pt at large

A Perilous Life: Westport Whaling in the 1800s

Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

The Westport Historical Society has taken aim at Westport’s long history with the whaling industry and scored two direct hits. Last Thursday, a huge crowd packed into Howland Hall at the United Methodist Church to hear Richard C. Kugler, Director Emeritus of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, give an overview of the whaling business in North America, citing its ties to Westport and his own family.

Mr. Kugler’s illustrated lecture heralded the opening of an exhibition, “A Perilous Life” – Westport Whaling in the 19th Century at the Bell Schoolhouse that brightly illuminates Westport’s social, economic, and cultural connections with the industry.

“The latest compilation of whaling voyages made under sail between 1667 and 1928 lists nearly 15,000 (14,983) voyages that sailed from 110 whaling ports,” Kugler said, citing a book published by the New Bedford Whaling Museum last year. More than half of those voyages were made from nearby ports of New Bedford (nearly 5000), Nantucket (nearly 2200), Provincetown, and New London. Westport weighed in at eighth place with 326 voyages between 1775 and 1881 when the Andrew Hicks returned to New Bedford after its last voyage.

Westport men were involved in financing whale boats and building them, said Mr. Kugler. “One of virtues of both branches of the Westport River is there are many places with sloping shores ideal for building a vessel. We know that Paul Cuffe built number of vessels right off his shore.”

The Mermaid was one of several Westport built whaling vessels, was built in 1855 for Andrew Hicks, one of the dominant whaling agents of Westport. She made six whaling voyages from Westport between 1855 and 1876.
Photo courtesy New Bedford Whaling Museum

The barque Mermaid built by Andrew Hicks was the largest vessel ever built in Westport specifically for whaling,” Mr. Kugler said. Typical of the day, Hicks would round up friends and neighbors to buy shares in the boat and local men would build it. Boat builders such as Allen and Sisson of Westport used specifications from the venture’s financiers to first make a model of the proposed vessel.

Once the model was approved, they would trace the real dimensions on the sail loft floor and begin construction. The completed hulls were usually towed to New Bedford, outfitted there, never to return to the restricted confines of Westport Harbor. Such was the case with the 113 foot long, 327 ton Andrew Hicks.

A. H. Cory’s store on the Point was the center of whaling enterprise on Westport Point. “Alexander Cory, Andrew Hicks and Henry Wilcox were the three great whaling merchants of Westport. Cory and his father Isaac, Jr. and grandfather Captain Isaac had been in the business and knew it,” Mr. Kugler said. Captain Cory was the first whaler to come to Westport Point.

Photo: Russell Hart and Richard Kugler chat after Kugler’s talk.

“In 1856, Hicks and fellow shareholders in the Mermaid contracted with Allen and Sisson to build whaling schooner giving rise to story of coincidences,” Kugler recalled. “Eli Allen was master carpenter and principal of Allen and Sisson and is the great grandfather of Russell Hart (in the audience), who I knew as a boy. My great grandfather engaged Russ’s great grandfather to build a modest vessel (Kate Cory) that would eventually become one of the most widely known whalers that sailed from an American port.”

Kugler showed a 1972 slide of Russell Hart’s grandfather George Palmer recalling the launching of the Mermaid and the Kate Cory behind Cory’s store to young Hart and Kugler.

While men like Hicks, Cory, and Wilcox could control the construction and outfitting, once the ships they commissioned set to sea it was up to their captains, Mother Nature, and fate to determine the rest. Kugler noted that 3% (545) of those nearly 15,000 voyages ended with the vessel condemned or abandoned. To illustrate, he recalled the fate of the barque Hero that he said “Encapsulates the title of the historical society’s current exhibit that Jenny O’Neill calls ‘The Perilous Life’”.

The 1810 letter of instruction to the Hero’s captain by its owners Isaac Cory and Paul Cuffe was specific, stating “Thou are fitted for a two year voyage and should return home so as not to overreach that time oil or no oil. When thou return when approaching America endeavor to steer clear of Nantucket Shoals sailing in with Long Island and making toward the Vineyard. Endeavor to make harbor in Newport or Tarpaulin Cove and give us notice or get into New Bedford.” The Hero never had need of the instructions.

While some voyages ended disastrously by the splintering of a whale boat with a powerful smack from a sperm whale’s flukes or the battering in of a hull by an Arctic iceberg, others ended with a succession of more mundane perils of the whaling life, as was the case with the Hero.

