Month: April 2014

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The new documentary film by Connecticut filmmaker Bailey Pryor “The Charles W. Morgan” will have its premiere at the Garde Arts Center in New London Sunday, May 4 at 7 p.m.

The one-hour documentary film, directed by five-time Emmy winner Pryor, tells the extraordinary story of America’s last wooden whaleship and the incredible saga of whaling, the first global industry dominated by America. From her humble beginnings in New Bedford in the year 1841, the film follows the adventures of the Morgan on 37 voyages around the world where this “Lucky Ship” survived freeze-ups in the Arctic, attacks by hostile natives, fire aboard ship, and a host of other stories, each of which had the potential to end the vessel’s life. Yet more than 170 years later, the Charles W. Morgan lives on, and she is poised to sail again, on her 38th Voyage in June of 2014.

The film will receive its broadcast debut on CPTV on May 12 at 9 p.m., after which it will be aired on PBS affiliate stations around the country.

The screening of the film at the Garde will be followed by a panel discussion with Pryor, Executive Producer Steve Jones, Morgan Historian Matthew Stackpole, and Mystic Seaport Shipyard Director, Quentin Snediker, who oversaw the ship’s recent five-year restoration. Mystic Seaport President Steve White will moderate the discussion.

Bailey Pryor

Filmmaker Bailey Pryor has worked in the film and television industry for more than 25 years. He has produced six feature films and over 150 television programs for ABC, PBS, Outdoor Life Network, Versus, Fox Sports Net, ESPN, Discovery Channel, Spike TV, Animal Planet, Tennis Channel and Travel Channel. He is currently the President & CEO of Telemark Films, and has previously held the positions of President & CEO of Warren Miller Entertainment, Staff Producer and Associate Vice President of Production at Sonalysts Studios, Marketing Assistant for the Samuel Goldwyn Company and Producer’s Assistant on the feature films “Mystic Pizza” and “Home Alone.”

With the weather finally cooperating after a seemingly endless winter, the riggers spent the last two days with a crane loading the anchor chain and hoisting spars into position on the Charles W. Morgan. Some of the spars have been refurbished, repainted, and will be reused, but many have been fabricated new by the shipyard staff. The anchor chain, made up of a dozen separate 90-foot-long “shots,” was slid down into the chain locker, which is located just aft the mainmast in the hold. The crew then turned their attention to lifting the new jibboom into place, followed by a topmast and yards. The project required a tremendous amount of preparation work to have everything organized to make efficient use of the crane’s time.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Name the Whale contest from March 20-28, 2014. More than 100 names were submitted and the decision was not an easy one to make due to the quality of the suggestions. We are pleased to announce the name of the inflatable whale for the Charles W. Morgan’s dockside exhibition during the 38th Voyage is Spouter! The winning name was submitted by Ann Mauer.

The Morgan will stop at several ports during her 38th Voyage. On select days the 1841 whaleship will be open for boarding and feature a dockside exhibition program that examines the cultural, economic, and scientific history of whales and whaling. Spouter will be a major highlight of this exhibition. We hope you make plans to see Spouter and explore the exhibit at one of the ports.