Category: Press Releases

Mystic, Conn. (May 24, 2018) – Musicians from around the world will come to Mystic Seaport Museum to celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail at the 39th annual Sea Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10. The Festival is the premier sea music event in North America.

The weekend’s festivities include daytime and evening concerts, special performances for children, instructional workshops, a scholars’ symposium, and a unique opportunity to witness sea music at work aboard the Museum’s historic ships.

As one of the world’s premier sea music events, performers come from around the world and across the United States. This year’s highlights include the music of Matthew Byrne from Newfoundland, The Vox Hunters from Rhode Island, FUNI from Iceland, Dan Zanes from New York City, Walter Askew from California, the group 3 Ravens from Massachusetts, and the English an Irish duo of Jim Mageean & Pat Sheridan. They will be joined by the Mystic Seaport Museum Chantey Staff, including Geoff Kaufman, Craig Edwards, Denise Kegler, and Don Sineti.

“We are very proud to present this extensive program of song and story from some of the foremost performers and scholars of sea music,” said Denise Kegler, program manager for performances at Mystic Seaport Museum and a Festival organizer. “They are the people responsible for keeping the traditions alive for future generations.”

To celebrate the recent opening of two new exhibitions, The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden and Science, Myth, and Mystery:  The Vinland Map Saga, the Festival features performers with Viking themes to their music and storytelling. The group FUNI will perform traditional Icelandic folk music and Lynn Noel will perform “Gudrid the Wanderer: First Viking Woman in the New World.” On Saturday afternoon, FUNI and Lynn will be joined by Matthew Byrne from Newfoundland for a workshop on the North Atlantic Crossing, a musical exploration of the Viking voyages to North America.

For families with children, Grammy Award winner Dan Zanes will perform with Claudia Eliaza on an expanded Family Stage. On Sunday, Dan and Claudia will be joined by Mary Anne Roberts of Rokus Korus for a special workshop on “Haiti and the Sea.”

Mystic Seaport Museum is rare in its ability to showcase chanteys in use on our historic vessels. For 2018, the Festival will feature four workshops of “Chanteys at Work” on the ships Charles W. Morgan, Joseph Conrad, and L. A. Dunton. In these workshops, festival musicians join with Museum chantey staff to lead visitors in setting sail, lifting cargo, weighing anchor, and other shipboard tasks.

On Sunday, a rousing, but reverent, hymn sing of traditional hymns and religious songs will be led by Judy Cook, Stephen Sanfilippo, and long-time supporters of the Festival, the Heavenly Twins.

All workshops and daytime concerts in the Festival are included in regular Museum admission. Special tickets are required for evening concerts and can be purchased online, in person at the Museum’s entrances, or by calling 860.572.0711. Weekend passes are also available. College students will be admitted into the Festival for the youth rate upon presentation of a current student ID.

As part of the Festival, the Museum will also host the annual Music of the Sea Symposium Friday and Saturday, June 8-9. The Symposium, co-sponsored by Mystic Seaport Museum, Williams College and the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program, features presentations of themed papers by some of the country’s leading maritime music scholars and explores subjects from history and folklore, to literature and ethnomusicology, along with many other related topics. Admission to the Symposium is included with Museum admission and Festival passes.

For more information, including ticket packages, musicians’ bios, and a schedule of performances, visit mysticseaport.org/seamusicfestival

This event is made possible by the Friends of the Festival, who raise funds each year to generously support sea music at Mystic Seaport Museum.

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. The iconic Thompson Exhibition Building is a state-of-the-art gallery that is hosting The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden through September 30, 2018. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Funds Will Support Restoration of L.A. Dunton, the Museum’s 1921 Gloucester Fishing Schooner

Mystic, Conn. (May 17, 2018) — Mystic Seaport Museum announced today that it is the recipient of a National Maritime Heritage Grant. The $103,703 award will fund the survey and documentation of the fishing schooner L.A. Dunton in preparation for restoration at the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.

Built in 1921 in Essex, Mass., the 123-foot long Dunton is one of the last surviving examples of the Grand Banks fishing schooners, once one of New England’s most common fishing vessels in the beginning of the twentieth century. The Dunton was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

“We are very grateful to be the recipient of this grant to support our continued stewardship of the L.A. Dunton, which provides an irreplaceable connection to the fishing history of New England,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “The funding will enable us to move ahead with critical infrastructure improvements and necessary documentation.”

