A Whale of a Marathon

When’s the last time you read Moby-Dick? Have you ever? Brace yourself for a huge admission: I was an English major in college AND am a current employee of the nation’s leading maritime museum, and I’ve never read it. Sigh. I’m ashamed.

Well, if you’re like me — slightly surprised that this classic slipped through your reading list cracks and quite curious what all the fuss is about — get on down to Mystic Seaport. Our annual 24-hour reading of Moby-Dick begins today at noon. A costumed roleplyer kicks off the event reading chapter I, “Loomings,” and after that, it’s your turn. The round-robin reading continues into the  night aboard the nation’s last surviving wooden whaler in our shipyard (what a setting, huh?) and concludes tomorrow in the late morning.  

Note Melville's famous line quoted on this colorful whale found in our Playscape area...

Quite the event for quite a book. Join us and rediscover (or discover) one of the greatest novels in the English language. Don’t live a life of Melville shame like me.

- Erin Richard

Books, Boats and Bargains!

The Fellows of the G.W. Blunt White Library will be presenting their annual used book sale in the G.W. Blunt White Building at Mystic Seaport during the WoodenBoat Show on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be more than 600, mostly nautical, books for sale. The sale is styled as a “Dutch Auction” with prices being reduced as the day goes on from $10 at 11 a.m. to $2 at 3 p.m. Talk about a deal! There will also be 125 special books starting at $15.

More than 300 nautical quarterly magazines will be sold for $3 apiece and some 500 free periodicals and other free books will be available at the Museum’s South Gate.

So stop by, stock up your personal libraries and get started on your summer reading!

For more information on Museum events, visit www.mysticseaport.org

WoodenBoat Show: By the Numbers

Next weekend, June 26-28, Mystic Seaport will host what WoodenBoat magazine calls “The most dynamic wooden boat show in the country.” Visit us for the eighteenth annual WoodenBoat Show and step aboard classic and contemporary boats of every class — power, sail, oar and paddle. Learn tips and skills at workshops and much more.

And just a few numbers to whet your appetite…

Measured in linear feet, the quantity of wooden boats on hand at the show: 2,500

Number of wooden boats on display: more than 200

Number of wood-boat builders in attendance each year: more than 50

Number of (temporary) tattoos applied (to children): 226

Number of attendees at 2008 show: 12,900

Number of bars of pine tar soap sold by the WoodenBoat Store at the 2008 show: 31

Number of prizes awarded at the 2008 Concours d’Elegance: 27

Number of people to be honored at the 2009 WoodenBoat Show tribute dinner: 3 (William, John and Pat Atkin)

Number of online visits to the WoodenBoat Show website on the first day of the 2008 show: 5,844

Number of feet of electrical cord run for the show: 4,000

Number of square feet of tent fabric in service: 28,000

For more information, visit www.mysticseaport.org/woodenboatshow. And don’t forget, the WoodenBoat Show is free for Mystic Seaport members!

Mystic Seaport’s Whaleboat Featured in New Smithsonian Maritime Exhibit

The National Museum of American History’s newest exhibit “On the Water, Stories from Maritime America” features a 8,500-square-foot exhibition hall dedicated to the exploration of America’s maritime heritage.  In a recent interview, Museum Director Brent D. Glass explained that  “The maritime influence on American history is one of the most compelling chapters in the national story,” and we couldn’t agree more.

Among the highlighted objects on display are Mystic Seaports own whale boat (1958.690), and a highly detailed model cutaway of the modern factory trawler “Alaska Ocean” by recent exhibitor and world class model maker Erik R. Ronnberg Jr.

If you can’t make it to Washington soon, the companion Web site to “On the Water” contains the same historical content as the physical exhibition. The site also features a searchable database that provides additional information and photographs for selected artifacts in the exhibition. Multimedia resources and educational activities, including an associated Flickr group where visitors can upload their own maritime-related imagery, round out the online experience.

- Kelly S. Drake, Associate Director of Collections Access Manuscripts, Ships Plans and Archives Librarian

Visit us on Blogger to read all of our latest collections news from Mystic Seaport.

You Say it’s Your Birthday…

…well, have we got the gift for you. Mystic Seaport is proud to offer FREE admission to all of our birthday visitors! Spend your special day exploring exhibits, climbing aboard tall ships and discovering our bustling 19th-century seafaring village — all for free!  Simply present a valid photo ID or an original or certified copy of your birth certificate at our main gate on your birthday and your visit is on us.

If you’re a Museum member and already receive free admission, bring a friend for free.

And better yet, host your child’s birthday party at Mystic Seaport and give them an unforgettable celebration.

Choose from one of four themes and we’ll take care of the rest. More information can be found at www.mysticseaport.org/birthdayparties.

So come experience the richness, beauty and history of Mystic Seaport on your special day. And we promise, we’ll refrain from all obnoxious birthday singing…maybe.

Visit www.mysticseaport.org/promotions for an up-to-date list of special offers and promotions at the Museum.

Fresh Lobster, Warm Sun, Cool Breezes. Join us!

Crack open your first lobster claw of the season this Memorial Day Weekend at our 24th annual Lobster Days.