“The next time we hear from the Hero is from its Captain Bearns in a letter to Cory and Cuffe dated June 30, 1812 from Coquimbo, Chile,” Mr. Kugler said. The captain begins the bad news by stating “The barque is very rotten and so much so that it is impossible to get her home and get her repaired,” and continues with a list of woes that ends with him selling the boat after having it condemned by the authorities. Bearns had been hampered by pain in his eye so bad he couldn’t write, his men had come down with scurvy, he had been becalmed while attempting to limp into port, and he put his eighteen sick men ashore to tow the boat to safety. To add insult to injury, “the American consul is a Spanish man and he is trying to take advantage of me by making me pay an extra 30%.”

Photo: Kate Cory plan and model

During the question and answer period, Mr. Kugler gave a brief history of the 1856 construction and 1863 demise of the Kate Cory, named after his great aunt, who was the daughter of Alexander H. Cory.

The historical society’s exhibit, “A Perilous Life” – Westport Whaling in the 19th Century showcases its trove of artifacts and documents. “We wanted to do a comprehensive study of whaling history in Westport. I’m really grateful to the members of the Westport community for the loan of so many valuable items for this exhibit, “ said the Director Jenny O’Neill. Items on loan include charts, scrimshaw, photographs, letters, and sailing gear.

The explanatory cards with each section of the exhibit strike an uncommonly fine balance of concise reportage and rich detail. One hopes that the exhibit might be displayed at public buildings or schools or become part of the society’s web site. It is a powerful reminder of the town’s rich historic heritage.

SIDEBAR
“A Perilous Life” – Westport Whaling in the 19th Century
Bell School, 25 Drift Road at the Head of Westport
Open 10 – 4, Saturday August 26th through Monday August 28th and
Saturday September 2nd through Monday 4th

SIDEBAR
The hazards of the job: (letter on display at the WHS)
“…I got baptized handsome in the following manner without ceremony. We raised whales and lowered away and the boat that I was in soon got fast and as soon as Tripp struck the whale he struck our boat and stove her and then by way of proving his regard for us beyond a doubt he gave us a parting kiss with his flukes that demolished our boat entirely and spilled us in the drink ...being in some degree amphibious we managed to keep bung up and bilge free till the nearest boat…”
Portion of letter by Henry T. Pettey to his sister Nancy, sent from island Fayal, Azores, on September 9, 1854.

SIDEBAR
Highlights of “A Perilous Life” displays at the Westport Historical Society

• Kate Cory: engravings, a model, and accounts of her capture and burning on island off coast of Brazil by a confederate officer on CSS Alabama in 1863.

• Westport masters and captains and the women who sailed with them

• Catastrophes at sea, including stories of cannabalism,

• Posters and letters about the movie “Down to the Sea in Ships”, a 1920 film about whaling made in Westport. The writer of the script was inspired by account of whaling recalled by James Sowle.

• History of Ship building in Westport Head and Westport Point, including the architectural legacy of homes (photos) built there by whaling captains

• Items on loan about Clifford Ashley, author of “The Yankee Whaler” and “Ashley’s Book of Knots” and artifacts on loan from local residents

• Westport registered vessels

• Large chart showing the routes of two vessels, one merchant and one whaler, in N Atlantic in 1844

Paul Winter shines at Westport summer gala

Last Saturday was one of those clear, sunny, impossibly blue-skied August days that sets Westport’s beaches and pastures off as the jewels of Buzzards Bay. When Executive Director Gay Gillespie kicked off the Westport River Watershed Alliance’s 30th anniversary gala by announcing, “Welcome to the most spectacular evening the Watershed has ever seen,” she was hardly exaggerating.

Photo: Paul Winter and wife Chez

The “perfect 10” weather, the gala’s setting adjacent to the Charlton Estate, a benefit concert by five-time Grammy award winning musician Paul Winter, and 611 supporters of Westport’s watershed who arrived ready to bid on 137 items in a silent auction certainly qualify as 'spectacular'.

Mr. Winter and the Watershed Alliance are birds of a feather when it comes to preserving the environment. During the past forty years, Winter has packed his soprano saxophone and sound equipment around the world in a mission to create musical conversations with endangered species such as wolves and humpback whales, and find inspiration within pristine environments like the Grand Canyon, which he believes may be slipping away. “We need to protect what we have left,” he said.

Standing on a small stage in the grand pavilion, he recreated his duets with wild creatures by weaving his solo saxophone melodies between synthesized music and recordings of the sounds of wolves, whales, elk, and songbirds he’s encountered on his journeys in the wilds of North America. Many of the songs were taken from recent albums titled “Prayer for the Wild Things” and “Songs of the Humpback Whale.”

Mr. Winter’s introduction for each song gave insight into his methods and the passion that drives him to attempt to achieve a sense of time and place by painting with sound. The soprano saxophone’s haunting, keening tones evoke Winter’s sense of awe and reverence for the raw beauty within the places he studies.

