Category: Press Releases

MYSTIC, Conn. (March 25, 2014) — NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced today its partnership with Mystic Seaport to support the 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan. Nearly 100 years after its last whaling voyage, the Morgan will sail across the New England coast this summer to celebrate America’s maritime heritage and the whales that gather in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The Morgan, a National Historic Landmark built in 1841 and restored to seaworthy status over the past five years, is the flagship of the watercraft collection at Mystic Seaport, the nation’s leading maritime museum located in Mystic, Conn. Over an 80-year whaling career, the Morgan sailed on 37 voyages to the remote corners of the globe, including waters of national marine sanctuaries in California, Hawaii, and American Samoa.

“America’s pursuit of whales is an epic story of global dimensions that shaped the nation’s identity,” said Daniel J. Basta, director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “Today, thanks to pioneering work by sanctuary scientists and others to understand whale behavior, and develop conservation strategies to reduce risks to whales, we’re writing a new chapter based on respect and stewardship for these magnificent creatures of the deep.”

During the voyage, NOAA will work with Mystic Seaport and its partners to conduct a series of science and outreach activities around the voyage. The ship’s stop in each port will be accompanied by a dockside exhibit customized for each location. Upon its return to Mystic Seaport, the ship will resume its status as an exhibit at the museum.

“The Charles W. Morgan is an exceptional and truly unique artifact of our shared maritime heritage,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. “While the ship is an American icon and a living portal into an important chapter of American history, she now embarks on a new journey with transformed purpose. She’s no longer an instrument of commerce but a source of education, knowledge, and understanding.”

The Morgan will depart on June 14 to historic New England ports, including Newport, R.I.; Vineyard Haven, Mass; New Bedford, Mass.; Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Boston, Mass; and back to New London and Mystic with a stop at the Cape Cod Canal to participate in its centennial celebration. The entire voyage is expected to take about seven weeks.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.

About Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Designated in 1992, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 842 square miles of ocean, stretching between Cape Ann and Cape Cod offshore of Massachusetts. Renowned for its remarkable productivity, the sanctuary supports a rich diversity of marine life, including endangered great whales, seabirds, more than 60 species of fishes and hundreds of marine invertebrates.

The sanctuary is also one of the top whale watching destinations in the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Whale watching is a fast growing industry that encourages people to protect whales and their habitats, supports local economies, and provides local employment.

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries serves as trustee for a network of 14 marine protected areas encompassing more than 170,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Washington state to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron to American Samoa. The network includes a system of 13 national marine sanctuaries and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

About NOAA

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Season Kicks Off with Winter’s Aweigh Celebration

MYSTIC, Conn. (February 4, 2014) – Mystic Seaport celebrates its reopening with free admission for children ages 17 and under when accompanied by a paying adult from February 15 to 23.

The Museum will kick off the year with Winter’s Aweigh, three days of special activities on Presidents’ Day Weekend beginning Saturday, February 15. Visitors can explore the Museum’s 19th-century seafaring village, historic vessels, and maritime exhibits, and take a horse-and-carriage ride.

Children can try their hand at an art project, stop by the Print Shop and create a vintage winter scene, or watch a Planetarium show. Other activities include toy boat building, story time in the Children’s Museum, music workshops, and a kids’-eye view of the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan.

Back by popular demand, three breeds of winter working dogs will visit Mystic Seaport throughout the weekend. The dogs will demonstrate various winter work tasks and be available for petting from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Malamutes will be on grounds Saturday, February 15; Newfoundlands will visit Sunday, February 16; and St. Bernards will be on Museum grounds Monday, February 17.

The children’s free admission offer continues through Sunday, February 23, during which time the Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The offer is not transferable and no other discounts apply.

For more information on hours and ticketing, please visit mysticseaport.org/visit.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Mystic, Conn. (January 31, 2014) – Mystic Seaport is pleased to announce the William P. Stephens Award has been presented to the distinguished yachtsman and author, John Rousmaniere.

