Posted on November 29, 2016 by Jenny ONeill
Whaling was a dangerous business. On long voyages so many things could go wrong. Men got sick far from land. They fell overboard. Boats were stove by whales. Ships were wrecked, or simply never heard from again. And sometimes, men went to great extremes to survive. The following stories are all true, and all happened […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 28, 2014 by Jenny ONeill
Maritime activities in Westport were necessarily centered around the coastal region, although the deep reaches of the Westport River allowed shipbuilding and other activities to occur well into the central portion of the town. This research category includes shipbuilding as well as offshore activities such as whaling, fishing, and coastal trade that relied on Westport […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 2, 2012 by Jenny ONeill
Marjorie Robb (1889-1992) was a survivor of the Titanic disaster. She lived at Westport Point. In 1986 she spoke about her experience. This recording can be heard here. The quality of the original recording is poor and is best heard with the volume on a high setting. http://chirb.it/BegEh7 Poor sound quality:
Continue ReadingPosted on February 23, 2005 by Bill Wyatt
Someone left a clipping from the Personals section of a paper
Continue ReadingPosted on February 1, 2005 by Bill Wyatt
There are references to sailing into and out of Westport in several whaling logs. We print here
Continue ReadingPosted on March 3, 2004 by Bill Wyatt
Did Herman Melville ever visit Westport? We will probably never know, but the following item from The Melville Log (Edited by Jay Leyda, NY:Gordian Press, 1969) suggests that he may have: “NEW YORK Late April? M writes to Henry Willcox in Westport. (We are looking out for Tom to return every day his ship [Theophilus […]
Continue ReadingPosted on July 30, 2003 by Bill Wyatt
There are a number of poems (or parts of poems) in the logs of the ship Harbinger, and we thought it might be a good idea to print them here. The final one, as you will observe, is incomplete: we hope that some of you will be minded to complete it (or indeed write a […]
Continue ReadingPosted on July 28, 2003 by Greg Stone
The April 10, 2003 issue of Shorelines contains two articles on alewives. These small fish typically return to Westport in the Spring, and are of interest to humans (for bait) and birds (for food). Because of pollution in the rivers they have been long absent, but are now returning to spawn. They are to be […]
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