1927 SHIP VOYAGE DIARY SS CARPLAKA FRED NOONAN CHIEF MATE & AMELIA EARHART NAVI For Sale

[SHIP VOYAGE LOGS, SS CARPLAKA, AMELIA EARHART, PHOTOS, NEW ORLEANS]

ON OFFER HERE IS AN AMAZING 1927 SHIP\'S LOG TAKEN BY 17 YEAR OLD DECK HAND MARTIN D. BURKENROAD FOR A TRANSATLANTIC MERCHANT VESSEL THE SS CARPLAKA DURING WHICH SAILING FRED NOONAN (LATER AMELIA EARHART\'S NAVIGATOR WHO PERISHED w/ HER) WAS THE CHIEF MATE.

The diary is recorded in a standard 7.75 in x 12.75 in logbook with entries on 88 pp (of the 152 total pp) in the log book. The logbook save for some wear to the spine as shown is in otherwise very good antiquarian condition.

The young Martin begins the diary on July 18, 1927 indicating he\'d \"...received word from Mr. Pedric of the Miss. Steamship Co. that they have jobs for \'deck boys\' on SS Carplaka bound for Harve, Ghent & Antwerp....\" After passing the physical and doing minor chores on board while in harbor, they set sail July 24th for Europe.

The diary / journal has drawings, photos and a daily narrative that paints a clear picture of a voyage which would have been pure adventure and wonder for a young man of only 17. The fact this voyage had as its Chief Mate, Fred Noonan seems only incidental to young Martin as this is the person dispensing his tasks and carrying out the daily running of the ship.

Noonan would have been recently married (about 2 weeks before the SS Carplaka set off on this trip) and this was one of the trips which gained him the navigation experience that would get him additional maritime positions and the confidence to get his aviation training / licence. Noonan would use this experience to develop Pacific routes for the Clipper seaplanes which is why Amelia Earhart choose Noonan after having some reservations about her 1st navigator Harry Manning and choose Noonan for the less familiar Pacific route during their 2nd and fateful circumnavigation attempt in 1937.

This is the only extant ship\'s diary documenting a voyage upon which Fred Noonan was a Chief mate a navigator or a crewman. This is key as Noonan\'s navigation experience came from his early experience as a sea borne navigator before he became involved with aviation a decade later with Amelia Earhart.

Reading through the diary Burkenroad mentions several crewmen other than \'Fred\' or \'the mate\' or \'Chief mate\' as he seems to refer to Noonan. The other names mentioned (we\'ve done no research on who these men were) are:

• \'Inbau\' - His closest associate and crewmate on the voyage. He knew Inbau from before he even took the job as a deckhand. Inbau initially failed his intake physical, but eventually passed and joined the crew w/ Martin. Martin indicates Inbau\'s parents waved goodbye to them from the dock as they sailed off.
• \'Sparks\' - another crewmember. He mentions Sparks wants to be a \'newspaperman\' someday.
• \'Old Shinak\' - A veteran crewmember who had sailed on the ship 6 months prior. He was also the ships barber. Shinak was 55 years old at the time and in Martin\'s opinion to old and weak to perform ship work.
• \'Morris\' - The ship\'s radio chronicles countless observations from birds he sees, various sea life and sometimes provides in text sketches - in true 19th c. expedition fashion - in addition to him journaling the drudgery of his daily tasks cleaning lifeboats, scrubbing decks, scraping rust, painting, painting and more painting. He sometimes gets to steer the ship for awhile taking turns with Inbau and other crew. He even describes an incident of sea sickness (very common for this crew - many crew became sea sick) of Fred \'losing his breakfast over the rail\'. :)
  Once they reach Europe, things perk up a bit as he describes their short tours of the cities they encounter along the way.....looking for prostitutes, getting in fights....Some of the crew got locked up \"...Red, Vagan and another man got drunk and started a fight and got locked up until they were sober....\" They tour Holland, France (Paris environs), Antwerp, etc.
  The SS Carplaka then heads back in late August 1927 and arrives back in New Orleans about September 11th when he snaps the photo of him in the Carplaka life preserver.

  Sea diaries / journals of this quality and historical association don\'t often survive and often when they do, they land in institutional collections & museums. This diary originating in New Orleans is scarer still as many paper artifacts from the Gulf region become destroyed by the long history of flooding and ravaging from annual hurricanes.

  This voyage / diary would be notable as it was taken by someone so young and yet so thorough in his observations, drawings, photography and narration, but the important connection to Fred Noonan makes it exceptional and worthy of additional research and investigation.

  We are fortunate Martin was the creator of this 99 year old diary as probably few young men other than him at this stage in his life would have done as brilliant of a job as he did here.

  _________________________

  Martin David Burkenroad (March 20, 1910 – January 12,1986) was an American marine biologist. He specialized in decapod crustaceansand fisheries science.

  Burkenroad was born in New Orleans in 1910 as the onlychild of coffee importer David Burkenroad and his artist wife Flora Salinger.His family contained many eccentrics, and Martin was similarly labeled\"headstrong\". He entered Tulane University in 1926, but although hepublished his first papers during that time, his studies ended when he was\"\'encouraged\' to leave\" in 1929.

  He then began working for the Carnegie MarineBiological Laboratory in the Dry Tortugas, before joining the LouisianaDepartment of Conservation in 1931, where he studied the local shrimp fishery.After brief spells at several museums, he joined Yale University under theguidance of A. E. Parr. Burkenroad spent many productive years at Yale, wherethe usual time limit for research for a dissertation was permanently waived forhim, but he never submitted a dissertation.

  Burkenroad left Yale in 1945 and was married toMarianne Algunde Schweitzer soon after. He became the chief biologist of theNorth Carolina Survey of Marine Fisheries, but fell out with his superiors, andso moved to Port Aransas to work at the marine facilities of the University ofTexas. This was followed by what Burkenroad considered to be his mostmeaningful position, as a consultant on shrimp fishery to the governments ofPanama and Costa Rica. Following a burst dam, however, Burkenroad\'s attempts tobuild a shrimp farm were thwarted. In the 1960s, Burkenroad and his family (hiswife and three children) returned to New Orleans, where he worked inassociation with Tulane University. From 1978, he was affiliated with the SanDiego Natural History Museum.

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