“We are deeply honored to present this award to John Rousmaniere to recognize his life’s work. There are very few people with even a passing interest in boating or yachting who have not picked up a book he has written, “ said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. “His intuitive sense and passion for the subject matter makes sailing come alive on the page because he has lived that life.”

Established in 1988, and named after William P. Stephens, long known as the “Dean of American Yachtsmen” and “the grand old man of American yachting,” the award is given in recognition of a significant and enduring contribution to the history, preservation, progress, understanding, or appreciation of American yachting and boating.

Rousmaniere is an authority on maritime history, especially the history of yachting, and has written 15 books on this subject. His books include “The Golden Pastime: A New History of Yachting”; histories of the Bermuda Race, the America’s Cup, the New York Yacht Club, and other yacht clubs; biographies of the yacht America and the classic yawl Bolero; and two studies of marine photography focusing on the Rosenfeld Collection. He has written two books about storms, “After the Storm” and “Fastnet, Force 10”, the latter about the deadly 1979 race off England in which he sailed. Rousmaniere has served as yachting editor of “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History”.

He edited a book on yacht design titled “Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts” and the Olin Stephens autobiography, “All This and Sailing, Too,” published by Mystic Seaport. Rousmaniere’s books on sailing safety and seamanship include “The Annapolis Book of Seamanship,” which just went into its fourth edition. He also contributes articles to Sea History, WoodenBoat, and other magazines.

Rousmaniere has served on the Yachting Committee at Mystic Seaport, and he is chiefly responsible for the Museum’s acquisition of the life’s work of famed photographer Carleton Mitchell. He also has served on the Selection Committees of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Cruising Club of America and the New York Yacht Club, where he chairs the Library Committee.

The award was presented in a ceremony at the New York Yacht Club in New York on Wednesday, January 29.

Previous recipients include Olin J. Stephens II, Elizabeth Meyer, Briggs Cunningham, John Gardner, Carleton Mitchell, and Harry Anderson Jr.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Video contest underway for a spot on a 19th-century whaling ship this summer

Mystic, Conn. (January 9, 2014) – Mystic Seaport is seeking applicants now through February 18 to become a stowaway aboard the Charles W. Morgan during her 38th Voyage in the summer of 2014. To apply and submit your video entry, visit mysticseaport.org/stowaway.

Following a $7.5 million, multi-year restoration, the Charles W. Morgan will embark on a voyage throughout New England for the first time in more than 80 years. The stowaway will sail aboard the Morgan, America’s oldest surviving merchant vessel, during her three-month voyage commemorating America’s maritime heritage.

“This is for someone with a sense of adventure,” said Susan Funk, executive vice president of Mystic Seaport. “The word stowaway brings to mind a romantic image. To take a chance. To not know what you’re getting into until you’re already in it, and to go to places you’ve never been before, or go to places you’ve been, but seeing them in a whole different perspective.”

While on the 38th Voyage from May to August, the Charles W. Morgan will stop at historic ports of call throughout New England, including visits to New London, Conn.; Newport, R.I.; and Vineyard Haven, New Bedford, and Boston, Mass., where she’ll dock next to the USS Constitution. She will also anchor off the coast of Provincetown, Mass. for day sails to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, where the Morgan will team up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to observe whales in their natural environment.

The stowaway will watch, inquire, learn, participate, and use their creative energy to share the voyage experience with the general public through blogging, videos, social media, and activities in the port cities. The stowaway must be 21 years or older. Prior sailing experience is not required, but curiosity and enthusiasm are a must.

The stowaway will be immersed in all aspects of the Charles W. Morgan’s 38th Voyage while living on board the ship with the crew. The stowaway will learn and take on any jobs associated with living and working on a 19th-century vessel including handling the sails and lines, steering the ship, and scrubbing the decks. The stowaway will be a key player during events and exhibits at each port of call with an opportunity to explore and meet new and interesting people. The stowaway will receive compensation in the form of a stipend for their work.

