Category: News

Mystic Seaport Museum honored Dawn Riley and Oakcliff Sailing with its 2018 America and the Sea Award. 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. The award was presented at a gala fundraiser at the Metropolitan Club in New York City October 3.

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.

“Dawn Riley has blazed the trail for women in sailing over the course of nearly three decades, and has had a tremendous impact on the sport, both as a competitor and as a teacher,” said Steve White, President of Mystic Seaport Museum. “She is in a class by herself, serving as an inspirational role model for young women and all sailors.”

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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 in Oyster Bay, N.Y., where she 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 American Magic, which is currently preparing a challenge for the 36th America’s Cup. This syndicate partnered 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.

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.

Mystic Seaport Museum today announced it is the recipient of $736,167 in Save America’s Treasures grants to support the restoration of the L.A. Dunton fishing schooner and critical preservation work for the Rosenfeld Collection of Maritime Photography.

The National Park Service, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts, awarded $4.8 million in Save America’s Treasures grants to help fund 16 projects in 12 states. The funds will support the preservation of nationally significant historic properties and collections throughout the country. Mystic Seaport Museum received two separate grants under the program.

“We are very grateful for this support because these generous awards recognize the importance of maritime history to the American story and the value the L.A. Dunton and the Rosenfeld Collection have in that narrative,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport Museum. “These funds will save important pieces of history that are truly American treasures and which have a positive impact on the surrounding community.”

Built in 1921 in Essex, Mass., the 123-foot-long L.A. 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 20th century. The Dunton was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994. The grant of $491,750 will support the acquisition of rare shipbuilding timber and other materials for the planned restoration of the vessel.

The second grant of $244,417 will fund the restoration, digitization, and rehousing of selected cellulose diacetate negatives from the Museum’s Rosenfeld Collection of Maritime Photography, which have been affected by a form of acetate film base deterioration. The Rosenfeld Collection, acquired by the Museum in 1984, is built on the inventory of the Morris Rosenfeld & Sons photographic business and is the largest archive of maritime photographs in the United States.

Diacetate negatives are subject to a natural process of degradation as the diacetate plastic mounts give off acetic acid in the presence of humidity and/or other environmental factors. The plastic mount shrinks and partially separates from the base, resulting in the formation of channels in the film. The resulting condition, “vinegar syndrome,” renders the negatives unusable. The grant will enable the Museum to preserve 3,500 affected negatives.

Congress appropriates funding for the Save America’s Treasures grants from the Historic Preservation Fund, which uses revenue from federal oil leases to provide a range of preservation assistance without expending tax dollars. The program requires applicants to match the grant money dollar-for-dollar with funds from non-federal sources. This award of $4.8 million will leverage more than $10 million in private and public investment.

The federal Save America’s Treasures program, established in 1998, is managed by the National Park Service in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, with the objective of preserving nationally significant historic properties and museum collections for future generations of Americans.

Examples of other funded projects are a restoration of  Lake View Cemetery’s James A. Garfield Memorial in Ohio, conservation of the decorative paintings in Victoria Mansion’s parlor in Maine, and restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s Taliesin-Hillside Theater in Wisconsin.

The Save America’s Treasures program has provided $315 million to more than 1,300 projects to provide preservation and conservation work on nationally significant collections, artifacts, structures, and sites. Requiring a dollar-for-dollar private match, these grants have leveraged more than $377 million in private investment, and contributed more than 16,000 jobs to local and state economies.

For a list of all previously funded Save America’s Treasures projects, please view the American Architectural Foundation’s Treasure Map. 

Each year at Mystic Seaport Museum’s Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous an awards competition recognizes excellence in restoration, authenticity, and workmanship.

Here are the 2018 recipients:

Small Powerboats

Runabout

Satin Doll –  For ongoing excellence in a local favorite.

Power Boats

Nisca – Most original and best maintained yacht.

(tie) Sea Rebel and Corsair – Best owner maintained and operated vessels with an equal amount of determined effort in keeping their vessels to the highest standard.

Driftwood – Special Citation for best owner reconstructive  restoration.

Annie Laurie – Special Citation for ongoing and active participation in and strong support of the Mystic Seaport ACBR.  Additional recognition for Best in Show Boat Category.

