National Maritime Day is a United States holiday created to recognize the Maritime Industry and Merchant Mariners. The holiday is observed on May 22 of each year, the date in 1819 that the steamship Savannah set sail from Savannah, Georgia on the first transoceanic voyage under power.

The year was 1968 and I was first aware that I had the privilege of sailing in a pilothouse of a ship. I was all of five years old. Looking back, I was learning from legends. Rhode Island Merchant Mariners who sailed black powder to Murmansk in World War II. A man who started out as a porter, rose to Captain, and became the first African-American Ship Piloting Commissioner in the United States. Riding out the 1938 Hurricane was a reality to some of these people.

By 1980, I had a Z-card of my own and by 1984 I held a license of my own. These people that I mentioned? They were there in First Coast Guard District in Boston as the license was issued and my thumbprint registered. I was recognized among legends. 

Today, the flag of the US Merchant Marine... The First To Serve in Peace and War under the motto "Acta non Verba" ("Actions, not Words") flies beneath the US Flag. It's personal. It honors legends. 

At Made From RI, our including of items of a maritime nature such as a Tall Ship or a Schooner is not just something that is Rhode Island made... it is personal.

Our cover for the Made From RI blog is of the M/V Block Island entering the Port of Galilee in Narragansett, RI and was taken by Keith R Wahl of Made From RI / Made From RI Gallery. To see more of our coastal and maritime photos and more at www.MadeFromRIGallery.com