This week it is the story of the narrowboat Drum Major and her 1998 foundering on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal that resulted in multiple deaths.

*there is about 19 minutes of intro in this one so skip accordingly if you want to get into things right away

gazafunds.com

Sources: 

Clarke, Mike. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal: A History and Guide. Carnegie Publishing, 1994. 

Farrington, J.H. “The Leeds and Liverpool Canal: A Study in Route Selection.” Area, vol. 1, no. 1, 1969, pp. 22 - 23. 

“Report on the investigation of the foundering of the narrow boat Drum Major with the loss of four lives at Steg Neck lock near Gargrave, North Yorkshire on 19 August 1998.” Marine Accident Investigation Branch, 20 Dec 1999. https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/contact-and-sinking-of-narrow-boat-drum-major-while-descending-in-steg-neck-lock-on-the-leeds-and-liverpool-canal-near-gargrave-england-with-loss-of-4-live

"Son is hailed a hero. " Telegraph and Argus, 21 Aug 1998. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/8074182.son-is-hailed-a-hero/

Wainwright, Martin. "Teenager dived in vain to save four on sinking barge." The Guardian, 3 June 1999. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jun/04/martinwainwright

Support the show

Honorary third host of the podcast Kaylee is back this week to join us in discussing the R.J. Hackett, a vessel that changed the way bulk cargo was transported on the Great Lakes and laid the groundwork for the designs we still see today. 

gazafunds.com

Sources: 

Baker, Newton D. “Transportation on the Great Lakes.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 171, Jan 1934, pp. 204 - 210. 

Bowlus, Bruce. “Bold Experiments: The Evolution of the Great Lakes Ore Carrier.” Michigan Historical Review, vol. 22, no. 1, Spring 1996, pp. 1 - 17. 

“Steamer Hackett Burns.” The Sturgeon Bay Advocate, vol. 44, no. 34, 18 Nov 1905. 

Support the show

We are joined by the baddest boys in the Ozarks - We Always Lie To Strangers - to discuss the I-40 Bridge Disaster, which saw the towboat Robert Y. Love impact a bridge over the Arkansas river near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, on May 26 2002.

(Wish we could claim the foresight to have scheduled this for the anniversary but that is entirely 100% coincidental) 

You can find everything WALTS-related here

gazafunds.com

Sources:

"5NEWS Vault | I-40 Bridge Collapse in Webbers Falls (Part 2)." 5NEWS, 25 Apr 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKQVicEbWak

Baird, Austin. "The curious cases of William James Clark." Anchorage Daily News, 25 Aug 2011. https://www.adn.com/features/article/curious-cases-william-james-clark/2011/08/26/

Doucette, Bob. "Missourian charged with impersonation at bridge collapse." The Oklahoman, 14 June 2022. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/06/14/missourian-charged-with-impersonation-at-bridge-collapse/62091068007/

"Heartbreak And Hope: 20 Years After The I-40 Bridge Collapse." News 9 YouTube, 4 June 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OApNUebSC54

"MKARNS 12-foot Channel." US Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District. https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning/MKARNS-12-foot-Channel/

"MKARNS marks 50th anniversary." Oklahoma Department of Transportation. https://oklahoma.gov/odot/programs-and-projects/programs/multimodal/freight-transportation/waterways/mkarns-50th-anniversary.html

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. "United States of America v. William James Clark." 6 Apr 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20100903160625/http://ca10.washburnlaw.edu/cases/2004/04/03-7100.htm

"U.S. Towboat Robert Y. Love Allision With Interstate 40 Highway Bridge Near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, May 26, 2002." National Transportation Safety Board, 31 Aug 2004. ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR0405.pdf

Support the show

This is a short preview of a bonus episode available at the Able Seaperson ($3) and 2nd Mate ($5) tiers 

Support the show

Here we conclude the main story of the mutiny on the whaleship Globe where everyone lives happily ever after in a tropical paradise. Or something like that. 

