BEYOND THE HORIZON

March 2025

BEYOND THE HORIZON

MARCH 2025

ALLISIONS, COLLISIONS, and WRECKS

            We spent the month of February in Florida where I was affronted with some of the saddest sights I have ever seen. Treasure Island, the best beach on the Sun Coast was devastated by the twin hurricanes of last fall flooding houses up to 5 feet of water and then depositing an equal amount of sand as it receded. Our beloved apartment was gutted, as were the neighbors across the street and beside us. With the loss of illegal immigrants to do the work, FEMA’s inability to handle the mess in Washington, and the state’s political turmoil, the city cannot allow permits needed to make repairs. People lost their homes, cars, and jobs within a day. It remains local, state, and federal government at its worst.

            Among the sad sights are the wrecked boats wallowing on their sides or barely above water, waiting for the knackers to crush them up and put them in a green dumpster. It is amazing how a beautiful 30-foot sailboat can be smashed up and placed in its entirety in a single dumpster.

BOATS ON THE WAY TO BE SCRAPPED

NOTE THE KEEL AND TRANSOM (centerboard inside keel)

INLAND WATERWAYS

            The Mississippi River had little ice on it this winter, and it opened up 17 days earlier than the average transit availability covering from 1831 to the present. Scientists closely watch the ice because of the changes in dates of freezing and melting that heavily impacts the types of fish in Lake Pepin and the migratory routes of birds.

            The Rapidan Dam that gave way during flooding has also become a victim of the knackers. The raging Blue Earth River provided the death knell for the old dam that no longer is used for electrical generation.

HISTORY

            During World War II, Germany’s submarines sank, with great alacrity, American ships well within sight of the East Coast Beaches. The U.S. simply did not have adequate search capabilities because small ships, such as destroyers, were well delegated to protect convoys to Europe. Yacht club Commodore Alfred Stanford suggested the creation of a picket group of small boats, yachts, and fishing boats to comb the waters of the Atlantic looking for U-boats and radioing such discoveries to appropriate authorities. Immediately, over 2,000 boats were offered and 5,000 people volunteered to crew the “Hooligan Navy”, as wags called them, they were placed under the auspices of the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve and officially called the Coastal Picket Force.

            ZAIDA, one such vessel, was a 57-foot sailboat captained by professional actor Curtis Arnall and crewed by Toivo Koskinen, a Finnish fisherman; Ed Johnson, a sophomore at Williams College; Ward Weimer, a student at Dartmouth; James Watson, a fisherman; Ted Carlson, a taxi driver; and Joseph Choate, a banker. The boat sailed from Massachusetts on November 27, 1942, and quickly encountered a major storm arousing a squabble about whether to drop sail and ride out the storm or sail west toward land. Off Martha’s Vineyard, Mother Nature solved the problem by destroying the sails, toppling the mast, shorting out the radio, and breaking off the tiller while injuring one man with broken ribs and severely gashing the head of another. The storm knocked the boat down and, once it righted, forced the men to bail with pots and pans to keep from sinking.   

            The Coast Guard sent out a search team after the gale quieted but found nothing, and after a week, notified the next of kin that the boat and crew were lost. Meanwhile, ZAIDA barely floating along was spotted by a destroyer who was protecting a convoy and, with strict radio silence, could not report the sighting. 

            After several days, food and water ran out and yet the boat continued floating along on the ocean. They managed to sew the ragged sails into something tolerable for a stump mast to gain a modicum of control. For another two weeks, they struggled with the seas, their tempers, lack of sleep, lack of food, and a contentious battle about whether the captain knew what he was doing. 

            Finally, they were spotted after three weeks afloat and off North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras instead of 3,000 North off New England. The men survived and the Navy quickly eliminated the Hooligan Navy. The boat was sold and maintained to this day; however, the owner continues to paint the Coastal Picket Force number on its side.

Curtis Arnall and the ZAIDA during WWII