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Heading to downtown Port Huron? Find out everything you need to know about a $3 million project
Multi-phase Quay, Michigan reconstruction underway; up first: Quay between Merchant and Michigan streets, wrapping up in May
Heading to downtown Port Huron? Find out everything you need to know about a $3 million project Multi-phase Quay, Michigan reconstruction underway; up first: Quay between Merchant and Michigan streets, wrapping up in May Check out this story on thetimesherald.com: https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2019/04/03/heading-downtown-port-huron-find-out-everything-you-need-know-3-million-project/3344915002/
Jackie Smith, Port Huron Times Herald Published 3:05 p.m. ET April 3, 2019 | Updated 3:31 p.m. ET April 3, 2019
Reconstruction has begun on Quay Street between Michigan and Merchant streets in downtown Port Huron. Construction is not expected to affect businesses. (Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)
Crews are already at work tearing up East Quay Street in downtown Port Huron as the $3 million reconstruction of Quay and Michigan streets gets underway.
The multi-phase project is starting with Quay between Michigan and Merchant streets, closing the section of roadway to traffic.
Business owners nearby said they are worried about the impact of the project but agreed the work is necessary. Quay and Michigan streets are riddled with large swaths of cracked and crumbling pavement.
"Of course, everything around us affects (business)," said Nick Cavis, owner of Cavis Grill. At the northwest corner of Quay and Michigan, he's across the intersection from the kick-off construction. "I don't know if 'concern' is the word, but it's construction that needs to be done. So, unfortunately, we've kind of just got to go through it. When it's all finished, it'll be worth it."
The entire project includes reconstructing Quay from Huron Avenue to Merchant and Michigan from Quay to McMorran. It was approved by City Council earlier this year at just under $3.35 million — a price costlier than the $2 million to $2.5 million originally projected. At the time, officials attributed the difference to the discovery of more contaminated material than anticipated needing to be removed and higher costs of asphalt.
Quay Street was last reconstructed in 1959; Michigan from Quay to Grand River Avenue in 1960; and Michigan from Grand River to McMorran Boulevard in 1989, according to previous project memos.
City officials have also said that sidewalk elevations outside businesses in the area aren't up to date on handicapp-accessibility standards.
That means replacing sidewalks — and closing some areas to pedestrians.
But Gene Harrison, who opened Wings Etc. on Quay last year with son, Robert, said they've been assured there's no need to worry what that means for businesses.
Wings Etc. open on Quay Street
Michigan-Quay reconstruction costs more expensive than planned
"They've ensured me that I'll have access to our front door during the entire process," he said, adding they'll have a crushed-stone path to their entrance. "If they go in and tear that up — like today, you'll notice. Eventually, that sidewalk's going to come out."
In addition to installation of new water main and sanitary sewer infrastructure, the project includes the addition of angled-in parking spaces along Michigan between Quay and Grand River and widening Quay by four feet between Michigan and Fort.
Decorative street lighting along Quay and Michigan from Quay to Grand River, as well as removal of the traffic signals at Michigan and Grand River in favor of a four-way stop are also in the plans.
Both Public Works Director Eric Witter and Engineering Manager Dave Smith were out of the office Wednesday, but City Manager James Freed said the work for the current phase is expected to wrap up in May.
Next on tap, he said, will be reconstruction of Michigan from Quay to Grand River Avenue.
Although digging up the Michigan and Quay intersection, which isn't included in the ongoing phase, will be right in front of Wings Etc., Harrison said he understands it will only be for a few weeks.
"I'm excited to (see) what it will look like when it'll be done," Harrison said. It's Wings' first full summer on the Black River. "By nature (people) avoid construction, (but) we're still open."
Cavis also said losing business "is always a concern."
"We have a good customer base here — regulars that come in daily," he said. "But we just do our best. As it moves forward, we're not sure exactly how they're going about it. There's a meeting Thursday."
Construction is expected to pause downtown during Boat Week and the Blue Water Fest in July before most of the work wraps up in the fall. Smith has previously said some minor work will wait until 2020.
An informational meeting, as referenced by Cavis, is set for 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Municipal Office Center, 100 McMorran Blvd.
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
Read or Share this story: https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2019/04/03/heading-downtown-port-huron-find-out-everything-you-need-know-3-million-project/3344915002/
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Can I just start off by saying I teared up just writing the title of this post? I don't think it's actually hit me that you're TWO. You're Miss Independent but still fell asleep on me at the pool the other day with your baby blanket and paci and that was definitely the highlight of my week. I was going to make you give up your paci today… but I'm not ready yet.
I think I am going to say this every year for the rest of my life, but you have grown so much this year. You are completing sentences, expressing your opinion, and growing into such a kind-hearted young girl. I could take the time to reflect on this past year, but it would probably just turn into me rambling about how you need to stop growing up and how you will always be my Baby Moon, even if you are 16 at heart. Instead, I want to tell you my hopes for you in the next year, and every year to following.
I hope you never stop expressing yourself the same way– belly laughs when somethings funny, allowing yourself to cry when you are sad, and constantly yelling "WOW" when you are in awe.
I hope you never lose your sense of confidence– girl, my life goal is to be half as confident as you in a bikini. Always be proud of that belly and those rolls God gave you. You only have one body, so you better work it.
I hope you continue to believe in the good– we live in a scary world and what I would give to see it through your eyes. You find the kindness and good in every situation, don't ever stop that.
I hope you continue to become more independent, but are never afraid to ask for help– it's not always easy, but don't hurt yourself by being stubborn. If anything, Mama is always here to help.
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder– you constantly point at objects and say, "s'at?", which in your language translates to "what's that?" Keep wondering.
I hope you are always different– because the world needs more people like you.
I love you endlessly Baby Moon and even though you are another year older, you will always be my baby girl.