Small Sail

Indian Summer – For the impressive tenacity of a young owner finding a boat and getting it ready in just two weeks- while working on the Mayflower- and that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time…

Christmas –  Best originality and great owner maintenance of originally fitted equipment.  Special Judges recognition of counter tops and spreader tips.

Large Sail

Malabar II – For best restoration and dedication to owner maintenance for over 40 years.

Half Moon – For impeccable attention to detail and  innovative and functional interior redesign.

Phra Luang – Amazing owner builder- dedication to detail of project from construction to maintenance.

Judge Emeritus Award

Violet – For an amazing mesh between owner and boat- they simply belong together.  There is nothing like Violet, she is unique and has style of all her own.

Scott Kraft on Bounding Home – Special Citation Award for dedication and support of the 2018 ACBR and bringing such a great collection of Aldens to the Mystic Seaport Waterfront.

Head Judge’s Special Citation

Bantam – For ongoing preservation of an Alden-designed historic sailing yacht and continued participation in the Mystic Seaport Museum Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous.

Earlier this month, Mystic Seaport Museum held its 20th Celebration of Volunteers.

Every year, Mystic Seaport Museum honors the work of its volunteers at a celebratory dinner and awards ceremony. The corps of more than 500 volunteers carry out a wide variety of jobs around the Museum and are active in almost every aspect of the operation. The following are those who were honored for 2018.

William C. Noyes Volunteer of the Year Award

The William C. Noyes Volunteer of the Year Award was established in 1998 through the generosity of Bill’s widow, Bettye, and donations received in Bill’s memory. The award is presented each year “to honor a Museum volunteer who best personifies Bill Noyes’ example and the ‘true spirit’ of a Mystic Seaport volunteer.” Bill, who was known for his friendly manner, his willingness to work, and his firm belief in the Golden Rule, gave freely of his time wherever he was needed the most. Between 1983 and 1997, he volunteered more than 6,000 hours in numerous departments, offering his services to any and all.

TOM AND TRACEY MIRSKY
Both Tom and Tracey have positive attitudes, warm senses of humor, and fierce dedication to Mystic Seaport Museum. Their genuine desire to help their fellow volunteers is an inspiration to all of those who work with them. They have an incredible can-do attitude in the tasks they undertake in many Museum departments regularly in the Visitor Reception Center, Membership and Exhibitions and most event venues in between. According to Ann Mauer from the Visitor Services team, “Both are well-informed, confident, friendly and courteous to our guests. What is most exceptional about this duo is that they are problem solvers – they gather information and make many helpful recommendations for improving the Museum experience. Whether suggesting improvements with our brochures and maps or reporting safety issues, they are tuned into the museum and simply make it a better place.” Gabe Gresko, Director of Visitor Services, also commented: “They are wonderful advocates of the Museum and truly worthy of this fine award.”

Special Recognition Awards: Volunteers

This award is presented to volunteers who have shown outstanding work, leadership, and skill in a specific area or department at Mystic Seaport Museum. 

Warren Dolphin
Chris Gasiorek, Vice President of Watercraft Preservation and Programs, presented the first Special Recognition Award to Warren, who has been volunteering at the Museum since 2013 and has logged in 1,380 hours. Warren is admired for his Traditional Tool Sharpening class that leaves a lasting impression on anyone hearing his presentation. Harry Smith stated: “There are people who can talk about sharpening stones that can only be obtained in the hills of Arkansas or oil from a particularly hard-to-find tropical nut harvest by a particular phase of the moon. In contrast, Warren plies his trade with sandpaper, old washing machine motors and plywood boxes and jigs of his own design. It seems to me that without these simple tools and his every Thursday volunteer session he provides to the Shipyard, the entire preservation effort might fail or become far less efficient.”

