Category: News

Mystic Seaport was proud to be named the most pet-friendly attraction in Connecticut in 2017 by GoPetFriendly.com. But our tails are really wagging now because the two- and four-legged friends behind the travel website are coming to visit!

Amy and Rod Burkert and their two dogs, Ty and Buster, will be at Mystic Seaport to meet fans and make friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday June 10. You will find their GoPetFriendly RV parked at the North Entrance and they will be outside the Thompson Building to greet people.

Being a pet-friendly museum has always been important to Mystic Seaport, and to celebrate both the GoPetFriendly designation and Amy and Rod’s arrival, Mystic Seaport is inviting dogs to bring their humans to visit that day! Every dog will receive free admission for one human between 9 a.m. and noon.

Later that day, Rod, Amy, Ty and Buster will be at Red 36 restaurant in downtown Mystic from 2-4 p.m., sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, for a meet-and-greet/fundraiser for CT Humane Society.  $2 from every Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktail sold will go to benefit Connecticut Humane Society. Bring your pup (or a picture) and the cutest one will win a prize! Amy and Rod will be there to answer your most vexing pet travel questions, discuss the gear they use to keep Ty and Buster safe and happy on the road, do live product demos, hold drawings for some fantastic pet travel gear, and give away killer goodie bags to the first 50 pet lovers who stop by!

Mystic Seaport and the crew of the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre announced today the ship will be open for public tours in Mystic this summer beginning June 30.

The reconstructed longship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2016 to explore and relive one of the most mythological sea voyages: the first transatlantic crossing and the Viking discovery of the New World, more than 1,000 years ago.  After crossing the Atlantic, the ship sailed throughout the Great Lakes, down the Erie Canal to New York City, and concluded its voyage at Mystic Seaport where it spent the winter. At each stop along the way, thousands turned out to see this magnificent example of ancient seafaring.

“We are thrilled to partner with one of the leading maritime museums in the US,” said Emanuel Persson, Draken Harald Hårfagre CEO and Expedition Director. “It is an honor to share our ship and story of the Vikings with visitors of Mystic Seaport as we prepare for the next leg of the ship’s American expedition and tour of the US east coast in 2018.”

“The Viking story and their voyages across the Atlantic are part of our shared maritime experience, and we are very excited to be able to partner with the Draken Harald Hårfagre, so they can tell that story firsthand at Mystic Seaport. There is no substitute for actually walking the deck of a ship to understand what it takes to venture across an ocean,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

The tours will be available Tuesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m., and Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The last tour each day is at 4:30 p.m. The ship will be closed Mondays and Wednesdays.

Tours will run every 30 minutes and will cost $6 per person (Children age 3 and younger are free). Tickets will be available at the ship and online at www.drakenshop.com.  The ticket is in addition to regular admission to Mystic Seaport.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is a clinker-built Viking longship launched in 2012. She is not a replica of a known ship, but is a reconstruction of what the Norse Sagas refer to as a “Great Ship” based on historic documents, archeological findings, and Norwegian boatbuilding traditions. She is the world’s largest Viking ship sailing in modern times.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is an open wooden ship, 115-foot long (35 meters) with a beam of 26 feet (8 meters) and a mast height of 79 feet (24 meters). It carries one large, square sail, which has driven the vessel to a speed of 14 knots. The ship can be rowed by one hundred oarsmen and is equipped with 25 pairs of oars—each oar powered by two crew members. During its transatlantic Expedition America 2016, Draken Harald Hårfagre carried a crew of 32 sailors.

The ship will remain at Mystic Seaport until spring 2018, when the crew plans a tour of the U.S. East Coast. The tours will run through September 4, 2017.

The Mystic Seaport book The Charles W. Morgan: A Picture History of an American Icon was recently honored with two awards: the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Best Legacy Non-Fiction and the da Vinci Eye Award for outstanding cover art.

The Eric Hoffer Award was founded at the start of the 21st century to honor freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit. Hoffer-honored books are from small, academic, and micro presses, including self-published offerings. Nominated books are judged by independent panels within eighteen categories. The Eric Hoffer Book Award has become one of the top literary awards for independent books, involving more than 1,300 books and 100 judges.

The Award honors the memory of the American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Hoffer was the author of The True Believer and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

The book chronicles the history of American whaling, the Morgan‘s 80-year career in the whale fishery, the ship’s time as an exhibit at  Mystic Seaport, and the ship’s 38th Voyage in 2014. The book was written by Andrew W. German and Daniel V. McFadden.

The  da Vinci Eye Award cover features a photograph of a whale fluking its tail with the Morgan in the background during a sail in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary during the 38th Voyage. The photo was taken by Museum staff photographer Andy Price.

The Museum’s book L. Frances Herreshoff Yacht Designer,  by Roger C. Taylor, was a finalist in the Memoir category.

Both books are available for purchase in the Maritime Bookstore on the Museum grounds or online.

Mystic Seaport will present its 2017 America and the Sea Award to David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea. Given annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.

