Category: News

Mystic Seaport Museum announces it honored the Dark Harbor 20 class owners with the William A. Baker Award. The award is given to promote the awareness and appreciation of fine examples of one-design classes or boats of like kind, and to foster faithful preservation and restoration, and encourage their continued use.

The owners are being recognized for their effort to preserve and maintain a significant class of American sailing craft.

Antique and classic boat organizations throughout the country typically present awards for the preservation of wooden boats. As a rule, these awards are presented to individual owners or vessels, recognizing some superlative aspect of the work that has been done to keep them up, maintain original status, or examples of fine craftsmanship.

The William Avery Baker Award is unusual in that it is presented to a class association or group of owners. The purpose is to recognize the people and communities that do the bold, arduous, and often expensive work of keeping a large group or class of vessels actively sailing.

The Dark Harbor 20 was designed in 1934 by yacht designers Olin Stephens II and his partner, Drake Sparkman, in response to a request from members of the Tarratine Club of Dark Harbor in Isleboro, ME, for a new sloop for club racing. The resulting boat is a narrow, fin-keel hull with long overhangs and a Bermudan rig. The first batch of 16 boats was built by George Lawley in Neponset, MA, during 1934-5. The design proved to be a success, both on and off the racecourse. The boats are fast, easily driven with particularly good windward performance, and easy to handle.

A second batch of five boats joined the fleet after World War II. All but one of the original Dark Harbor 20s are still sailing, and in 2006 a fiberglass version was added to the class. The new boats were designed and engineered by Sparkman & Stephens to be identical in all relevant aspects to the wooden boats to ensure fair competition.

“The owners of the Dark Harbor 20s are to be commended for their dedication to authenticity and active use of the class. That so many of the inaugural fleet are still sailing is a remarkable accomplishment and yet there is room for a next generation to continue the class for the future,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “We are proud to honor the Dark Harbor 20 owners for their continued effort to allow future generations to sail and enjoy these fine boats. As Camden was my childhood home, I had the opportunity to sail the DH20s, loving them all”

The award was presented at a ceremony at the Tarratine Club July 30.

Mystic Seaport is pleased to announce the latest recipient of the William P. Stephens Award is maritime photographer Benjamin Mendlowitz.

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 periodically in recognition of a significant and enduring contribution to the history, preservation, progress, understanding, or appreciation of American yachting and boating.

“We are deeply honored to present this award to Benjamin Mendlowitz to recognize his life’s work capturing the beauty and craftsmanship of wooden boats,” said Mystic Seaport Museum President Steve White. “Much as the Rosenfeld family chronicled the early and middle of the 20th century of American yachting with their iconic black-and-white photographs, Mendlowitz applies his talented eye and intuitive sense of light and curve to portray the classic boats that remain from the past and to document the important vessels from our generation. His work helped drive the renaissance of wooden boats in America over the last 40 years.”

Mendlowitz was born and raised in New York City and drew his passion for boats and the sea from summers on the New Jersey Shore, where he was influenced by the local traditional boat builders. After graduating from Brandeis University, he embarked on a career in photography with his work appearing in WoodenBoat Magazine and other nautical publications. Through his company NOAH Publications, Mendlowitz publishes the Calendar of Wooden Boats, which has been a staple on the walls of wooden boat enthusiasts for more than 30 years.

Mendlowitz photographs have appeared regularly on the covers of many trade and educational books, and in feature articles and on the covers of the most respected boating magazines including WoodenBoat, Nautical Quarterly, Sail, Yachting, Cruising World, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, Soundings, Chasse-Maree and L’annee Bateau (France), Classic Boat, (Britain), Yacht (Germany), and Arte Navale (Italy). His work has also appeared in magazines such as Time, Esquire, Money, People, Atlantic Monthly, Connoisseur, Historic Preservation, Field & Stream, Down East, Yankee, Sports Illustrated, The London Times Magazine, The Boston Globe Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, among many others.