The Dunton was acquired by Mystic Seaport Museum in 1963. Since that time the vessel underwent several restorations, the most significant in 1973-1977 when the vessel received new topside framing, planking, and deck. The below deck spaces were restored to the original fisherman configuration. Bottom portions of her hull have never received comprehensive restoration. The planned work will address the vessel’s bottom, topsides, deck, and rigging to maintain her historic and structural integrity.

This planning grant will address steps required in advance of the restoration including upgrades to the Museum’s shiplift; a complete structural survey of the vessel to determine materials needed, work flow, and staffing; and documentation of the Dunton’s current condition using modern laser-scanning technology. The documentation work will allow the Museum to record the vessel’s present shape and detail, and recreate her original form and structural integrity.

The award is part of $2.6 million in maritime heritage grants given out by the National Park Service to assist funding 34 preservation and education projects in 14 states and the Northern Mariana Islands. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the National Park Service awarded grants for projects that teach about and preserve sites and objects related to our nation’s maritime history.

The National Maritime Heritage Program Grant awards are made possible through a partnership between the two federal agencies, which both share a commitment to maritime heritage preservation and education. They are funded through recycling of vessels from the MARAD’s National Defense Reserve Fleet. The grant program supports a broad range of maritime education and preservation projects, without expending tax dollars, while ensuring that the vessels are dismantled in an environmentally sound manner.

Other organizations receiving grants include the USS Constitution Museum, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, New York’s South Street Seaport Museum, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and the Maritime Museum Association of San Diego.

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. The iconic Thompson Exhibition Building is a state-of-the-art gallery that will host The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden installation beginning on May 19, 2018. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic Seaport Museum to Open “Science, Myth & Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga” May 19; Exhibition Explores How a Map Ignites a National Debate About the First European Contact with America

Mystic, Conn. (May 10, 2018) — At a moment in time in American culture when debate rages over what is real and what is “fake news,” Mystic Seaport Museum brings back to the limelight a controversy from more than 50 years ago that rocked the scientific, historical and cultural realms of U.S. society.

“Science, Myth & Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga,” which opens May 19, 2018, explores the stories around and behind the publication in 1965 of a scholarly examination of a piece of parchment known as the Vinland Map. This exhibition is made possible in partnership with the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University.

Publication of the Vinland Map threw into question the long-held belief that Christopher Columbus was the first European to reach American shores, in 1492. The map was dated by Yale researchers to about 1440, igniting a firestorm of debate about the moment of first contact — could it be that Vikings from Scandinavia reached North American shores as early as the year 1000?

“Science, Myth & Mystery” brings the Vinland Map itself to public view outside of New Haven for the first time in the United States in more than 50 years. The exhibition will place the visitor into the moment in time in October of 1965 when the map was first unveiled. It brings to life the fascinating journey of the map from its initial discovery in 1957 to its acquisition by Yale in 1965; the authentication research conducted by a team of hand-picked specialists; and the hoopla surrounding the unveiling on October 11, 1965 (the day between Leif Ericson Day and Columbus Day that year).

“This is an incredible opportunity for Mystic Seaport Museum to take a rare artifact that holds a key place in American history and bring it into the conversation that we see happening today at kitchen tables and in university hallways in a relevant and important way,” said Nicholas Bell, senior vice president for curatorial affairs at the Museum. “Being able to provide in this exhibition the context of the times, along with never-before-seen details of the research that went into the map, makes this a terrific addition to an already robust roster of projects we have ongoing here.”

“The Beinecke Library aims to excite scholars and the public to engage the past, in the present, to inform the future,” said Edwin C. Schroeder, the library’s director. “The history of the Vinland Map, acquired more than 50 years ago, offers insights into art, science, and society that remain relevant today. We are delighted to partner with an esteemed fellow Connecticut cultural institution to bring this artifact and its context to a contemporary audience.”

In addition to the story of the map, “Science, Myth & Mystery” chronicles the findings of Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad, husband and wife explorers and archeologists who discovered a Norse settlement on the Newfoundland coast that dates to the year 1000. They used what is known as the Vinland Sagas — Norse oral histories that detail Viking explorers traveling to Iceland, Greenland and even farther west and south — as the basis for their search. Starting in 1961, they uncover Viking artifacts near a small town called L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland dating to the year 1000. Their discoveries were made public in 1964, laying the groundwork for the acceptance of the Vinland Map’s authenticity the following year.

The exhibition brings the map from its controversial unveiling in 1965 through its battery of tests over the years and right into the 21^st century, with details about 2018 tests presently being conducted by the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.

