Category: News

Mystic Seaport and the crew of the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre announced today the ship will be open for public tours in Mystic this summer beginning June 30.

The reconstructed longship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2016 to explore and relive one of the most mythological sea voyages: the first transatlantic crossing and the Viking discovery of the New World, more than 1,000 years ago.  After crossing the Atlantic, the ship sailed throughout the Great Lakes, down the Erie Canal to New York City, and concluded its voyage at Mystic Seaport where it spent the winter. At each stop along the way, thousands turned out to see this magnificent example of ancient seafaring.

“We are thrilled to partner with one of the leading maritime museums in the US,” said Emanuel Persson, Draken Harald Hårfagre CEO and Expedition Director. “It is an honor to share our ship and story of the Vikings with visitors of Mystic Seaport as we prepare for the next leg of the ship’s American expedition and tour of the US east coast in 2018.”

“The Viking story and their voyages across the Atlantic are part of our shared maritime experience, and we are very excited to be able to partner with the Draken Harald Hårfagre, so they can tell that story firsthand at Mystic Seaport. There is no substitute for actually walking the deck of a ship to understand what it takes to venture across an ocean,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

The tours will be available Tuesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m., and Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The last tour each day is at 4:30 p.m. The ship will be closed Mondays and Wednesdays.

Tours will run every 30 minutes and will cost $6 per person (Children age 3 and younger are free). Tickets will be available at the ship and online at www.drakenshop.com.  The ticket is in addition to regular admission to Mystic Seaport.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is a clinker-built Viking longship launched in 2012. She is not a replica of a known ship, but is a reconstruction of what the Norse Sagas refer to as a “Great Ship” based on historic documents, archeological findings, and Norwegian boatbuilding traditions. She is the world’s largest Viking ship sailing in modern times.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is an open wooden ship, 115-foot long (35 meters) with a beam of 26 feet (8 meters) and a mast height of 79 feet (24 meters). It carries one large, square sail, which has driven the vessel to a speed of 14 knots. The ship can be rowed by one hundred oarsmen and is equipped with 25 pairs of oars—each oar powered by two crew members. During its transatlantic Expedition America 2016, Draken Harald Hårfagre carried a crew of 32 sailors.

The ship will remain at Mystic Seaport until spring 2018, when the crew plans a tour of the U.S. East Coast. The tours will run through September 4, 2017.

The Mystic Seaport book The Charles W. Morgan: A Picture History of an American Icon was recently honored with two awards: the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Best Legacy Non-Fiction and the da Vinci Eye Award for outstanding cover art.

The Eric Hoffer Award was founded at the start of the 21st century to honor freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit. Hoffer-honored books are from small, academic, and micro presses, including self-published offerings. Nominated books are judged by independent panels within eighteen categories. The Eric Hoffer Book Award has become one of the top literary awards for independent books, involving more than 1,300 books and 100 judges.

The Award honors the memory of the American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Hoffer was the author of The True Believer and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

The book chronicles the history of American whaling, the Morgan‘s 80-year career in the whale fishery, the ship’s time as an exhibit at  Mystic Seaport, and the ship’s 38th Voyage in 2014. The book was written by Andrew W. German and Daniel V. McFadden.

The  da Vinci Eye Award cover features a photograph of a whale fluking its tail with the Morgan in the background during a sail in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary during the 38th Voyage. The photo was taken by Museum staff photographer Andy Price.

The Museum’s book L. Frances Herreshoff Yacht Designer,  by Roger C. Taylor, was a finalist in the Memoir category.

Both books are available for purchase in the Maritime Bookstore on the Museum grounds or online.

Mystic Seaport will present its 2017 America and the Sea Award to David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea. Given annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.

Sailors for the Sea, which was co-founded by Rockefeller, works to engage the boating community in the worldwide protection of the oceans. Through its Clean Regattas and Ocean Watch programs and Green Boating Guide, the organization successfully motivates boaters to become environmental stewards.

