Category: News

Mystic Seaport will return to being open to visitors year-round in 2016. From January 2 to February 12, 2016 the Museum will be open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. This comes after several years being closed for the first six weeks of the calendar year.

“An important part of the strategic vision for Mystic Seaport is to be a museum that functions in all four seasons, and over the past year we have added a number of enhancements and changes to our physical plant and exhibits that enable us to offer a more robust visitor experience in the winter months,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “This will only get more compelling when we open the new Thompson Exhibition Building later in the year.”

The programs and exhibits that will be open have been chosen with cold weather in mind. This includes the buildings and exhibit galleries on the north end of the grounds, including the Planetarium, Children’s Museum, and the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. Schaefer’s Spouter Tavern will be open for dining.

Highlights to a visit this winter are the award-winning exhibit “Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude” on temporary loan from the National Maritime Museum, London, the “Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers” exhibit, and the new Home Port children’s activity center in the P.R. Mallory Building. In addition, visitors may view the Figureheads Exhibit, the Benjamin F. Packard Ship’s Cabin, and the art exhibit by Dalvero Academy, “Journey of Transformation.”

The Planetarium will have two shows: “Winter Stars and the Mariner” and “Longitude: Proof in the Pacific.” The latter is a special 35-minute program that brings ships, clocks, and stars together to follow Captain James Cook as he tests longitude solutions in the Pacific Ocean during his voyages in the 18th century. The audience can see the night sky from the island of Tahiti as Cook and the astronomers in his company seek to view the rare astronomical phenomenon known as the Transit of Venus. Planetarium shows are free and included with general admission during this time.

The Membership Building will be open to assist members and provide a hot cup of cocoa, tea, or coffee for those in need of a warm up.

There will be several special programs this winter not to miss. The Stars of the Smithsonian Lecture Series continues with Carlene Stephens, a curator at the National Museum of American History, presenting “Connecting the World in Time” on January 14. This talk explores the changing ways humankind used to connect around the globe over the centuries and draws on treasured timekeepers and their stories.

The Mystic Seaport Adventure Series returns on January 21 with USCG CWO Randall J. Rice recounting his remarkable career in “Stories of a Rescue Swimmer.”

Winter Vessel Tours showcasing steamboat Sabino, Plimoth Plantation’s Mayflower II, schooner Amistad, and the Charles W. Morgan will be offered weekends from January 2 through February 7, 2016.

During this period, the 19th-Century Village and the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard will be closed to visitors. They will reopen on February 13, 2016 for Winter’s Aweigh.

As part of this new operating plan, Mystic Seaport will offer reduced admission: Adult $19; Senior (ages 65+) $17; Youth (ages 6-17) $12; and Children (5 and younger) Free. The reduced admission is effective January 2 through February 12, 2016. Regular admission rates will apply after that time.

The Museum is very excited to return to operating year round. It is great time to see Mystic Seaport in a different way–at a great price!

The construction of the Thompson Exhibition Building reached a milestone this past week with the installation of the final wood beam. This completed the erection of the primary structure for the building. Each of the ten beams is 105-feet long and constructed of glue-laminated fir. The beams were manufactured outside Montreal, Canada and shipped to Mystic Seaport in sections. The contractor then assembled the parts on-site.

Following close behind the structural work were the roofers. At this point, the entire roof has been sheathed in plywood and a waterproof membrane has been applied. Contractors presently are working on erecting the wall framing to have the building enclosed as we head into winter.

At the same time, the water, electrical, IT, and HVAC lines are being installed in advance of the pouring of the concrete floor, and the mezzanine level is being erected. The building’s systems will be located on the second floor mezzanine.

Work will continue on the building throughout the winter. For more information on the Thompson Building and the McGraw Gallery Quadrangle project, please visit our McGraw Quad page.

A time-lapse video of the erection of the glue-laminated beams of the Thompson Building beginning with the first beam on October 16, 2015 and running to the installation of the final beam on December 15.

https://youtu.be/D4FEm_Yi7o8

Inspire the next generation with your gift to the Mystic Seaport Annual Fund.

