CENTENNIAL
SURFACES TITANIC
TREASURES
THIS YEAR MARKS the 100th year anniversary of the most famousmaritimedisasterinhis-tory, the April 15, 2012, sinking of the
RMS Titanic. And with the centennial
a great deal of memorabilia from the
trans-Atlantic liner’s maiden, and last,
voyage has been showing up on the
auction block. For example, a collection from the descendants of John and
Nelle Pillsbury Snyder, who took their
honeymoon aboard the ship and survived, went for more than $100,000 in
October. The Snyders kept a letter written on RMS Titanic stationery, and another letter, written aboard the rescue ship Carpathia,
detailing their ordeal (“We were both asleep when the boat hit”). The collection also contained snapshots taken from the Carpathia’s deck, showing lifeboats and an ominous iceberg
lurking on the horizon. Long Island’s Philip Weiss Auctions also sold a “widow’s locket”
which had belonged to the wife of the Titanic’s master, Captain Edward Smith, and contained
his photo, for $3,400.
In December, New York’s Swann Auction Galleries offered a plan of Titanic’s first-class
accommodations, and a medal presented by survivors to the captain and crew of the
Carpathia. Those items went for $6,000 and $3,400, respectively. Meanwhile, an exhibition
of some 300 Titanic artifacts (which aren’t for sale) has been making its own voyage from
London to Las Vegas, and from Singapore to Saskatchewan, proving the universal appeal of
the century-old tragedy. Some 20 million people worldwide have seen it. Exhibitions are going
on this summer in Detroit, San Diego, and Kansas City (visit www.rmstitanic.net). — C.L.
CALIFORNIA
SHARKS can
breathe easier,
knowing they’ll
be holding on to
their fins.
The Golden State recently signed
a bill banning the sale, trade, and
possession of shark fins, joining
Hawaii, Washington,
Oregon, and Guam.
California is said to
have the biggest
market for shark
fin soup outside
of Asia.
PHOTOS: TOP LEFT, PHILIP WEISS AUCTIONS; TOP RIGHT, JIM TOOMEY; LEFT, RYCK LYDECKER
MORE EYES OVER THE OCEAN
AU.S. COAST GUARD HH-65C DAUPHIN helicopter lands on the newest National Security cutter, Stratton, off Annapolis, Maryland, during the ship’s East Coast shakedown cruise last November 1. As the third of eight 418-foot vessels planned to replace the 1960s vintage 378-foot High Endurance cutters, Stratton
was to begin Pacific patrols in March, based in Alameda, California. Originally all eight
were to be assigned to the West Coast but during Stratton’s Baltimore visit two days
later, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr. said two of the new cutters
likely would be assigned to Atlantic duty. Intended to enforce U.S. fisheries, immigration, narcotics, and environmental laws offshore, the cutters carry two helicopters
plus three 23-foot RIBs that can be launched in heavy seas through a protected stern
ramp, making the cutters important search-and-rescue assets on both coasts, as they
become operational. A 2015 launching is planned for the last in what the Coast Guard
has dubbed the Legend Class, with vessels named for “legendary” service members.
The latest cutter bears the name of Captain Dorothy C. Stratton, who
joined in 1942 as the first recruit in the Coast Guard Women’s
Reserve. She went on to create the name “SPAR”
for the unit, an acronym made up of the Coast
Guard’s motto Semper Paratus and its English
translation, “Always Ready.” — R.L.