“This is a unique opportunity, a moment in time that won’t come around again,” said Funk, who is also the president of the board of directors of the New England Museum Association. “This person will go into record as the stowaway on board this voyage. This is going to be the Morgan’s most documented voyage ever.”

The Stowaway program has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Event to Raise Funds for the 2014 Sea Music Festival

Mystic, Conn. (January 6, 2014) – Mystic Seaport will host its annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing Saturday, January 11, from 1-5 p.m.  All are invited to join in the lively sing-along as the Mystic Seaport chantey staff and notable performers from across New England sing maritime ballads, chanteys, and songs of the sea.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help support the Museum’s upcoming Sea Music Festival, one of the world’s premier sea music events. Fans of traditional sea music gather at Mystic Seaport each year to hear the best American and international performers of maritime music celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail. The 2014 festival will be hosted June 12-15.

“The Chantey Blast is a fun way for us to get people excited about the festival,” said Geoff Kaufman, a chantey singer at Mystic Seaport and one of the festival’s organizers. “It is open to anyone who has an interest in sea music, and all are invited to participate. We gather some great performers and just have a fun time making music.”

The event is co-sponsored by the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club and will be held at the Mystic German Club’s Frohsinn Hall, located at 54 Greenmanville Avenue, across from the Museum’s main entrance. Beverages will be available for purchase by the club. All ages are welcome.

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, the oldest American commercial vessel still afloat. For more information, visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Mystic, Conn. (November 22, 2013) — The New England Museum Association (NEMA) has elected Susan Funk, executive vice president of Mystic Seaport, as president of its board of directors. The election was held at the organization’s 2013 Annual Meeting on November 15 as part of the group’s 95th annual conference in Newport, Rhode Island.

“We’re very excited to have Susan on board,” said NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger. “Her leadership and commitment to the organization will help take us to the next level of success in serving the museum field.”

Funk oversees and coordinates the activities of the Museum’s Education, Exhibitions, Maritime Studies, Curatorial, Watercraft, Human Resources, and Visitor Services departments. She is responsible for operational and strategic planning, program evaluation, and participation in trustee committees, and management of all Museum functions associated with the Mystic Seaport visitor experience. Funk coordinated Mystic Seaport’s successful accreditation self-study for the Association of American Museums (AAM) in 2004-2005. She is active in the field serving on the NEMA board and regularly serving as an AAM Museum Assessment Program reviewer and accreditation site committees. In July 2005 she participated in the Getty Institute’s prestigious Museum Leadership Institute.

“Susan’s new role with NEMA validates her leadership in the field, and underscores how fortunate Mystic Seaport is to have had her on the staff all these years,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

Funk most recently joined the Museum in 1994. In total, she has been employed at Mystic Seaport for 25 years.

Funk was elected unanimously by more than 400 NEMA members in attendance. She is eligible to serve two one-year terms as president under the organization’s bylaws.

About the New England Museum Association

For 95 years, the New England Museum Association has been the region’s only organization serving museums of all sizes and the people who work for and with them. NEMA’s mission is to strengthen museums in the region through research, professional development, thought leadership, advocacy, and initiatives that build the social capital of museums within their communities. To achieve this mission, NEMA fosters communication and ethical conduct, promotes excellence in museum operations, and encourages support for the museum field. Programs include an annual conference which attracts more than 900 museum professionals, a series of workshops, a series of leadership events, and special projects such as the Museum Diversity Initiative, which seeks to align museums with an increasingly multicultural society.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Opening Reception for the Public Saturday, November 23

Mystic, Conn. (November 20, 2013) —The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport presents its annual winter exhibition Marine Artists in Winter, November 23 through April 14, 2014.

The invitational exhibition features more than 100 framed paintings and drawings displayed and available for purchase – each no larger than 12 inches in height or width (excluding frame). The exhibition showcases works with a maritime winter theme by 59 top Maritime Gallery artists, and features scenes of majestic ships, yachting and working boats, coastal landscapes, marshes, and marine wildlife.

Participating artists include Cindy Baron, Lou Bonamarte, Victor Mays, Leonard Mizerek, Jeffrey Sabol and Cean Youngs.