Dr. Paul Goodwin
Krystal Rose, Manager of Digital & Primary Source Education, presented the second Special Recognition Award to Paul Goodwin. Paul has been a steady and valuable volunteer researching and writing for Mystic Seaport Museum for its Educators website and for Exhibits since 2009, contributing more than 2,700 volunteer hours. Krystal Rose enthusiastically presented Paul with his award, noting the volume of work that is attributed to Paul. He has completed more than 100 individual research projects and on the museum website are 30-plus pieces published and being used by educators and students. Director of Exhibits Elysa Engleman has complimented him noting: “Paul has contributed his indomitable research skills, good humor and natural curiosity to benefit a range of exhibit projects including: Tugs!; the NEH funded planning grant for the Greenmanville Underground Railroad project; the Discovery Barn activity space, and SeaChange exhibit. …he unselfishly donates his time and expertise…”

Junior Volunteer of the Year

Executive VP and COO Susan Funk presented the Junior Volunteer of the Year Award to Liam Mullin. Liam has volunteered for the Education Department in the Mystic Seaport Museum Sailing Center since 2014 and has been an integral support for the Sailing Center on the water and off the water in summer and fall. Assistant Manager of Community Sailing Ben Ellcome noted: “…Liam has been dedicated, on time, and eager to share his love of the water and the museum with our students. We have the pleasure of working with many youth here, Liam has stood out in that crowd.”

Special Recognition Award: Staff

This award is presented to a staff member who has worked enthusiastically and efficiently with many Mystic Seaport Museum volunteers.

Jim McGuire
Laura Hopkins, Senior VP of Advancement, presented the Staff Special Recognition Award to Jim McGuire. Jim, Supervisor of Boathouse Volunteers, was nominated by his colleagues and Boathouse volunteer crew, who state that “Jim’s good nature, wry sense of humor and love of wooden boats underlies the standard for the crew. His ability to develop camaraderie among us keeps us coming back week after week and year after year. Jim sets very high standards for the work he supervises. Jim knows what the wooden boats deserve and passes on the respect and admiration for the boats to his team. He values the heritage of wood boat building traditions and the fine standards that go along with this tradition and he passes this on by his actions.” He is highly respected and admired by his Boathouse team.

The Fellows of the G.W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport Museum announced their 2018 award winners at their annual meeting last month. The honorees are Michael P. Dyer of the New Bedford Whaling Museum and Dianne Meredith of the California State University-Maritime Academy.

The G.W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport Museum is the home to one of the most comprehensive maritime collections in America, and a major center of maritime research. The Fellows of the G.W. Blunt White Library is a group that was formed in 1980 to support the Library and its collections. Two prizes for scholarship are awarded each year by the Fellows. The first, the Gerald E. Morris Prize Article, is named for a former Librarian and Director of Publications who established it in 1980 to encourage scholarship and publication in the field of American maritime history. The award is given for the best article published each year in “CORIOLIS: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Maritime Studies,” an online publication of Mystic Seaport Museum. The second award, the John Gardner Maritime Research Award, is named for the late John Gardner: author, editor, curator, small-boat designer, builder and regular user of the G.W. Blunt White Library and a proponent of maritime research. The award is given to a person who has made a significant contribution in the maritime research field.

During their 2018 annual meeting, the Fellows of the G.W. Blunt White Library named Dianne Meredith the Morris Prize winner for her article “Early Maritime Russia and the North Pacific Arc,” an examination of how Russia’s Pacific coastline influenced its maritime identity. Meredith is currently an Associate Professor in the department of Global Studies & Maritime Affairs at California State University-Maritime Academy.

Michael P. Dyer was named the Gardner Maritime Research Award winner. Dyer is the Curator of Maritime History at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and won for his book “O’er the Wide and Tractless Sea: Original Art of the Yankee Whaler,” which was published to wide acclaim in 2017.

It was a map of the world, dated to AD 1440, showing an island called Vinland, identified as part of the Northeast American coastline. In other words, it was the earliest map to show America.

When Yale University unveiled the Vinland Map on October 11, 1965, at a black-tie affair in New Haven, CT, it upended what Americans had believed and been taught for centuries — that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the New World in 1492. The Vinland Map, dated by Yale researchers to about 1440, ignited a firestorm of debate about the moment of first contact — could it be that Vikings reached North American shores as early as the year 1000?

Many scholars, historians and much of the general public were swayed by the map and the study behind it, believing that Vikings had in fact been the first Europeans. Part of this acceptance was likely due to 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.