Mendlowitz’s newest book, Herreshoff: American Masterpieces, created in collaboration with Maynard Bray and Claas van der Linde, was published in November 2016 by W.W. Norton & Company of New York. In 1998, Norton published Wood, Water & Light, a large-format, full-color book featuring more than 180 of Mendlowitz’s finest early images with accompanying text by Joel White. In addition to seven other book published by Norton, two books published by NOAH Publications feature his photography: Joel White: Boatbuilder, Designer (2002), with text by Bill Mayher and Maynard Bray and Aida (2012) by Maynard Bray.

The award was presented as part of the Castine Classic Race Symposium at the Maine Maritime Academy, in Castine, Maine, on July 31.

Previous recipients include Olin J. Stephens II, Jon Wilson, Elizabeth Meyer, Briggs Cunningham, John Gardner, Carleton Mitchell, Maynard Bray, John Rousmaniere, and Louie Howland.

While some gray rain clouds formed in the distance, approximately 170 Mystic Seaport Museum volunteers, staff, and guests gathered in the River Room and on the outside patio at Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern to participate in the 2019 Celebration of Volunteers Awards on July 17.

EveAnne Stouch, associate director of Volunteer Services, welcomed everyone to the awards ceremony, an event that has been held since 1998. At that time, there was one award to present, while the number of awards has now risen to six. Stouch handed over the microphone to Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum, who was happy to see so many gathered for this year’s celebration. After a few words, White introduced the new Chairman of the Museum Board, Michael Hudner. “Mike is a great friend of the Museum,” White said.

Hudner could feel the warmth of the volunteers, “who seems to feel so comfortable here tonight,” he said. “I would like to propose that we change the name of this group to the ‘Salty Dogs,’” a remark that was met with laughter from the assembled volunteers.

First up at the award presentation was Paul O’Pecko, vice president of Research Collections and director of the G.W. Blunt White Library, who spoke warmly about this year’s first recipient of the Volunteer Special Recognition Award, Martha Murphy, who volunteers in the Rosenfeld Collection.

Chris Gasiorek, vice president of Watercraft Preservation and Programs, who was presenting the second Volunteer Special Recognition Award, joked that he still feels like a stranger when he walks into the Museum’s Boathouse to talk to the volunteers working there. “They sometimes give me a cookie,” he said, “before I leave them to their task.” The second Volunteer Special Recognition Award went to Boathouse volunteer Andy Strode.

Molly Kulick was the 2019 Junior Volunteer Special Recognition Award winner, an award that was presented by Susan Funk, executive vice president and COO of the Museum. Molly is a dedicated and hard-working volunteer in the Sailing Center, Funk said. Funk read some of the remarks that Molly’s co-workers had mentioned about her, and one, that Molly always had a smile on her face, everyone among the gathered volunteers could see – Molly was beaming when she received her award from Funk.

Laura Hopkins, senior vice president for Advancement, spoke enthusiastically about the recipient of the Special Staff Recognition Award, her co-worker Chris Freeman, director of Development and Legacy Giving, who for the last 10 years has run the Museum’s PILOTS program. “Chris is a strong ambassador for the Museum, Hopkins said. She continued, “and who knew that PILOTS is an acronym for Passion, Integrity, Loyalty, Optimism, Tenacity, Service?” Chris Freeman was met with kindhearted applause when he went up to receive his award from Hopkins – many of the gathered volunteers this evening are also PILOTS in Chris’s program.

Left for the evening were the two most prestigious awards: the William C. Noyes Volunteer of the Year Award and the Rudolph J. Schaefer III Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award. Susan Noyes, daughter of Bettye Noyes who for many year’s presented this award, which is named after her husband, was proud to give this year’s award to RJ Lavallee, a member of the Watercraft Gung Ho Squad. He is the one who has received most nominations throughout the years for this award, Susan Noyes said. According to his co-workers: “He’s always cheerful, a team-player, and truly unique,” Noyes mentioned.

