Month: June 2012

Mystic Seaport has named Jon Wilson and WoodenBoat as the recipient of the America and the Sea Award for 2012. The award honors and celebrates those who embrace the scholarship, exploration, adventure, aesthetics, competition, and freedom the sea inspires.

Wilson, the founder of WoodenBoat, will accept the award Saturday, October 27, at a gala held in his honor at Mystic Seaport. This black-tie affair is the premier fund-raising event for the Museum and is by invitation only.

The America and the Sea Award recognizes an individual or organization whose contributions to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character. Past recipients include former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman; oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle; historian David McCullough; legendary yacht designer Olin Stephens; president and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas Crowley; and noted maritime collector and yachtsman William Koch.

“By recognizing and unifying a passion for the allure of the design and beauty of wooden boats, Wilson helped transform a nascent renaissance in the early 1970s into a 21st century industry, in the process ushering in a new golden age for wooden boats in America,” said Mystic Seaport President Stephen C. White. “Those who know Jon Wilson best speak to his passion for humanity and his desire to foster a meaningful connection to the greater community.”

Wilson founded WoodenBoat Publications in September of 1974 with the first issue of WoodenBoat magazine. Jon assembled the magazine in his cabin in North Brooksville, Maine. This was accomplished without electricity or plumbing, and with his telephone nailed to a tree—half a mile down the road. Taking the inaugural issue to the Newport Boat Show, he sold 400 individual copies and signed up 200 subscribers.

From that inauspicious start, the publication has become a touchstone for enthusiasts and professional practitioners from every far flung bay and harbor in the world. WoodenBoat is published six times each year, and now has a circulation of approximately 100,000.  With 37 volumes and more than 200 issues in print, the magazine’s backlist comprises one of the most complete and important archives of wooden boat construction, use, and maintenance in existence today.

WoodenBoat has expanded into a book publishing arm; a school on the art of seamanship and wooden boat building; another magazine Professional BoatBuilder; and event management, holding the WoodenBoat Show annually for 21 years, most recently at Mystic Seaport where it typically draws an audience of 13,000 boating enthusiasts.

Currently, Wilson divides his time between WoodenBoat and his national nonprofit, JUST Alternatives, an organization that fosters face-to-face dialogue between victims of violent crimes and their still-incarcerated offenders. The goal is to help the victims finally be heard by their attackers while at the same time assisting the offenders to become ready to listen and respond in sensitive and authentic ways.

In 1988, he was elected to the Mystic Seaport Board of Trustees and currently serves as Trustee Emeritus.

With its commitment to the celebration and preservation of the skills, treasures, and traditions of the sea and shore, Wilson considers WoodenBoat’s missions to be in total consonance with the missions of Mystic Seaport. He credits the inspiration for WoodenBoat’s somewhat “rigorous” approach to the subject to the late John Gardner. Gardner, the Museum’s small craft curator from 1969 to 1995, was a seminal figure in the documentation, preservation, and renewed appreciation of American small watercraft through his research, writing, speaking, teaching, and building. Much as Gardner was responsible for regenerating interest in an important part of America’s maritime heritage, Wilson has achieved a similar feat for wooden boats in modern times.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, it is the home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the world. The state-of-the-art Collections Research Center provides scholars from around the world with access to the Museum’s archives via the Internet and integrated databases.

For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

More than 60 Catboats, Old and New, Expected to Attend

Mystic Seaport will host a rendezvous for the Catboat Association Friday to Sunday, July 6-8.  More than 60 catboats have registered for the event with more expected to attend.

The rendezvous is to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Catboat Association at Mystic Seaport. In addition to many modern vessels, there will be a number of historic wooden catboats, including Kathleen, Silent Maid, Sea Rose, Genevieve, Molly Rose, Old Sculpin,  Tigress, and Trim Again, which was one of the original boats from the founding group 50 years ago.

The catboat Kathleen, a recent build to a 1917 C.C. Hanley design, won the Opera House Cup in 2009. Silent Maid, another recent build, was constructed at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum to a classic 1920s design by Francis Sweisguth. She recently won her class at the New York Yacht Club’s 158^th Annual Regatta.

“We are very excited to host the Catboat Association’s anniversary rendezvous  at Mystic Seaport. It is great to see how the Association has fostered a resurgence in the popularity of a classic American watercraft over the last 50 years, and we are ready to help them celebrate that achievement,” said Mystic Seaport president Steve White.

The boats will be welcomed to the Museum’s waterfront beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and will be on display until 10 a.m. Sunday, when they will depart down the Mystic River.

More information can be found at www.catboats.org.

Everyone to Pay Youth Price on July 4th

It is all about the kids this Independence Day at Mystic Seaport. To help celebrate the holiday, the Museum will discount its admission ticket for the entire day of July 4th and offer everyone the youth price of $15 (children ages 5 and under are free). The regular adult rate is $24.

Admission includes all special Independence Day activities as the Museum transports visitors back to 1876. Highlights include the 27th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry re-enacting Civil War military exercises, an old-fashioned spelling bee, patriotic hat-making for children, an Independence Day parade at 1 p.m. with a special section for kids to participate, and a rousing 1876 Independence Day ceremony followed by a period concert featuring the Mystic Silver Coronet Band on the Museum’s village green.

