Michael Mjelde has written more than 50 articles as well as about 20 book reviews. He has also done articles for The Sea Letter, published by the SFMNHP association, Kitsap County Historical Society, and for The Southern California Chapter of the Steamship Historical Society of America. Michael has been part of the editorial board since 1983.
Featured Article in Seaways
“Glory of the Seas-Medium Clipper Ship” Seaways, Ships in Scale, January and February 1992.
Featured Articles Published in “The Kitsap Historian”
“Tugboat of Yesterday Built in Kitsap County.” Article appearing in the fall 2012 issue of “The Kitsap Historian” by Kitsap County Historical Society
Featured Article Published in The Sea Letter
“The San Francisco Waterfront in the Year 1872 Through the Eyes of a Waterfront Reporter,” The Sea Letter, 1987.
“The San Francisco Waterfront in the Year 1872 Through the Eyes of a Waterfront Reporter,” Reprinted The Sea Letter, 2013.
Featured Articles Published in Nautical Research Journal
Nautical Research Journal, Sept. 1979, Feature article on building model of ship Glory of the Seas
Nautical Research Journal, Dec. 1981, “Flying Fish, Additional Annotation,”
Featured Articles Previously Published in The Sea Chest
“America, Pioneer of Coastwise SS & Barge Co (Part II of III),” December 1988.
“America, The Gem of the Ocean (Part I of III),” December 1987.
“Beaver Model Exhibit at Chandlers Cove,” March 1997
“Chippewa, Grandma of Washington State Ferry Fleet,”
“Crown of Germany, June 2015
“Dashing Wave,” March 1969.
“Dashing Wave, Racehorse of the Pacific,” Winter 2021
“Early Maritime Activities on Commencement Bay,” June 1987.
“End of the Ex-ship America (Part III of III),” March 1990.
“Ganges, Norwegian Bark, Lumber on Puget Sound,” March 2009.
“George S. Wright,” provided Lines drawing of Wright for article, March 2011.
“Glenevan, A Visitor to Tacoma,” December 2014
“Glory of the Seas (Chapters I and II)” September 1991
“Glory of the Seas (Chapters III, IV and V)” December 1991
“Glory of the Seas, (Chapters VI and VII)” March 1992.
“Glory of the Seas, (Chapters VIII and IX)” June 1992.
“Glory of the Seas, Last Voyage Under Sail,” September 2014.
“Hall Brothers Dock Records Found, Hall Brothers Shipyard,” March 1981.
“Helen Morris, Early Visitor to British Columbia and Beyond, (Part I of II)” June 2010.
“Helen Morris, Early Visitor to British Columbia and Beyond, (Part II OF III)” September 2010.
“Helen Morris, Early Visitor to British Columbia and Beyond, (Part III OF III)” December 2010.
“Klondike Gold Rush–Puget Sound to Skagway Shipping,” March 1987.
“Memories of Ronald R. Burke,” Winter 2020.
“Reflections of 110-Foot Submarine Chasers of World War I,” (Co-written with Louis Hough), Winter 2022.
Richard Holyoke, A Tugboat of Yesterday,” March 2016.
“Robert Bruce Ross, Marine Machinist (Engineer) of Legendary Tugboats Tyee and Tacoma,” Spring 2023.
“Saga of the Tug Sea Lion,” December 1981.
“Saga of the Tug Sea Lion,” Summer 2022.
“Sailors Recollection OF Glory of the Seas/Sam Campbell,” September 1980.
“Samoset, West Coast Lumber Ship (Part I of II)” December 1989.
“Samoset, Pioneer Tacoma Mill Bark (Part II of III)” March 1993.
“SS Dakota, A Belated Success Story (Part 1 of II)” June 2008
“SS Dakota, A Belated Success Story, (Part II of II)” September 2008
“St. Paul: From Stately Cape Horner to Cannery Transport (Part I of V)” September 2011.
“St. Paul: From Stately Cape Horner to Cannery Transport (Part II of V)” December 2011.
“St. Paul: From Stately Cape Horner to Cannery Transport (Part III of V)” March 2012.
“St. Paul: From Stately Cape Horner to Cannery Transport (Part IV of V)” June 2012.
“St. Paul: From Stately Cape Horner to Cannery Transport (Part “V of V)” September 2012.
“Steam Tug Tacoma,” March 1984.
“Steam Tug Tyee, Queen of Tugs on Puget Sound, (Part I of IV)” December 2005
“Steam Tug Tyee, Queen of Tugs on Puget Sound (Part II of IV)” March 2006
“Steam Tug Tyee, Queen of Tugs on Puget Sound (Part III of IV)” June 2006
“Steam Tug Tyee, Queen of Tugs on Puget Sound (Part IV of IV)” SEP 2006
“Tacoma Mill Company vs. Ship Blue Jacket, September 1985
“The Monster Barge Skookum,” June 1993.
