It has been a great few days for us knocking around at Mystic Seaport Village. Arriving early at 9:15 a.m. each morning caught good lighting for photography of the tall ships and other vessels with great reflections off Mystic River.Founded in 1939, Mystic Seaport houses the largest collection of mid- 19th century wooden boats and ships , maritime artifacts, and shipyard buildings in the world.
Much of the 17 acre riverfront site includes a re-created coastal village with a schoolhouse, church, and dozens of historic homes and trade shipsmith shops for cooper barrels, maritime supplies, navigational instruments, rope making, blacksmithing, and boathouses.
The last wooden whaleship in the world, the Charles W. Morgan, has an ongoing six year restoration project underway on in the Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard.
JR climbed high aboard her to observe the shipwrights working on her interior. Large white oak and yellow pine timbers were being milled into lumber right on site in the shipyard.
The 1882 training ship Joseph Conrad and the fishing schooner L.A. Dunton were more accessible to board down along the docks for me.
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| Up the rigging ... all part of a day's work on the Joseph Conrad |
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| Unfurling the yardarm sail ties |
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| Releasing the sail on a yardarm |
We saw a replica of the Amistad slave ship and the 1908 steamboat Sabino, enjoyed sea chanteys, heard stories and tales about voyages of old salts, and watched boats come and go on the Mystic River.
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| A replica of the Amistad slave ship |
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| Steamship Sabino on Mystic River |
Ship models, scrimshaw, figureheads, and small boats tracing the history of ships, shipbuilding, and maritime activities were interesting.
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| "I could get used to being skipper on this vessel." |
Being a sailor JR naturally was in his element exploring around the old seafaring village bustling with the sights and sounds of 19th century life.
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| Even our little bears had a whale of a time |