One of the most popular shows on the Gallery’s annual schedule, the exhibition provides an opportunity for collectors to own original work by their favorite artists at affordable prices.

“Each painting is truly a small masterpiece created by some of the most respected maritime artists working today,” said Jeanne Potter, director of the Maritime Gallery. “Reasonably priced and beautifully framed, these paintings are perfect for holiday gift giving.”

The Gallery will host a public opening reception with complimentary refreshments on Saturday, November 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. Live entertainment will be performed by local musician Bruce Foulke. A special discount of five percent off the sale of all art will be available for Museum members (Gallery Patrons receive a 10 percent discount) through December 31, 2013.

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. The Gallery is free to the public.

Richard “Kip” Files to take the helm of the 19th-century whaleship ahead of her voyage next summer

Mystic, Conn. (Nov. 6, 2013) – Mystic Seaport named Richard “Kip” Files of Rockland, Maine, as the new captain of the 19th-century whaleship Charles W. Morgan, which will venture back to sea next summer to visit historic ports of New England celebrating the importance of America’s maritime heritage.

At the conclusion of a five-year, multi-million dollar restoration at the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard, Files will take the Morgan on an approximately three-month voyage from May to August 2014 in Southern New England waters.

“This is an extraordinary undertaking and it will be exciting to take this ship back to sea to discover and share what it was like to operate a wooden whaleship as they did throughout the 19th century,” Files said.

As the owner and captain of the 132-foot, three-masted schooner Victory Chimes out of Rockland, Files is no stranger to sailing large ships without an engine. He is also the primary captain of the 207-foot barque Elissa, owned and operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation and Texas Seaport Museum. Files holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master Ocean License for Inspected Passenger Vessels of up to 1,600 Gross Tons. He has been a master of traditional sailing vessels since 1978. He also served on the boards of Tall Ships America (formerly the American Sail Training Association) and the Ocean Classroom Foundation.

“There are very few people in the world with the knowledge and experience of traditional square-rigged sailing necessary to do this job. Kip is one of those people and we are confident we have found the right person to lead the ship on her 38th Voyage,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

Files will arrive at Mystic Seaport to start work on November 11. He will be charged with hiring the Morgan’s crew and preparing and equipping her for the 38th Voyage. After a period of fitting-out and sea trials based in New London, Conn. Files will sail her to Newport, Vineyard Haven, New Bedford, and Boston. The Morgan will also venture into the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and participate in the centennial celebration of the Cape Cod Canal. The voyage will be a commemoration of the role of the sea in the history of America and an appreciation of our changing relationship with the natural world.

“For someone who has made his living with traditional vessels this is quite an honor,” Files said. “The 38th Voyage will be one of the most significant maritime events in my lifetime, and I feel privileged and humbled to be part of this historic voyage.”

As the 22nd captain of the National Historic Landmark and the last wooden whaling ship in the world, Files takes his responsibility for the well-being of the vessel and the safety of the crew very seriously.

“The most important goal is to achieve a safe voyage for the ship and all who sail on her,” Files said. “The Charles W. Morgan is an irreplaceable artifact of America’s maritime heritage and her well-being is paramount.”

At 113-feet long, the Morgan was launched in New Bedford, Mass. in 1841 and had a whaling career of 80 years and 37 voyages that spanned the far reaches of the globe. While her original cargo was whale oil and bone, now her cargo is knowledge. Commanding this American icon and presenting her to the American people as a living portal into an important chapter of our history is an honor, Files said.

Although he’s sailed in oceans across the globe for close to half a century, Files said he hasn’t yet experienced a favorite sail. However, the Morgan’s 38th Voyage is “going to be a quite the adventure,” he said.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free.

Mystic, Conn. (November 5, 2013) — Mystic Seaport named world-class sailor Gary Jobson the 2013 recipient of the Museum’s America and the Sea Award. Presented annually by Mystic Seaport, the award recognizes an individual or organization whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.

