TW-2658471 The Sailor's Compliant -

This postcard sent by Jenny of Taiwan (7 Dec 2018 Postcrossing) is a reproduction of a 337mm x 212mm ink on paper art item held currently by the Australian National Maritime Museum. 

This postcard depicts sheet music with a maritime theme showing a woman with a basket, greeting a sailor who has just arrived in a naval frigate. Ballads about sailors often centred on themes of romance and jilted love. Ships were an everyday part of society in the 19th century and for many people tales of maritime life would have been of interest and relevance to their daily life. 

The ballad is set to a the tune attributed to George Frideric Handel.

The verses of this ballad are:

Come and listen to my ditty,
All ye jolly hearts of gold;
Lend a brother Tar your pity,
Who was once so stout and bold.
But the arrows of Cupid,
Alas! have made me rue;
Sure, true love was ne'er so treated,
As am I by scornful Sue. 

When I landed first at Dover,
She appear'd a goddess bright;
From foreign parts I was just come over,
And was struck with so fair a sight.
On shore pretty Sukey walked,
Near to where our frigate lay, 
And altho' so near the landing,
I, alas! was cast away. 

When first I hail'd my pretty creature,
The deIight of land and sea,
No man ever saw a sweeter,
I'd have kept her company;
I'd have fain made her my true love,
For better, or for worse;
But alas! I could not compass her,
For to steer the marriage course. 

Once, no greater joy and pleasure
Could have come into my mind,
Then to see the bold Defiance
Sailing right before the wind,
O'er the white waves as she danced,
And her colours gaily flew:
But that was not half so charming
As the trim of lovely Sue.

On a rocky coast I've driven,
Where the stormy winds do rise,
Where the rolling mountain billows
Lift a vessel to the skies:
But from land, or from the ocean,
Little dread I ever knew,
When compared to the dangers
In the frowns of scornful Sue.

Long I wonder'd why my jewel
Had the heart to use me so,
Till I found, by often sounding,
She'd another love in tow:
So farewell, hard-hearted Sukey,
I'll my fortune seek at sea,
And try in a more friendly latitude,
Since in yours I cannot be.

PL-1535750 Gift of Pomerania - a Polish heritage museum ship

The Dar Pomorza (English: Gift of Pomerania) is a Polish full-rigged sailing ship built in 1909 which is preserved in Gdynia as a museum ship. She has served as a sail training ship in Germany, France, and Poland. 

The ship was built in 1909  and dedicated in 1910 as the German training ship Prinzess Eitel Friedrich. In 1920, following World War I, the ship was taken as war-reparations by Great Britain, then brought to France, where she was assigned to the seamen's school at St-Nazaire. Later, she was bought by the Polish community of Pomerania as the new training ship for the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. She was given the name Dar Pomorza.

In 1934-1935 Dar Pomorza travelled around the world (via Panama Canal). During that famous voyage she called at many ports as the first ship ever under Polish flag. In 1937 a special voyage took her around the famous Cape Horn; thus she became the first ship under Polish Colours to round the famous cape. 

Current status:  Museum ship

Since 27 May 1983 she has been a museum ship in Gdynia (next to the Błyskawica). 

This postcard was sent by Igor of Warsaw (3 December 2018) Postcrossing.  The reverse side of the postcard was affixed with many nice stamps.  These were unfortunately eaten by snails in the letterbox.

NL-2958503 Flags of the Zeemancolleges of the Netherlands

This postcard shows the flags of Zeemancolleges of the Netherlands.  These ‘colleges’ are associations that provide social security to the relatives of seamen lost at sea or who are injured or sick.  The associations also provide its members with advice and assistance and generally improve seafaring conditions. Members pay an annual membership fee.

Most Zeemancolleges were founded in the 19th century, although the oldest college was founded in 1587.  The first modern-day college was founded in Amsterdam in 1795.  There are still four Zeemancolleges left in the Netherlands.

This postcard came from Ingrid (24 April 2015) Postcrossing.

 

SW CH-198 Second Beach, Washington Coast

The Washington Coast

Washington State’s maritime playground is the stretch of Washington coast from Ocean Shores down to Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River.  This area has expansive beaches and locally run oyster farms.  Unlike the coastline further north this area is free of wild coves and stormy sea stacks. According to a tourist site “this is where the whole of Washington (and beyond) comes to sail, fish, fly kites and hang out.”

Second Beach is, with First Beach and Third Beach, collectively known as La Push Beach.  First Beach and Third Beach cannot be accessed from Second Beach even though the other two beaches are within a mile in each direction, north or south; they are inaccessible due to the protruding headlands and steep bluffs.

Trails to Second Beach start at the Quileute Indian Reservation and one has to walk a mile before reaching the coast. Second Beach is the longest and flattest of the three beaches. Half a mile offshore is an archipelago. Sea stacks are mixed throughout the small islands and are known as the Quileute Needle.