“The Navy Life of Dick Turpin,” (Research provided by MJM for the article to author, Louis Hough). Fall 2017
“The Steam Tug Tacoma,” Summer 2021.
“The Sea Chest – 30 Year Index,” December 1997
“The Towboat Douglas, The Tale of an Ugly Duckling, Ex-World War I Minelayer,” June 2003
“Tyee Junior, Whaling Ship (Part I of II),” September 1984
“Tyee Junior, Whaling Ship, Part II of II),” December 1984
“USS Oregon, Bulldog of the U S Navy (Part I of III)” March 2004
“USS Oregon, Bulldog of the U S Navy (Part II of III),” June 2004
“USS Oregon, Bulldog of the US Navy (Part III of III)”, September 2004
“Voyage on the Glory of the Seas,” September 1967
“Winslow Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company,” June 1983
Published Articles in Steamship Historical Society of America: Southern California Chapter
“California: A Remarkable Gold Rush Steamer and Eventual; Sailing Vessel,” April 2022
Book Reviews Published in The Sea Chest
A Pacific Legacy byWayne Bonnett –Reviewed March 1992
A Portrait of a Ship by Paul C. Morris –Reviewed March 1988
American Maritime Documents 1776-1860 by Douglas L. Stein–Reviewed September 1996
International Register of Historic Ships by Norman J. Brouwer –Reviewed September 1996
A Maritime History of the Pacific Coast , 1540-1980 by James A. Hitchman –Reviewed June 1992
Mutiny on the High Seas by Edgar Haine –Reviewed September 1993
Nipsic to Nimitz by Louise Reh & Helen Ross –Reviewed March 1992
Port Madison, Washington Territory, 1854-1889 by Fredi Perry –Reviewed September 1989
Schooners and Schooner Barges by Paul C. Morris –Reviewed June 1987
Silent Pilots by Georgia W. Hamilton –Reviewed December 1984
Abraham Lincoln of the Sea by Arnold Berwick–Reviewed March 1993
The Challenge by A. B. C. Whipple –Reviewed March 1988
Peter, The Odyssey of a Merchant Mariner by Captain Peter Chelemedos –Reviewed September 1994
The War with Spain in 1898 by Dvid F. Trask –Reviewed March1997
Vancouver Voyages of the Barque Pamir by Richard E. Wells –Reviewed December 1994
Whaling in the Pacific Northwest, 1790-1967 by Robert L. Webb –Reviewed March 1989
When God was an Atheist Sailor by Burgess Cohill–Reviewed March 1997
Ongoing Archaeological Studies
1. Site of remains of clipper ship Glory of the Seas– Seattle, 1995-2000, ongoing. Extensive studies of wreck site under supervision of Washington State Dept. of Archaeology. Present were state archaeologists, James Delgado, nationally known marine archaeologist and Nicholas Dean, maritime historian, Sponsored by Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society 1995 through 1999, under direction of Michael Jay Mjelde and Washington Land Surveyor’s Association, 2000, and extensive coverage appearing in all major Seattle newspapers and television stations.
2. Site of remains of former Pacific Mail steamship SS Oregon (later bark) Seabeck.
Co-author: One of the co-authors of the book entitled Tides Out, Tables Set, published in 1993 by Fredi Perry-Pargeter. Wrote the chapters pertaining to lumber shipping and shipbuilding at Seabeck, a former sawmill town.
Current Works In Progress
1. Manuscript of an expanded text entitled “The San Francisco Waterfront in the Year 1872,” an excerpt being published in 2013 in The Sea Letter, published by the San Francisco Maritime Museum National Historical Park Association.
2. Article for The Sea Chest regarding recently discovered images of Glory of the Seas.
3. Manuscript titled, “To Unalaska Under Sail and Beyond,” being the final voyage under sail of the ship Glory of the Seas.
4. Article tentatively scheduled for The Sea Chest in its initial stages regarding the Port Orchard Mill Situated at Enetai (Manette) starting in the year 1854 by Captain William Renton.
5. Article scheduled for eventual publication in The Sea Chest regarding the ship Wild Wood, the first clipper ship built on Puget Sound at Port Madison in the year 1871.
6. Second in a series for The Sea Chest regarding the tug Richard Holyoke (Part one was published in the March 2016 issue of The Sea Chest).
7. Article for The Sea Chest on the schooner Dreadnaught built at Port Madison in the year 1866.