Jobson received the prestigious award at a benefit gala held in his honor in New York City November 5.

The America and the Sea Award honors and celebrates those who embrace the scholarship, exploration, adventure, aesthetics, competition, and freedom the sea inspires. Distinguished past recipients include founder of WoodenBoat publications Jon Wilson, former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, oceanographer and deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle, maritime collector and yachtsman William I. Koch, president and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas B. Crowley Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough, and famed yacht designer Olin Stephens.

“Few people have had such an extraordinary impact on the sport of sailing as has Gary Jobson,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “His contribution goes far beyond the awards and accolades on the race course: Gary is a gifted teacher and storyteller whose generosity and commitment has been an inspiration for many people inside and outside of the sailing community.”

Jobson has spent much of his life sailing the world’s oceans. He is a decorated sailor, television sailing commentator, Emmy winner, sailing lecturer, sailing coach and author. A great friend and supporter of Mystic Seaport, he has collaborated on producing documentaries on sailing and sailors with the Museum’s Film and Video Archives, including “Unfurling the World: The Voyages of Irving and Electa Johnson.” The documentary shares the adventures of the famous sailing couple who completed seven round-the-world voyages between 1933 and 1958 and later in life traveled throughout the inland waterways of Europe. Jobson, in partnership with Mystic Seaport, hosted the Mystic, CT, premier of the film in April, 2012.

Jobson’s talent, enthusiasm, and dedication to the art of sailing have inspired expert and novice sailors around the world. A championship sailor, he was awarded his first trophy, the Powell Trophy, in 1966 and won the America’s Cup with Ted Turner in 1977. In 1999, he won the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, U.S. Sailing’s most prestigious award. He has also won the infamous Fastnet Race and many of the world’s ocean races.

Over the past 35 years, Jobson has given more than 2,000 lectures around the world. From 2010-2012, he served as President of U.S. Sailing and he is currently the Vice President of the International Sailing Federation. In 2003, he was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and in 2011 into the National Sailing Hall of Fame. He was elected President of the National Sailing Hall of Fame in January 2013.

A prolific author, Jobson has written 18 books on sailing–newest publications include “Gary Jobson: An American Sailing Story” and “Nantucket: A Sailing Community”–and he is also Editor-at-Large of Sailing World and Cruising World magazines. He has been ESPN’s sailing commentator since 1985 and most recently covered the 34th America’s Cup for NBC Sports.

As a lymphoma survivor, Jobson has a strong affiliation with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He has been the National Chairman of The Leukemia Cup Regatta program since 1994 and actively works to raise funds and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. To date, these events have raised more than $44 million. In 2012, the University of Maryland Medical School established the Gary Jobson Professorship in Medical Oncology.

A resident of Annapolis, MD, Jobson and his wife, Janice, have three grown daughters and two grandsons.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Museum to Offer Free Admission All Day

Mystic, Conn. (October 30, 2013) — Mystic Seaport will celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the arrival of the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan to Mystic, CT, by offering free admission to all visitors on Saturday, November 9.

The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can explore the 19th-century village, walk through historic exhibits, and of course go on board the Morgan, There will be special interpretative talks and demonstrations throughout the day.

The Morgan is the last wooden whaleship from the age of sail and is the oldest American commercial vessel still afloat. After an 80-year whaling career and 10 years as an exhibit near New Bedford, the Morgan was at risk of being broken up when she was offered to the Marine Historical Association (now Mystic Seaport). She was towed up the Mystic River to arrive at her current home on November 8, 1941. The acquisition of the ship significantly raised the stature of the Museum and helped put the town of Mystic on the map of tourist destinations in New England.

Charles W. Morgan Day is held in conjunction with Mystic Restaurant Week, in which select local restaurants, including the Museum’s Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern, offer special one-price $13 lunch and $20.13 dinner menus. The week runs from Monday, November 4 to Sunday, November 10. For a complete list of participating restaurants, serving hours, and menus, please visit www.mysticchamber.org.

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 is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.