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4.03 | 170 ratings | 25 reviews | 40% 5 stars
Buy CLEPSYDRA Music
Studio Album, released in 2001
1. Tuesday Night (13:16)
2. Travel of Dream (10:54)
3. The Return (7:10)
4. The Father (7:31)
5. Alone (6:00)
6. The Nest (6:58)
7. God or Beggar (5:45)
8. End of Tuesday (5:03)
Total Time: 62:27
Bonus tracks on 2014 remaster:
9. Old Dream (1993) (6:30)
10. Eagles (Raw Mix 1997) (5:45)
- Aluisio Maggini / lead & backing vocals
- Marco Cerulli / guitars
- Philip Hubert / keyboards
- Nicola De Vita / bass
- Pietro Duca / drums
Artwork: Sandor Kwiatkowski with Stefan Minder (photo)
CD Self-released - CCD 411/1 (2001, Switzerland)
CD Galileo Records - GR040 (2014, Switzerland) Remastered with 2 bonus tracks, new cover art
Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
Buy CLEPSYDRA Alone Music
More places to buy CLEPSYDRA music online
CLEPSYDRA Alone ratings distribution
Good, but non-essential (16%)
CLEPSYDRA Alone reviews
Review by Marcelo
There's a lot of bands in the neo-prog style, but CLEPSYDRA is, IMHO, currently the best. Altough this band continues the path signed by IQ or PENDRAGON, they do it in a more bombastic and powerful way, keeping the sense of melody and beauty at the same time. Listener won't find tons of originality, but this album guarantees an excellent hour, specially to neo-prog fans.
Posted Saturday, December 20, 2003 | Review this album | Report (Review #5003)
Review by maani
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Founding Moderator
I'm shocked that neither the band description nor any of the reviews note what is without question Clepsydra's biggest influence: Yes - especially 90125 and later. Indeed, Maggini's phrasing is spot-on Jon Anderson, and even his voice, while slightly lower in pitch (and with that cool Italian accent...), is very close. [N.B. What is strange about this is that the other major influence, as noted in the band description, is Marillion. And although almost every Marillion-influenced band is likely to have some Genesis in it, Clepsydra unwittingly "points out" the Yes influence in Marillion.] / Although it is true that this album is somewhat "bombastic" in nature, it is remarkably enjoyable. And although the album is not (as far as I know) a "concept" album, almost all the songs segue into each other. "Tuesday Night" sets the "tone" of the album, with heavy keyboards and bass, solid prog drumming, soaring guitars, and Maggini's excellent vocals. Indeed, although some of the songs are somewhat less "compelling," it is Maggini's vocals that hold the album together. "Travel of Dream" is a fabulous suite, full of great prog bits. "The Return" is another standout, and possibly my favorite track. "The Father" has a slightly Floydian quality (including an echo voice), moving into the most Genesis-like section on the album. "Alone" begins in mildly Genesis style, moving into a more Yes-like approach. [N.B. This is yet another album - maybe the fifth or sixth I've reviewed - on which the Genesis influence is from the W&W/ATTWT period. It continues to amaze me how influential those two albums were on Genesis-influenced neo-prog.] "The Nest" and "God or Beggar" are both good tracks. "End of Tuesday" closes the album as it began, with a heavy, "bombastic" quality that is nonetheless good. / I admit to being somewhat conservative in my rating: I would have liked to have given the album three-and-a-half stars. Is it derivative? Yup. But it is also an exceptionally well-crafted and thoroughly enjoyable album. In sum, this is really good stuff for neo-prog, and eminently listenable if you don't mind a little bombast with your prog.
Posted Friday, March 12, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5005)
Review by lucas
Clepsydra is to my mind the best current neo-prog band. They deal with fantastic vocals, with a passion similar to Saga's Michael Sadler. Apart from vocals, the music is also good and influences range from Pink Floyd for the slow pace and the ethereal atmosphere to IQ and Marillion considering the keyboard work. The music is never boring and despite the fact there is no groundbreaking material on this CD, the songs are very well crafted and full of emotions. As a huge fan of Saga, IQ and Marillion, I am really pleased with the music proposed by these Swiss. To conclude, a great album and a must have for every neo-prog afficionados.
Posted Monday, March 15, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5006)
Review by Hibou
Albums like "Alone" remind us of just how lucky we are to be progsters. This is a 'killer' album. With its pristine production, tight musicianship, its rich, full-bodied arrangements and musical passages that are simply to die for, it is symphonic to the core and as such, one of the finest examples of the genre. It's hard to compare CLEPSYDRA's music with other bands': the best I can say is that it sounds like a mixture of PENDRAGON (without the goofy vocals) and IQ at their most melodic. From start to finish, the melodies build up, soar and explode delightfully. Yes, it is bombastic, but I wouln't want it any other way: this type of music has every right to be. The musicians are not only endowed with an extraordinary sense of the melodious, they have a terrific sense of timing and can turn your senses about with a single (musical) pen stroke.
Describing each track individually would not do justice to them; you have to hear them for yourself. Let me simply say that ten out of the 13 tracks feature some musical phrases that will make you reel with pleasure and leave you asking for more. The only low point: although the vocalist does an excellent job, I find his accent a little annoying at times. If you can ignore this minor nuisance, you'll find "Alone" fascinating and will never tire of hearing it over and over again. A must for anyone into melodic prog.
Posted Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5009)
Review by James Lee
I looked it up! A clepsydra was an ancient timepiece, like an hourglass but with water instead of sand. The band, on the other hand, is anything but archaic- I would put this right up there with the best of modern prog. Heavy guitars, good textural synth use, and a tight and talented rhythm section. Everyone seems to have a good sense of restraint when appropriate- this is a band who can make a simple passage work, where many bands would needlessly complicate things. There are some powerful crescendos (in "The Return", for instance) as well as some delicate quiet moments, showing the band's adept use of dynamics. The vocals are impassioned, with a good range of expression, along the lines of Geddy Lee at his best. At worst, Aluisio Maggini's phrasing can suggest Klaus Meine, but he manages to overcome that admirably. The lyrics are solid, not particularly insprired but never a detriment either. The transitions are smooth and natural, which is a big plus since they are exploring so much territory. The interplay between guitar and synth is much more natural than many bands (the end of "The Father" features a particularly lush duet). The musical highlight for me is during the guitar solos in "Alone pt.2", where every instrument adds something impressive to the mix without trying too hard to grab your attention. The end of the song features some tasty lead guitar work, one of the brief times Marco Cerulli allows himself to really shred (another is in the solo on "God or Beggar"). The quieter (is that acoustic or processed electric?) guitar is less impressive in tone but serves its purpose, especially in "God or Beggar" and "The Nest", one of the spots where the bass player can really be heard to shine as well. My favorite song closes the album; "End of Tuesday" is a great track with a little YES influence, mainly in the soaring vocals on the chorus. Overall, the production (especially the guitar tones and effects) seems a bit dated- this album wouldn't have sounded out of place ten or fifteen years ago, but they get plenty of quality mileage out of the sound. My three-star rating takes into account that the modern, heavy prog sound isn't usually my cup of tea, but I've rarely heard it done with more class than CLEPSYDRA. Fans of RUSH's 80s albums should feel at home here, but anyone with a taste for expressive, metal-flavored prog will find this a worthy experience.
Posted Monday, June 14, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5010)
Review by greenback
This is an excellent neo progressive record: it shows that progressive music can be VERY enjoyable with very simple compositions. The rich & bombastic floating keyboards consist in very dense and colorful streams of varied & modern sustained notes. There are also lush & ear candy melodic keyboards that easily make you stargaze. The VERY melodic omnipresent electric guitar solos are very good, and it is all the time played in the high notes, a bit like the expressive neo prog bands use to play in their songs, such like Jadis, IQ and Violet District. When the electric guitar is rhythmic, it is not distorted too much, so that it just brings a slightly bold & pleasant rhythmic contribution. There are also many discrete distortion-free electric guitar notes a la Jadis, which is a strong point of the album. Compared to the neo-prog band Jadis, Clepsydra here have more elaborated and participating keyboards, and their guitar solos are less bombastic and less hard rock; the drums here are less complex, although they do a very good job. The bass is quite loud and bottom, and it is not very fast although it does not fall into a dull minimalism. The excellent male lead vocals are really unique: the singer has a VERY expressive voice, very highly pitched and insisting, with a strong foreign accent. Unlike neo-prog band Collage, the music here is not complex, but the memorable atmospheres and the simple & efficient melodies involved will bring you pleasant emotions. ALL the tracks are not more & not less than excellent: that's why, AMAZINGLY, I give 4.5 stars to EVERY track! This is an album to listen with your heart, not your mind: it should be an excellent album for sensitive women too!
Posted Saturday, April 8, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #74449)
For those of you who like neo progressive music, this album might fit your taste. The band has been known in prog community as a band who breathe with neo prog style. The composition of this album is pretty neat and the flow is done in nice transition. Everything flows naturally from start to end. "Tuesday Night" which comprises three parts has an opening part in symphonic style without vocals. The vocal part enters the music on Part 2 combined with long sustain guitar work. The music moves into quieter passage with xylophone play and nice vocal to enter Part 3. Part 3 gives a chance to guitar player to play guitar solo. It's very nice.
"Travel of Dream" also comprises three parts which starts with wonderful vocal and piano. The song moves into richer textures but in a mellow style. Part 2 gives a more ambient and atmospheric nuance that gradually brings the music into higher register notes. The ending part is very relaxing with long sustain keyboard work and guitar work.
"The Return" is much a ballad with good vocal quality. "The Father" is an ambient song with nice guitar (reminiscent of Marillion's Steve Rothery). It's an enjoyable track which I think would favor many people. The album title "Alone" provides another style of music with keyboard dominates the composition.
For me personally, this album is very rewarding. Any of you who like neo progressive music, this album suits your taste. Keep on proggin' ..!
Posted Saturday, April 22, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #75867)
Review by The Crow
The first thing that comes to my mind when I heard this album is... What a pity.
Yes... It's a pity this band ist so unknown, even in the prog scopes. Because they deserve a gold place like one of the better neo prog bands, in my opinion. But sometimes the music is unfair, and wonderful bands like this have no chance to approach to bigger audiences... And they remain like a hidden treasure, only for the few who had the luck to discover this treasure... And I'm one of these lucky persons.
"Alone" is the fourth and last Clepsydra's album till now... And maybe their last ever, because this band appears to exist no more. Y hope this change, and one day we see another Clepsydra's record born... But it's difficult, I think.
And what can we find in "Alone"? Just great progressive music... A very well structured concept album, with a cristal clear production and really well played. Every instrument here has its role. The Pietro Duca's drums are not too complex, but elegant, powerful and very effective. The Nicola de Vita's bass is just great, with a lot of memorable melodies and contrast, and even solos, like in Tuesday Night. Marco Cerulli sounds really fine in guitars. The variety of his work is really remarkable. Both electric and acoustic guitars sounds great. The electric solos are heart touching, a little in the way of the Lele Hoffman's solos, the previous guitarist of the band. And the acoustics... Just hear The Return. Just marvellous, and a mellow pleasure.
And Phillip Hubert... His keyboards are so fine... The amount of ambients and feelings that this man provides the music of this album is really good. He sounds always in his place, but always there. And the sound of the solos, following the path of Mark Kelly, Martin Orford, Clive Nolan... Is that makes this album a real Neo Progressive work. Marvellous.
Finally, I will talk about Aluisio Maggini, the singer... What a great voice! Not too diverse, this man has not a high range, its obvious. And he pronunces english not very well, its true... Sometimes is really hard to understand what he says. But the passion and feeling this man gives to his lyrics in "Alone"... Is awesome. This man really feels what he sings... And sometimes, a good singer needs nothing more. His voice is very personal, and like every voice like that, there will be people who hates it... But I love the way this man sings.
And well... This people made a true neo prog masterpiece with "Alone". Taking the best of every band in the genre (maybe Marillion and IQ are the greater influences...), they made an own personality. This style develped more personal in every album... And "Alone" is the peak of their career, without a doubt.
And like I said, in my opinion this is a neo prog masterpiece... Maybe not really original, and a little predictable. But with an outstanding quality... And sometiemes, this is the most important factor. So if you like this genre, even when it's only a little, you muss hear it.