The Ingstads 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 uncovered Viking artifacts dating to the year 1000 near a small town called L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Their discoveries were made public in 1964.

In Science, Myth, & Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga exhibition that opened May 19 at Mystic Seaport Museum, the visitor is transported back in time to that October day in 1965 when the map is unveiled. The exhibition lays out the journey of the map itself, all the science that went into testing it to determine its age and validity, and the context of the times around its discovery and unveiling.

The Ingstads’ work cannot be underestimated in its importance. In Helge Ingstad’s 2001 obituary in The New York Times, William W. Fitzhugh, the curator of an exhibition last year at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington and the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, is quoted as saying the Ingstads’ work ”proved that Norsemen, Vikings if you will, were actually in America 500 years before Columbus.”

Inside the Vinland Map exhibition, visitors will see a 9-foot by 4 1/2-foot scale model of the Norse fishing village unearthed by the Ingstads. Created by the same team that maintains and works on the Museum’s Mystic River Scale Model, the model shows Vikings living a coastal life around the year 1000.

The model is built to an HO Scale of 1:87, according to project leader Tim Straw. The team was commissioned in January to create the model. Typically in addition to their work on the Mystic River Scale Model, they do one or two other projects for the Museum each year. Most recently they built the model Umiak boat that was part of the SeaChange exhibition last year.

A museum in Newfoundland has a similar model, and so the team received numerous photos of that model to use as the basis for theirs. Birgitta Wallace, the retired archaeologist for Parks Canada managed the excavations after the Ingstads left the area, and advised the exhibition opening here at the Museum.

The base is made of dense foam and wood, which is cut to a rough shape to follow the topographical map of the area where the village had been. It is then refined with chisels and files, and painted. Grass is created by spreading thinned white glue and then sprinkling turf mix. The model portrays what life would be like in mid-summer for the villagers. The winters were hard (and all white, not very interesting for a model).

The team of six volunteers is responsible for all work on the Mystic River Scale Model including construction of buildings, wagons and buggies, and maintenance of groundwork. The work on the Vinland model was split among the volunteers. Straw, a retired US Navy sonar engineer, did the design work and made the base. Anny Payne spent many hours applying and detailing the groundwork covering the entire model. Cindy Crab and Payne made all the outbuildings. Nick Dombrowski — whose hobby is restoring canoes and kayaks — made all the boats and oars. Rob Groves, a tugboat captain, made all the people look like Vikings. Dave Olsen helps out where ever he is needed, which is everywhere and often.

The finished product is incredibly realistic. Straw noted that the timeline for this model was tight, but they made it with time to spare. Now they are back to their regular schedule working on the Mystic River Scale Model.

By Göran R. Buckhorn

What do the Minnesota Vikings, the comic Hägar the Horrible, and Nordic soccer fans have in common? If your answer is “horned helmets,” you’re correct. So did the old Vikings from present-day Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland really have horns on their helmets? Answer: Never!

In the 1840s, a mass emigration to the United States started from European countries, especially from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany. Among the Nordic countries, Norway and Sweden also saw many of their citizens leaving for America for what they hoped would be a better life. Finns and Danes followed in the 1880s. Many Scandinavians settled in the eastern Mid-west, where the land of Minnesota was good and cheap for the European immigrants.

During a time of Romantic nationalism in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Norsemen received a revival. The German composer Richard Wagner was strongly influenced by Norse mythology, which can clearly be seen in his Des Ring des Nibelungen, a cycle of four epic music dramas. The Ring is based on characters from the Norse sagas and Nibelungenlied, which is an epic German poem from around 1200. The first performance of The Ring opened in 1876 with costumes designed by Carl Emil Doepler, who was a German costume designer, painter, and illustrator. He had designed winged helmets for the characters in Wagner’s opera series. Some years later, Doepler published a book on Germanic gods and heroes, now also with horns on their helmets. The horned Viking helmet was born.

