Historic Vessel to Open to the Public on Tuesday, June 17

NEWPORT, Rhode Island (June 15, 2014) — The historic whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial vessel and a National Historic Landmark, completed the first leg of her 38th Voyage when she sailed into Newport, Rhode Island, today.

This is the Morgan’s first sailing voyage since 1921.

The Morgan cast off from City Pier in New London, Conn., at 6:15 a.m. and was towed up Fishers Island Sound and through Watch Hill Passage. Once on Block Island Sound the ship dropped the tow and set all working sail to make her way to Newport. She arrived in the harbor and tied up at Fort Adams at 6 p.m.

“Seeing the ship with her sails set just as they were in the heyday of her whaling career was an incredible sight. It was truly seeing history come alive,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

Sunday was the first time the Morgan‘s 38th Voyagers were on board the ship. The Voyagers are individuals from around the world who applied to participate in one leg of the Voyage, and then communicate their experience based on their discipline or talent. Voyagers range from poets and scholars, to musicians and artists. There were nine Voyagers on this leg.

Matthew Ecklund, an artist and educator with Call of the Sea, a non-profit marine education organization based in Sausalito, Calif., spent his time on board sketching the crew at work as the basis for a series of quill and ink illustrations to be used in future exhibitions and programs.

“I hope to bring back the lessons that can only be learned by first-hand experience. The 38th Voyage is an exciting and inspiring event for so many people, and I want to be able to take the experience of the 19^th-century sailor and use it to inform what we try to achieve in our education programs in California,” said Ecklund.

The 38th Voyager program is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The Morgan will be open to the public at Fort Adams from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17. She is scheduled to continue her voyage with a transit to Vineyard Haven, Mass., on June 18.

Downloadable Media:

High resolution photos and broadcast-quality HD video of the ship’s activities on Sunday will be available for download and use by news media. Downloads can be accessed on the Mystic Seaport press page.

Links:

mysticseaport.org/38thvoyage
https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/connect/press/
https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/stowaway
https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/stories

Social Media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mysticseaport
Twitter: @mysticseaport

About the NEH

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. www.neh.gov

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, 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 6-17. Museum members and children under 5 are admitted for free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/

MYSTIC, Conn. (June 13, 2014) —  The Charles W. Morgan is now scheduled to depart for Newport, RI, from New London, CT, this Sunday, June 15. The ship will cast off at 6:30 a.m.

The ship was originally scheduled to leave on Saturday, June 14. The delay is due to conditions expected off of Point Judith, RI, on Saturday.

“The cold front that is passing through will most likely leave the sea state in the area quite agitated, more so than we feel is appropriate for the Morgan. By delaying a day, we give the waters time to calm down,” said Dana Hewson, the vice president for watercraft preservation and programs at Mystic Seaport.

The decision to postpone the sail was made in consultation with meteorologists at the National Weather Service.

In a change from previous plans, there is a possibility that the Morgan will pass through Watch Hill Passage between Watch Hill, RI and Fishers Island, NY, on her way to Block Island Sound, and not through The Race as previously announced. The decision of which passage to take will be made by the captain on Sunday morning.

For the latest updates and to track the Morgan‘s position live, please visit the 38th Voyage page on the Museum’s website.

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, 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 6-17. Museum members and children under 5 are admitted for free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/

National Historic Landmark Vessel Completes Sea Trial

Mystic, Conn. (June 7, 2014) — The 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan sailed for the first time in almost a century  on Saturday, June 7, on the first day of sea trials for her 38th Voyage. The ship cast off from City Pier in New London at 9:30 a.m. and proceeded out onto Long Island Sound, where she spent the day conducting sail training drills and maneuvers. She returned to New London at 3:30 p.m.

“The ship exceeded all expectations and performed wonderfully. She is faster than we thought she would be, she turns easier, and she handles really well. We could not be more pleased,” said Capt. Kip Files, the 22nd master of the Morgan. “There is no one alive today who has sailed one of these whaleships who can tell us how they perform, so we really learned a lot today. We have a great voyage ahead of us.”

The National Historic Landmark vessel has been a static exhibit at Mystic Seaport since 1941 and has not sailed since the early 1920s. Her last whaling voyage, her 37th, ended in 1921. The sea trials are to prepare her to sail to historic ports in Southern New England on a 38th Voyage.

Sea trials will continue on June 8, 11, and 12.

The ship embarks on her voyage, with a scheduled transit to Newport, RI, on Saturday, June 14. Following that stop, the ship will then visit Vineyard Haven, Mass.; New Bedford, Mass.; and Boston, where she will dock next to the USS Constitution. She will also anchor off 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 and call attention to mankind’s changing relationship with the natural world.

Downloadable Media

High resolution photos and broadcast-quality HD video of the ship’s journey will be available for download and use by news media on the Mystic Seaport press page.

Links

mysticseaport.org/38thvoyage
https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/connect/press/
https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/stories
www.facebook.com/mysticseaport
http://www.youtube.com/user/MysticSeaportVideos
Twitter: @mysticseaport

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, the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum is located one mile south of exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. For more information, visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Musicians from Around the Globe Gather to Celebrate Maritime Traditions

Mystic, Conn. (May 30, 2014) – Musicians from around the world will come to Mystic Seaport to celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail at the 35th annual Sea Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 12-15. The Festival is the premier sea music event in North America.

This year’s roster includes music from Great Britain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Canada, and the Caribbean, along with singers from across the United States. The weekend’s festivities include daytime and evening concerts, special performances for children, instructional workshops, a scholar’s symposium, and a unique opportunity to witness sea music at work aboard the Museum’s historic vessels.

More than 20 individuals and groups will perform at the Festival. A highlight for 2014 will be the Barrouallie Whalers from the island of St. Vincent, who still sing the songs sung as islanders rowed whaleboats to hunt blackfish (pilot whales) 50 years ago. The Whalers are the last practitioners of a unique Eastern Caribbean musical tradition that accompanied their whaling activities.

All workshops and daytime concerts in the Festival are included in regular Mystic Seaport admission. Museum admission is good for two days upon ticket validation (visit must be made within one week of purchase date). Special tickets are required for evening concerts and can be purchased by calling 860.572.0711, or at the Museum’s main entrance. Weekend passes are also available. College students will be admitted into the Festival for the youth rate upon presentation of a current student ID.

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

Returning this year is an evening sea music “contra dance,” a style of partnered folk dancing traditional to New England. The dance will be held Saturday evening from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Mystic German Club’s Frohsinn Hall, located directly across the street from the Museum’s main entrance on Route 27. There is an $8 admission fee for the dance.

In addition, the annual Music of the Sea Symposium, hosted in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 13-14. The Symposium, which features presentations of themed papers by some of the country’s leading maritime music scholars, explores the interaction between sea, music, and song. The first day of the symposium will be hosted Friday, June 13, on the maritime campus of the University of Connecticut at Avery Point in Groton, Conn. Admission is free. The Symposium continues Saturday, June 14, at Mystic Seaport in the Greenmanville Church. Museum admission is required. For further details and a list of Symposium presenters and topics, visit mysticseaport.org/smfsymposium

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

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, 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/.