When Steve White, who presented the 2019 Rudolph J. Schaefer III Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, read out the name of the award winner, the volunteers cheered loudly. The award went to Rebecca “Becky” Jackson, who has volunteered at the Museum for 35 years, the recent years in the Membership lounge. White went over to the table where Becky was sitting to escort her to the front where she received her award. With Becky’s consent – as one is never to ask or reveal a lady’s age – White informed the volunteers that Becky will turn 100 years old later this year! Becky was a more than worthy winner of the Museum’s volunteers 2019 Lifetime Award.

Mystic Seaport Museum announces it is honoring the Dark Harbor 20 class owners with the William A. Baker Award. The award is given to promote the awareness and appreciation of fine examples of one-design classes or boats of like kind, and to foster faithful preservation and restoration, and encourage their continued use.

The owners are being recognized for their effort to preserve and maintain a significant class of American sailing craft.

Antique and classic boat organizations throughout the country typically present awards for the preservation of wooden boats. As a rule, these awards are presented to individual owners or vessels, recognizing some superlative aspect of the work that has been done to keep them up, maintain original status, or examples of fine craftsmanship.

The William Avery Baker Award is unusual in that it is presented to a class association or group of owners. The purpose is to recognize the people and communities that do the bold, arduous, and often expensive work of keeping a large group or class of vessels actively sailing.

The Dark Harbor 20 was designed in 1934 by yacht designers Olin Stephens II and his partner Drake Sparkman in response to a request from members of the Tarratine Club of Dark Harbor in Islesboro, ME, for a new sloop for club racing. The resulting boat is a narrow, fin-keel hull with long overhangs and a Bermudan rig. The first group of 16 boats was built by George Lawley in Neponset, MA, during 1934-6. The design proved to be a success, both on and off the racecourse.

The boats are fast, easily driven with particularly good windward performance, and easy to handle. Boat number 1 (Widgeon) was built for Rebecca Crane Tompkins, daughter of famed yacht designer Clinton Crane. Mrs. Tompkins sailed with Donnie Durkee and Gilbert Leach as crew for more than 25 years. Widgeon was then raced by her family until recently when her great-grandsons Ned and Peter Truslow donated it to the Islesboro Central School.

A second group of five boats (Hulls 17-21) joined the fleet after World War II. They were built by Al Norton on 700 Acre Island at what is now Dark Harbor Boatyard. All but one of the original Dark Harbor 20s are still in existence – Hull 19 was lost in a storm. With no way to expand the fleet to new owners, and with maintenance costs of the aging fleet growing, there was talk of switching to a new model, but instead in 2003 under the leadership of Commodore Bill Elkins, research began on a fiberglass version. The new boats were designed and engineered by Sparkman & Stephens to be identical in all relevant aspects to the wooden boats to ensure fair competition. They were built by Shaw yachts of Thomaston, ME, and launched in 2005 (Hulls 22-25).

According to a 2016 article by Art Paine in Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors: The goal in developing the fiberglass version was to not only maintain the same weight, stability, and sailing characteristics, but also to preserve the classic feel of the existing boats while utilizing modern but conservative (low-tech) construction techniques.

Pendleton Yacht Yard weighed 11 different boats, soaking wet, in the fall of 2003. Then S&S Naval Architect Carl Persak spent several weeks documenting hull, keel, and deck geometry, testing construction materials, doing inclining experiments, and scale measurements of all the existing boats.

Based on these measurements, S&S produced a detailed weight study confirming the weight, vertical and longitudinal center of gravity, stability, and righting moments of existing wooden boats. This study was the basis for the calculations of the 3D hull file for the fiberglass version.

According to Stanley Pendleton, who oversaw the calculations for the new boats, the molds for the hull, deck, and rudder are now at Pendleton Yacht Yard, located in downtown Dark Harbor. Their first project with the molds was a restoration of wooden Hull 10 into fiberglass Hull 26. All of the bronze Lawley castings, bronze fittings, mahogany seats, mahogany main bulkhead, rudder and tiller, trunk house and mahogany coaming, and lead keel were removed and re-installed into a new fiberglass hull and fiberglass deck. The original bronze rudder post was also saved and used for a new fiberglass blade. The spars were stripped and refurbished, keeping the original castings but installing new bronze tangs and other fittings. The boat sails as #10 and is a perfect replica of a wooden boat. Special care was taken with the hull and deck joint so it could be hidden by a proper 3/4-inch wide toe rail and have a proper reveal between the toe rail and rub rail.