Because an album made with so much passion is hard to find...
Posted Sunday, April 22, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #119356)
Review by kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Team
I came to Clepsydra via comparisons to the Collage classic, Moonshine, and was happy to find enough similarities and differences to create a compelling piece of work. This is highly emotive neo progressive rock, without a trace of the self pity that can sometimes accompany some of the so called leaders of the genre, and in this way it warrants mention in the same breath as Moonshine. It also has enough contrasts to prevent the 20 minute burnout that sometimes seems part and parcel of neo prog work. Nontheless, over the course of the hour long opus, a certain degree of sameness does creep in, and the vocals do tend a bit too much to the fore, so these factors limit the overall rating. In contrast, Collage's work provided more potency particularly in the vocals, not that they are poor here by any means.
If you like listening to motivating music in the gym, "Alone" is a safe bet, being as it is largely optimistic and high energy, while allowing for breaks, and the production is glorious. The vocalist Aluisio Maggini is mostly pleasing in his naturally high register, his accent being endearing more than distracting, and he draws comparisons to Jon Anderson for sure, and even to Dennis de Young, but also to lesser known singers like Garfield French of 70s Canadian band Garfield, stunningly so in the intro to "Travel of Dream". A friend to whom I passed it to in the gym thought it all a bit Moody Blues-ish in fact, perhaps for its mystical feel more than for its vocal styles.
While the album is very vocal oriented, the guitars and keys do play a critical supporting role in enhancing the already melodious nature of Clepsydra's sound, and to this we owe thanks to Marco Cerulli and Philip Hubert . The lead guitars occasionally pick up on a repetitive motif in a manner to induce goosebumps, namely in a couple of the album's best tracks, the opening suite "Tuesday Night" and in "The Nest". But the band also does remarkably well in the semi acoustic ballad "Return", with Pietro Duca's drum rolls and the effusive keys backing one of the best vocal workouts of the album. Beautiful is a hackneyed but totally accurate way to describe the outcome. And the guitars do approach those of Collage's Mirek Gil in clarity and succinctness in "the Father". Interesting that "Alone" was the album title of Mr Gil's first solo work from 1997. Does the intro to "God or Beggar" sound like Frank Bornemann's Eloy or what?
In all, a great album that can seem a bit trite at first listen, or even second listen, but really speaks well for the power and sensitivity of this European neo prog group, even if Clepsydra now seems defunct or at least long dormant. I look forward to discovering some of their other works.
Posted Sunday, June 3, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #124517)
Review by progrules
I already knew Clepsydra for quite a few years, had all their previous albums, absolutely loved them and so waited impatiently for their next album after Fears from 1997. So I had to wait for 5 years but when this album finally arrived and I played it full of expectation I was absolutely not disappointed. It appeared to be another classic by this underrated Swiss band. A bonus was that it was an album similar to my favourite second album of these masters of neo prog, More Grains of Sand. It was another concept album. I still can't decide which one is better but what they have in common is that you have to play the entire album each time you play it because it's almost as one song, that's how good the concept works. It's like a story being told, a musical journey that's very captivating. An hour of the highest joy one can experience in music. Very melodic and great compositions. Have to give it the full 5.
Posted Wednesday, October 3, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #141645)
Review by ZowieZiggy
This fine Swiss neo-prog band was releasing their last album to date and put an end, unfortunately, to their very good studio work. Their web page mentions that there are still a lot of forgotten tapes in the drawer. So maybe that one day, some of them will raise from the depths.
And this is the best that could happen because this band plays a symphonic neo-prog which is rather good. I can't see any "Yes" influence here as one of my fellow reviewer, IMO the genuine "Marillion" and "Genesis" are much more evident.
The band has at least one great asset : Aluisio Maggini the lead vocalist is extremely emotive, and has a very melodic tone of voice. The sound of the band is mostly keyboards oriented, but here and there Marco Cerulli provides some catchy guitar breaks ("The Nest" or "God Or Beggar"). During these, the "Pendragon" shadow is passing by very closely.
The first part of "Travel Of Dream" is indicative of this characteristic and it is one of the best moment of the album. But the whole of this song is expressive. The second part is more vocals and keyboarding oriented; providing a great bombastic feeling. Powerful synth section as well.
None of these tracks are weak. Harmony and beauty all the way through. Maybe it lacks of true magical pieces but this album is a collection of good symphonic neo-prog songs. Attractive and diversified music ("The Return").
The most joyful track is the closing number. Positive music, I guess. Very much Marillion oriented.
A little behind their previous work IMHHO. A good album full of brilliant and catchy vocals but not really adventurous. Three stars.
Posted Friday, January 4, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #157669)
Review by Tarcisio Moura
Brilliant album by this swiss neo prog band. It is very similar to their previous Fears, which means a high quality status and an all around beautiful sound. Clepsydra is one of the best bands in that style ever to grace the 90´s: their music is absolutely emotional, very well crafted, melodic, bombastic, powerful and full of conviction. Nothing too groundbreaking or very avant guard, but highly enjoyable and truly one CD that I love to hear anytime. As usual the strongest influences are Pink Floyd, IQ, early Genesis and Fish-era Marillion, but actually they have their very own sound, thanks largely to their strong and charismatic lead singer Aluisio Maggini, who has a very distinctive voice. He is one of the great prog vocalists.
The group ´rpduces a very fine tapestry of sounds that makes their album sounds like a long song instead of just a collection of tunes (not bad for a concept album like this). Far from being boring, this fine work of art flows evenly all the way through making you feel this CD is shorter than it is actually. The keyboards parts are a bit subtle but really great in all its details and nuances while guitarrist Marco Cerulli´s solos and and licks are a joy to hear. The rhythm section is discreet but very efficient. In all a truly group efford with everyone contribuiting for the bigger picture without ego battles or unnecessary virtuosity. With a very good production and no fillers at all, this is maybe Clepsydra´s finest hour.
Conclusion: One of my favorite albums of all time. An excellent addition to any prog music collection and a must have for any neo prog fan. 4,5 stars.
Posted Thursday, December 25, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #195012)
Review by Mellotron Storm
Well you certainly can't go wrong with this album or their previous one "Fears". This is apparently the last album for these Swiss proggers but they went out on a high at least. Interesting that there are three different album covers available for this one. I happened to get the turkey (oh joy) while the others are a fish and an octopus. The focus of this record is certainly the emotive vocals of Aluisio which i've got to be honest wears on me by the time I get to the second last track. He's excellent though and he does sound like SAGA's Michael Sadler with an accent. This is great Neo-Prog though and quite emotional at times, and always well played and arranged. A lot of the tracks blend into one another.
"Tuesday Night" is divided into three sections. The sound builds to open and I like when the guitar comes in. Synths follow. Drums are solid before 1 1/2 minutes and it's still building. A change as it becomes laid back with guitar, synths and bass. It kicks in with vocals before settling again with emotional vocals. Great sound here. This sounds so good as the guitar solos. A calm late with reserved vocals and synths. "Travel Of Dream" is also divided into three parts. Piano and almost spoken vocals to start. A full sound after a minute as contrasts continue. Nice guitar and bass during a prolonged instrumental section. The final passage is a beautiful instrumental piece. It blends into "The return" as vocals join in this laid back sound. Vocals become passionate. Acoustic guitar only 3 1/2 minutes in before it kicks in a minute later with vocals. It settles with piano to end it.
"The Father" opens with atmosphere and spoken vocals. He starts to sing. Electric guitar before 2 minutes. The tempo picks up and we get lots of synths late. "Alone" is heavier and darker. Vocals and laid back guitar as it settles. The guitar sounds great late as it settles. "The Nest" features vocals and atmosphere. A nice guitar interlude comes in early. I like the second half of "God Or Begger" better. "End Of Tuesday" is led by guitar and vocals early. I like it. It's heavier after a minute. It settles but it's still passionate.
Maybe not quite as good as "Fears" but both are 4 star albums.
Posted Monday, February 22, 2010 | Review this album | Report (Review #267541)
Review by Warthur
Clepsydra's last album to date sees them chugging along in the melodic Marillion-inspired neo-prog style that served them very well on Fears, though this time around the vocals of Aluisio Maggini seem to be significantly more prominent, almost to the point where they completely upstage the rest of the performers in some parts of the album. It's a fun enough listen, though I think on the whole Fears is still far and away the band's best album - it had significantly stronger compositions, for one thing, and seemed to be a bit less reliant on neo- prog cliches than this particular piece. Still, most neo-prog fans will find it to be a fun listen, if not a particularly essential listen.
Posted Friday, March 9, 2012 | Review this album | Report (Review #652058)
This album is a Masterpiece! This is sure one of the best album of the '90 and their best album IMHO. The style is very close to Marillion fish-era, but actually they have their very own sound, thanks largely to their strong, and theatrical lead singer. Every song is well structured and there are h ... (read more)
Report this review (#406636) | Posted by Aragon | Wednesday, February 23, 2011 | Review Permanlink
This is one of the most theatrical and melodic concept albums you'll ever come across. If you want to give it a try I'd suggest you listen to it in a more melancholic moment. And that's not because the entire album is totally melancholic, but because of the way you'll perceive it. More than any ... (read more)
Report this review (#139920) | Posted by Thieving Magpie | Saturday, September 22, 2007 | Review Permanlink
ANOTHER GEM ALONE is the last studio recording of the band 'til date, that means 5 yeras in silence and that´s a pity because they were getting better with each release, and i´m not quite sure if this is their best, but at least it continues in the same excellent quality of producing music a ... (read more)
Report this review (#131618) | Posted by FranMuzak | Friday, August 3, 2007 | Review Permanlink
This is a truly excellent album. It has an emotive majesty only equalled by Marillion and IQ. The guitar in the album is marvellous, slow and melodic, while the voice is powerful and beautiful with a rather nice Italian sounding accent. Highlights of this album include Alone and The Nest. But ... (read more)
Report this review (#114730) | Posted by Psychedelia | Friday, March 9, 2007 | Review Permanlink
Very nice!!! For the last album the band come whit beatiful melodi and strong emotion. The concept for this album have a very good floww!!! The vocal part is as is best..For the best album of Clepsydra for sure...i recommanded..... ... (read more)
Report this review (#81925) | Posted by progarctica | Sunday, June 25, 2006 | Review Permanlink
This album makes my flesh creep. I bought all three versions of this album, although only the sleeves differ. But this band has to be supported, because I am looking out for a new cd. After four years of silence the fans have saved enough money to buy the next musical masterpiece. Recommended ... (read more)
Report this review (#54814) | Posted by Clepsydraakje | Saturday, November 5, 2005 | Review Permanlink
A masterpiece! Great music, great voice, great cd! If you like Genesis, Pendragon, Arena, Collage and Marillion, this is the band you should listen to! In fall they will tour, I will be the first one who will buy a tickett to see them. ... (read more)
Report this review (#38154) | Posted by | Friday, July 1, 2005 | Review Permanlink
Clepsydra became a life saver when Marillion began to make commercial music.This band is just remarkable album after album even with the departure of guitar player Lele hofmann, (now Shakary),they didn`t stop to blow me away! Aluisio Maggini as a voice that won`t please everybody but you get use ... (read more)
Report this review (#5014) | Posted by | Sunday, January 16, 2005 | Review Permanlink
Clepsydra nice band overal,Alone is a concept album where the intrumental keep simple whit beatiful voice melodie on that.I think is the best album for me.the probleme is track after track much repetion,but nice album anyway. 7/10 ... (read more)
Report this review (#5008) | Posted by | Saturday, April 17, 2004 | Review Permanlink
Majestic !! Full of power !! No need to say more... I'm very pleased I got to know this band. Highly recommended to all those who like bombastic, melodic and symphonic neo prog rock. Breathtaking !! ... (read more)
Report this review (#5007) | Posted by | Wednesday, March 24, 2004 | Review Permanlink
Bearing in mind that I dismissed Ayreon's The Universal Migrator (2000) for being too bombastically polished, there are some similarities with Clepsydra that also make it somewhat undesirable. However, the positives greatly prevail over the inconsequential negatives. "Tuesday Night" is a remarkab ... (read more)
Report this review (#5004) | Posted by Verisimilitude | Sunday, February 22, 2004 | Review Permanlink
Post a review of CLEPSYDRA "Alone"


