Seabiscuits and Bitters

The annual MSA fundraising event took place February 28 and featured a live band, multiple games, and delicious food! Everyone at MSA would like to thank Dr. McKinnon and her husband, Jason, for hosting the event at their beautiful home. A big thank you also to Martin County Ramblers for braving the chilly night and putting on a fantastic show! Thanks are also due to the numerous businesses around Greenville that donated gift cards and prizes for us to raffle off.

We had a wonderful turnout, everyone worked hard, and MSA raised money that will go towards funding students in the graduate program.

MSA would also like to welcome its new officers, who took over after Seabiscuits:
President: Katie Clevenger
Vice President: Emily Schwalbe
Treasurer: Scott Rose
Secretary: Bettie Pratt
Historian: Allyson Ropp
Dive Liaison: Mitch Freitas

ArcGIS in Eller House

Each year, MSA tries to host a few workshops that provide the Maritime Studies students with useful skills. In the past, the group hosted dendrochronology and Rhino3D workshops. This semester, Adam Parker took time out of his schedule to hold an ArcGIS workshop. Students who participated received an introduction to the program and practiced with georeferencing maps and plotting GPS points.

Thanks Adam for all your help!

SHA Conference 2015

"Peripheries and Boundaries" was the theme this year for the Society for Historical Archaeology annual conference.

Students and professors braved the chilly Seattle, Washington weather to represent the Program in Maritime Studies at SHA. Some of the students presented on the work they have done while attending ECU. Topics included archaeology on shipwrecks in South Africa and the Mediterranean. Students had the chance to view a wealth of presentations and network with professionals in the field, all while exploring Seattle and enjoying the food and sights.

Here's to another great SHA experience!

A Very Maritime Christmas

It is not often the Maritimers get to see each other in something other than sweatpants or wetsuits.

This year, for the Maritime Christmas party we decided to get a little classy! Everyone met at Winslow's in their finest attire to catch up over wine and appetizers. Thank you to everyone who came out for the festivities!

Feel free to email your photos to msa.eastcarolina@gmail.com if you would like to see them here!

LAMP Visitor Discusses Florida Commercial Shrimping Industry

Brendan Burke, a maritime archaeologist for the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, has studied Florida’s commercial shrimping history with the museum’s research wing, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP). Together with Ed Long, he co-authored Shrimp Boat City in 2013 to provide a “conversation starter” concerning shrimping and wooden boat building in Florida. His visit to ECU’s Program in Maritime Studies detailed his research concerning the history of these vessels.

ABSTRACT: During the early 20th century, a new type of boat was born in Northeast Florida. Forged from Greek, Italian, Norwegian, African-American, and native Floridian hands, the Florida-style trawler became one of the most important boats in the history of the state. From 1919 until the mid-1980s, Florida supplied the world with shrimp trawlers and commercial fishing boats of all types. Northeast Florida was alive with the buzz of saws and the banging of hammers and the enterprise grew into a multi-billion dollar industry that contributed to over 23 foreign fishing fleets. Ultimately, Florida would be responsible for the largest purpose-built wooden fishing fleet ever assembled. This presentation brings together stories, pictures, and the people from the halcyon days of catching shrimp and building boats in the Sunshine State.

Brendan Burke received a B.A. in history and anthropology from Longwood University and an MA in anthropology from The College of William and Mary. Our thanks go to Brendan for visiting and sharing his research with students and faculty alike.

Please check out this link for more information regarding the book and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum:

http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/ourstories/local/shrimp_boat_city

Fall Field Schools, 2014

This year, ECU held simultaneous field schools: one in Michigan and one in Florida. You can read about the field schools in the 2015 issue of Stem to Stern, but please enjoy some photos here.

First up is the field school in Michigan. The participants stayed on Mackinac Island and conducted surveys in chilly Lake Huron.

Next up is Biscayne National Park. The participants of the Florida field school stayed on Elliott Key and excavated and mapped an 18th century vessel believed to be of Spanish origin.

Photo credit for the Michigan photos goes to Ivor and Mateusz. The Florida photos were taken by Melissa, Dr. McKinnon, Dr. Harris, and Charles Lawson of the National Park Service.

Stem to Stern 2015

The newest issue of Stem to Stern is out. Stop by Eller House to pick up your very own copy. You can also access it online via this link:

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/maritime/Maritime-Studies-Program-Stem-to-Stern.cfm