Pendleton Yacht Yard then splined and refinished the left-over original hull, handsome by itself, re-framed and flattened the deck, made a floor mount, and it is now used as a stunning tasting bar in a rum distillery in Massachusetts.

More new fiberglass Dark Harbor 20s are planned.

“The owners of the Dark Harbor 20s are to be commended for their dedication to authenticity and active use of the class. That so many of the inaugural fleet are still sailing is a remarkable accomplishment and yet there is room for a next generation to continue the class for the future,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “We are proud to honor the Dark Harbor 20 owners for their continued effort to allow future generations to sail and enjoy these fine boats.”

The award will be presented at a ceremony at the Tarratine Club on Tuesday July 31.

Mystic Seaport Museum announced today proposed changes to its grounds that will advance the Museum’s role as a leader in the maritime heritage field.

The three projects include construction of an underwater research and education center in partnership with the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE), the expansion of public display of its watercraft collection, and construction of a restaurant and boutique hotel.

The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose headquarters is currently on the Mystic Seaport Museum campus. GFOE designs, builds, and operates some of the most advanced underwater technologies used for scientific exploration. GFOE proposes to create an Underwater Research and Education Center on land to be leased from the Museum next to the James T. Carlton Marine Science Center. Phase One of this facility will house a work area for the research and development of underwater technologies. In addition, GFOE will provide interactive, hands-on displays in the Museum’s Clift Block building, which will demonstrate to Museum visitors and school groups some of the cutting-edge technologies that GFOE uses in ocean exploration. Phase Two will include a pool for testing underwater robots and other technologies, while providing a space for hands-on activities for students and the public.

One consequence of possessing the nation’s largest collection of historic watercraft is the challenge of finding the room to store and display it. Presently, 460 of the more than 500 historic vessels are stored in the Collections Research Center across the street from the main campus. Due to its configuration, public access is limited to occasional public viewing events, scheduled tours, and research visits by appointment. The plan calls for the conversion of 38,000 square feet of warehouse storage in the center to exhibit space suitable for the display of boats in the collection. This permanent exhibit will feature a rotating selection of watercraft and be open to Museum visitors on a daily basis.

The new hall will fulfill a longstanding desire on the part of the Museum to provide greater public access to the watercraft collection.

The proposed restaurant and hotel is being developed in partnership with Greenwich Hospitality Group and would be built on the site of Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern. The present building is not a historic structure. It was built by the Museum in 1964 as the Seamen’s Inne Restaurant & Pub.

Plans call for the demolition of Latitude 41° and the construction of a 20-25 room hotel with a restaurant and event space. The new building will continue the Museum’s role as a superior venue for weddings, corporate meetings, and group events in the Mystic area and the restaurant will provide a fine-dining destination for Museum visitors and the public. The building will be set farther back on the property from Route 27.

“We are excited to announce these three strategic initiatives, which will add significantly to the visitor experience of the Museum, support and share the important work of the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, and provide new sources of revenue to help sustain Museum operations,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum.

Mystic Seaport Museum is located within a Maritime Heritage District in the Town of Stonington. The Museum submitted an amendment to its master plan to the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission to address the proposed projects.

By Steve White, President of Mystic Seaport Museum

At the Annual Meeting of the Members on May 18, we witnessed a significant leadership change for our Board of Trustees. J. Barclay Collins, II fulfilled his six-year term as Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees and Michael S. Hudner was elected to be the next chairman.