MRF6V3090NBR1 is Not Recommended for New Design.
The MRF6V3090N and MRF6V3090NB are designed for broadcast and commercial aerospace broadband applications with frequencies from 470 to 1215 MHz.
Typical Performance (L-band 960-1215 MHz Reference Circuit): VDD = 50 Volts, IDQ = 100 mA.


text:
A Beautiful Late 19thC Black Japanned & Chinoiserie Decorated Chest of Drawers
Origin: British
Period: Victorian
Depth: 18.5 inches (all at extremities)
Of desirable proportions, the nineteenth century black japanned pine carcass chest having two short frieze drawers above two long drawers raised on turned onion supports with gilt and polychrome chinoiserie decoration in relief depicting typical oriental figures, pagodas and landscapes the drawers with slightly later brass batwing handles, the sides with further decoration depicting bamboo and fauna within cartouches, surviving from the late Victorian period.
The condition of the chest is truly country house, i.e. lived in but thoroughly evocative. There are cosmetic deficiencies to the lacquer to note; with several scratches, scuffs, and losses though overall it remains a very attractive piece in its entirety. There is a very well established patination to the lacquer. The top comprises three pieces and has a huge amount of wear, though attractive, whilst there is a 3-inch section of moulding to the top lacking. We love pieces that show their battle scars and remain in un-restored condition, with both flanks decoration faded. The feet are original and the handles, although very old, are more like early twentieth century replacements though they are in keeping. She is structurally stable and her drawers move freely.
The fine art of chinoiserie has been in existence since the 17th century, and it depicts Chinese style designs applied to furniture, ceramics and fabrics. Chinoiserie is wonderfully beautiful, and tends to depict realistic and fictitious animals, insects, people, foliage, structures and various other elaborate Asian designs that can be incorporated into a number of decorating themes. Antique pieces embellished with Asian-style chinoiserie and high-quality japanning are coated with baked-on layers that look very much like modern-day high-gloss enamel. Chinoiserie that has been japanned is coated with many layers of resin-based gloss and baked dry. Much polishing goes into the true technique of japanning, and high-quality pieces will appear to have deep layers of gloss with the sheen of fine marble, but true antique pieces like this will show signs of age and wear.
Pretty and petit, lived in and gloriously decorative.


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text:
from django.db import models

class PublicManager(models.Manager):
    """
    This manager implements the get_query_set() method
    and  filters only the public 'contents'
    """

    def get_queryset(self):
        """
        This is the get_query_set method override.
        Here only public stuff is retrieved; this filter is on
        is_public field.
        """
        return super(PublicManager, self).get_query_set().filter(is_public=True)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Large 4.26 acre commercial tract on 18 connector (Bill Conn Pkwy) directly in the middle of Gray! Can be subdivided into 3-4 commercial lots. City water/sewer avail. 558.61' frntge. building & office sites already sit across from prop. Zoned c-3. approved/paved dot access w/ decel lane already constructed.


text:
Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens Review (PhotographyBlog)
The Photography Blog has published the Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens review (tested on the 61MP Sony A7R IV): "the FE 50mm F2.5 G is a very solid addition to the ever-growing number of Sony 50mm lenses. "
Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens Key Features:
Asperical and ED Elements
Minimum Focus Distance: 13.8″
Dual XD Linear AF Motors, Internal Focus
Focus Hold Button, AF/MF Switch
Physical Aperture Ring; De-Click Switch
Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction
Rounded 7-Blade Diaphragm
From Photography Blog:
The Sony FE 50mm F2.5 G is a tiny, lightweight "nifty fifty" that packs a lot of performance, features and optical quality into its small frame.
Its main selling points are its premium finish and excellent build quality, retro feel, plethora of controls, small size and weight, and fast auto-focusing.
This lens is a great performer optically, being pin-sharp throughout virtually all of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/2.5.
Vignetting is a little heavy wide-open, but chromatic aberrations and distortion are well-controlled in both the JPG and Raw files and the bokeh is nice enough for what is after all only a f/2.5 maximum aperture lens.
A traditional aperture ring is a feature that we love on any lens, and Sony's implementation of it on the 50mm F2.5 G is nigh on perfect.
It has a lovely action, positive movements between the 1/3rd aperture stops, and a pronounced gap between f/22 and the Auto setting that requires more pressure to move so that you can't inadvertently select it.
It also gets one up on one of its main rivals, the Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN, by offering a dedicated switch on the lens barrel that allows you to de-click the aperture ring for video use, making it more suited to movie-making than the Sigma alternative.
Overall, the FE 50mm F2.5 G is a very solid addition to the ever-growing number of Sony 50mm lenses. It might not grab the headlines with its modest F2.5 aperture, but there's still a lot to like about this super-compact lens.
Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens: $598 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama.
Read more: Best Lenses for Sony a7R IV & Best Memory Cards for Sony a7R IV
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art Lens Review (by PhotographyBlog)
Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Lens Review (by PhotographyBlog)
Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens Review (by Photographyblog)
tagged with Sony E-mount Lenses, Sony FE 50mm f/2.5 G Lens, Sony Lenses
« Sony's "Baby a1" Leaked! Pro APS-C Sports & Wildlife Camera!
Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Lens Delayed »


text:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-grossman/nuclear-regulatory-commission_b_1565916.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications
Karl Grossman
Inviting Atomic Catastrophe
Posted: 06/05/2012 4:57 pm
[Excerpted] "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be holding a meeting this week to consider having nuclear power plants run 80 years -- although they were never seen as running for more than 40 years because of radioactivity embrittling metal parts and otherwise causing safety problems.
"The idea of keeping these reactors going for 80 years is crazy!" declares Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and former senior policy advisor at the U.S, Department of Energy and a U.S. Senate senior investigator. He is also an author of the book Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation. "To double the design life of these plants -- which operate under high-pressure, high heat conditions and are subject to radiation fatigue -- is an example of out-of-control hubris, of believing your own lies."


A high-power, high-quality laptop computer with a karaoke system. This is one of the best laptops available in the market and it is geared towards DJs and bar owners who want nothing but the best for their business. This doubles as a gaming computer as it has all of the features necessary.
15.0" x 10.0" x 0.6" - 1.3" 6 lbs.


text:
Q: Apache Camel : The right way to build a XML parsing batch? I am trying to code a Camel batch :

*

*process all files inside a specific directory and for each file :

*validate the XML with a XSD schema

*unmarshall different parts and process data

*don't stop on exception

*if a least one error occurs, move to failed dirrectory at the end, move to done otherwise

The difficulties I encounter :

*

*File Component allow to automatically move file on done/failed directory but as soon as you use of split/aggregator, the file is
always moved in done and don't even wait the aggregation finished.

*Managing Exception is not intuitive

*Split and aggretors are nightmare and there is not enough "real world" examples in documentation

*XML tokenization on complex structure brings us to something beyond understanding

Of course, I meet these problems because I am new to Apache Camel :)
The idea of what I am trying to do :

*

*File Component (ok)

*XSD validation (ok, if error, File component move to failed)

*make many splits/multicast to read XML, when a error occurs, we ignore exception, keep a header in error, and continue  (not really ok, I can read but don't manage to aggregate correctly)

*we aggregate (in fact nothing to aggregate,
we just want to check all headers)

*if error, we explicitely move
to a failed directory

Simplified XML for this example :
<root>
    <library></library>
    <books year="2015">
        <book></book>
        <book></book>
        ... many
    </books>
    <books year="2016">
        <book></book>
        <book></book>
        ... many
    </books>

   ... many years

</root>

How would you construct the batch with such an XML ?
Moreover, let's say you have to read "library" before anything else (and use pipeline). Also, is the idea of saving error in header (boolean) good ?
Note: Special thanks to Claus Ibsen who responds to many Camel posts on SO, but also, please try to not just give a simple link on the Apache Camel documentation :) Really, for newbies, Apache Camel documentation sux.
Thanks

A: Did you read "Camel in Action" book?
This boils down on how big your XML are. If the files are "small" enough (where small depends on how much RAM you have) you don't need to stream them.
I would start with a route like this:

*

*Validate XML (see How can I validate xsd using apache camel? )

*Unmarshal to a Java object

*Process <library> value

*Split on each book (basically a for loop)

*Process each book and "remember" in some header if an Exception happened

*After the split, if exception happened then raise it again so file component will move to failed folder

Example (not tested code):
<route>
    <from uri="file:yourInputDir" />
    <to uri="validator:file:books/schema.xsd"/>
    <unmarshal>
        <jaxb contextPath="package.of.your.java.pojo" />
    </unmarshal>
    <to uri="bean:libraryProcessor" />
    <split strategyRef="saveExceptionInHeader">
        <simple>${body.getBooksList}</simple>
        <doTry>
            <to uri="bean:processBooks" />
            <doCatch>
                <exception>java.lang.Exception</exception>
                <setHeader headerName="RemeberLastException">
                    <simple>${exception}</simple>
                </setHeader>
            </doCatch>
        </doTry>
    </split>