“Science, Myth & Mystery” runs through October 31, 2018, in the Museum’s R.J. Schaefer Building.

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography. The iconic Thompson Exhibition Building is a state-of-the-art gallery that will host The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden installation beginning on May 19, 2018. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic, CT (May 7, 2018) —The second installment in the 21+ party series “Seaport After Seven” at Mystic Seaport Museum is a Viking Beer Garden held in partnership with Museum Hack, an organization that leads “renegade tours” at the world’s best museums.

The party will be 7-10 p.m., Saturday, May 19, the same day Mystic Seaport Museum opens two major new exhibitions, The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden, and Science, Myth & Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga.

“We thought what better way to make an exciting day even better than by partnering with Museum Hack on a party that will highlight the two major exhibitions opening on May 19,” said Arlene Marcionette, Public Programs Project Manager at the Museum. “Museum Hack’s style of offering ‘renegade tours’ of museum exhibitions will allow us to provide a new, fun, and interactive way to attend Mystic Seaport Museum.”

The  Viking Beer Garden will take place in and around the McGraw Quadrangle, next to the Thompson Exhibition Building. The party includes Swedish meatballs, a variety of beers, and mead by Groennfell Meadery, all on Thompson’s giant wraparound deck. Museum Hack guides will lead unconventional  tours of “The Vikings Begin” and “The Vinland Map Saga.” Music will be provided by DJ Lion King, and games of Kubb (AKA Viking chess) will be played. You can even step aboard an authentic Viking long ship, Draken Harald Hårfagre.

The first 50 people to arrive in Viking-inspired attire will receive an extra drink ticket!

This is a 21+ event. Admission includes small plates, one drink ticket for beer or wine, exclusive exhibition access and tours, and DJ set. A cash bar with beer, wine and mead will be available. Tickets are $20 (buy before 3 p.m. on 5/18 to get this price) or $25 day of. Call 860.572.5331 or visit http://bit.ly/VikingBeerGarden to buy tickets.

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography.  The iconic Thompson Exhibition Building is a state-of-the-art exhibition gallery that will host the upcoming Science, Myth, and Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga and The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden installations on May 19, 2018. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Museum Hack

Museum Hack does renegade tours at the world’s best museums. Tours include the untold stories of the art and artists, juicy gossip about the museum, and activities in the galleries like “Buy, Burn, Steal” where guests choose their favorite (and least favorite) pieces, or “Yearbook Tags” where guests have to match a title like “Best Hair” or “Least Likely to do X” in the portrait gallery. Every tour is unique and customized on the fly to include the pieces guides are really passionate about, not necessarily the most famous or most expensive pieces. The overall theme is to make tours fun and engaging.

Mystic, Conn. (May 1, 2018) — Mystic Seaport announced today the launch of its new brand identity, with the introduction of the addition of Museum to its name and a redesigned logo, website, and large-scale ad campaign. The launch is a key element of the Museum’s strategic plan to expand the reach and relevance of the Museum by positioning itself as a more modern and relevant cultural center that strives to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience. The opening of the Thompson Exhibition Building in 2016 signified the first step in that direction and will showcase the recently launched Era of Exhibitions programs.

“Today’s audiences value the community that a museum creates,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “By restoring the word ‘Museum’ to our name, we celebrate and showcase history while making a space for people to talk and think about issues that matter to them. Museums are contemporary centers of community and discourse and we are updating our identity to reflect that role.”

The organization’s new logo, in the color nautical orange, presents a sharp, bold visual identity in a shape that references the planks of a ship with the cascade of stacked vertical text representing waves approaching shore.

“This new direction signifies the commitment of the Museum’s Board of Trustees to connect with, and inspire, the broadest possible communities, and to communicate the freshness and relevance of the Museum’s programs and exhibitions,” said J. Barclay Collins, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mystic Seaport Museum.

Mystic Seaport Museum’s new tagline, “Radical Craft.  Get Into It.” will anchor its new advertising campaign debuting this month. It is an action-oriented statement that shines the light on the Museum as a place that celebrates immersive experiences, craft and the evolution of seafaring innovation that was radical in its time. The ad campaign will feature the outstanding imagery created by the Museum’s photography staff.

Carbone Smolan Agency, an independent design-led branding agency that has worked with organizations such as Musee de Louvre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and Christies served as the agency of record for the Museum’s rebrand and launch.