In the afternoon, visitors can play croquet and other 19th-century lawn games with costumed residents of 1876 Mystic and watch live theatrical performances by the Mystic Seaport TaleMakers troupe.

Museum exhibits will be open and for an additional fee visitors are invited to take in a planetarium show, go for a cruise on the Mystic River, or rent a boat from the Museum’s fleet of rowboats and small sailboats.

To close the day, the local Mystic rock band Barefoot Truth will perform an evening concert on the green. Mixing the sounds of folk, rock, jazz, and reggae, with lyrics full of “unbridled optimism,” the band has crafted a distinctive sound and has a loyal following in the area. Barefoot Truth will play from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $15 per person ($10 for Mystic Seaport members) and are available online or at the gate. Youth 12 and under are free. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a blanket or chairs for seating.  Picnic dinners are welcome. However, bringing alcoholic beverages onto the grounds of Mystic Seaport is not permitted. Food and drink, including beer and wine, will be available for purchase and the Galley Restaurant will have extended hours.

Please note the July 4th discount admission cannot be combined with other discounts or offers.

For more information, please visit mysticseaport.org/independenceday.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, it is the home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial vessel still in existence. For more information please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Event Hosted in Partnership with WoodenBoat Publications

The largest gathering of wooden boats and enthusiasts in New England will converge at Mystic Seaport for the 21st annual WoodenBoat Show Friday through Sunday, June 29 to July 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The three-day WoodenBoat Show, hosted in a partnership with WoodenBoat Publications, has been described by Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide as “one of Connecticut’s top 20 events for the summer.” The Show offers something for all wooden boat enthusiasts and maritime history buffs. More than 100 traditional and classic wooden boats of every type will be on display, from hand-crafted kayaks, to mahogany runabouts, to classic daysailers and schooners.

A special focus this year will be on the traditional skills used in the ongoing restoration of the Museum’s 1841 whaleship, Charles W. Morgan. Mystic Seaport shipwrights and staff will demonstrate steaming and fitting planks, fastening wood with wooden pegs called “trunnels,” hand tool techniques for shaping wood with broadaxes and adzes, and many other boat building skills. There will be special guided tours of the Morgan, a multimedia presentation on her history, and a lecture on the complex challenge of rigging her for her 38th Voyage in 2014.

In addition to viewing historic ships and beautiful boats, visitors can find everything they need to outfit their boat and learn new skills at demonstrations and workshops throughout the Museum. More than 140 vendors will offer items for sale including maritime art, antiques, tools, books, nautical gear, innovative items, and much more.

Those interested in the construction of smaller boats can stop by the Family BoatBuilding tent, where more than 20 families and teams will work to build their own canoe or skiff during the weekend. Purchased kits are opened at 9 a.m. Friday morning and tools are put down around 3 p.m. Sunday, leaving, in most cases, a boat awaiting only final finish work. Some boats will be launched at the Show.

For the third year, the popular Skua class of racing motorboats will compete on the Mystic River beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Skua is an eight-foot outboard motorboat based on a classic 1939 design.

Other events include the return of “I Built it Myself,” a display of home-built boats; a Concours d’Elegance, including Judges’ Choice, Innovation, and People’s Choice awards; children’s toy boatbuilding; and all of the Mystic Seaport exhibits.

A tribute dinner to honor the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway of Vineyard Haven, Mass., will be hosted by WoodenBoat magazine in the Museum’s Boat Shed Saturday, June 30, at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner must be purchased in advance by June 22 by calling the WoodenBoat Store at 800.273.7447 or by visiting www.woodenboatstore.com. Dinner tickets are $35 and seating is limited for the event.

Museum admission gains access to both the WoodenBoat Show and Mystic Seaport. Admission is good for two days upon ticket validation

The WoodenBoat Show is produced by WoodenBoat Publications, Inc., which includes WoodenBoat magazine, Professional BoatBuilder magazine, the WoodenBoat Store, the WoodenBoat School, and the WoodenBoat Show. The WoodenBoat Show is an annual festival celebrating the design and craftsmanship of wooden craft.

More information and ticket sales can be found at www.thewoodenboatshow.com.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest American commercial vessel still afloat. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Public Invited to Watch Artists at Work from June 12-16

Visitors are invited to watch Maritime Gallery artists painting en plein air on Mystic Seaport grounds Tuesday through Saturday, June 12-16.

More than 25 of today’s leading maritime artists will be at French easels painting in the tradition of the plein air painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Featured artists include David Bareford, Cindy Baron, Neal Hughes, Russ Kramer, and David Monteiro. The event is a rare opportunity to observe and interact with artists at work along the Mystic River as they capture the beauty of Mystic Seaport and its environs.

The artists’ works will then be available for viewing and purchase in the 16th annual Plein Air Painters of the Maritime Gallery Exhibition and Sale from June 16 through September 16.

An opening reception will be held Saturday, June 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public, attendees will have the opportunity to meet the participating artists, as well as purchase paintings fresh off the easels.

The Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit mysticseaport.org/gallery or call 860.572.5388.

About the Maritime Gallery

The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport is the nation’s foremost gallery specializing in contemporary marine art and ship models. Through its parent organization, Mystic Seaport, the gallery is proud to offer access to the world’s leading experts in the marine field, and the highest standards of scholarship, integrity and connoisseurship that the nation’s finest maritime museum represents.