    <to uri="bean:throwExceptionIfRemeberLastExceptionHeaderPresent" />
</route>

The name of each bean suggest what it does, it should not be a difficult task to implement it.
Add a lot of log statements to get some feedback on what Camel does.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Montreal's New Cruise Terminal – Other Cruise News: New Investors In Hurtigruten? – "Shipless" In Seattle
The Cruise Examiner for 1st August 2016
The North Shore sailed weekly from Montreal's Piers 34-35: Piers 34-35 & 36-37 today
Montreal's main Iberville cruise terminal at Alexandra Pier is closed this summer while it is being rebuilt, and two temporary terminals have been installed downstream from the iconic Jacques Cartier Bridge at Pier 34-35 and Pier 36-37. About five miles from town, passengers are given free shuttles into town but it will be a welcome day next year when the new terminal opens, as it is within walking distance of downtown Montreal. For a time in the late 1950s and early 1960s Piers 34 and 35 were the base for weekly sailings by the Clarke Steamship Company's 76-berth North Shore (above), to the Quebec North Shore, and also her 46-berth fleetmate North Gaspé, to Gaspé and les Iles de la Madelaine. Elsewhere, we examine a rumour that new owners may be in the mix for Hurtigruten in the near future and look briefly at small ship marketing in Seattle.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Clarke Steamship Company, Cruise the St Lawrence, holland america line, Port of Montreal, St Lawrence River cruises
Canadian Cruise Ship North Star Was Headquarters Landing Ship HMCS Prince Henry At Normandy Beaches – D-Day, June 6, 1944
Before the war, HMCS Prince Henry had been the Clarke Steamship Company's 6,893-ton cruise ship t.s.s. North Star (above), cruising from Montreal, New York and Miami. After conversion from an armed merchant cruiser, she recommissioned as a Landing Ship (Infantry) at Vancouver on January 6, 1944, and stopped in Bermuda en route to the Clyde to pick up school children returning to Britain. Her commanding officer wartime, Capt Val Godfrey RCN, had featured in the film "Commandos Strike at Dawn," released by Columbia Pictures in January 1943.
On arrival, the Prince Henry (above) underwent final modifications at John Brown & Company at Clydebank and prepared to take part in the D-Day landings at Normandy. She proceeded to Southampton, where on June 2 at Berth 37 she embarked the 528th Flotilla landing craft, and 227 of the Canadian Scottish Regiment of Victoria, plus 99 other troops before going to anchor in the Solent, off Cowes, to await D-Day.
Prince Henry was headquarters ship for Force J1, twenty-two merchantmen destined for Juno Beach under escort of destroyer HMCS Algonquin. In addition to the Prince Henry, landing ships in Force J1 included the 11,951-ton Union-Castle liner Llangibby Castle, with eighteen landing craft, plus half a dozen British cross-channel packets and two Dutch North Sea ferries, each with its own outfit of six or eight landing craft to take troops to the beaches.
On June 5, HMCS Prince Henry led her formation out from the Solent and across the Channel. Although no longer a cruise ship, the meals she served her troops that voyage before they went into combat in the morning were well above the usual military standard. Prince Henry arrived at Juno Beach at 06:06 on the morning of D-Day, June 6, anchoring about seven miles off the hamlet of Courseulles. There, she waited to launch her landing craft and commence the invasion of occupied France.
Offshore lay rocky shoals so rather than try to find a gap in them the Canadians chose to land ten minutes after the rest, letting the higher tide take them over the shoals. All but one of Prince Henry's landing craft managed to return – the unlucky one had been mined. The others were hoisted back on board while fifty-six wounded were taken below to the sick bay. Prince Henry made five more channel runs as the Normandy landings proceeded, three with American and two with British troops, taking 3,704 fighting men to France by mid-July.
On June 19, a fortnight after the initial landings, a very business-like photo of Prince Henry in her new guise as a landing ship appeared in Canadian newspapers. Under the heading "Beauty to Battlewagon," it commented: –
Once a sleek, swift passenger liner, HMCS Prince Henry is shown here as she was converted to take part in the invasion of France. The long promenade decks where peace-time passengers strolled have been cleared away and in their place are powerful davits supporting assault landing craft. It was from the Prince Henry and her sister ship, the HMCS Prince David, that assault landing craft, manned by Royal Canadian Navy personnel, were launched on D-Day to hurl the first wave of Canadian soldiers against the beaches of Normandy.
Hundreds of ships took part in the landings, among them a fleet of 126 coasters and short-sea ships that loaded mainly in London. Included were nine St Lawrence River canallers. One of these was the Winona, a ship that had worked for Clarke, and one of four Canada Steamship Lines ships that participated in the Normandy landings.
Of 300 large cargo ships that took part, thirty-three were 10,000-ton Canadian-built "Fort" class ships, equivalents of the American "Liberty" ship. Most of the "Forts" loaded in the Thames and many took troops with them. A few left from Hull. Thirty-three "Fort" ships could carry the equivalent of almost 10,000 railcar loads of vital equipment, supplies and ammunition to the Normandy beachhead.
In addition to HMCS Prince Henry and sister ship Prince David, the Royal Canadian Navy supplied eleven destroyers, eleven frigates and nineteen corvettes, plus numerous minesweepers, motor torpedo boats and landing craft. Of these, seven MTBs were lost on the day of the landings.
One of the Canadian corvettes, HMCS Lindsay (left), escorted a convoy of nine merchant ships from Milford Haven in Wales to the beaches of Normandy, seeing action with German E-Boats in the English Channel on the way. On June 9, she became the eighteenth Canadian corvette to arrive at Normandy, firing countless salvos at the German gun emplacements ashore. Within eighteen months of the landings at Normandy, HMCS Lindsay would find herself playing a new peacetime role with the Clarke Steamship Co as the converted Gulf of St Lawrence express passenger ship North Shore, sailing weekly from Montreal.
After the war HMCS Prince Henry became the Harwich-Hook of Holland troopship HMT Empire Parkeston, lasting until 1962.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Clarke Steamship Company, cruise ships at war, D-Day
75 Years Ago – The Clarke Steamship Co's All Outside Cabin 335-berth TSS North Star Began The First Regular 7-Night Cruises From Miami
This photo brings us another reminder of cruising history. On the night of January 14, 1938, Lord Beaverbook, Lord Forbes, the Governor of Florida, the Mayor of Miami and the presidents of the Chambers of Commerce of Miami and Miami Beach and their wives were all invited to an inaugural dinner and dance on board the North Star in the Port of Miami. The host was the Clarke Steamship Co of Quebec and Montreal.
On the following day, Saturday, January 15, that company began the first 7-night cruises from Miami, with calls scheduled for Port au Prince, Haiti; Kingston, Jamaica, and Havana, Cuba, using the 6,893-ton 335-berth cruise ship North Star. This was the first time since 1927 that weekly cruises had been operated from Miami. The last time it had been by the same company's 3,445-ton New Northland, sailing on 6-night cruises from Palm Beach and Miami every Wednesday for Nassau and Havana. In 1928, she had entered the more frequent Miami-Nassau trade.
On arrival at Port au Prince, on January 17, the North Star was welcomed by Haitian President Stenio Vincent, who particularly went out of his way to greet his French-speaking brethren from Quebec. Today, 75 years later, that welcome comes from closer to home for Montrealers, as Haitians now drive most of their taxis!
The North Star was just one of a busy parade of ships that arrived at Kingston the next day, Monday, January 18. Among the others were Holland America's 15,450-ton Veendam on a cruise from New Orleans, United Fruit's 2,519-ton Telde from Saint John, New Brunswick, via Havana, Pickford & Black's 1,571-ton Norwegian charter Lillemor from Halifax, Elders & Fyffe's 6,878-ton Carare, to load fruit for Avonmouth, and two 5,236-ton sister ships from the Colombian Line, the Colombia, northbound for New York, and the Haiti, southbound to Colombia.
Kingston, Jamaica's "Daily Gleaner" carried an advertisement for the ship: "TSS North Star. Palatial new British liner, especially designed and built for luxury cruising. Aboard the North Star you will enjoy the gracious living and perfection of service and cuisine for which the Clarke Steamship Company's ships are famous."
The North Star arrived at Havana early, however, and not for festive reasons. In the early morning hours of January 19, after sailing from Kingston, it had been noticed that Frank Bell of the Dade County Publicity Bureau had gone missing. The North Star increased her speed in order to reach Havana two hours early, so that Mrs Bell could catch the departing Miami steamship Florida and reach her six-year-old son a day early.
The North Star had joined the Clarke fleet in the spring of 1937, having been acquired from Canadian National Steamships, who had been operating her as the Prince Henry. Under that name she had made half a dozen cruises from Miami to Havana and Veracruz for National Tours in January and February 1937.
This photo of the TSS North Star was taken not in the Caribbean, however, but in the Gulf of St Lawrence, where she is shown at scenic Bonne Bay, on Newfoundland's west coast, in July 1937. She called here on her summer cruises from Montreal and Quebec to Gaspé, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. On her upper decks can be seen framing for the shade awnings that she used in Caribbean waters.
For details on the best cruises available today in the Caribbean and the Gulf of St Lawrence please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Clarke Steamship Company, compagnie du ponant, Cruising History, Florida cruising, Oceania Cruises, tss North Star
Some Early Royal Caribbean History: The Beginnings of the Eastern Shipping Corporation and the s.s. Nuevo Dominicano
The 3,445-ton Nuevo Dominicano, formerly the Clarke Steamship Company's New Northland, seen here at Miami in 1953. This ship pioneered cruising from Miami during the 1920s and 1930s, and again in the early 1950s
The Beginnings of the Eastern Shipping Corporation
In May 1948, the former Canadian cruise ship New Northland, a vessel that had cruised from Montreal in the summer time and from Miami by winter before the war, was purchased by the Flota Mercante Dominicana, or the Dominican Line, which placed her into service between New York, Puerto Plata and Ciudad Trujillo, as Santo Domingo was known under the rule of Dominican dictator President Trujillo.
She was renamed Nuevo Dominicano and crewed by the Dominican Navy, and for a year and a half ran from New York. But not attracting enough passengers to fill her 177 berths, she was soon replaced by cargo ships.
This is where Frank Leslie Fraser comes onto the scene. Fraser, whose family had started a banana shipping business from Jamaica in the 1930s, was the general administrator of the Flota Mercante Dominicana, president of Fraser Fruit & Shipping of Cuba, president of the Dominican Fruit & Steamship Co and managing director of the Maple Leaf Steamship Co of Montreal, through which he had purchased a number of coasters in Canada when his own banana boats had been requisitioned during the war. These coasters he had used to serve the Dominican Republic.
But most importantly, Fraser was president of the Eastern Shipping Corporation, which would now charter the Nuevo Dominicano to cruise out of Miami.
While visiting Kingston in his native Jamaica, Fraser told the "Gleaner" that the Nuevo Dominicano would make fortnightly trips to Jamaica, with stops at Kingston and Montego Bay as well as Ciudad Trujillo on a 12-night cruise. By arrangement with the Bahamian Government, she would also call at Nassau on Thursdays, leave on Friday morning and be in Miami by Saturday morning.
It was Fraser's idea to bring the Nuevo Dominicano back to Miami, where she had operated successfully in the past. Under his direction, she was readied for cruising out of Miami once more. Despite her renaming, Eastern still used the old name in brackets, with the new Eastern Shipping Corp brochure exclaiming:-
"An exciting life will be yours aboard the s.s. Nuevo Dominicano (formerly known as the s.s. New Northland) with luxury accommodations for 177 passengers, completely refitted from stem to stern to provide all cruise comforts, modern services and delicious cuisine.
"Attractively and comfortably furnished staterooms make this a giant, floating hotel for your enjoyment. You will delight in the spacious decks for sports or promenading, comfortable lounges, sunbathing and swimming in the ship's swimming pool."
The new swimming pool was installed where her forward cargo hatch had been.
The Bahamians were busy behind the scenes however and on April 16, 1950, the "New York Times" reported that the Nuevo Dominicano would offer more Nassau voyages:-
"The Nuevo Dominicano, which made two Miami-Nassau cruises each month during the winter, has inaugurated a spring and summer schedule which includes six stops at Nassau each month. The vessel will visit Nassau twice on her nine-day cruises, one to Ciudad Trujillo, the other to Kingston, Jamaica, stopping at Nassau on both outward and homeward legs. The vessel also will make two Miami-Nassau cruises each month, with a two-day stop in Nassau."
The ship's most famous passenger during this period was actor Clark Gable who with his wife travelled to Nassau for a golfing holiday in December 1950.
Although the Eastern Shipping Corporation successfully inaugurated year-round cruises from Miami, at the end of three years it decided to end its charter on the Nuevo Dominicano. For three years, all had gone well for the Nuevo Dominicano, but with a capacity of only 177 passengers, there was not much room for profit. Fraser's absence would only be temporary, however.