“We love working on museums because we understand that arts and culture are the lifeblood of a community. We were thrilled to be invited to partner with such a wildly interesting institution on their bold journey,” said David Mowers, executive director of Strategy at Carbone Smolan Agency.

About Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport Museum, founded in 1929, is the nation’s leading maritime museum. In addition to providing a multitude of immersive experiences, the Museum also houses a collection of more than two million artifacts that include more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography.  The iconic Thompson Exhibition Building is a state-of-the-art exhibition gallery that will host the upcoming Science, Myth, and Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga and The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden installations on May 19, 2018. Mystic Seaport Museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport Museum on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

New Exhibition Showcases Artifacts Never Before Seen in U.S. to Reveal the Early Days of the Storied Maritime People      

Mystic, Conn. (April 10, 2018) — On Saturday, May  19, Mystic Seaport will open The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden, bringing artifacts from one of the world’s finest early Viking-age collections outside of their home in Sweden for the first time. It will be the international debut for the exhibition.

Priceless treasures, including helmets, shields, weapons, glass, and other artifacts dating as early as the 7th century, are included in this collection from Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum in Sweden, Scandinavia’s oldest university.

“The Vikings Begin is a wonderful opportunity for people to tap into their fascination with all things Viking, and be able to expand the scope of understanding about Viking and pre-Viking cultures and how they influenced the rest of the world,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White.

The exhibition includes a number of exquisite, more-than-1,300-year-old original artifacts from the centuries leading up to the Viking Age, held in the vast archaeological collections of Uppsala University. Normally kept in the vaults of the University Museum, these rare objects have never before traveled across the Atlantic.

The exhibition will be divided into thematic sections on Viking warfare, trade, the Baltic Sea, a ship burial, Norse gods, and geo-political relationships to other cultures. It will employ remarkable archaeological finds in the exploration of how this storied maritime society lived more than a millennium ago.

“The exhibition includes magnificent weapons, both for attack and defense, and also smaller treasures such as jewelry and objects with magical importance,” said Dr. Marika Hedin, Director at Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum. “The finds come from both male and female graves, as both sexes played important roles in society. Recent finds even indicate that women sometimes actively participated in battle; however, their power resided primarily on the spiritual and magical sides of life. To understand the story of how the Vikings began, the exhibition examines their relationship with the outside world, their spiritual beliefs, the role of warfare, the importance of water and waterways, and how trade routes influenced their world.”

Mystic Seaport is the first stop on a U.S. tour for The Vikings Begin. The exhibition was born out of a 10-year research project at Uppsala University that began in 2016. “The Viking Phenomenon,” as the project is known, aims to closely study the emergence of Viking society by looking at the developments within the Scandinavian Iron-Age culture that existed before the Vikings. The rich archaeological finds from graves in eastern Sweden—treasures held by Gustavianum—tell a new and compelling story about why and when Viking society actually began.

Mystic Seaport has additional programming planned around the exhibition, including Viking Days on June 16 and 17. During this two-day festival, the Museum will be transformed in celebration of Viking culture, complete with trade demonstrations, performances, and on-the-water activities. Visitors can explore the exhibitions, sample Scandinavian fare, watch traditional faering sailing, and see a Nordic boat-building demonstration. There will be hands-on activities and games for children and adults throughout the day, and a special Planetarium show on Viking navigation.

The Vikings Begin will run concurrently with Science, Myth, and Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga, which also opens May 19. A new exhibition produced in collaboration with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, the show explores the controversial history of the map that purportedly proved the Vikings reached the New World before Columbus. The map ignited a firestorm of debate as scholars, historians, and scientists across the globe argued over its meaning and authenticity. This exhibition will put the map on display for the first time in the U.S. in more than 50 years.

The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden is open through Sept. 30, in the Collins Gallery of the Thompson Exhibition Building.

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 Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and 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 country. The Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, including Murmur: Arctic Realities, which opened January 20, 2018. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum

Uppsala’s largest university museum cares for the University’s magnificent collections of archaeological objects, coins, art, historic scientific instruments, and much more. Our role has three main dimensions: our museum building, Gustavianum, is a place for collaboration between the University and the rest of society; our exhibitions and program of events are inspired by, and reflect, the University’s collections and research at Uppsala University; and we ensure that our collections are accessible for research and teaching at the University and other institutes of higher education, not just in Sweden but also in other countries. In addition, we endeavor to be a resource for the careers and competence development of University students, through our work experience placements and by offering part-time employment in various parts of the organization. For more information, please visit http://www.gustavianum.uu.se.