“We are proud to recognize the tremendous contribution David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea have made to educate and activate the maritime community in the goal of conserving and protecting the health of our oceans.  By forging a connection between boaters and ways in which they can help conserve the environment, they inspire all of us to take better care of the world in which we live,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

“Sailors for the Sea and I are incredibly honored to join the illustrious roster of America and the Sea Award recipients. Through this opportunity we look forward to fostering an even deeper collegial relationship with Mystic Seaport, broadening the scope and outreach of both organizations. It paves the way for our two organizations to collaborate more directly on projects that serve our shared ideals, and raise awareness of the issues both organizations hold dear, our maritime past and present and the future vitality of our oceans,” said Rockefeller.

David Rockefeller Jr., Chairman of Rockefeller & Co., is an active participant in the nonprofit arena, especially in the areas of the environment, the arts and philanthropy.  He served as a member of the Pew Oceans Commission from 2000-2003, and he founded Sailors for the Sea to educate the recreational boating community about significant challenges to ocean health and to motivate them to become ocean stewards. Sailors for the Sea is located in Newport, RI, with satellite offices in Japan, Portugal, and Chile.

Rockefeller is a Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Cultural Council and the David Rockefeller Fund.  He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Former foundation affiliations include service as Trustee and Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, President of the Rockefeller Family Fund and Director of the Boston Foundation.  He is the former chair of the North American Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese prize for outstanding international achievement in the arts.

He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and is married to Susan Cohn Rockefeller, an artist and filmmaker.

Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award 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 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.

Rockefeller will receive the award Wednesday, October 11, at a gala held in his honor in New York City. This black tie affair is the premier fund-raising event for Mystic Seaport. For invitations, please contact advancement@mysticseaport.org/ or call 860.572.5365.

“We are proud to recognize the tremendous contribution David Rockefeller Jr. and Sailors for the Sea have made to educate and activate the maritime community in the goal of conserving and protecting the health of our oceans.  By forging a connection between boaters and ways in which they can help conserve the environment, they inspire all of us to take better care of the world in which we live,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.

“Sailors for the Sea and I are incredibly honored to join the illustrious roster of America and the Sea Award recipients. Through this opportunity we look forward to fostering an even deeper collegial relationship with Mystic Seaport, broadening the scope and outreach of both organizations. It paves the way for our two organizations to collaborate more directly on projects that serve our shared ideals, and raise awareness of the issues both organizations hold dear, our maritime past and present and the future vitality of our oceans,” said Rockefeller.

David Rockefeller Jr., Chairman of Rockefeller & Co., is an active participant in the nonprofit arena, especially in the areas of the environment, the arts and philanthropy.  He served as a member of the Pew Oceans Commission from 2000-2003, and he founded Sailors for the Sea to educate the recreational boating community about significant challenges to ocean health and to motivate them to become ocean stewards. Sailors for the Sea is located in Newport, RI, with satellite offices in Japan, Portugal, and Chile.

Rockefeller is a Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Cultural Council and the David Rockefeller Fund.  He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Former foundation affiliations include service as Trustee and Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, President of the Rockefeller Family Fund and Director of the Boston Foundation.  He is the former chair of the North American Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese prize for outstanding international achievement in the arts.

He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and is married to Susan Cohn Rockefeller, an artist and filmmaker.

Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award 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 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.

The gardens at Mystic Seaport are renowned for their beauty and the wide variety of flowering plants.

Many of the plants you see on the Museum’s 19 acres are grown in our greenhouse, from seed or seedling. In fact, more than 200 varieties of annuals, vegetables, herbs, and perennials are growing in the greenhouse. Each year the Facilities Department holds a Plant Sale to benefit the program.

This year the sale will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 18, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 19 at the Greenhouse on Rossie Pentway.

Among the varieties for sale are: cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, and historical Amaranth ‘Love-Lies-Bleeding’ and Celosia ‘Cramer’s Burgundy’.

For vegetables, there are ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Roma’ tomatoes, yellow squash, and ‘California Wonder’ peppers as well as historical varieties such as ‘Brandywine’ Tomato’ and ‘Southport Red Globe’ Onion.

There are also thyme, dill, basil, and other herbs for sale.