“I wanted to bring home the experience of the environment with sounds that echo the history and biology of the place, 11,000 feet high, above tree line. I wanted to capture the silence within the panorama around me,” he said during a visit to the Grand Canyon.

Photo: Two minutes before bidding closes

Since its inception in 1976 as the Westport River Defense Fund, the Watershed Alliance has been on a mission to capture and preserve Westport’s panoramas - its rivers, marshes, and beaches. The organization’s broad mission is much the same as its original one: “The beauty of the river, the wildfowl it supports, the abundance of shell fish and finfish it nourishes, is something very precious that must be preserved, promoted, and defended.”

Photo: Nearly "Zero - Waste" event
The summer gala generates a good deal of the money the WRWA relies upon to conduct its stewardship of the river. A unique twist of this year’s event is it was a nearly “zero-waste evening.” The cups, plates, and forks were made from corn-derived plastics (PLA resins) instead of petro-chemical based resins. Within 80 days, the refuse from the gala will be composted, dissolve and end benefiting someone's garden instead of adding to the landfill.

Duck Dash Delivers Dinner

WESTPORT - San Juan Capistrano in California has its annual spring arrival of swallows. The Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on Horseneck Road has its annual summer arrival of ... rubber duckies. The appearance of the brilliant yellow flock corresponded with the 3rd annual Allen's Pond Duck Derby on Saturday.

This race brought a big payoff to a young Taunton man. One of Patrick Cleary's stable of 13 little quackers swam to victory down the Allens Pond entrance channel course. That duck's swim earned Mr. Cleary dinner for two anywhere in the world. He has not yet announced where that dinner will take place. Another winner was the wildlife sanctuary.

The derby "has become the Audubon sanctuary's major annual fund raiser," sanctuary director Gina Purtell said, "and brings in 20 to 25 percent of our annual budget."

http://www.eastbayri.com/story/286766768369697.php

"The proceeds help the sanctuary contribute matching money to qualify for grants. Our Osprey Project and a 55-acre Grasslands Project are two examples. So is our new Shrubland Project, in which we intend to replace invasive shrubs with shrubs native to the area," Ms. Purtell said.

"The list of ways the Duck Derby helps us is endless. It helps subsidize our school programs, summer camps, and to maintain trails and clean graffiti. It also helps pay for summer interns. I'm the only full time year-round staff member of the Sanctuary."

Sponsors adopted 3,423 ducks in hopes of winning the grand prize — dinner for two anywhere on the planet with transportation and two nights stay included.

"This is a high return event, with terrific sponsor participation, and lots of volunteer labor. Our only costs are printing and certain taxes, "Duck Master Norman Buck said. Mr. Buck, who lives across the street and volunteers, was instrumental in bringing the derby concept to Westport/Dartmouth.

Scores of volunteers signed up to support the sanctuary.

"We had around 65 volunteers, many today and more who did leg work before the derby, clearing the field here, setting up signs, making food we're serving for lunch, and setting up the tents, " derby volunteer coordinator Gabriela Shuster said.

"My husband and I moved here from Quincy, " Janet Desrosiers said as she worked in the food tent. "I wanted to get involved in small town life, my son worked at Audubon and told me about this event. I began to volunteer here. I've even become a bird watcher!"

Families began arriving at noon to buy a picnic lunch, see exhibits, and play educational games. "Just about every kid and more than a few adults have come over here to paint a duck or do some drawing, " summer intern Jeff Wagg said as he managed an Audubon educational table. Mr. Wagg, a coastal water monitor, attends Ana Maria College in Paxton, Mass.
Photo: Two brothers and their mom give duckies a practice run

Other exhibits and games provided information about endangered shorebirds (piping plover, least tern, common tern) and the 1,000 acres of protected ecosystem of salt marshes, ponds, barrier beaches, and grasslands between Barney's Joy and Allen's Pond.

The 2 p.m. race time was slightly delayed as Race Director Peter Thornton adjusted the course that runs from Buzzard's Bay inlet to Allen's Pond on incoming tide.

"Today was especially trying. The breeze, normally southwest, was more northerly, so after doing some test runs, we moved the booms at the finish line about 15 feet to compensate. The key is to remain flexible when it's crunch time and make sure we do the right thing," Mr. Thornton said.

The crowd let out a whoop as Mr. Thornton and his crew finally released what looked like a yellow cloud of duckies from the netting on the launch boat.

As the pack lazily jostled each other and played the current, Mr. Buck sprang into action. Attired in a yellow plumed duck cap, he wove his way along the shore several hundred yards from start to finish between cheering spectators and provided a colorful radio account that was relayed to listeners at the paddock area a mile and a half away on Horseneck Road.