Mystic, CT (March 12, 2018) — Artist John Grade will return to Mystic Seaport March 20-21 to add pieces to his kinetic sculpture Murmur: Arctic Realities, currently on exhibit in the Collins Gallery at the Museum.

Grade will add panels to two of the steel spines that support the piece. Murmur: Arctic Realities is an intricately carved sculpture (15’ x 38’ x 42’) that represents a pingo, a hill of ice that grows over centuries in the Arctic’s highest latitudes, then collapses, pockmarking the tundra. This sculpture simulates a pingo in Alaska’s Noatak National Preserve that Grade saw when he was exploring the tundra two years ago.

Just as a pingo grows over time in the natural world, so Grade envisioned his piece would evolve as it toured museums and galleries before its final stop at Anchorage Museum. And even there, Murmur will again change as it will hang upside down from a ceiling in a gallery, offering visitors an entirely different experience.

“Evolution and change are what interest me most with my projects rather than arriving at a static state of completion or finish,” Grade said. “Rather than aiming to preserve a sculpture in an ideal state, I am also more interested in witnessing and understanding how it might change through interaction with time and the elements. As a project is exhibited in multiple venues, it is important to me that it relate to each space in a different and site specific way each time, ideally changing its configuration or orientation in some significant way as well.”

The evolution of the piece was part of what attracted Mystic Seaport to the idea of staging the exhibition in the Thompson Building, said Nicholas Bell, senior vice president for curatorial affairs at the Museum.

“When John set out to create his own Arctic landform, he knew it would evolve over time as it moved from museum to museum,” Bell said. “Visitors to Mystic Seaport have already enjoyed the installation’s international debut. Now they will be able to see the monumental sculpture change before their eyes when he returns this month to apply new wood panels to the form’s kinetic steel spines.”

The piece is carved from salvaged Alaskan yellow cedar. Grade will be adding panels to two of the eight spines that hold the piece. The top of the spines open and close, powered by hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, to also mimic a pingo’s growth and collapse.

Murmur: Arctic Realities is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday-Sunday, through March 23. Beginning Saturday,  March 24, the Museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

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 Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and 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 country. The Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, including Murmur: Arctic Realities, which opened January 20, 2018. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT.  For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic, CT (March 8, 2018) — Mystic Seaport, in partnership with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, has developed  the world’s most comprehensive whaling history database and it is now available for all to use at WhalingHistory.org. 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.

The data presented combines many sources including logbooks, journals, ship registers, newspapers, business papers, and custom house records. Users will be able to find and trace whaling voyages and ships to specific logbooks, as well as the list of crew members aboard most of the voyages. 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.

“We are so pleased to have been part of this project and so proud of the end result,” said Paul J. O’Pecko, Vice President of Research Collections at Mystic Seaport. “This information, gathered over decades, is invaluable to scholars, students, genealogists and others. And the fact that it is all available on one site with data that can be downloaded and manipulated is unprecedented in the world of maritime history.”

The American Offshore Whaling Voyage (AOWV) database, which was spearheaded by Judith Lund, scholar and former curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, includes information about all known American offshore (or “pelagic”) whaling voyages from the 1700s to the 1920s. It does not include the modern factory ship voyages of the mid-20th century. Information is most complete for the 19th century. The voyages included in the database sailed from, or were under the registry of, what is now the United States.

Extensive records of American whaling in the form of daily entries in whaling voyage logbooks contain a great deal of information about where and when the whalemen found whales. The second part of the database’s foundation is the American Offshore Whaling Log database, which includes information from 1,381 logbooks from American offshore whaling voyages between 1784 and 1920. These data were extracted from the original whaling logbooks during three separate scientific research projects, one conducted by Lieutenant Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury in the 1850s, the second conducted by Charles Haskins Townsend in the 1930s, and the third conducted by a team from the Census of Marine Life project lead by Tim Denis Smith between 2000 and 2010. The data file includes 466,134 data records assembled in a common format suitable for spatial and temporal analysis of American whaling throughout the 19th century.

The third database from which Whaling History is built is extensive whaling voyage crew lists from more than 5,300 voyages. Crew lists for whaling voyages recorded at the customs houses in Fall River and Salem, Massachusetts, and in New London, Connecticut, have been compiled as part of various projects and from various sources over the years. Crew lists for New Bedford voyages have been compiled using records kept by the chaplains of the New Bedford Port Society from 1840 to the end of whaling in New Bedford. These crew lists are now in a single searchable, sortable database.