Sailors for the Sea, which was co-founded by Rockefeller, works to engage the boating community in the worldwide protection of the oceans. Through its Clean Regattas and Ocean Watch programs and Green Boating Guide, the organization successfully motivates boaters to become environmental stewards.

“We are proud to recognize the tremendous contribution David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea have made to educate and activate the maritime community in the goal of conserving and protecting the health of our oceans.  By forging a connection between boaters and ways in which they can help conserve the environment, they inspire all of us to take better care of the world in which we live,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

“Sailors for the Sea and I are incredibly honored to join the illustrious roster of America and the Sea Award recipients. Through this opportunity we look forward to fostering an even deeper collegial relationship with Mystic Seaport, broadening the scope and outreach of both organizations. It paves the way for our two organizations to collaborate more directly on projects that serve our shared ideals, and raise awareness of the issues both organizations hold dear, our maritime past and present and the future vitality of our oceans,” said Rockefeller.

David Rockefeller Jr., Chairman of Rockefeller & Co., is an active participant in the nonprofit arena, especially in the areas of the environment, the arts and philanthropy.  He served as a member of the Pew Oceans Commission from 2000-2003, and he founded Sailors for the Sea to educate the recreational boating community about significant challenges to ocean health and to motivate them to become ocean stewards. Sailors for the Sea is located in Newport, RI, with satellite offices in Japan, Portugal, and Chile.

Rockefeller is a Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Cultural Council and the David Rockefeller Fund.  He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Former foundation affiliations include service as Trustee and Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, President of the Rockefeller Family Fund and Director of the Boston Foundation.  He is the former chair of the North American Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese prize for outstanding international achievement in the arts.

He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and is married to Susan Cohn Rockefeller, an artist and filmmaker.

Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle, historian David McCullough, legendary yacht designer Olin Stephens, President and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas Crowley, philanthropist William Koch, former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, WoodenBoat Publications founder Jon Wilson, yachtsman and author Gary Jobson, maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson, author Nathaniel Philbrick, and Rod and Bob Johnstone and their company J/Boats.

Rockefeller will receive the award Wednesday, October 11, at a gala held in his honor in New York City. This black tie affair is the premier fund-raising event for Mystic Seaport. For invitations, please contact advancement@mysticseaport.org/ or call 860.572.5365.

“We are proud to recognize the tremendous contribution David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea have made to educate and activate the maritime community in the goal of conserving and protecting the health of our oceans.  By forging a connection between boaters and ways in which they can help conserve the environment, they inspire all of us to take better care of the world in which we live,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

“Sailors for the Sea and I are incredibly honored to join the illustrious roster of America and the Sea Award recipients. Through this opportunity we look forward to fostering an even deeper collegial relationship with Mystic Seaport, broadening the scope and outreach of both organizations. It paves the way for our two organizations to collaborate more directly on projects that serve our shared ideals, and raise awareness of the issues both organizations hold dear, our maritime past and present and the future vitality of our oceans,” said Rockefeller.

David Rockefeller Jr., Chairman of Rockefeller & Co., is an active participant in the nonprofit arena, especially in the areas of the environment, the arts and philanthropy.  He served as a member of the Pew Oceans Commission from 2000-2003, and he founded Sailors for the Sea to educate the recreational boating community about significant challenges to ocean health and to motivate them to become ocean stewards. Sailors for the Sea is located in Newport, RI, with satellite offices in Japan, Portugal, and Chile.

Rockefeller is a Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Cultural Council and the David Rockefeller Fund.  He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Former foundation affiliations include service as Trustee and Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, President of the Rockefeller Family Fund and Director of the Boston Foundation.  He is the former chair of the North American Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese prize for outstanding international achievement in the arts.

He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and is married to Susan Cohn Rockefeller, an artist and filmmaker.

Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle, historian David McCullough, legendary yacht designer Olin Stephens, President and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas Crowley, philanthropist William Koch, former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, WoodenBoat Publications founder Jon Wilson, yachtsman and author Gary Jobson, maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson, author Nathaniel Philbrick, and Rod and Bob Johnstone and their company J/Boats.

The gardens at Mystic Seaport are renowned for their beauty and the wide variety of flowering plants.

Many of the plants you see on the Museum’s 19 acres are grown in our greenhouse, from seed or seedling. In fact, more than 200 varieties of annuals, vegetables, herbs, and perennials are growing in the greenhouse. Each year the Facilities Department holds a Plant Sale to benefit the program.

This year the sale will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 18, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 19 at the Greenhouse on Rossie Pentway.

Among the varieties for sale are: cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, and historical Amaranth ‘Love-Lies-Bleeding’ and Celosia ‘Cramer’s Burgundy’.

For vegetables, there are ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Roma’ tomatoes, yellow squash, and ‘California Wonder’ peppers as well as historical varieties such as ‘Brandywine’ Tomato’ and ‘Southport Red Globe’ Onion.

There are also thyme, dill, basil, and other herbs for sale.