Fresh lobster will be served Saturday through Monday under our open-air Boat Shed along the beautiful Mystic River. The weekend’s festivities also feature a touch tank filled with all sorts of sea creatures (courtesy of Mystic Aquarium – thanks, neighbor!), talks about the lobstering industry, games on the Village Green, lobster story time in the Children’s Museum, book signings in the Museum Store and much, much more. 

And in remembrance of those that have served, join us for Decoration Day Monday, May 25, from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Greenmanville Church for a powerful ceremony dedicated to the memory of those lost in the Civil War.  A reverent service led by costumed citizens of 1876 Greenmanville will begin at noon. Immediately following the service, join in a procession for the playing of taps and a wreath laying upon the Mystic River.

No matter your plans this holiday, may your weekend be filled with fun, sun and warm memories. And if you want it to be filled with lobster, well, you know where to go.

For a detailed list of special events and Museum happenings, visit www.mysticseaport.org.

Majestic

I have the best seat in the house. Actually, I’d argue that I have the best seat in the whole Museum. I’ve endured wind, rain, sleet and snow. I’ve worn the ugly, durable shoes all winter. I’ve stared at brown, barren trees and cold, gray skies. And it has all been worth it. All for this…

Grab your camera. Get over to the Thomas Greenman House. Experience spring in all of its majestic, Mystic Seaport, Magnolia glory. And when you look up, you may even see me waving down at you from the window.

I’m Hooked

“What did you do at work today?”

“Oh, you know, pounded iron.”

Working at Mystic Seaport definitely has its privileges. Having a bad day? Can’t seem to escape writer’s block? A visit to the Museum’s Shipsmith shop and a lesson with blacksmith Craig Hill quickly erases all worries. Emails, deadlines and meetings are long gone. Now, for a brief respite, it’s just the methodical pounding of iron, the twisting of molten metal and the practicing of tried and true 19th-century techniques.

Mystic Seaport’s James Driggs Shipsmith shop can be found in the heart of the Museum’s  re-created village. Originally located in Mew Bedford, MA, the shop arrived at Mystic Seaport in 1944. It is the only manufactory of ironwork for the whaling industry known to have survived the 19th century.

Museum visitors can not only visit the shop and watch Craig in action, they can try their hand at the trade as well. Hands-On History returns in late June, giving everyone (not just lucky Museum employees like me!) the chance to hammer away on something other than a computer keyboard. And when you’re finished, you walk away with a one-of-a-kind keepsake.

Make a bit of your own history at Mystic Seaport.

Not too bad, huh?  I think I just might quit my day job.

For more information about the Museum and its offerings, visit www.mysticseaport.org.

Calling all Gardeners!

Yes, there is still snow on the ground. Yes, there’s a chance there might be more. But to quote the great Hal Borland, “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”

Spring is coming and we’re more than ready. In preparation, the Membership Department at Mystic Seaport is hosting a Spring Garden Series at Seamen’s Inne to help you get your gardens ready for the coming season.

The three-part luncheon series begins Friday, March 13, with Anne Duncan, owner of the Salem Herbfarm in Connecticut. Anne will explain the most cost-effective way to grow, maintain, preserve and enjoy popular culinary herbs.

On Friday, April 10, the Museum’s Supervisor of Gardens Kara Franco will detail the flowers and vegetables that are grown in Mystic Seaport’s greenhouse for the Museum’s period gardens (betcha didn’t know that we even grow our own veggies, huh?!). After lunch, attendees will visit the Museum’s greenhouse to check out the new seedlings and plants.

County Master Gardener Coordinator Susan Munger wraps up the series Friday, May 15, with a discussion about the ease of creating sustainable landscapes with the use of rain gardens, a low-maintenance feature that allows surface water to return to the underground aquifer. Copies of Munger’s book, Common to this Country: Botanical Discoveries of Lewis and Clark will also be available.

Gardens, history and much more. All waiting at Mystic Seaport.

So replace those mittens with gardening gloves and those shovels with trovels. It’s all about sunshine, fresh vegetables and plentiful gardens from here on out…we hope.

For more information, times and prices, visit our Membership Department online or call 860.572.5339.

If the Dress Fits…

Baby strollers, jewelry, cameras, cell phones and “clothes galore.”  These are the usual items that can be found in the Lost & Found at Mystic Seaport said Museum security guard of seven years, Jim.
.

Well, something a tad more elegant joined the abandoned group this past Valentine’s Day weekend. Something ivory, intricately beaded and bearing a fluttery, chiffon train.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Love is in the air at Mystic Seaport…

Looking awfully lonely in our Communications office.

 

Exquisite brooch at the neckline.

A faithful Mystic Seaport security guard found the lovely wedding dress discarded in the Museum’s South parking lot early Sunday morning, February 15.  Safely stored inside of a plastic garment bag, the gown is in excellent condition with its size tag still intact. 

Both of the brides that celebrated their Valentine’s Day nuptials at Seamen’s Inne have not claimed the beauty. So alas, the questions arise… Was Julia Roberts back in Connecticut, this time filming a sequel to Runaway Bride? Did a blushing bride use our parking lot to change into her honeymoon wear? Is someone organizing some kind of extreme scavenger hunt? We want to know!

If the dress is yours, or if you have any idea of whose it might be, please email us at news@mysticseaport.org. Correctly identify the size of the dress and we’ll get it safely back into your hands.

And in the meantime, we promise not to take it along on any maiden voyages.