"And here comes Dashing Don Duck on the inside rail!" For the next six minutes, the shoreline excitement sounded like any racetrack in the world, with spectators cheering their bets to the winner's circle.

The event itself was a winner for all: The Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary; for the nearly 200 men, women, and children who got a low cost, gorgeous summer afternoon's entertainment; and for the volunteers who put on a positively ducky event.

And the winner is ...

Grand Prize Winner - Patrick Cleary, Taunton

Photo: "You won!"

Mr. Cleary is a 22-year-old June graduate of U Mass Dartmouth with a major

in Management Information Systems. A friend told Cleary about the Duck

Derby after seeing the flyers at the Allen's Pond Sanctuary booth at the

Agricultural Fair.

Cleary bought a "box of quackers"(13 ducks for $100). Allen's Pond

Sanctuary Director Gina Purtell reached Cleary by cell phone as he was

playing baseball. After realizing that she wasn't playing a prank on him,

he was nearly speechless but very happy. He hasn't yet determined where on

the planet he intends to dine or who might accompany him. He does think

this might add a certain element of interest in his resumé.

Corporate sponsors for the prize: Bayside Restaurant; Sylvan Nursery; Nye,

the Smart Grease Company; Oppenheimer of Fall River; Ralph's Chrysler,

Suzuki, Jeep of New Bedford; Buckley and Moniz - Village Travel,

Dartmouth, MA; Bizarro's Transportation (Limo to airport)

Other winners

2. Balloon Adventures of New Bedford, hot air balloon ride: Eric Aarsheim, Mattapoisett

3. Lees Market, shopping spree: Nancy Janelle, Edgewater, Md.

4. Sylvan Nursery, gift certificate: Jean Donati, Westport

5. Village Bicycle, gift certificate: Nancy Janelle, Edgewater, Md.

6. Joseph Abboud, two silk ties: Mary Ellen Hurley, Little Compton

7. Residence Inn, one night studio suite stay: James R. Weir, Adamsville

8. Dartmouth YMCA , two youth memberships: Peter Kastner, Westport

9. Hawthorne Country Club, 18 hole foursome with two carts: Maureen Williams, Duxbury

10. Allens Pond Collectibles, 8 x 11 framed print: Sachs family, Newton

11. Wind Drift Studio, Sharon Andrade, custom art/mural: Tess Raymond, Dedham

12. South Coast Music Together, family classes: Sally Dibble, Jamaica Plain

13. Henley House B&B. one night deluxe stay: David Hicks, Westport

14. Ash-a-Way Hearth and Chimney, gift certificate: Peter Huidekoper, Dartmouth

15. Comfort Inn, one night stay: Mary Anne Sidney, Westport

16. Country Woolens, gift certificate: Alice Morgan, Brookline

17. Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures, gift certificate: Karen Desjardins: Greenfield Ctr., N.Y.