On Friday, April 29, Dana Hewson retired after working at Mystic Seaport for 39 years. He started here in 1977, as a Vessel Maintenance Supervisor, the first full-time ship keeper hired by Mystic Seaport. Hewson moved through the positions of Director of the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard and Vice President of Watercraft Preservation and Facilities Management to his present position of Vice President of Watercraft Preservation and Programs. He was also the Museum’s first Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft. As the Clark Senior Curator, he provided direction and leadership in the preservation and development of the museum’s watercraft collection, which presently numbers more than 500 vessels of all sizes. In the course of his career, he led and helped develop the Museum’s maintenance and preservation program to its present status.

We asked Dana to take a walk with us during his last week at the Museum, stopping at the spots across the property that are most special to him. We were happy to have this opportunity to look back on a tremendous career with Dana, and to be able to thank him for all he has done for the Museum, the region, and maritime history and preservation.

The Shiplift

“One thing that makes everything we do here possible is our shiplift,” Dana said. “After construction of Amistad, we knew the existing shiplift needed work, and it turned out to be more cost effective to replace it. This was a huge financial commitment to continuing the work we’ve always done here. And the goal with the replacement was to be environmentally compliant by every standard, and we did that.

“With the new shiplift, it means we can do two major vessel projects at once, and easily add a third smaller one. To be able to do all this efficiently and cleanly, well, without this capability everything would be very different. Starting in the 1970s, there were fewer and fewer places where we could get the work done that we needed to do – for our own ships and for others. The Shipyard is the largest curatorial arm of the Museum, and to be able to do all the work needed in one place is critical. This is a tremendous resource. We’ve built the Amistad, hauled the Lettie G. Howard, Draken Harald Hårfagre and now are restoring Mayflower II. Plus the Morgan and now Sabino.”

The Sawmill

“Right now we have three sawmills on the property that allow us to create the shapes we need, using the species (of tree) we need. Modern sawmills don’t think the way we do, and they don’t work the way we need to work. So being able to do this ourselves, the way we need to, is important. And we are keeping skills alive. We’ve got a lot of people who come to work here to develop and hone their skills, and then they take them somewhere else. Of course, many stay. Right now we have one second generation Mystic Seaport shipwright. We don’t have an apprentice program, but we have taught a lot of people over the years.”

Stonington High School Crew

In 1997, Mystic Seaport was approached by a group that wanted to start a rowing team at Stonington High School. They had everything set to create a team – except a place to call home. Other marinas along the Mystic River had turned down requests to host the team, but Dana told them they could use Mystic Seaport’s docks and storage facilities.

“This is really special to me,” Dana says, stopping at the area where the crew team was prepping their equipment for the day’s practice. “We were able to accommodate them – they had everything all set, they just needed a place. I thought it was a terrific town-gown program to have and support, and I immediately said yes. My daughter Emma rowed for Stonington her four years of high school and rowed on scholarship for four years at the University of New Hampshire, and then helped pay for grad school by coaching. A large number of Stonington rowers get scholarships. It’s been wonderful. And now it has come full circle, because they are planning to build their own facility next door.”

Roann & Brilliant

Asking Dana Hewson which is his favorite vessel at Mystic Seaport is akin to asking a mother to name her favorite child. But when pressed he will admit that it’s a tie between Roann and Brilliant, two very different boats. Roann is an Eastern-rig dragger, launched in 1947. Brilliant is a schooner designed by renowned naval architect Olin Stephens that just celebrated her 85th birthday and is used as a sail training vessel for teens and adults.

“I was involved in the acquisition of Roann, and one of these days she will be the last of her kind that is still afloat. And it’s because she’s been here and she’s been restored. She and Brilliant are form following function. They were each designed for a purpose and they are still operational. They are teaching vessels. They are still doing what they were meant to do. Brilliant has sailed with more than 10,000 teenagers on board. We have four National Historic Landmark vessels at Mystic Seaport, the highest designation of historical importance in this country. All were restored during my career.”

Charles W. Morgan

The Charles W. Morgan whaleship underwent a five-year restoration in the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard from 2008 to 2013. She was launched July 21, 2013 in front of thousands of visitors at the Museum’s Shipyard and the celebration marked the kickoff to her return to sea. In late May, 2014, the Morgan departed her berth at Mystic Seaport and embarked on an unprecedented voyage to historic ports on the New England coast.

