For many years, the masts and spars of the tall ships Peking and Wavertree, docked at piers 15 and 16 on the Manhattan waterfront, have been a familiar sight from the Promenade, as have the schooner Pioneer and the doughty little tug W.O. Decker sailing on the East River. Unfortunately, all of these ships are in danger of being sent elsewhere or, in the case of the magnificent Peking, the largest of the tall ships in the photo above, of being sold for scrap. Already, the Seaport Museum of New York (formerly the South Street Seaport Museum) has laid off all of the staff responsible for maintaining the ships, and cruises on Pioneer and Decker have been cancelled. In addition, the historic Bowne & Co. Print Shop has been closed, and is in danger of losing its valuable antique presses and other artifacts. Friends of the Museum, including its founder, Peter Stanford, are trying to rally support to save it, the ships and the print shop from being lost. In the photo above, the retired fireboat John J. Harvey, now privately owned, sprayed water yesterday afternoon in support of a rally to save the Seaport. To learn more, see the website Save Our Seaport. There is also a Friends of Bowne website.