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Quick Links: 2011 Washington Awards Dinner New Voyage Planned for Picton Castle 2011 National History Day Competitions

Mark Your Calendars!  12 November 2011, "History of Elco".  10:30 AM, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NY.  Join Joseph W. Fleming and NMHS as we explore the fascinating history of Elco, the well-known designer and builder of classic motor yachts.  From its incorporation on 31 December 1892 until its original closing in 1949, Elco designed and built more than 5,000 boats.  Perhaps best known are the WWII PT boats, including PT 109 captained by LTJG John F. Kennedy.  Since 1987, Elco has been back in business producing electric motorboats, now under the leadership of Joseph W. Fleming. 3 December 2011, "The War of 1812".  10:30 AM, Cortlandt Yacht Club, Montrose, NY.  Presentation and booksigning by William H. White, who will describe the important battles and significance of the war, as well as the many commemorations scheduled throughout the country, including an OpSail parade of ships from New Orleans up the eastern coast.  NMHS holiday potluck.

NMHS Washington Awards Dinner 13 April 2011.   Dr. Jack London; Ronald Oswald; CDR Everett Alvarez Jr., USN (Ret.); Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., USCG; The Honorable Helen Delich Bentley; Admiral John C. Harvey Jr., USN; Irmy Webster; Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.); Philip Webster; Gary Jobson On Wednesday, 13 April 2011, the maritime community gathered to honor distinguished maritime luminaries at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. CDR Everett Alvarez Jr, USN (Ret.); The Honorable Helen Delich Bentley; and  Admiral John C. Harvey Jr., USN each received the NMHS Distinguished Service Award.  NMHS guests enjoyed the maritime art gallery, a silent auction, and cocktails before dinner.   NMHS Trustee and 2011 Washington Awards Dinner Co-Chair Philip J. Webster honors our flag and our nation as members of the US Naval Academy Glee Club sing our National Anthem.       Renowned marine artist Marc Castelli was on hand to greet guests and discuss his works on display in the popular Maritime Art Gallery.   World War II Army POW TSgt Frank Wright receives a standing ovation.    The Combined Sea Services Color Guard enter the dining room.

World Voyaging Tall Ship Picton Castle Announces New Voyage Around the Atlantic Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  In 2012, the award-winning sailing training ship Picton Castle will strike out on a brand-new voyage, one that will see the famed square rigger and a brand new group of trainee crew members following the routes of early explorers to storied ports in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and Spanish Main. Casting off from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, this epic voyage of one year and 15,000 nautical miles will include two transatlantic crossings, explorations of the Irish Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea and the sweet trade winds of the mid-Atlantic from Africa to the Caribbean Sea.  While most of the time is spent on the ocean, crew members will also explore ashore in old world and exotic tropical ports with rich culture and a strong seafaring heritage. The Picton Castle will continue to deliver the same deeply engaging sail training program that earned the ship the American Sail Training Association's Sail Training Program of the Year award in 2006.  The program focuses on seamanship skills and teaching the trainee sailors to become crew members by involving them fully in the operation of the ship - standing watches, taking the helm, setting and taking in sail, assisting with ship's maintenance and helping in the galley.  No sailing experience is required to join the crew. Ports visited on the voyage include Baltimore, Ireland; Milford Haven, Wales; St. Malo and Brest, France; the Aaland Islands, Finland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Bergen, Norway; the Shetland Islands; London, England; Vigo and Cadiz, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Essaouira, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; the islands of the Eastern Caribbean; Cartagena, Colombia; Panama; Cozumel, Mexico; Cuba; and Bahamas. For more information on this once-in-a-lifetime voyage on Picton Castle, please visit the ship's website at www.picton-castle.com, or call her office at 902-634-9984

2011 National History Day Competitions National History Day (NHD) is a year-long educational program for middle-and high-school students that involves them in a competition to research, learn, and produce a creative project on a topic in history based on a theme.  NMHS is an official supporter of this program in hopes of inspiring young people to learn about their maritime history by offering special NMHS prizes to the students who do the most outstanding project on a maritime topic.  The 2011 NHD theme was "Debate & Diplomacy in History:  Successes, Failures, Consequences."  Students in Junior and Senior divisions submitted projects in nine categories ranging from developing a website to performance in costume to more traditional papers and reports.  Click here to read more about National History Day. This year NMHS participated in NHD events in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.  Judges for the 2011 NMHS prizes were as follows:  New York - NMHS trustee Captain Cesare Sorio and NMHS president Burchenal Green; Connecticut - Dr. Steven Park, manager of the Learning Resource Center at the University of Connecticut; Paul O'Pecko, vice president of Collections and Research and director of the G. W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport; and NMHS president Burchenal Green; and New Jersey - NMHS chairman Ronald Oswald, NMHS trustee Jean Wort, and NMHS president Burchenal Green. NMHS Trustee Jean Wort and NMHS Chairman Ronald Oswald with Keertana Andraj from West Windsor- Plainsboro High School South in New Jersey The NMHS National History Day Award Winners for 2011 Connecticut Senior Level 1st Place:  Maya Levine-Ritterman from Wilbur Cross High School for her website The SS St. Louis Tragedy.  Teacher:  Alfred Meadows Junior Level 1st Place:  Jared Bell from the Bell family home school for his website Successful Mutiny: Debate and Diplomacy of the Amistad.  Teacher: Colleen Bell Junior Level 2nd Place:  Graham Frassinelli from Hall Memorial School for his documentary The Leviathan's Salvation: The International Moratorium on Commercial Whaling.  Teacher: Pat Pinney New Jersey Senior Level 1st Place: (2 prizes) Conor Reid from Montvale Township High School for his documentary Pirates!  The US and the Barbary Coast.  Teacher: Peter Porter; and Keertana Anandraj from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South for her paper The Trent Affair: Seward's Diplomatic Response to the British Lion Saves Lincoln's Union.  Teacher: Joan Ruddiman Senior Level 2nd Place:  Olivia Qui from Montvale Township High School for her exhibit Alabama Claims: The Establishment of International Arbitration.  Teacher: Peter Porter New York Senior Level 1st Place: Sanjay Anchar from Shenendehowa High School for his website LBJ & the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.  Teacher: Amber Quinn Junior Level 1st Place:  Akash Advaney, Daniel Esposito, Kanav Gupta, and Rahiq Rafeeq from Jericho Middle School for their website Erie Canal: Government vs. Private Financing.  Teacher: Pamela Travis Junior Level 2nd Place: Jacob Tabor from Milford Central School for his website Barbary Wars.  Teacher: Michael Richtsmeier