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SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk

Posted by Ron Carlson on May 4, 2016, 9:20 pm

From time to time I take off my Webmaster hat and put on a different hat, that of volunteer crew member aboard one of only two surviving, operational Liberty ships, SS JOHN W. BROWN, home-ported in Baltimore.

If there is anyone out here on the East Coast, I want you to know that the ship will make a port visit to Norfolk May 20-22, 2016. There will be public visiting available on May 20-21, and a "Living History Cruise" on May 22.

Boarding the ship during public visiting hours on the first two days is without charge, although we gladly accept donations of course. You must purchase tickets for the cruise on Sunday, May 22, through the website, http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/.

I expect to be aboard for the entire time, including the voyages from and returning to Baltimore, sailing as an ordinary seaman on the 8-12 watch. My daughter, who can steer that ship as well as I can and who lives in Norfolk while attending graduate school, will be aboard the three days while the ship in in Norfolk. If you visit, be sure to ask for me.

And if you want to plan a little farther into the future, SS JOHN W. BROWN will also visit New York City for about ten days in September 2016. More on that in another message.

Welcome aboard!

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com

Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk

Posted by Bob Taylor on May 10, 2016, 6:40 am, in reply to "SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk"

Wishing you a good a good round trip in
Chesapeake Bay.
Does the Bay terminate at Baltimore as
far its use for larger ships is concerned?
Bob.

Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk

Posted by Ron Carlson on May 10, 2016, 8:11 am, in reply to "Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk"
Edited by board administrator May 10, 2016, 10:10 am

Bob,

No, ocean-going vessels can continue in the Chesapeake Bay to its extreme northern end, where the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal ("C&D Canal") cuts eastward to the Delaware River and the Delaware Bay. The canal is 14 miles long. It's a short cut to Philadelphia (upriver) or out to the Atlantic (downriver). JOHN W. BROWN will take that route on its voyage to New York in September. This route saves 300 miles and several days of steaming time that would otherwise be required to go south to the mouth of the Bay at Norfolk, Virginia, then turn north to New York.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com

Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk

Posted by Bob Taylor on May 11, 2016, 4:21 am, in reply to "Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk"

Much has been written about the C and D but I fail
to see why locks were needed (prior to conversion to
sea level.)
Bob

Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk

Posted by Ron Carlson on May 11, 2016, 9:36 am, in reply to "Re: SS JOHN W. BROWN to visit Norfolk"
Edited by board administrator May 11, 2016, 9:38 am

Bob,

Looking at topographical maps of the area in which the C&D canal is located suggests surface elevations immediately next to the canal of as much as 70 feet above sea level. Elevations of 100 feet above sea level are found nearby.

The canal, with four locks and a water depth of ten feet, opened for business in 1829. Given the technology of the day it was probably not feasible to construct a ditch 70 feet deep, plus additional excavation below sea level to provide water depth in the canal itself. So the locks were installed to lift and lower vessels over a ridge of land 70 feet high. Advances in construction technology led to the canal being reconstructed at sea level, reopening in 1927. Additional construction in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in the current width (450 feet) and depth (35 feet) of the canal. Reportedly the canal handles about 40% of ship traffic in and out of the port of Baltimore so it serves a vital maritime purpose. About 25,000 vessels of all sizes pass through the canal each year.

Having transited the canal several times aboard JOHN W. BROWN, I can testify that there is no visual evidence of the earlier, higher-elevation canal.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com

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