COAT OF ARMS IS EMBLAZONED BY SHELLBACKS
Needed Insignia, So Had to Invent One, Bill Hearst Tells Sailors in Unveiling Excutcheon.
Through the efforts of Bill Hearst, Nik Beketov and F.N. Fairhead, the Shellback Club now has a coat of arms. It was unveiled by Mr. Beketov at the regular weekly luncheon in Ellen Bradley Grill yesterday.
Richard the Lion Hearted was the first to conceive a coat of arms, Mr. Hearst said, and it was felt that the club should have some insignia. "So we had to invent one, and we present it to you to-day," he explained. The insignia is the brainchild of the three members mentioned but none would take credit for it. A rope mounting extends below the shield to hold a plaque on which is inscribed the words "Shellback Club". The first quarter of the shield is white, with a fork and spoon to signify the luncheon; the second quarter is an anchor on yellow; the third quarter is a ship's bell and the fourth quarter three waves.
SMALL BOAT FEATS
Mr. Hearst was the speaker. He said he was not the scheduled speaker, but was filling in for the man who was supposed to speak. He centred his talk around <i>Long Voyages in Small Boats</i>. He said the information he gave was from books, and he would stand corrected on any point.
Voyages across the Atlantic and around the world had been made in small but very seaworthy boats, and of these, he thought the American whaleboat, a double-ended lapstrake design, was the most seaworthy.
The Norse boats, which had crossed the Atlantic and gone into Hudson's Bay a thousand years ago, were very seaworthy and several had been well preserved. One found at Oslo had a length of 70 feet six inches; breadth of 16 feet nine inches, and carried a mast and steering board, from which was derived the word "starboard."
A replica of one of these ships was brought to Chicago in 1893, and during the crossing of the Atlantic made as high as ten knots, he said.
AROUND THE WORLD
He referred to the exploits of Captain Joshua Slocum, who wrote a book telling of his trip around the world alone in a small sloop. On one part of his voyage Captain Slocum said he covered a distance of 2700 miles and was only at the tiller for three hours in the whole time. The boat steered herself. "We should take off our hats to him as one of the best," Mr. Hearst said. Captain Slocum was lost in subsequent wanderings.
A British canoe, fashioned by Indians from one huge tree and rigged a three-masted schooner, crossed the Atlantic with a Captain Voss at the tiller. He circumnavigated the world successfully. The vessel was named <I>Tillieum</i> which is Indian for 'friend'. One of the humorous incidents of this trip, Mr. Hearst related, was when Voss' companion fell overboard in heavy seas, and Voss complained that he took the compass with him. But Voss still made a deadline for Australia.
He told of other freak crossings of the Atlantic, such as two fishermen who crossed in a dory, and a German who started off in a rubber canoe, got to the West Indies and was lost in a hurricane.
Bruce Reid thanked the speaker not only for his interesting talk, but for giving the club sea chanty singsongs each week.
*****
Note: It is unclear what the source of this article is, but it can be assumed that it was written for a Toronto newspaper probably in 1938, when Shellbacks first met at Ellen Bradley's Grill. It has been retyped as the original did not reproduce well.
Through the efforts of Bill Hearst, Nik Beketov and F.N. Fairhead, the Shellback Club now has a coat of arms. It was unveiled by Mr. Beketov at the regular weekly luncheon in Ellen Bradley Grill yesterday.
Richard the Lion Hearted was the first to conceive a coat of arms, Mr. Hearst said, and it was felt that the club should have some insignia. "So we had to invent one, and we present it to you to-day," he explained. The insignia is the brainchild of the three members mentioned but none would take credit for it. A rope mounting extends below the shield to hold a plaque on which is inscribed the words "Shellback Club". The first quarter of the shield is white, with a fork and spoon to signify the luncheon; the second quarter is an anchor on yellow; the third quarter is a ship's bell and the fourth quarter three waves.
SMALL BOAT FEATS
Mr. Hearst was the speaker. He said he was not the scheduled speaker, but was filling in for the man who was supposed to speak. He centred his talk around <i>Long Voyages in Small Boats</i>. He said the information he gave was from books, and he would stand corrected on any point.
Voyages across the Atlantic and around the world had been made in small but very seaworthy boats, and of these, he thought the American whaleboat, a double-ended lapstrake design, was the most seaworthy.
The Norse boats, which had crossed the Atlantic and gone into Hudson's Bay a thousand years ago, were very seaworthy and several had been well preserved. One found at Oslo had a length of 70 feet six inches; breadth of 16 feet nine inches, and carried a mast and steering board, from which was derived the word "starboard."
A replica of one of these ships was brought to Chicago in 1893, and during the crossing of the Atlantic made as high as ten knots, he said.
AROUND THE WORLD
He referred to the exploits of Captain Joshua Slocum, who wrote a book telling of his trip around the world alone in a small sloop. On one part of his voyage Captain Slocum said he covered a distance of 2700 miles and was only at the tiller for three hours in the whole time. The boat steered herself. "We should take off our hats to him as one of the best," Mr. Hearst said. Captain Slocum was lost in subsequent wanderings.
A British canoe, fashioned by Indians from one huge tree and rigged a three-masted schooner, crossed the Atlantic with a Captain Voss at the tiller. He circumnavigated the world successfully. The vessel was named <I>Tillieum</i> which is Indian for 'friend'. One of the humorous incidents of this trip, Mr. Hearst related, was when Voss' companion fell overboard in heavy seas, and Voss complained that he took the compass with him. But Voss still made a deadline for Australia.
He told of other freak crossings of the Atlantic, such as two fishermen who crossed in a dory, and a German who started off in a rubber canoe, got to the West Indies and was lost in a hurricane.
Bruce Reid thanked the speaker not only for his interesting talk, but for giving the club sea chanty singsongs each week.
*****
Note: It is unclear what the source of this article is, but it can be assumed that it was written for a Toronto newspaper probably in 1938, when Shellbacks first met at Ellen Bradley's Grill. It has been retyped as the original did not reproduce well.