*meant to cut in a minor edit for this episode - George Comstock was 15 by the time the Globe sailed, and Samuel was 20

gazafunds.com

Sources: 

Couper, Alastair. “Dangers, Mutinies, and the Law.” Sailors and Traders: A Maritime History of the Pacific Peoples.” University of Hawai’i Press

Gibson, Gregory. Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe. Little, Brown, and Company, 2002.

Heffernan, Thomas Farel. The Mutiny on the Globe: The Fatal Voyage of Samuel Comstock. Norton, 2002. 

Hoyt, Edwin P. The Mutiny on the Globe. Random House, 1975. 

Woodman, Richard. A Brief History of Mutiny. Carroll & Graf, 2005. 

Support the show

Following up on our Battleship Potemkin bonus, we are staying in the mutinous mood with this two-part series on the whaleship Globe, and the enigmatic boatsteerer Samuel Comstock who would cast her into infamy.

gazafunds.com

Sources: 

Couper, Alastair. “Dangers, Mutinies, and the Law.” Sailors and Traders: A Maritime History of the Pacific Peoples.” University of Hawai’i Press

Gibson, Gregory. Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe. Little, Brown, and Company, 2002.

Heffernan, Thomas Farel. The Mutiny on the Globe: The Fatal Voyage of Samuel Comstock. Norton, 2002. 

Hoyt, Edwin P. The Mutiny on the Globe. Random House, 1975. 

Woodman, Richard. A Brief History of Mutiny. Carroll & Graf, 2005. 

Support the show

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ!

**this is a short preview of a much longer bonus episode we did on Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, available for $3 and $5 patrons** 

Religious symbolism plays a major role in the works of Sergei Eisenstein, so we found ourselves discussing it quite a bit during our episode on Battleship Potemkin. For Easter, we've cut those sections of the episode together in one concentrated mini-episode. 

gazafunds.com

Support the show

This week we discuss the loss of the USS Turner, a Gleaves-class destroyer that sank off of New York City in January 1944. 

**Jump to around 13:30 to get right into the action**

gazafunds.com

Sources: 

"Gleaves class destroyers (1940)." https://naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/gleaves-class-destroyers.php

Naczi, Robert F. "Special: Tragedy Strikes in New York Harbor." U.S. Naval Institute, December 1995, https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1995/december/special-tragedy-strikes-new-york-harbor

Verga, Christopher. "Sinking of the U.S.S. Turner: Tragedy, Heroism, and Mystery." Fire Island News, 26 Dec 2024. https://www.fireislandnews.com/history/sinking-of-the-u-s-s-turner-tragedy-heroism-and-mystery/#:~:text=Huus%20rapidly%20mobilized%20his%20crew,survivors%20before%20additional%20help%20arrived

Support the show

In this episode we go deep into the history books to discuss the deadliest maritime disaster we've covered up to this point. 

gazafunds.com

Thank you to our lovely advertisers!

Kelly (Radway's Medicated Soap) 

Nick (Sulfur Bitters) 

Jas (Dr. Keeler's Celebrated Family Medicines [various]) 

Kaylee (Father Koening's Nerve Tonic) 

Sharp (Allan's Lung Balsam) 

Taylor (Hood's Sarsaparilla) 

Katie (Dr. Butts' Marriage Guide) 

Sources: 

Elendil the Tall. Akallabêth. Barahir Books, 3321 SA.

Tolkien, J.R.R.The Fall of Númenor. Edited by Brian Sibley, William Morrow, 2024. 

Tolkien, J.R.R. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Edited by Christopher Tolkien, Mariner Books, 1980. 

Tyler, J.E.A. The Complete Tolkien Companion. Thomas Dunne Books, 1976.

Support the show

Here is a short clip from our most recent 2nd Mate Tier bonus episode: 'The Ignoble Means by Which That Wealth Was Accumulated' - The Slaving Brig Henriqueta and the Illicit Slave Trade to Brazil 

*(the full episode is about 1:18:00 in length) 

If you enjoy the show, there is much more of it for you to check out on Patreon - join as an Able Seaperson ($3) for an extra bonus episode each month or as a 2nd Mate ($5) for two bonus episodes. 

Joining as a patron also gets you (slightly) earlier access to main episodes, and the occasional 'deleted scene' that doesn't appear in the main version of an episode

Support the show