“Certainly the Morgan was the most important (part of his career) to the Museum. Her influence on me and my influence on her were equal, I think. For her, it was her second major restoration, and for me, to be around that and to be responsible for maintaining her. And of course the voyage was a pinch-your-cheek moment. That was a significant moment for me personally and for the Museum.

“I was on her the first day she sailed away from New London, the first time she was under sail, and that was an amazing moment. All that work, the planning, the meetings, the logistics, and then to sail right off that dock. That was spectacular. It was as if it all came together, it all came to life, right then. For her to go from a moored to a sailing vessel, that was wonderful.”

Draken and Mayflower II

“The technology of the Draken Harald Hårfagre (dates to) 1100. The technology of Mayflower II is 1620. The technology of the Morgan is 1840. The Joseph Conrad is 1880. The Sabino is 1908. To be able to have our visitors be able to view that progression in the technology of sail, and of ships, is amazing. We are able to show them that.”

The Bulkheads

It certainly isn’t glamorous but it is really important: a multiyear project to replace 2,000 linear feet of bulkhead along the Mystic River in the 1980s. The project involved 9,000 tons of cut stone, 13,000 tons of rock fill, and cost $1.6 million. It was such an extensive and complex project that it actually has three plaques in its honor attached to the rear of the Stillman Building, facing the river. One of the plaques pays tribute to the late Waldo Howland, a trustee at the time who championed the need for the work to be done. “He was one of the most important mentors to me. It was Waldo who coined the phrase ‘The Mystic Way’ and that meant if you needed something done, you needed to do it yourself, because you would do it better and cheaper than anyone else.”

Mystic Seaport has named Quentin Snediker the Museum’s Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft. His role will be to provide direction and leadership in the preservation and development of the Museum’s watercraft collection, which presently numbers more than 500 vessels of all sizes, ranging from small rowboats and kayaks to four National Historic Landmarks, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. This position is in addition to his role as Director of the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.

As the Clark Senior Curator for Watercraft, Snediker will be tasked to evaluate the collection contents, maintain the highest levels of preservation practice, and develop an ongoing curation plan to maximize the collection’s contents for historical importance and cultural relevance. He is only the second person to hold this title at the Museum. He succeeds Dana Hewson, who is retiring after 39 years at Mystic Seaport at the end of April 2017.

“This title is recognition of Quentin Snediker’s extraordinary knowledge and experience in maritime history and preservation techniques,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. ”He is a leader in the field with a worldwide reputation and the Museum is fortunate to have someone of his caliber on staff to lead our collection.”

A graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College, Snediker spent the first 16 years of his career as captain of traditional sailing vessels in New England, Chesapeake Bay, and beyond. During this time he managed the construction and operation of a 140-ton schooner Mystic Clipper.

He arrived at Mystic Seaport in 1989 where he assumed the position of supervisor of vessel maintenance at the Museum. In 1990, he organized an effort to salvage 200 tons of live oak timber downed in South Carolina during Hurricane Hugo. He also led the Museum’s efforts to furnish the Morgan in a historically correct manner during the 1991 150-year anniversary celebration of the historic whaleship.

From 1993 to 1994, Snediker was Associate Director of Programs at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, where in addition to supervising museum programming he also supervised the preservation of the E.C. Collier, one of the few remaining Chesapeake Bay skipjacks.

Snediker returned to Mystic Seaport in 1995 to be project coordinator for the design and construction of the freedom schooner Amistad. Following the launch of the Amistad in March 2000, he was named the director of the Shipyard. Notable projects during his tenure include restorations of the fishing vessel Roann, the Morgan, and the steamboat Sabino, the last two of which are National Historic Landmarks in the collection.

In addition to his B.S. in Marine Transportation from SUNY Maritime, Snediker has a M.A. in Historic Preservation from Goucher College. He is a frequent lecturer and written numerous articles on a variety of maritime subjects. He is the co-author with Ann Jensen of “Chesapeake Bay Schooners” (Tidewater Publications: 1992).