Fast forwarding seven decades, in 1951, American short-story writer and novelist Edison Marshall published The Viking, which in 1958 was turned into a swaggering, star-studded film, The Vikings [sic], with Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Ernest Borgnine. Among other places, the movie was filmed on a Norwegian fjord. To form two crews of rowing Vikings for the film, 125 top Nordic oarsmen from rowing clubs were gathered: 60 Norwegians, 64 Danes, and one Swede – the latter was this article writer’s rowing coach. No helmets with horns were used in this movie!

In 1954, the Swedish author Frans G. Bengtsson’s two-volume novel The Long Ships was translated into English (published in Sweden in 1941 and 1945). The novel became an instant success and neither the Swedish nor English editions have ever been out of print. Jumping on the success, a film with the same name as the novel was made in 1964, staring Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, and Russ Tamblyn. It has to be mentioned that this Anglo-Yugoslav film is very loosely based on the great novel by Bengtsson. In short, the film is terrible.

With a new Viking revitalization, it was not strange that in September 1960, a professional football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took the name Minnesota Vikings to recognize the rich Scandinavian-American culture in the state. Already from the start, the Vikings’ logo was the profile of a blond Norseman with a helmet with horns, which was designed by Karl Hubenthal, a cartoonist at the Los Angeles Examiner.

Two years later, the fictional superhero Thor, based on the Asgardian god of thunder, appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, Thor looked like he had just stepped out of Doepler’s sketch pad, a giant of a man, or god, carrying his mighty hammer Mjolnir and with a winged helmet on his head. In the enormous popular 2010s Thor movies by Marvel Comics, the superhero can, at times, be seen wearing a helmet, not with wings or horns, but with some odd-looking metal pieces sticking up like a large, double-sided cell phone attached to his headgear.

In 1973, a new character in a comic strip saw the light of day, Hägar the Horrible, created by Dik Browne, and later continued by Browne’s son, Chris. Hägar, often also Hagar, is a red-haired, overweight, scruffy-looking Norwegian Viking with a horned helmet. As a matter of fact, Hägar’s whole family, including a dog and a duck, are wearing horns on their helmets, except his sweet daughter, who is dressed as a young Valkyrie with a winged helmet. According to numbers from 2010, the Hägar comic strip is published in 1,900 newspapers in 56 countries.

So, how about the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic soccer supporters, why are they wearing Viking helmets with horns? First of all, coming from the countries of the Vikings, the fans should know better. Are the helmets making them look fierce or even berserk-like in the eyes of their opponents? No, not really. Google “Swedish soccer fans” on the internet and the images you get are of people with happy, blue-and-yellow-painted faces – and horned helmets. Could it be that the only Viking helmets that are around to purchase in toy stores and souvenir shops in the Nordic countries are helmets with horns? It is very likely…

Going back to the Viking age: wouldn’t it be terribly impractical for Viking warriors to wear helmets with horns or wings in a battle? Wouldn’t it be easy for an opponent to knock off the helmet by hitting the horns sticking up? And walking on the deck of a longship, wouldn’t the horns on the helmet rip the sail?

There are no sources suggesting that Viking had horns on their helmets. Yale professor Anders Winroth rejects the Viking horned helmets in his fascinating book The Age of the Vikings (2014). If you are visiting one of the two latest installed exhibitions at Mystic Seaport Museum, The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University, Sweden, which opened on May 19, among the beautiful helmets from the 7th century, not a single one has horns. That should tell you something.

Göran R Buckhorn is editor of Mystic Seaport Museum Magazine.

Mystic Seaport Museum has been named the recipient of a 2018 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.

About the Maritime Heritage Grants

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.

“From exploration, to industry, and military conflict, these grant projects tell the story of our nation’s history through a maritime lens,” National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said in a press release. “Through a collaborative effort, the National Park Service is dedicated to conserving these treasures and enhancing public awareness of our maritime heritage.”

“Since 2014, MARAD has provided more than $7 million in funding to support our nation’s maritime heritage projects,” added Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby. “These ships, lighthouses and other strategic maritime vessels have played an integral role in our nation’s success at sea. By preserving these maritime artifacts, we hope to inspire future generations with America’s maritime legacy.”

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.

For a complete list of grant recipients, please view the National Park Service press release.

