The Mystical Secret Place For Good Old Boats

Chris Gasiorek Shows Me Through Wonderland

During our stay at Mystic Seaport Museum we met Chris Gasiorek, who is Vice President Of Watercraft Preservation And Programs. While his job title may be long winded, Chris is straight to the point when it comes to recognising boat lovers. He approached us onboard Crystal Blues one morning and offered a guided tour of the hidden collection - a massive converted factory, now housing hundreds of preserved boats, engines and machinery just across the street from the public museum site.

Beautiful Scenes At Every Turn

Mystic Seaport Museum was built on the site of two traditional shipyards. As time progressed and wooden ships were superseded, the shipyard owners built mills on the site, in substantial brick buildings.

One of those buildings now houses the museum's boat collection, an almost un-imaginable treasure trove of boats that date back as far as 1824. Whilst the majority are wooden, there are others made of fiberglass, aluminum and even tin.

The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of ships, boats and maritime culture, including boat building.

So the vibrant living seaport experience is one part of that, drawing over a quarter of a million visitors each year, teaching sailing skills and keeping traditional craft in service. Another part is harboring a collection of unique and special vessels - the collection now housed in the old mill building. They call it the Watercraft Hall, and it houses over 470 boats - we spent a few hours in there, and probably didn't see them all.

The museum also has a large curated library of nautical documents and artifacts, including scrimshaw, charts, ship drawings, scale models and images. Significantly, it is now custodian of the fantastic Rosenfeld Collection - nearly one million maritime photography pieces dating from 1881 thru 1992, with images held in various formats, from glass plates through to color transparencies. This collection also includes the cameras and equipment used by the Rosenfeld family over the years.

The Admiral Views The Collection With Chris Gasiorek

The Watercraft Hall is open to the public only four days each year, though I suspect that enthusiasts with a special interest could be accommodated at other times, by arrangement.

I understand that the museum gains about half its annual funding from gate proceeds - the entry fee for visiting the site. The balance comes from private donations, plus a contribution from sales through the museum store and online store. Seriously, this is an amazing site, where the art, craft and history of ships and the sea is not only celebrated, but preserved for future generations.  More power to them! If you love boats, add this place to your bucket list, and click below to see some more lovely images of the Watercraft Hall.

Berthed At Mystic Seaport Museum

Good (bad?) news like this is handed out on paper flyers here at Mystic Seaport Museum, in Connecticut, printed here using a very old press. The Admiral and I visited the museum back in 1995, before we adopted Crystal Blues. Now it's great to be able to sail in here and stay for a weekend - Crystal Blues is tied to the wharf among a dozen or so visiting vessels.

The museum is huge, probably the best working maritime history museum in the world. Dozens of working vessels, many in operation each day, including the last wooden whaling ship the Charles W. Morgan. This vessel has undergone a massive multi-year refit and is in great condition.

The Charles W. Morgan Berthed At Mystic

On the site is a complete New England maritime village of the 1850's, with all the various trades and services represented. This weekend the museum events included a special display of antique marine engines, with enthusiasts setting up their working engines and the museum operating a dozen or so steam engines (using real steam, not compressed air) - my father would have loved it.. Earlier this evening there was live music on the common - by 6:00pm I was talking to the guitarist and by 6:30pm  we were performing together - what a joy. Live music rocks! Even better when you're invited back to play again next week ...

Exploring the entire museum has taken us two full days, however tomorrow we can move on. If the weather holds, tomorrow we'll head for Block Island, as a stepping stone to reach Cuttyhunk and eventually Martha's Vineyard.

The Shipsmith Workshop

Sailing Through History On Long Island Sound

The Griswold Inn Has A Fine Collection Of Nautical Prints

Essex, Coonecticut

After rushing our cruise through Long Island Sound last year, we've decided to slow things down this time and perhaps even smell the roses. Last week we came up the Connecticut River to the historic town of Essex, anchoring off the town and thinking about the British raid here in the war of 1812, when most of the vessels in the harbor were burned. Last night we dined at the Griswold Inn, where the tap room has been serving ales for over 200 years. They also serve up some outstanding music - my feet were tapping all night to the Shiny Lapel Trio (actually six of them on stage but who's counting). This is a beautiful town, with several active yacht clubs and a museum to keep us entertained.

The Griswold Inn At Essex, Serving Patrons Since 1776

However our cruise really started further west, when we transited the East River at Manhattan and launched out into Long Island Sound.

Port Washington

Our first stop on the sound, and what a great place it is. The town welcomes visitors with a free mooring for two nights, free dinghy dock, fresh water, pump out facilities etc.  Even the supermarket is serviced by a free floating dock. Cruiser heaven! We took the train into Manhattan, visited the Museum Of Modern Art, the Highline in Chelsea and generally had our big city fix for the month. Back in Port Washington that evening the mood was relaxed - a real village feel, with an excellent Asian deli-market.

We departed Port Washington feeling quite positive, which meant that we were a little unprepared for our next port of call.....

Small Town Patriots

Small But Patriotic!

I can't say goodbye to July without mentioning Independence Day here in the USA. With only a tiny nod to local politics, Reedville celebrated July 4th with great community spirit. We stayed in town for the celebrations and enjoyed every minute with our local friends.

Main Street had been decorated for weeks, local homes dressed with the red white & blue, national flags everywhere - so we dressed Crystal Blues with our flags and joined the party on shore. The Fisherman's Museum played it's part with family adventures all morning, the town population swelled enormously, thousands came for the parade, and many stayed for the fireworks that evening.

Hundreds Of People & Vehicles Formed The Parade, Working Main Street In Both Directions

 Amazingly this small community also put together a patriotic musical performance the following day, where talented local singers and players entertained for several hours. The local hall, now owned and managed by the Fisherman's Museum, was decorated in the red white and blue for the event, held on the Sunday afternoon following the 4th.

Crystal Blues departed soon after, heading north up the Chesapeake Bay.

Community Singers Choral Performance