The Dominican Republic Steamship Line
To replace Eastern, the Dominicans formed the Dominican Republic Steamship Line in 1953. Unwisely, the naval personnel were withdrawn and a mixed crew took over the deck and engine departments. Standards began to drop. The ship no longer called at Jamaica, but ran 11-day winter cruises on alternate Mondays from Miami to Nassau, Ciudad Trujillo and Port-au-Prince, and 3-night Friday weekend cruises from Miami to Nassau. The 11-day cruises also offered a short one-way passage from Miami to Nassau.
Every Monday and Friday from July through September she ran 3-day cruises from Miami to Nassau. This was the opposite of what had been introduced by the New Northland in 1935 as these were summer cruises and not winter ones.
So9on, however, the new management not only failed in passenger service, but the ship also suffered continual breakdowns. That August, she had to be towed into Miami by the US Coast Guard, and again in September by a salvage tug. At this point, the US Coast Guard suspended her passenger certificate and required a general refit of the safety equipment.
She left Miami on October 9, 1953, for a refit in the Dominican Republic and within twenty-four hours was reported aground off Nuevitas, Cuba. On October 17, she ran aground again, on Punta Guarico, near Baracoa. On November 26, she was refloated and anchored in semi-protected waters but she suddenly went down.
Her end was reported in the "New York Times" on November 26, 1953, under the heading "Jinxed Liner Sinks at Anchor in Cuba": "After a successful salvage operation, the empty passenger liner Nuevo Dominicano rolled over and 'died' in southern waters on Thursday night, it was reported here yesterday. No one was injured."
This ship had been a true pioneer of cruising from Miami – as the New Northland she had operated the first weekly cruises from that port, in January 1927, the first all-inclusive cruises (as opposed to overnight steamship service) between Miami and the Bahamas, in 1935, and as the Nuevo Dominicano had become Miami's first year-round cruise ship, in 1950.
The Eastern Story
The loss of the Nuevo Dominicano produced an opportunity for Fraser. His Eastern Shipping Corporation decided to look for a ship to fill the gap left by her loss and in May 1954, he bought Eastern Steamship Lines' Yarmouth for $500,000. On June 18, 1954, his new ship began a series of 9-day Miami, Jamaica and Haiti cruises that alternated with 4-day Miami, Nassau and Havana cruises.
However, at the request of the Bahamian Government, which no longer had the services of the Nuevo Dominicano, he soon renamed his ship Queen of Nassau and put her into a two-year contract running between Miami and Nassau. Following the same schedule as the Nuevo Dominicano, the Queen of Nassau left Miami for Nassau every Monday and Friday at 6 pm. If Fraser had not been able to make money with the Nuevo Dominicano's 177 berths, he could certainly do so with the 500-passenger Queen of Nassau.
At the end of 1954, Fraser reunited the two sister ships by acquiring the Evangeline after she completed her last season on the Boston to Yarmouth run. The Evangeline did longer cruises but she made it to Nassau every second weekend.
Fraser continued to build his business. In 1959, he acquired the Bahama Star at auction for $512,000 and promptly began advertising her as the largest cruise ship sailing from Miami. Late in 1960, he bought the Ariadne. These two ships at first offered longer cruises, then moved to the 3- and 4-day cycle, out of Miami and Port Everglades respectively, serving both Nassau and Freeport.
Fraser Sells Eastern
Meanwhile, on May 27, 1961, an item in the "New York Times" recorded a change in the ownership of the Eastern Shipping Corporation: –
"The Eastern Shipping Corporation, formerly controlled by the McCormick Shipping Corporation of Panama, has been acquired by W R Lovett of Jacksonville, Fla. Mr Lovett reported yesterday that the corporate name had been changed to Eastern Steamship Corporation. The company is general agent for the cruise ships Evangeline, Yarmouth, Bahama Star and Ariadne, which operate between Miami and the West Indies."
Three days after this announcement, Rafael Trujillo was assassinated in the Dominican Republic, bringing to an end a dictatorship that had lasted for thirty-one years.And by January 1962, Fraser had passed full control to William Lovett, a 71-year-old financier who was experienced in running banana boats himself, as founder of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain..
When Eastern changed hands the letter "F" for Fraser on the ships' funnels was replaced by "L" for Lovett. But unfortunately, Fraser died on July 22, 1962, only a few months after the sale, at the age of 57. And by 1965, Lovett would rename the company once more, this time as Eastern Steamship Lines
Meanwhile, in 1963, the Yarmouth had been sold to another Miami company, Yarmouth Cruises Inc, and was soon joined by the Evangeline, which was renamed Yarmouth Castle to fit in with the Yarmouth Cruise Lines theme. These veterans were placed onto a new run that served Freeport as well as Nassau, on a schedule of four sailings a week. The Yarmouth Castle, of course, is best known now for the loss of eighty-seven lives in a fire off the Bahamas on the night of November 13, 1965.
Eastern Steamship Lines had kept the larger Bahama Star and Ariadne, but in 1968 it acquired the even larger New Bahama Star, formerly the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co's Miami. The New Bahama Star in turn became the largest cruise ship to sail from Miami, and its purchase by Eastern effectively meant the end of a competitor, a company that had introduced the first Miami to the Miami-Nassau route seventy years earlier, in 1898.
Gotaas-Larsen Corporation
Passenger numbers leaving Miami reached 188,000 in 1967 and 246,000 in 1968. In 1970, Lovett, now 79, sold out to Gotaas-Larsen Corporation of Norway, one-third owner of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which had been formed in 1968. By then, the number of Miami passengers was 610,000 and growing. Royal Caribbean was introducing three new ships to the Miami market in 1970-71 and others had also come onto the scene.
In 1972, Eastern's new Norwegian owners introduced its largest ship, the 24,458-ton Emerald Seas, acquired from Chandris Lines, partly in exchange for the smaller Ariadne. Although Gotaas-Larsen was involved in both Royal Caribbean and Eastern, any conflict of interest was avoided by Royal Caribbean handling the longer-duration 7- and 14-night cruises while Eastern looked after the 3- and 4-day market, now under its fourth name as Eastern Cruise Lines.
Miami passenger numbers exceeded the million mark in 1977. Ultimately, a merger of Eastern Cruise Lines, its West Coast affiliate Western Cruise Lines and Stardance Cruises led to another new firm, Admiral Cruises, in 1986. By then, Miami was hosting three million passengers a year.
Admiral Cruises was taken over in early 1992 by Royal Caribbean, which decided to sell its older ships and to complete its "Future Seas" newbuilding project as the 48,563-ton Nordic Empress. This was the first ship to be designed and built specifically for the Florida-Nassau short cruise market since Henry Flagler's Miami of 1898, the trade having been served traditionally by second-hand, seasonal or chartered tonnage.
For further details on how to book a cruise please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.
Article by the late Capt Carl Netherland Brown and Kevin Griffin
Illustrations courtesy of Michael L Grace's "Cruising the Past."
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Admiral Cruises, Clarke Steamship Company, Cruising History, Eastern Shipping Corp, Eastern Steamship Corp, Eastern Steamship Lines, Gotaas-Larsen, New Northland, Nuevo Dominicano, Royal Caribbean Cruises
Holland America Line Single-Handedly Extends St Lawrence Season
Holland America Line's Maasdam, a regular St Lawrence trader, passing under the Quebec Bridge
For many decades, in the days before air conditioning, the St Lawrence cruise season ran all summer long. From 1919 until 1965, Canada Steamship Lines offered weekly Saguenay cruises from Montreal, with a season that ran from June to September, even during the war. From 1921 to 1961, the Clarke Steamship Company offered longer "Round the Gulf" and Labrador cruises in a season that ran from May through October. After these services closed, Cunard Line, the Baltic Shipping Company, Polish Ocean Lines, Moore-McCormack Lines and the Greek Line, among others, began offering week-long cruises from Montreal or 10/11-night cruises between New York and Montreal.
The history of St Lawrence cruising goes back a long way. Under the auspices of Thomas Cook, the Quebec Steamship Company first sent its 1,864-ton Orinoco out from New York in the summer of 1894 to visit Saint John NB, Halifax, Charlottetown, Gaspé, Tadoussac, the Saguenay River and Quebec. Indeed, by 1904, the Plant Line was advertising its Gulf of St Lawrence cruises from Boston as follows:
Six Days' Cruise 1400 miles for $18. From Union Wharf, Boston, every Tuesday and Saturday, 12 noon for Halifax, Hawkesbury and Charlottetown. Good board. Cheapest rates. Best trout and salmon fishing, and shooting. Beautiful scenery. This doesn't half tell it. Send stamp for booklet "Looking Eastward," maps, etc.
A pioneer of St Lawrence cruising from 1908 until the First World War, the s.s. Trinidad cruised the St Lawrence by summer and sailed from New York to Bermuda in the winter.
The Quebec Steamship Company's 2,162-ton Trinidad followed in 1908, the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Quebec. In 1919, this line was acquired by Britain's Furness Withy & Co, who cruised first the 5,530-ton Fort Hamilton and and then the 7,785-ton Fort St George from New York to Quebec. Between the wars, the Anchor Line, Canadian Pacific, the Clyde Line, White Star Line and others all offered cruises between New York, the Maritimes, Quebec and Montreal. These cruises were nearly always offered in the high season in July and August, when it was hottest in the cities, as a getaway from the summer heat.
More recently, however, the so-called Canada New England brand has suffered in that even The Sunday Times now tells people who want to cruise the St Lawrence to go in the autum. The question is, is this the propogation of a myth or is it simply because cruises only go there now in the autumn? This has been one of the biggest challenges facing St Lawrence and New England destinations in recent years, but things are slowly starting to change.
In recent years, Holland America has operated one ship, the 1,266-berth Maasdam, into Montreal between May and October. Starting this autumn, however, it brought a second ship to the St Lawrence, in the 1,348-berth Veendam, which it had previously been operating on the New York-Bermuda run. Next year, Holland America will operate the Veendam on a full season of St Lawrence cruises, from May through October, turning at Quebec while the Maasdam continues to turn at Montreal.
The Maasdam departing Montreal on a cruise. On the left is the Sailors' Memorial clocktower on Victoria Pier. Behind here is where the Canada Steamship Lines and Clarke Steamship Company cruise ships used to sail from
Moving the Veendam to St Lawrence cruising is interesting in two ways. First, Holland America has already let it be known that it thinks it can make more money trading to Canada and New England than in what was once regarded as the lucrative Bermuda cruise market. Secondly, with the imposition of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) this summer, the Veendam is actually going against the flow.
When sailing to Bermuda she spent most of her time outside the 200-mile ECA limit but by sailing to Canada she will always be within it. This means she will have to burn more expensive distillate fuel in order to reduce sulphur emissions, something that Holland America has already estimated increased their fuel costs by 40% in the Alaska trade, which is also completely within the ECA, for an extra $200,000 on a 7-night cruise.
The Veendam will handle four embarkations and four disembarkations at Quebec, bringing more than 20,000 extra visitors a year over a three-year period. Under the new marketing agreement, Montreal will also see additional turnarounds from the Maasdam in July and August. This program, announced last month, is backed by $1.15 million in government funds, half from Tourism Quebec and half from Quebec City.
Included in the Veendam's new program will be four 14-night round trips from Quebec that will call at Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, Boston and the Saguenay. Equally, the Maasdam will offer seven 14-night round trip cruises from Montreal calling at Quebec, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor and Boston. Both itineraries will also be available as one-way 7-night sectors between Montreal and Boston and Quebec and Boston.
As part of this agreement, the 450-berth Seabourn Sojourn, operated by Holland America affiliate Seabourn, will also operate three St. Lawrence turnaround cruises from Montreal that will visit seven ports in Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City, Trois Rivières, Saguenay, Baie Comeau, Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands.
Holland America has become a bit of a pioneer in the St Lawrence. It was the first cruise line to visit Sept Iles, on the St Lawrence North Shore, when it sent the Maasdam there in May 2009. This in itself was an earlier season start than usual for the St Lawrence, the call having been made during a positioning voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, something it will offer again in 2013. The new $20 million berth at Sept Iles now accepts cruise ships of up to 985 feet in length.
Compagnie du Ponant's Le Boréal calls at the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence
Fellow North Shore ports Baie Comeau to the west and Havre St Pierre to the east have also added cruise facilities and their proximity to Gaspé on the South Shore, Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island and Corner Brook in Newfoundland, offers a choice of half a dozen cruise ports in the Gulf of St Lawrence below Quebec. The Magdalen Islands, which has its own weekly cruise ferry from Montreal and is now also visited by Compagnie du Ponant and Crystal Cruises, adds a seventh.
Crystal Symphony seen here calling at Quebec, offers a round-trip Gulf of St Lawrence cruise from Montreal each September.
On September 30, Crystal Cruises operated a 7-night round trip from Montreal with its 960-berth Crystal Symphony. Three of her four ports, Sept Iles, the Magdalen Islands and the French islands of St Pierre et Miquelon, were first time calls for Crystal. The fourth port, Quebec, has been rated as the most popular cruise port in North America. This Montreal round trip itinerary will be repeated on September 26, 2013. But in September 2014, the cruise will be offered by the Crystal Serenity from Quebec. A larger ship than Symphony, the Serenity can't get under the Quebec Bridge to sail upriver to Montreal.
Royal Caribbean has also started operating turnaround cruises from Quebec with its 2,112-berth Brilliance of the Seas, with a typical 10-night cruise taking in Baie Comeau, Corner Brook, Halifax, Sydney, St Pierre et Miquelon and Charlottetown. Like the Serenity, the Brilliance is too tall to fit under the Quebec Bridge.
Other St Lawrence visitors this season have included the 3,114-berth Emerald Princess, 2,104-berth Eurodam, 264-berth Le Boréal, 2,476-berth Norwegian Dawn, the 2,620-berth Queen Mary 2, the 684-berth Regatta, 490-berth Seven Seas Navigator, 388-berth Silver Whisper and the Veendam, nearly all in September and October. Not to mention the Aida, Fred Olsen and Saga ships that cruise over from Europe.
The addition of the Veendam to the St Lawrence trade is good news for Quebec City, which in 2013 will see five Holland America calls each month from May to August and seven in June. The only other ship coming nearby in the summer months is Oceania's 1,258-berth Marina, which will make an unusual June 1 call at Quebec while on a 16-night cruise from New York to Southampton. The other ships will all wait until September (21 calls) and October (27 calls), when they come flocking in for "the leaves."
For more details on Cruising the Gulf of St Lawrence please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with canada new england cruises, Canada Steamship Lines, Clarke Steamship Company, compagnie du ponant, Cruising History, Crystal Cruises, holland america line, st lawrence cruises
Crystal's 7-Night September 2012 Round Trip From Montreal Revives an Old Format – Plus Canada New England Cruises
The five-star all-inclusive (in 2012) Crystal Symphony in a night shot at Montreal
Crystal Cruises has decided to pick up on a formula that has not been used now for twenty years, a 7-night round trip cruise from Montreal on Crystal Symphony on September 30, 2012. By this time she will be all-inclusive for the first time, with wines, bar drinks and on board beverages, as well as gratuities, included in the fare.
Canada New England cruises date to 1894, when the Quebec Steamship Company, with Thomas Cook as its agent, offered the first such cruise in its Orinoco. Typically, these have started in either New York or Boston and ended in Montreal or Quebec, or vice versa. But another type of cruise that was also offered for many decades was the round trip cruise from Montreal, something that was first offered by the Quebec Steamship Company even before Canada New England cruises, and is now being revived by Crystal Cruises.
Quebec's magnificent Fairmont Chateau Frontenac
Indicative of the gradual progress being made by new cruise ports in the Gulf of St Lawrence, three of the four ports of call, Sept Iles, the Magdalen Islands and the French Atlantic islands of St Pierre et Miquelon, will be first time calls for Crystal. The fourth, Quebec, has recently been voted the most popular cruise port in North America.
Sept Îles is a new and upcoming port, having only opened a cruise terminal in 2010 after Holland America's Maasdam became the first modern age cruise ship to call there on May 19, 2009. Cruises had once before been operated to Sept Iles, but not since the North Shore highway was extended from Baie Comeau and the last coastal passenger ship cleared for Montreal at the end of 1961.
The new wharf extension at Sept Iles allows cruise passengers to take a new train to visit a native Innu summer camp on the Moisie River. This river is famed for its salmon and has been fished by prime ministers. The Innu themselves are descended from the Montagnais tribes that used to spend their winters in the bush trapping and come down the rivers in their canoes to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company and others on the St Lawrence in the summer.
Cruising to the North Shore and Labrador was most popular with the Clarke Steamship Co, founded in 1921 by what up until then had been a family involved in publishing and pulp and paper. Below is a typical scene from 1935, with Clarke's North Voyageur, the first of three ships to carry that name, berthed at Clarke City wharf at Pointe Noire, now part of the Port of Sept Iles.
Meeting the ship is the Gulf Pulp & Paper Company's locomotive number 20, a unit that had been built for the Intercolonial Railway in 1900 and acquired by Gulf Pulp & Paper in 1924. Behind her are a combination passenger and freight car and a number of flat cars. The bell-mouthed smokestack was to prevent sparks from starting forest fires along the nine-mile railway line that linked the wharf with the pulp mill town of Clarke City.
Cruises on the North Voyageur, which had berths for 62 overnight passengers, ran 12 nights round trip from Montreal and started at $100. Ports of call included Quebec, Godbout, Clarke City, Havre St Pierre, Natashquan and Corner Brook, Newfoundland, returning via Natashquan, Sept Iles and Franquelin. Today, ships as large as the Queen Mary 2 call at Corner Brook, which has also seen a revival in cruising.
In 2013, Crystal Symphony will repeat her 7-night Montreal round trip itinerary on September 26 and will add yet another new port, Havre St Pierre, where she will make calls on two other cruises.
Slowly, it seems, cruising the Gulf of St Lawrence is making some progress. Some people have even tried to describe these Gulf and Labrador cruises as a new Alaska.
Here is a summary of all five of Crystal Symphony's autumn 2012 cruises to and from Montreal.
New York to Montréal, September 19 – 30, 2012 (13 nights). Calls: New York, Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Québec City, and Montreal. From £3,439. (*)
Round-trip Montréal, September 30 – October 7, 2012 (9 nights). Calls: Montreal, Sept-Iles, Magdalen Islands, St-Pierre et Miquelon, Québec City. From £2,623. (*)
Montréal to Boston, October 7 – 14, 2012 (9 nights). Calls: Montreal, Québec City, Halifax, Bar Harbor and Boston. From £2,478 (*).
Boston to Montréal, October 14 – 21, 2012 (9 nights). Calls : Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Québec City and Montreal. From £2,307. (*)
Montréal to New York, October 21 – 31, 2012 (12 nights). Calls: Montreal, Québec City, Halifax, Bar Harbor, Boston, Newport and New York. From £2,807. (*)
(*) All fares are per person in double occupancy and include return economy flights and port taxes. Hotels & transfers are additional. Number of nights given for each cruise applies to fly/cruise package from the UK..
For further details on any Crystal cruise, please call Gay Scruton at The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with canada new england cruises, Clarke Steamship Company, Cruising History, Crystal Cruises, Crystal Symphony, Ultra-Luxury Cruises
85 Years Ago: The First Cruise Ship To Come To Miami
Have you thought about cruising the West Indies, in a ship that offers space, service and no crowds, to out of the way islands, like it used to be? It's eighty-five years since the first cruises were offered from Miami, but it's still possible, if you look around, to find ships that carry just a few hundred passengers and are not overwhelmed by children and attractions. When you get a chance, give us a call on 020 7723 2450 and ask, but, meanwhile, we thought you might find this little story of interest.
Eighty-five years ago, in the winter of 1926-27, the Clarke Steamship Co Ltd of Quebec became the first company to operate weekly cruises from Florida, in its s.s. New Northland. Here is a little background on an important part of history that is now long forgotten.
Winter cruises had been offered from Key West in 1913 and then from Jacksonville in 1914 by the Plant Line's 3,786-ton Evangeline, the first ship of that name, that operated between Boston, Halifax and Charlottetown in the summer months. These longer 11-night cruises, which took guests down to see the Panama Canal, then under construction, and also called at Kingston, Jamaica, and Havana, Cuba, ended with the First World War. Twenty years earlier, in 1893, another Plant Line ship, the 1,738-ton Halifax, had offered an experimental series of three 10-day cruises between Tampa and Jamaica.
The New Northland arriving at Palm Beach in January 1927
Completed in April 1926 by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the same shipyard that had built Cunard's famous 31,938-ton Mauretania twenty years earlier, the Clarke ship had actually entered service as the Northland. Before she arrived in Florida, however, she was renamed New Northland, chiefly in order to prevent confusion with the twenty-seven-year-old 3,282-ton North Land that ran between Key West and Havana in the winter (and Boston and Yarmouth NS by summer). With both the Northland and the North Land planning to be in Havana at the same time, there was no point in confusing passengers, let alone port authorities, ship chandlers and others as to which ship they should be going to! Besides, the change of name emphasized the age of the older ship, with which the New Northland also competed for one-way passengers between Florida and Cuba.
While the New Northland had been built to cruise the Gulf of St Lawrence from Montreal to Newfoundland, in the winter time, when the St Lawrence was blocked by ice, she needed to find alternative employment. Thus, for the winter of 1926-27 Clarke chose to place their new flagship into a new weekly cruise service from Palm Beach and Miami to Nassau and Havana. As a cruise ship, she could cater for about 140 first-class passengers. In order to promote these cruises, a $5,000 model of the New Northland was put on display in the main window of Burdine's department store (now Macy's) in downtown Miami.
Downtown Miami, as it appeared in 1927
The New Northland left Montreal at the end of her first Gulf of St Lawrence cruise season on November 26, 1926, and took a cargo south to Havana before presenting for her new duties in Florida. She arrived in Miami on Sunday, January 9, 1927, and Palm Beach the following day. Several thousand Miamians came out to inspect the new cruise ship on her maiden call and a similar event was held the next day in Palm Beach, where the new Breakers Hotel had opened twelve days earlier. Unlike today, when ships generally sail on the weekend, the New Northland's weekly cruises left Palm Beach and Miami every Wednesday during the winter months. Typical of advertisements that appeared in the Miami Daily News was this one for her third cruise:-
Cruise Havana – Nassau from Miami and Palm Beach. Sailing Wednesday, January 26. s.s. NEW NORTHLAND (British Registry). This palatial ship is your hotel for six days, Full day in Nassau – three in Havana. No baggage transfers. All outside cabins, many with twin beds, private baths. $90 and up.
While she would later be registered at Quebec, for the first few years the New Northland indeed remained registered at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she had been built, hence the British flag.
The first season went well, but things had been going on in the background. In January 1926, the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company, which had been operating the Miami-Nassau overnight service for thirty years, had been replaced by Munson Steamship Lines of New York, who also owned the British Colonial Hotel (now the British Colonial Hilton) in Nassau. In 1926-27, while the New Northland was cruising, Munson had contented themselves with the Red Cross Line's 2,568-ton Rosalind, a fifteen-year-old second-hand ship that usually ran between New York, Halifax and St John's NF. But by the time the 1927-28 winter season rolled around, Munson had arranged to charter the much more luxurious New Northland with her two sumptuous lounges, all-outside staterooms, verandah cafe and plentiful outdoor deck areas, to operate its three sailings a week between Miami and Nassau.
Today, there is a wide choice of Caribbean cruises, but the absolute best are from the likes of Azamara Club Cruises, Compagnie du Ponant, Crystal Cruises, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn and SeaDream Yacht Club, to name just a few that will take you off the beaten path. Not to San Juan, St Thomas and St Maarten but to places like Marigot and Soufrière, Jost van Dyke and Spanish Town, Havana and Santiago, St Barthelemy and Saba. Despite what some may try to tell you, the ship is not the destination at all, it is the means of getting there in great comfort and with good company and a means of enjoying the sea, with excellent cuisine and the type of understated service that really marks out luxury
The Tere Moana, for example, a 3,504-ton ship owned by Paul Gauguin Cruises, has almost exactly the same tonnage and dimensions as the New Northland, although her appearance is totally different. She carries just 90 passengers in great comfort, and no cargo, and visits many smaller ports where the big ships cannot enter. Formerly Compagnie du Ponant's Le Levant, she sails from St Martin on her inaugural cruise on December 29, 2012.
For further details on any of these ships call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Azamara Club Cruises, Clarke Steamship Company, compagnie du ponant, Cruising History, Crystal Cruises, Oceania Cruises, paul gauguin cruises, regent seven seas, seabourn, seadream yacht club


