Read the latest Mystic Seaport news.
In this Issue
This issue of the Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, the first shipyard built specifically for preservation in the United States, and possibly the world. We also explore the digitization process at our Collection Research Center, the launch of MAINSHEET, a biannual peer-reviewed interdisciplinary publication and more.
Parking in downtown Mystic has been a growing challenge and the Museum is now working Laz Parking to alleviate traffic and parking issues during the peak tourist season. The south half of the Museum’s South Lot, located along Route 27 will be available to downtown visitors for $10 per day (Museum members and visitors will continue to enjoy free parking).
This fee includes a free shuttle bus service to downtown Mystic which will run from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and may be adjusted as demand is established over the course of the season. Downtown Mystic visitors will be prompted through parking lot signage to pay via the Laz Parking App or through Text to Donate. Proof of payment will be required to gain shuttle access.
Parking for Museum members and visitors will remain free in the north half of the south lot as well as the in the North Parking lot, located across from the Thompson Exhibition Building. Guests of Latitude 41 will also continue to benefit from free parking in the North Parking Lot.
Why paid parking at Mystic Seaport Museum?
In partnership with the Town of Stonington, Mystic Seaport Museum is working as a community partner to alleviate traffic congestion and lack of parking options in downtown Mystic.
Laz Parking will provide a paid parking option and shuttle bus to downtown.
Where do I park if I want to visit downtown Mystic?
Paid parking for downtown Mystic is available in the southern half of the south lot at Mystic Seaport Museum. Follow street signs for Laz Parking and take the traffic light at the tug boat. When you enter the parking lot, follow signs and turn to the right for paid parking.
Do I need to pay to park if I am visiting the Museum?
Only the southern half of the South Lot is reserved for paid parking for those visiting downtown Mystic.
What is the cost?
The fee is $10/day which allows you access to the shuttle bus.
How do I pay?
Signage in the lot will provide a QR code to scan for payment. Signage will also provide information on a text to pay option. If you are a frequent user, you can download the Laz Parking app.
What time does the shuttle bus run?
Right now, the plan is to run 10am-6pm and we will announce extended hours if we see that there is later demand. Shuttle wait time is less than 15 minutes, depending on traffic. Board at the shuttle bus stop in the South Lot. The shuttle run is about 2 minutes and drops off near the flagpole in downtown Mystic. You can pick it up in the same location to return to the Museum. You can leave your car in the lot past 6pm, but you will need to walk back from downtown Mystic once the shuttle bus stops running. It is less than half a mile from the Museum’s parking lot to downtown Mystic.
Is the shuttle bus handicapped accessible?
Yes!
Do I need to display my payment receipt?
No, when you register, you enter your license plate which can be checked for payment verification.
You need to show proof of payment on your mobile device to board the shuttle bus.
In this Issue
Get the latest news from exciting upcoming exhibitions, Brilliant turning 90, this year’s America and the Sea Award Recipient, and our commitment to the visitor experience!
On Monday, April 11, 2022, Plimoth Patuxet’s Mayflower II departs from the Museum at approximately 3 p.m. The 65-year-old wooden vessel spent the winter months in dry dock at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard for routine maintenance and painting. The ship’s travel schedule is entirely dependent on tide, weather conditions, and other factors, and therefore subject to change without notice.
We look forward to welcoming visitors as The Mayflower II departs. For those who cannot view the launch in person you are able to track the ships journey here.
Read the press release here.
Enjoy this gallery of images from its time at the Museum this winter.
Researchers, historians, and genealogy enthusiasts now have an expanded resource to explore the history of the whaling industry and the individuals who were part of the global enterprise, with recent additions to the Whaling History website (WhalingHistory.org), a joint project of Mystic Seaport Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
The data presented combines many sources including logbooks, journals, ship registers, newspapers, business papers, and custom house records. Users can find and trace whaling voyages and ships to specific logbooks, as well as the list of crew members aboard many of the voyages.
A popular feature of the site is a dialog where users can search crew lists to discover if they have a relative who shipped out on a whaling voyage.
The foundational fabric of Whaling History features three databases that have been stitched together – the American Offshore Whaling Voyage (AOWV) database, the American Offshore Whaling Log database, and an extensive whaling crew list database. All data is open to the public and is downloadable for any researcher to use with other tools and systems.
The site has been expanded recently with the addition of 370 new whaling voyages to the AOWV database, most from the 18th century, and the integration of the Dennis Wood Abstracts of Whaling Voyages. The latter are brief handwritten summaries of whaling voyages compiled over more than forty years (1830–1874) by Dennis Wood, a merchant and whaling agent in New Bedford. The abstracts were drawn from news reported in the Whalemen’s Shipping List and Merchants’ Transcript, and from letters, telegrams, and reports brought back by vessels. The New Bedford Free Public Library scanned the four volumes from its collection, containing more than 2,300 pages, and placed them on the Internet Archive.
