Big Jim (James Lars) Amundsen September 5, 1953- August 1, 2025
We lost one of our own this past month. It was sudden. It was a surprise and his death leaves an empty space that can’t be filled. Yet, for those of us lucky enough to have known, befriended or worked with him, we can’t help but smile when we think of Big Jim Amundsen.
Jim was generally an easy man to spot in a crowd. Tall, with a happy smile and friendly voice, his Santa Claus beard confirmed his kind disposition. I had seen him around the freight shed but really got to know him on December 12th 2022, the day Virginia traveled on her First Transit away from Bath.
Big Jim never had a problem hauling masts or maypoles. I always wondered how he could do some of these things one-handed when it took both Mike and Fred (below far right) to move just the base for the maypole celebration.
MFS Executive Director Kirstie Truluck assigned me to him in our car chase assignment to arrive at the best lookout points on the Kennebec River so we could capture the best pictures of Virginia in full sail. We had only his experienced maritime sense of when the ship might pass by our stakeouts but Jim proved to be fearless, and accurate, and timely.
We laughed and talked and traveled from morning until Virginia’s late afternoon arrival in Wiscasset. Along the way, I learned about building wooden ships, powerplants, good restaurants and great breweries. Most importantly, I learned how easy it was to become a friend of Jim’s.
Comfortable shifting gears when talking to ship captains, or ship builders and visitors, that was Jim. We, his friends, will miss him but he will live on in tall tales, of tall men, in tall ships like Virginia.
A celebration of his life was held Sunday September 21, 2025 at the Bath Freight Shed, home of Maine’s First Ship, Virginia. Bath Freight Shed 27 Commercial Street, Bath Maine.