Mystic Seaport is contributing the content of some of the logbooks in its collections to support the work of Old Weather: Whaling, a crowd-sourced research initiative that will help scientists analyze historical data from whaling logbooks, in an effort to improve the collective understanding of long-term climate variability and weather patterns, from the 19th century into the future.

Old Weather: Whaling is the sister project of Old Weather, a successful ongoing project led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Washington and Zooniverse, the citizen science web portal. Similar to the original Old Weather, Old Weather: Whaling (OWW) is about citizens extracting historic weather measurements and other data from ship logs. However, OWW offers particular focus on observations of sea ice, which many whaling ships sailed through and documented while navigating Arctic waters.

“Mystic Seaport is excited to be able to use the artifacts in our collections to assist scientists and other researchers to add to the body of knowledge on climate patterns,” said Paul O’Pecko, Vice President, Collections and Research at Mystic Seaport.

The Museum has contributed the project’s original data sources (logbooks and journals) along with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Providence Public Library, the Nantucket Historical Association, Martha’s Vineyard Museum, and the New Bedford Free Public Library. Weather and sea-ice data from these sources will be transcribed via the Old Weather project and integrated into existing global data sets. High-resolution images of historical documents, extracted data, and related research products will be provided to project partners and collaborators, and freely available online.

The crowd-sourcing model of Old Weather allows for any and all to become citizen scientists and contribute to the initiative.  “Volunteer citizen-scientists who join Old Weather can make real contributions to our understanding of one of the most important scientific questions of our time,” said Kevin Wood, a climate scientist with NOAA and the University of Washington Joint Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere (who helped develop the Old Weather Project). “The data that volunteers extract from logbooks will drive climate and sea-ice models, which will assist in future climate predictions.”

For more information or to become a citizen scientist, visit whaling.oldweather.org.

The Shipyard has begun work on replacing L.A. Dunton’s rig in anticipation of re-stepping her lower masts next spring.

The Gloucester fishing schooner, 123 feet, 3 inches over all, is one of the few remaining vessels of her type in the country. Sailing schooners like the Dunton fished the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and Georges Bank outside of Cape Cod and were some of the fastest and ablest fishing vessels in the world. Dunton was designed by Thomas McManus and built in 1921 by the Arthur D. Story yard in Essex, MA. A part of the Museum since 1963, she was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

Dunton has been displayed without her topmasts for the last several years due to some weakness in her main mast top. Last fall, in anticipation of her scheduled haul out, Shipyard staff removed her lower masts to discover her main top was so deteriorated that they could not re-step her masts without replacing her main all together. Furthermore, the Samson post into which her bowsprit is mortised was also found to be rotten; fortunately deterioration had not spread to the bowsprit itself. The Samson post will also need replacement before her rig can go back in. After reviewing various partial rig scenarios the Shipyard reluctantly decided, to the disappointment of many, to exhibit her without a rig until resources were available to correct these deficiencies.

The new main will be somewhat different from the one that was removed. It will be a little longer with slightly different mast head detail. This is the result of research done in the mid-1980s. At that time extensive notes accumulated by Edward S. Bosley, researcher and correspondent of Howard I. Chappelle, during last days of fishing schooners, became available through the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, in Essex, MA. This research gave details unavailable to the Museum in earlier Dunton rig restorations. Subsequently, new lower masts were ordered to these new specifications. The masts were stored, until last week, under the lean-to shelter alongside the Small Boat Exhibit. The main is now alongside the bulkhead near the Sanger Visitors Reception Center waiting for work to begin. It’s a beautiful piece of Douglas fir 90-feet long and 19 inches in diameter.

Dunton is also in need of new topmasts. Fabrication and re-rigging her topmasts will follow next year as time and resources are available.

This work is being made possible through the generous support of several donors with a special interest in the L.A. Dunton .

It’s been more than 30 years since L.A. Dunton has received any major work, and before long she will need a major restoration on the level of the Museum’s recent Charles W. Morgan project. In the meantime, the Shipyard will continue to monitor her condition and improve her according to priorities as they arise.

The Association for the Study of Connecticut History (ASCH) has awarded the Betty M. Linsley Award for 2015 to Mystic Seaport for the book, The Charles W. Morgan: A Picture History of an American Icon. The Award recognizes the best work on a significant aspect of Connecticut’s history published by, for, or on behalf of a Connecticut historical society or organization.