“These new additions to the world’s most comprehensive whaling history database enhance the site’s scope and, most important, make it available for all to use,” said Paul O’Pecko, Vice President of Research Collections at Mystic Seaport Museum. “Researchers, genealogists, students, teachers, and history buffs alike will find it to be the most robust and useful repository of whaling history documentation and scholarship.”
Mystic Seaport Museum will present its 2022 America and the Sea Award to Captain William “Bill” Pinkney, former Mystic Seaport Museum trustee, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, sailor, educator, author, and adventurer. The prestigious award recognizes those individuals and organizations whose extraordinary achievements in the world of maritime exploration, competition, scholarship, and design best exemplify the American character. As a former trustee of Mystic Seaport Museum, Pinkney and his work to open the maritime world to inner-city youth and others around the United States embody the Museum’s mission to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.
Museum President Peter Armstrong said, “Captain Pinkney expertly and professionally unwraps the stories of the sea, from circumnavigation to the history of the triangle trade, for a wide and diverse audience. An ambassador to those who believe the maritime world is not their world, he has proven adept in showing everyone that the sea connects us all.”
Pinkney has been drawn to the sea from a very young age and has worked to sustain a personal connection as well as provide opportunities for others to learn the important history of people and the sea and the resulting influence on American culture. His work as the first captain of the freedom schooner Amistad – the first vessel constructed from the keel up at Mystic Seaport Museum – and his journey through the Middle Passage on The Sortilege, shared with educators and classrooms across the country, brought to life personal connections to the history of slavery and the crucial role that seafaring played. His solo circumnavigation on his 47-foot cutter, aptly named The Commitment, from Boston around the five southern capes and back to Boston, spanning 27,000 miles and 22 months, grew into an educational opportunity for so many children via video diaries, phone conversations, opportunities to track his progress through satellite technology and lesson plans that included nautical calculations and the influence of faraway cultures. All of this incredible work, born from a desire to leave a legacy for his grandchildren, speaks to the mission of Mystic Seaport Museum.
The Museum will recognize Pinkney’s exceptional life by awarding him the America and the Sea Award on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. The award presentation will take place at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. Individuals interested in an invitation can email advancement@mysticseaport.org.
This affair is the premier fundraising event for Mystic Seaport Museum. Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include outstanding yachtsman Terry Hutchinson; America’s Cup Hall of Famer Tom Whidden, one of the most acclaimed sailors of all time; American businesswoman and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, whose ocean explorations have advanced our understanding of the ocean’s biodiversity and vulnerability; groundbreaking Whitbread and America’s Cup sailor Dawn Riley and Oakcliff Sailing; philanthropist and environmentalist David Rockefeller, Jr., and his Sailors for the Sea; boat designers Rod and Bob Johnstone and their company J/Boats; author and historian Nathaniel Philbrick; maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson; America’s Cup Hall of Famer and author Gary Jobson; WoodenBoat Publications founder Jon Wilson; former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman; oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle; America’s Cup sailor William Koch; President and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas Crowley; historian David McCullough; and the first honoree, legendary yacht designer Olin J. Stephens, II.
Pinkney’s full biography can be read at mysticseaport.org/gala.
The G.W. Blunt White Library manuscript collection at Mystic Seaport Museum recently offered up an exciting find in the form of reports and correspondence relating to the Colored Sailors’ Home(s) run by the American Seamen’s Friend Society in the mid-19th century. As the name suggests, these were boarding houses specifically for sailors of color; the one referenced here was located in New York City, and run by abolitionist William Peter Powell, Sr.
These letters are striking in terms of Powell’s frankness regarding the state of racism in the United States during the mid-19th century, as well as his dedication to advocating for his boarders. In one letter from April 15, 1862 (fig. 1), he writes to the Board of Trustees of the Sailors’ Home Committee to ask for financial help in securing a building to open a new Colored Sailors’ Home. He cites his success in operating one many years before, and pointedly states that he only left it to take his children to England in 1851 for their schooling, since “…owing to the prejudice against Color they could not acquire [an education] in this their native Country.” In another letter accompanying a financial report in December 1862 (fig. 2), Powell describes the harrowing circumstances encountered by Black sailors arriving in New York before they found safe quarters in the Sailors’ Home; in many other letters, he takes care to detail the sailors’ exemplary behavior despite having faced these difficulties. He seems to be working hard to demonstrate to the Board that even the “free” northern U.S. is not a welcoming place for sailors of color, and that it is worthwhile to provide safe, secure places for them to stay while on land.
These are just two letters out of 28, and the whole collection gives us the opportunity to view the Civil War era from this compelling perspective. They are especially meaningful during Black History Month and the continuing work on the “Just Futures, Reimagining New England” project, funded by the Andrew C. Mellon foundation, both of which spur us on to examine our understanding of history through the lens of racial justice.