text:
Q: Losing Minutes in Column I am analysing data in csv files which is sorted by Date and Time Column (Sdate) seen as below (Note: this is all one column):
Sdate
01/01/2016 00:00
01/01/2016 01:00
01/01/2016 02:00
etc
However when the data to be analysed is split into 15 minute intervals. Example seen below:
Sdate
01/01/2016 00:00
01/01/2016 00:15
01/01/2016 00:30
etc
The output then seems to group my data hourly anyway and also misses data as it continues.
Currently I am reading in all csv files in the directory and sorting them. I used pd.to_datetime function which worked for the hourly intervals but not the 15 minute ones:
for file_ in allFiles:
    df = df = pd.read_csv(file_,index_col=None, header=0,  low_memory=False)
    df['Sdate'] = pd.to_datetime(df['Sdate'])
    df.reset_index()
    list_.append(df)

Does anyone know if this is an issue with pd.to_datetime or is it possibly an issue with the way I have grouped the contents hourly see below:
hourly = grouped.aggregate(np.sum).reset_index()

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

A: Pandas way of solving this
The pandas.read_csv() function has a keyword argument called parse_dates
Using this you can on the fly convert strings, floats or integers into datetimes using the default date_parser (dateutil.parser.parser)
pd.read_csv(file, header=None, names=headers, dtype=dtypes, parse_dates='Sdate')


do you have more than buddy hawk?
Those Moluccan cockatoos are beautiful and very affectionate. And every sunrise & sunset they go off like an elephant trumpeting! They're very, very needy & emotional. Terrible twos forever.
Nope, just Buddy. I had cockatiels in the past & love them!
Buddy's a 29 year old Congo African Grey. Their personality is....well, it's like mine LOL Before I got her, I had a cat who was getting up in years. I knew I wanted some kind of parrot after she was gone,and I started doing a lot of research. Pre-internet, that meant reading lots of books and going to bird stores & breeders and asking lots of questions. I also got certified in Avian Biology. When the time came, I was as ready as I was gonna get! Every species is different, just like dog breeds. Greys usually are not big screamers, and are more independent than cockatoos. But - they have many odd little phobias that take a lot of time to overcome. Not recommended for busy, unpredictable households.
It's hard to explain, but you have to be able to "be the bird" to work with them. Seeing the environment the way they do opens it all up. Once, for example, she was acting frightened and I had to think about what had been changed. Well, I had opened a new box of Kleenex and the pattern on the box itself was different from the old one. It was vaguely snakeskin-ish, and that was enough to set off her instinct. Stuff like that.
I love parrots too. I don't want one though. Same reason I don't want a dog. They'd be alone for most part of the day when we're both working and I know that would make them sad. So we got a cat instead. Or rather, the cat got us XD She just appeared on our doorstep.
Tomorrow I start my training at Teleperformance. I'm so excited and nervous and the same time. Can't wait!
I had my first day at my new job. It's such a cool company. The colleagues are nice and funny. I'm going to work for one of their clients who is located in the harbours of Rotterdam. It's awesome. I'm exhausted now. They gave me a lot of information about the company.
How was your first day Anubisa?
Last edited by Eleanor; 11 Feb 2019 at 11:10.