Peter Hinks, the Awards Committee Chairperson, wrote in his notification announcement, “Embedding the Morgan not only in a centuries-old history of whaling but in the lavishly illustrated log of one of the most important restoration projects in Connecticut’s history, this volume makes clear why we are so fortunate to still have the Morgan among us. It is our privilege to recognize Mystic Seaport’s accomplishment.”

This Award is named for Betty M. Linsley, history teacher, librarian, archivist, and genealogist. It honors Linsley’s work in promoting the study, teaching, and preservation of Connecticut history.

The Award was presented to Mystic Seaport at the annual meeting of the Association at Central Connecticut State University on November 7.

The last two weeks have been quite exciting in terms of progress on the new Thompson Exhibition Building. Since the groundbreaking last January, the bulk of the work has been underground. The infrastructures systems–electrical, IT, water, sewer and storm water drainage–had to be located, moved, or replaced, and the building site excavated, the foundation poured, and then back filled. It was a lot of work, but not visible behind the construction fence.

All that changed last week when the first of the laminated wood beams arrived and the contractors began to finally build up.

The exposed wooden beams are major feature of the design. Their giant curve is meant to invoke the frames of a ship or the curl of a wave. The beams are laminated from multiple pieces of Douglas fir at a factory outside of Montreal, Canada. At 105-foot long, they need to be shipped in pieces and assembled on site. The engineers cleverly hid the steel plates holding the parts together by inserted them in a kerf, or slot, cut into the beam leaving only the bolts visible.

The limited space around the site presents a challenge for the general contractor A/Z Corporation. They have to stage materials off site or have them delivered pre-fabricated, and everything needs to arrive exactly when needed. It is a complicated task that involves a lot of planning and coordination, but the results can now be seen. All told, there will be 10 beams, and A/Z plans to have all of the beams up and the building enclosed by the December holidays.

Mystic Seaport honored Nantucket author Nathaniel Philbrick with the 2015 America and the Sea Award on October 14. Presented annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes an individual or organization whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.

Philbrick received the award at a gala held in his honor at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.

This year marked the 10th anniversary of the award. Past recipients include 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 founder Jon Wilson, yachtsman and author Gary Jobson, and maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson.

On presenting the award, Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport, cited Philbrick’s “significant contributions to the literary field, commitment to wise and accurate storytelling, his passion for sailing and the maritime world, and life’s work educating Americans about their history and sharing this with the entire world.”

Philbrick is closely linked to the island of Nantucket, where he moved with his wife, Melissa, and their two children in 1986. In 1994, he published his first book about the island’s history, Away Off Shore, followed by a study of Nantucket’s native legacy, Abram’s Eyes. He was the founding director of Nantucket’s Egan Maritime Institute and is still a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association.

In 2000, Philbrick published the New York Times bestseller, In the Heart of the Sea, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction. The book is the basis of the Warner Bros. motion picture “In Heart of the Sea,” which is directed by Ron Howard and scheduled for release this December. The book also inspired a 2001 Dateline special on NBC and the 2010 two-hour PBS American Experience film “Into the Deep” by Ric Burns.

The author’s next book, Sea of Glory, was published in 2003 and won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize and the Albion-Monroe Award from the National Maritime Historical Society. The New York Times bestseller Mayflower, a finalist for both the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in History and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, won the Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction.Mayflower was named one of the ten “Best Books of 2006” by the New York Times Book Review and is currently in development as a limited series on FX.

Philbrick’s latest New York Times bestseller, Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution, was published in 2013 and was awarded both the 2013 New England Book Award for nonfiction and the 2014 New England Society Book Award, as well as the 2014 Distinguished Book Award of the Society of Colonial Wars.

The author recently announced that his new book, Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold and the Fate of the American Revolution, is scheduled for publication on May 10, 2016.

Mystic Seaport President Steve White appeared on a recent episode of the Comcast program “Newsmakers” to discuss the Museum’s latest initiatives, including new exhibits, its role as an educational institution, and how it intends to share the importance of maritime history to the next generation of visitors.

[embedit snippet=”Comcast Newsmakers”]