Written By Emma Burbank, Registrarial and Research Assistant
Mystic Seaport Museum is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $2,000 grant from West Marine’s BlueFuture grant program. The program supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to getting more kids out on the water through boating, fishing, paddling, and marine science. The grants provide much-needed funds so that these valuable, community-based organizations can provide scholarships, purchase new equipment, maintain staff, add programs, and other needs.
“We are honored and grateful to West Marine for selecting us to receive this grant, which we will use to enhance and expand STEM and environmental education learning at our Sailing Center,” said Sarah Cahill, Director of Education at Mystic Seaport Museum.
Photo from left: Elizabeth Jaccoma, West Marine’s Operations Manager in Old Saybrook; Sarah Cahill, Director of Education, Mystic Seaport Museum; Liz Sistaire, Mystic Seaport Museum Sailing Center Supervisor; and Ed Alberghini, Mystic Store Manager. February 9, 2022.
The Museum is pleased the appointment of Kevin O’Leary as its Vice President of Business Development & Marketing, effective immediately.
This newly created position reports to the Senior Vice President of Curatorial Affairs and provides direction and oversight to the Museum’s Business Development, Sales, Marketing, Communications, and Digital Content teams in support of the institution’s combined revenue goals. He will lead the identification, development, and implementation of strategic growth initiatives across the Museum and explore, identify, and execute opportunities consistent with those initiatives with a particular emphasis on intellectual property and brand partnerships.
“With his extensive experience in brand management and the development of regional and national marketing campaigns, Kevin O’Leary brings the high degree of insight, leadership, and comprehensive knowledge of building successful brands and business lines that are an important part of the future for our Museum,” said Peter Armstrong, President of Mystic Seaport Museum. “He is the right person to take on the task of maximizing the value of our vast collections and the intellectual property that lies within.”
“I am delighted to join Mystic Seaport Museum, an institution I know from my youth in Southern New England and a storied brand with a long history and deep equity, said Kevin O’Leary. “I look forward to unlocking the potential I see all around the Museum and working with our incredible curatorial and operations teams to broaden our audience and expand commercial opportunities.”
Prior to joining the Museum, O’Leary was the Director of Business Development for Guru Media Solutions, a Certified B-Corp, full-service marketing agency in California and Vermont specializing in purpose-driven, conscious and sustainable brands and NGOs. He was responsible for prospecting, closing, and onboarding new business opportunities consistent with some or all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He has held numerous leadership roles in agencies focused on brand marketing, design, and digital strategy and content development. O’Leary also brings extensive experience in hospitality and real estate sales and marketing, and the music industry. He is the past director of marketing for the Vermont Mozart Festival, a volunteer position, and began his professional career many years ago in Seattle, WA, working for Sub Pop Records.
Connecticut Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has awarded Mystic Seaport Museum $519,999 in three separate grants.
The first is an award of $500,000 for a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant. Administered in partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Economic Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts, with funds from the Connecticut State Legislature, the operating grants assist organizations as they recover from the pandemic and maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public. The Museum will use the funds in part to improve accessibility and wayfinding on the grounds, enhance online content and access for remote learning, and support the expansion and merging of its educational offerings under the umbrella of the soon-to-launch Center for Experiential Education (CEE). The CEE represents a commitment by the Museum to serve youth in a more holistic and comprehensive manner by engaging young people at critical junctures of their lives through experiential maritime education.
The second award is a $10,000 grant from the Sustaining Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) Capacity Grants, funded by the NEH and the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP). The Museum will use the funds to support diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) training across all departments. The firm Lord Cultural Resources — a global practice leader in bringing DEAI principles to the museum field — has been engaged to guide this work.
The final award of $9,999 is a Capacity Building Grant to cover Lord’s external information gathering and reporting in order to help the Museum better understand and engage with a more diverse public.
“As we continue to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic we are working hard towards positioning the Museum as a more sustainable and culturally relevant institution to as broad an audience as possible,” said Peter Armstrong, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “This generous support from Connecticut Humanities will help the Museum, working in partnership with other community organizations, to emphasize the diversity of the maritime story to a much wider public.”
The Museum was one of 624 organizations in Connecticut that received CT Cultural Fund support totaling $16M from CT Humanities. The operating grants are part of $30.7M of support allocated to arts, humanities, and cultural nonprofits through CTH over the next two years by the CT General Assembly and approved by Governor Ned Lamont. Funds were provided through the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development and its Connecticut Office of the Arts.
Mystic Seaport Museum was one of 69 organizations in Connecticut that was awarded ARP funding totaling $640,192 from CT Humanities. CTH SHARP Capacity Grants provide organizations funding for projects including building their information technology infrastructure, making their collections more accessible, conducting strategic planning, and undertaking inclusivity, diversity, equity, and access work.
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Mystic, CT 06355
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info@mysticseaport.org
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