Looking back on Barclay’s tenure as chairman, it is remarkable to see what we achieved during those years: We completed the restoration of the Charles W. Morgan and took the ship back to sea for her 38th Voyage—an unprecedented event in the maritime heritage community. The McGraw Gallery Quadrangle and its anchor, the Thompson Exhibition Building, re-envisioned the north end of our grounds with a new focus on indoor exhibitions, and we are leveraging that capability with the Era of Exhibitions and the display of ground-breaking shows such as The Vikings Begin; Science, Myth, and Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga; and Death in the Ice: The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition. That is quite a list. It is a testament to Barclay’s leadership, and we are grateful that he will continue to serve on the Board.

The Museum is also fortunate to have Mike Hudner ready to take over the gavel. Mike has been a trustee since 2004. As the leader of the team that oversaw the Gallery Quadrangle project, one needs only to look at the striking façade of the Thompson Building to know we are in good hands with Mike at the helm. Mike has also served the Museum well as chair of the Exhibitions Committee for many years. He is a maritime businessman and a lifelong sailor who cares passionately about the sea and our mission.

I ask the Mystic Seaport Museum Community to join me in thanking both men for all they have done — and will continue to do — for the institution. Both are striking examples of the Museum’s outstanding Board of Trustees who serve so generously.

At the 2018 Viking Days held at the Museum, William R. Short was scheduled for a one-hour lecture on Saturday morning, and again on Sunday morning. Seating capacity in the lecture room was about 65. It filled up 20 minutes before the lecture was scheduled to start and we had to turn away dozens of disappointed people.

Well, don’t say you can’t teach an old Museum a new trick. For this year’s Viking Days (June 1-2), we have Dr. Short scheduled for TWO lectures on Saturday and TWO lectures on Sunday and we have moved the talks to the Greenmanville Church, which has a much larger capacity.

Short is an author, filmmaker, lecturer, and independent scholar specializing in Viking-age topics, notably medieval Icelandic literature, Viking-age material culture, Viking-age weapons, and Viking-age combat techniques. He is the manager of Hurstwic, LLC, an organization that researches, practices, teaches, and demonstrates the fighting moves of Viking-age warriors at their training and research facility in Millbury, MA. He took a few minutes to answer five questions for us.

1. Where did your interest in Viking history and culture first begin?

Short: It started when I discovered the Sagas of Icelanders, the stories of Viking-age Iceland, and the interest was firmly cemented when I took a summer course in the sagas at the University of Iceland.

2. How do explain the current modern-day fascination with Viking and Norse culture?

Short: I cannot. Popular entertainment paints a fantasy portrait of these people, but the actualities are far more adventuresome, bold, and exciting.

3. Your lecture topics this year are: “The Viking Belief in the Afterlife”; “The Making of Iron in the Viking Age”, and “Trolls and Zombies: The Paranormal Creatures that Inhabit the World of the Vikings.” Can you give me a bumper-sticker sized description of each talk?

Short: “Viking-Age Iron: Making and Trading, Using and Sacrificing”: Iron was difficult to make in the Viking age, and thus precious, yet it was essential for life. The evidence of Viking-age iron-making in Newfoundland is a sure sign that Vikings crossed the Atlantic to visit and to repair their ships there. How did Viking-age people make and use iron, and what special significance did this magical material have to these people?

“Ghosts, Zombies, and Trolls in the Viking Age”: The sagas tell tales of everyday people in the Viking age, but the saga
landscape is also populated by ghosts, zombies, trolls, and sorcerers. What did it mean to be a troll? These beliefs in zombies and magic shed new light on aspects of the ancient northern religion and Viking society, and they still reverberate today in modern-day Iceland.

“Viking-Age Beliefs in the Afterlife”: If you lived in the Viking age, and a loved one died, what did you expect would happen to him or her? To the body? And to the essence of the person, the part of them that lives on after death? This presentation discusses what is known about these Viking-age beliefs.

4. Whats the biggest misconception people have these days about Viking culture?

Short: Sorry, it’s hard to answer. Most people have no idea of the mindset of the Viking people: the unwritten rules carried in their hearts that guided their behavior. And so they have an expectation of how these people behaved
that probably differs from what really happened.

5. Whats your favorite aspect of Viking culture?

Short: They were fabulous story-tellers and poets, and their stories and poems continue to fascinate and entertain today.