In the next phase of the Whaling History Database, museums’ and other institutions’ collection items will be able to be linked to the database, giving researchers the ability to see a robust and dynamic picture of whaling history and artifacts.

“The future phases that will put linked objects, maps and images at the researchers’ fingertips, will give them the chance to find a particular voyage or person and read  journals or view images and sailing routes directly linked to that particular person or event,” O’Pecko said. “The information gathered here will be an obvious boon to research in social and business history, but also for those studying in such fields as climatology and anthropology.”

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 Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and 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 country. The Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, including Murmur: Arctic Realities, which opened January 20, 2018. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT.  For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Mystic, Conn. (March 7, 2018) — Mystic Seaport will present its 2018 America and the Sea Award to Dawn Riley and Oakcliff Sailing. 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.

Riley stands alone as the first woman to compete in both the America’s Cup and in the Whitbread Round the World Race, two of the pinnacles in the sport of sailing that prior to her had been all but closed to women sailors. Riley also went on to become the first American, male or female, to sail in three America’s Cups and two Whitbread Round the World Races.

Mystic Seaport President Steve White remarked, “Dawn Riley’s impact on international sailing speaks for itself, and this award gives Mystic Seaport the opportunity to call greater attention to the extraordinary accomplishments of this courageous woman.”

Riley trains premier-level American sailors for future Olympic, America’s Cup, and other world-class level sailing competitions, and leads a movement to reinvigorate the sport in this country. One nexus of this movement is Oakcliff Sailing Center in Oyster Bay, N.Y., where Dawn serves as Executive Director. A high-performance training center for sailors who have progressed beyond traditional coaching methods, Oakcliff’s vision is to “Build American Leaders through Sailing.” Riley’s leadership and the quality of the programs she oversees were recognized recently by New York Yacht Club’s Belle Mente Quantum Racing, which is currently preparing a challenge for the 36th America’s Cup. This syndicate is partnering with Oakcliff to recruit and train members for their America’s Cup Team.

Riley pursued an impressive racing career on the water punctuated by unprecedented accomplishments such as her role as the watch captain/engineer on Maiden, the first all-women’s team in the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Race; pit person for America³, winner of the 1992 America’s Cup and first woman to have an active role on an America’s Cup team; skipper of Heineken, the only all-women’s entry in the 1993-94 Whitbread Race; team captain of America³, the women’s team in the 1995 America’s Cup; 1999 US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year; America True CEO and Captain in the 2000 America’s Cup; and winning skipper at the 2002 IC45 World Championships.

A black tie gala will be held in Riley and Oakcliff Sailing’s honor in New York City Wednesday, October 3, 2018. This affair is the premier fund-raising event for Mystic Seaport. Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include philanthropist and environmentalist David Rockefeller, Jr. ; 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.

For invitations, please email advancement@https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ or call 860.572.5365.

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 Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and 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 country. The Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, including Murmur: Arctic Realities, which opened January 20, 2018. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT.  For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

(Mystic, CT, February 27, 2018) – The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the symbol of quality and tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, are scheduled to be at Mystic Seaport March 22-25, in conjunction with the Mystic Irish Parade.

The horses will be housed in a special stable on the Museum’s Village Green, and will be available for public viewing during regular Museum hours. On March 22-25, children ages 13 and younger will be admitted free to the museum. Visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ for more information on the Clydesdales at the Museum.

The eight-horse team will be harnessed and hitched to the famous red beer wagon at the Museum on Saturday, March 24, and will walk the Museum grounds for a period of time, including making a beer delivery at Schaefer’s Spouter Tavern. Visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ for that schedule. On Sunday, March 25, the “Gentle Giants,” as they are often called, will participate in the Mystic Irish Parade, which steps off from the north parking lot at Mystic Seaport at 1 p.m.

The Clydesdales’ appearance in Mystic is one of hundreds made annually by the traveling hitches. Canadians of Scottish descent brought the first Clydesdales to America in the mid-1800s. Today, the giant draft horses are used primarily for breeding and show.

Horses chosen for the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch must be at least 3 years of age, stand approximately 18 hands – or six feet – at the shoulder, weigh an average of 2,000 pounds, must be bay in color, have four white legs, and a blaze of white on the face and black mane and tail. A gentle temperament is very important as hitch horses meet millions of people each year.

A single Clydesdale hitch horse will consume as much as 20-25 quarts of feed, 40-50 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day.

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 Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and 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 country. The Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibitions, including Murmur: Arctic Realities, which opened January 20, 2018. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT.  For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/  and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.