This postcard shows Second Beach at sunset and was sent by Craftybarbie (21 July 2014) Swap-bot.

SW BP-121 Gili Trawangan - a tropical island

The Gili Islands (Kepulauan Gili) are an archipelago of three small islands — Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air — just off the northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia.

The islands are a popular destination for tourists looking for a remote island experience. Each island has several small resorts, usually consisting of a collection of huts for tourists, a small pool and restaurant. Most local inhabitants (about 1,500) live on Gili Trawangan in a township stretching along its east side just inland. Automobiles and motorised traffic is prohibited on the islands so the preferred method of transportation is by foot and bicycle or the horse-drawn carriage called a cidomo. Diving in and around the Gilis is also popular due to the abundance of marine life and attractive coral formations.

Gili Trawangan is the largest of Lombok's Gili Islands and the only one to rise significantly (60 m) above sea level. The island is 3 km long and 2 km wide.

This postcard came from Yuushiina (9 July 2014) Swap-bot.

US-2711905 Poulsbo, WA, USA

Poulsbo is a city on Liberty Bay (originally called Cat Fish Bay) in Kitsap County, Washington State, United States. It is the fourth largest city in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census.

Poulsbo has a long history as a destination for immigrants from Scandinavia, particularly Norway and Finland. Downtown Poulsbo maintains a Scandinavian theme in its shops and restaurants, and is a popular regional tourist destination. One of its local products, Poulsbo Bread, was originally made in the local bakery. Many visitors arrive by boat; there are three marinas near the town, and the town's harbour is an excellent anchorage. 

The blurb on the back of the postcard mentions “snow-peaked Olympics Mountrains to the west” but these are not on the postcard picture itself.

On this postcard sent by Sara of Silverdale, WA, USA (3 April 2014) many boats can be seen with a view of this peaceful looking town.

MY-196382 and MY-207574 Two postcards of Langkawi, Malaysia

This first postcard shows Burau Bay which is located in Langkawi, Malaysia.  Langkawi is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is Pulau Langkawi with a population of some 64,792, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba.   Many tourists flock to Langkawi for a variety of purposes.  Scuba-diving is a popular pasttime here.

This postcard was sent by健美 (27 March 2014) Postcrossing.

This second postcard shows fishing boats anchored at Teluk Baru.  I received this postcard on (29 June 2014)from Jessica Postcrossing.

 

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Holland-America Line Poster, 1938

This is a postcard of a vintage Art Deco-styled poster drawn in 1938 by Dutch painter and illustrator, Willem Frederick ten Broek (1905-1993).  The poster (and there are different versions in different languages) promoted voyages on the Holland-American Line to New York for the 1939 New York World's Fair.  On this poster, Willem Frederick ten Broek drew the new liner Nieuw Amsterdam, 2 flags and the Trylon and Perisphere of the World's Fair against a backdrop of Manhattan's Skyline.

I was doubly delighted to receive this postcard from Melissa of Palo Alto, CA, USA (14 March 2014).  I love the flags but I love the postcard reproduction of the poster as well.  I will now be on the lookout for more of this type of postcards.

Note: the American flag is the 48-star flag.

Mayflower II / Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation is a living museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, that shows the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by English colonists, some of whom later became known as Pilgrims. They were among the first people who immigrated to America to avoid religious persecution. It currently is a not-for-profit museum.

The re-creations are sourced from a wide variety of first and second records, accounts, articles and period paintings and artifacts and the museum conducts ongoing research and scholarship.

The postcard shows the recreated Mayflower II.  The original Mayflower was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims across the Atlantic.

 

Carolann Hind sent this postcard in November 2013.

A beautiful German sunset

This jumbo-sized postcard came from Torsten Berner and it is a wonderful view of a sunset.  I don’t know where the location is as the back of the postcard has no notes as to where this sunset took place.  So since the postcard came from Germany, it will be labelled as a German sunset.

PH-59906 Camiguin Province, Philippines

There are 81 provinces in the Philippines grouped into 17 regions.

Camiguin is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about 10 kilometres off the northern coast of Mindanao. It is politically part of the Northern Mindanao Region of the country. Camiguin is the second-smallest in the country both in population and land area after Batanes.  Mambajao is the capital of the province.

The province consists primarily of Camiguin Island, as well as a few other surrounding minor islets including:

White Island, about 5 kilometres west of the town of Mambajao

Mantigue Island, about 14 kilometres south of Mambajao.

The multi-view postcard above shows (1) Katibawasan Falls (2) White Island beach (3) Sunken Cemetery (5) Mt. Hibok-hibok (6) Paras Beach Resort and (7) an aerial view of Camiguin Island.  The main image is that of the beach of White Island

This postcard came from Maru (22 January 2014) Postcrossing.