18. Lloyd Center, moonlight canoe ride for two: Robert and Tanya Powell, Park City, Utah

19. Mass Audubon membership and gift pack: Kate Corkum, Mattapoisett

20. Westport River Watershed, membership and print, Jennifer Holewka, Adamsville

21. The Back Eddy, gift certificate: Fred and Nonnie Hood, S. Dartmouth

22. Black Bass Grille, gift certificate: Susan Charette, Westport

23. New Bedford Whaling Museum, family membership: Mark Lawrence, Westport

24. Artworks! family membership: Vickie Cunningham, S. Dartmouth

25. Nancy Juvinall, one hour personal fitness training: Robert and Tanya Powell, Park City, Utah

26. Tripp's Boatyard & Marina, boat safety kit: Sally Lemelin, S. Dartmouth

27. Bayside Marine, gift certificate: Virginia Pasquantonio, Westport

28. Dartmoor Gifts, gift certificate: C. Stites, Dartmouth

29. Dartmouth Building Supply, gift certificate: Jeremy Holden: Westport

30. DNRT, family membership: Mike Travers, Westport

31. Flora, gift certificate: Louise Moore, Little Compton

32. Not Your Average Joe's, gift Ccrtificate: Bettina and Victor Mailek, S. Dartmouth

33. Peckham's Greenhouse, gift certificate: Charles Walsh, Tiverton

34. Pine Hill Service Station, gift certificate: Eric Aarsheim, Mattapoisett

35. Salt Marsh Pottery, gift certificate:Mark Ferreira, S. Dartmouth

36. The Packet, gift certificate: American Research, Marion

37. Westport Apothecary, gift certificate: Betsy Temkin, Westport

38. Partners Village Store, inflatable kite and gift certificate: Bettina and Victor Mailek, S. Dartmouth

39. A. S. Deams, gft certificate: Lisa Sousa,Dartmouth

40. Baker Books, gift certificate: Michael Pope, Dartmouth

41. Bittersweet Farm Restaurant, gift certificate: Pamela Prescott, Swansea

42. Davolls General Store, gift certificate:Janet Durette, Westport

43. Ellie's Place Restaurant, gift certificate: Dorothy Shattuck, Dartmouth

44. Navigator Shop, gift certificate: Mark Adler, Tiverton

45. Norton Gallery, gift certificate: Janice and Kim Saal, Westport

46. Tippi Toez, gift certificate: Charles Dacey, N. Dartmouth

47. Simmons Store, gift certificate for ice cream: Bob Carroll, Westport

By Paul Tamburello

Laid back at the Way Back Eddy

Way Back Eddy
9 Bridge Road
Westport, MA
508-636-9055

Open Tuesday - Sunday
Boatyard Breakfast 9 am - 11 am
The Rest of the Day 11 am - 6 pm

“no shirt, no shoes, no problem….”_
The six words resonate well and truly with salty refugees from Horseneck Beach, a mile down the road in Westport, MA. The motto of this self-described "beach shack" is printed prominently on the tri-fold paper menu and T-shirts that sell for 20 bucks and are the uniform of the staff.

While the state beach can accommodate 20,000 sun worshippers during a steamy summer weekend, the Way Back Eddy, across the street from its big brother, The Back Eddy, can squeeze about twenty wayfarers at the informal tables and chairs inside. Another twenty on the adjacent patio and front veranda have a view of the harborside Back Eddy, the parking lot, and a sliver of Westport Harbor.

You didn’t come here for the view, though, You came for inexpensive provender that happens to be prepared with the same premium quality ingredients that come out of the renowned kitchen across the street.

Push open the flimsy screen door, and bam, you’re looking at a huge chalkboard listing the day’s specials and menu. You’re also treading on a cement floor, flanked by honeydew hued cement walls, a chest high order counter, and the smiling faces of wait people behind it who seem to be having a dandy time chatting with regulars and first timers. Think retro. The rectangular one story place has the ambiance of a friendly filling station.

The menu is blessedly simple: soup and salads; sides; boatyard breakfast; the rest of the day; thirsty; sweet stuff. Specials… see the chalkboard or ask.

‘Boatyard Breakfasts’ won’t make your tummy feel like a load of ballast. Bagels, scones and muffins, fresh fruit plate, yogurt and croissants could hold most till lunchtime. An egg burrito is a good idea if you plan to walk up and down the two-mile stretch of Horseneck Beach instead of reading that trashy beach novel in your bag. The fact that none of these selections costs more than 4 bucks casts a ray of sunshine on your wallet.

The clam and corn chowder has a rich smoky flavor and is loaded with quartered red bliss potatoes, corn, copious bits of clam, served bowl or cup garnished with a wedge of lemon and sprig of parsley.

A “special” Mediterranean tuna panini or wrap is chunks of white tuna, chopped red onion, black olives, and parsley, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. The mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil panini ($7 for any panini) on griddle branded buttery white country bread is a mouthful of summer. The ‘rest of the day” menu… 7 oz hand formed burgers ($8), 1/4 pound hot dogs ($5), pulled pork sandwiches ($8), fried fish sandwich ($9), peanut butter and jelly ($5). How can you go wrong?

pt at large says, "Reel in the fish sandwich!": 12 inch tortilla wrap of delicate fried fish, chopped tomato and jalapeno, scallions, lettuce, pickled cabbage, sauced with combo of Inner Beauty and tartar sauce. A great catch.

Local green salads ($5) are country produce, as fresh as it gets. Fancy salad? Try the Eddy Salad with arugula blue cheese and local Noquochoke apples ($6). Side dishes of cornbread, eddy slaw, baked beans, sweet potato fries, steak fries, grilled chicken, 3 grilled shrimp range from 3 to 4 bucks. Small servings, big taste.

Nantucket Nectars, sodas, Jim’s organic coffee, espresso/lattes - if you can’t shake your big city java jones - and coastal roasters tea range from $2 to $3. pt at large loves these screen door prices.

For those in need of a sugar smack, check out the smoothies, milk shakes ($5), ice cream, and home-made (did you expect otherwise?) brownies and cookies ($1.50).

The little place is an upscale, “come as you are” Dairy Queen, as unpretentious and casual as a back yard barbecue, where you can eat well and feel laid back, way back.