Event to Feature Centennial Society of 100-year-old Vessels, Antique Boat Parade
Mystic, Conn. (July 10, 2015) —Mystic Seaport will hold its 40th annual Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous at Mystic Seaport Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26.
The event showcases high-quality antique vessels, including cruisers, sailboats, and runabouts. Approximately 50 classic vessels will create a colorful gathering along the Museum’s waterfront all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Visitors are invited to see the displayed vessels Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. An award competition will recognize excellence in restoration, authenticity, and workmanship.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rendezvous, the Mystic Seaport Centennial Society will be introduced. Gramp, an inductee into the first class of these 100-year-old vessels, will be featured this year. Designed by noted naval architect William Hand and built in 1915 by L. West and George Bonnell of Port Chester, NY, Gramp is an excellent example of the fast and seaworthy “Hand v-bottom” launches and runabouts that were plentiful in the decade before World War I.
The Museum will celebrate the anniversary on Saturday night, July 25, with “Docktails & Dancing” from 7 to 10 p.m. Guests will enjoy drinks, desserts, and dancing to live music by Rock and Soul Revue next to the water at Lighthouse Point. Tickets are $24 per person for members and $30 for non-members. A cash bar will be available. Tickets may be purchased by calling 860.572.5365.
The Rendezvous concludes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. with the traditional parade of the classic vessels down the Mystic River. Each boat will be announced on the shore at Mystic River Park as it passes through the iconic Mystic River Bascule Bridge. The boats then make their way down river to Fishers Island Sound in what has become a highlight of the Mystic summer season.
Mystic Seaport would like to give special thanks to Grundy Insurance and Dodson Boatyard of Stonington, CT, for their generous sponsorship of this event and their donation of time and expertise.
For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/event/antique-and-classic-boat-rendezvous-2/.
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 state-of-the-art 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. Admission is $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
