independence Seacoast Museum in Philadelphia to demonstrate our support for this great ship.

The Olympia is a wonderful piece of American history, and it would be a travesty to see this great ship drift into obscurity without a fight to save her from the scrap heap.