This year the Treworgy Planetarium introduced a new class, “Introduction to Coastal Weather,” taught by Lt. Walter O’Donnell, a former navigation instructor for the U.S. Navy. We met Walt during classes and shows we hosted for sailors. The class, held in the early spring, was so popular that we have scheduled a second one for June (sign up here).

We asked Walt to take a few minutes and answer five questions so we could get to know him a little better.

1. Tell us a little about yourself, your career and educational background (including where you grew up and where you live now).
I was born in Boston and raised in Massachusetts. My parents took us sailing when we were young, and my grandfather always had a couple of boats that he kept at his house in Sag Harbor, N.Y. I have been sailing ever since, mostly coastal waters. I attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and graduated with a B.A. in History. I joined the U.S. Navy in 2011, and in six years, I lived in Newport, R.I., Norfolk, VA, San Diego, CA, and finally Newport, again. I was assigned to a 9,000-ton, 505-foot guided missile destroyer (DDG) in Norfolk, and deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. In San Diego, I was assigned as Navigator on a 25,000-ton, 685-foot amphibious landing platform dock (LPD), and we took her through the Pacific and Indian oceans to the Gulf of Aden in the Middle East for my second deployment. I spent my last two years in the Navy training future Navigators at Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport, specializing in weather and celestial navigation. I am currently attending Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT, pursuing my Master of Arts in Teaching for Secondary Education, Social Studies, and plan on being a high school history teacher. I live with my wife and 1-year-old daughter in Milford, CT.

2. How did you become interested in weather?
Weather is an inescapable part of going to sea, and I was always intrigued by how powerful Mother Nature can be. I had to brief my ship’s commanding officer every day on the weather forecast while in the Navy, so there was a necessity to becoming an expert on weather. I also love historical fiction, especially the “Master and Commander” series, and those books helped me appreciate how much a “weather eye” is the mark of a mariner. What really sealed the deal for me was when we were transiting across the Indian Ocean and encountered 20-foot waves and 60 knots of wind. I would never underestimate the importance of weather knowledge after those few days of pitching, rolling and yawing aboard a massive Naval ship.

3. Do you have a favorite kind of weather?
I would have to say relatively heavy weather. Ten to 12-foot seas, 30 knots of wind could rock my Navy ships pretty well, but we could handle it. There is a peace to trusting your equipment, because there is no way to “outrun” the storm at that point. And if I have done my job well up until then, then we knew that this weather was headed our way. After all, “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

4. What do you think are the most important aspects of weather that laypeople should understand?

How to “read” Mother Nature’s signs about what is headed your way when you’re already out on the water. Reading a weather forecast is pretty straightforward, but if you’re already sailing around on Long Island Sound, then you have to keep an eye to windward. If you understand how the barometer works, and combine it with a basic understanding of cloud types, you can keep yourself and your boat safe. We spend a good portion of the class going over these visual cues because they are so important to safe boating.

5. What’s the best part about teaching a class such as this?
Probably at the end of the class when we listen to the NOAA weather forecast on the VHF radio. At the start of class, many participants could not understand some parts of this vital report on what their current local weather is and what it will be. But at the end of class, they understand what every prediction means, and how it will affect their next trip out on the bay. Now they’ll have more fun out on the water because they have peace of mind about the weather!

Bonus: What is your favorite song, book and movie that involves weather?
Favorite song about weather would be “What Fortunes Guide a Sailor” by Matthew Byrne; it’s a great folk song about a long voyage.
Favorite book would be “Tying Down the Wind” by Eric Pinder because it makes weather fun, not too scientific.
Favorite movie is definitely “The Perfect Storm” because my grandparents lived in Gloucester, MA, the quintessential sailor’s town where the Andrea Gail came from, so we spent a lot of time up there.

On Tuesday, May 1, Mystic Seaport launched its new brand identity, strengthening its roots as an organization devoted to maintaining a strong connection to the American maritime experience while also moving confidently forward as a major 21st century cultural institution.

As part of the rebranding, Mystic Seaport Museum unveiled a redesigned logo, website, and large-scale ad campaign on Tuesday, kicked off with the unveiling of new signage along Greenmanville Avenue. The launch is a key element of the Museum’s strategic plan to position itself as a more modern and relevant cultural center that continues to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.

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.