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Whale, Ho! The 19th-century whaling industry comes to life
$0.00 / unit
“There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath...” Melville’s classic words capture the mystery and appeal of an ocean-going industry that dominated the world’s economy in the 1800s. Facing months at sea, with dangers abounding and death a constant companion, men nonetheless set sail for distant horizons in search of the elusive sperm whale, hunted to near-extinction. This course will provide an overview of the 19th-century whaling industry—its importance, the process of whaling, and the daily life of a whaler. We will focus on the diversity of whaling crews, paying particular attention to the Charles W. Morgan, the last remaining wooden whaling vessel in the world. We will also discuss how our perception of whales has changed over time.
Brenda Milkofsky, retired director and curator of the Connecticut River Museum will lead off our adventure at 4:00 pm with a behind the scenes view of some of the museum's historic navigation equipment collection. She'll offer a brief history of ship building along the Connecticut River before we head to the museum, itself, for a look at their permanent exhibits. At 6:00 pm, we then join educator and conservationist Jonathan Craig, ship captain, and crew as our guides for an evening sail aboard the Onrust (a 45-foot replica of Adriaen Block’s sailing vessel built in New York in 1614 for exploration of New England’s coastline).
Instructor: Marc Vakassian, Mystic Seaport Museum Educator and Interpreter
Dates and time: Tuesdays, May 17 and 24 and June 7, 6:30–8 pm, Wasch Center Butterfield Room
Field trip to Mystic Seaport: Saturday, June 11 (rain date June 18). Instructors: Mystic Seaport Museum staff