Mystic Seaport: Charles Morgan
by Nicole Cruz
On our last field trip this semester, and by far my absolute favorite, we went to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut! We hopped on ferry at Orient Point and headed off to learn more about whaling and the vessels, or more importantly, one vessel in particular that was used during the time of whaling.
It was here that we saw the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving American wooden whale ship built in 1841 in New Bedford. The Morgan made 37 voyages during an 80 year whaling career where they hunted whales for blubber for oil and baleen and bone for other products. The Morgan retired in 1921 and brought to Mystic Seaport in 1941. In the summer of 2014 the Charles Morgan made a ceremonial 38th voyage where it peacefully sailed amongst humpback, fin, and minke whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
When we boarded the Morgan, I was surprised to see the amount of room that was on deck, though space was needed when you had 30 to 36 crew men working aboard the vessel, however that was still on the deck, and when you went to under to the captain’s quarters it was a little more cramped.
It you look more closely on the bow, you’ll the see the windlass. This is where they would haul the blubber on board where they would lower it below deck, into the blubber room where they would cut up it in assembly line fashion. I happen to think it’s pretty cool if not disgusting when you think about all the blood that followed.
We then saw the captain’s quarters, which in comparison to what you have seen above was quite small and cramped, like I mentioned before. It was quite lovely though because it was the captain’s quarters. It was here that the captain would host dinners with other captains of other vessels and their families. There was a nice velvet couch and an ‘indoor bathroom’, and polished, or what looked to be polished table for meals.
The Charles W. Morgan has a long standing history, and I’m happy my class and I were fortunate to see the vessel up close and personal.
Another side to Mystic
by Tara McPhillips
As well as all of the other really cool things we saw and got to do at Mystic, we also were able to see the Collections part of the museum that housed hundreds upon hundreds of artifacts, pictures, paintings and even ship log books dating back hundreds of years! Our wonderful guide Crystal showed us around the artifacts room and we saw lots of things from scrimshaw done on sperm whale teeth, to scrimshaw on sawtooth fish and even baleen. Scrimshaw is the designs and carvings into whale bone or teeth done by sailors on boats. There was boat figureheads and even tapestries and ship half models which were used to build the actual boats. Seeing the collection was really cool because its not something the ordinary person gets to see. We were really lucky. 90% of museum collections are in their back area so it was really an experience.
Before we’d gone to the Collections, we had walked around the period specific town they had set up. There was lots of different buildings that people could all walk in and view the items and get a real feel for how the building would have looked. All the buildings we were told, had come from States nearby and were saved by the Mystic Seaport. Some of the buildings included a Print Shop, Boat Shop, Cooperage which was a barrel maker, and even a Drug Store and Bank. The Blacksmith Shop there is apparently the last one left from the 19th century to survive. Overall it was interesting to see the layout and designs of how these buildings would have looked 100-200 years ago.
Our last adventure at Mystic included Sea Shanties by Geoff in the Greenmanville Church. He regaled us with many tales all inside a tune that were actual shanties sung by sailors at the time. We even got to participate on the chorus lines. Geoff pointed out that you could really get a feel for the cadence and for how the shanties were used especially in times of work to keep the men moving in a certain way.
After our singing, we headed to dinner at the famous Mystic Pizza and then made our way home. What a day!
Mystic Seaport
by Nicola Kriefall
At the Mystic Seaport, among other fabulous exhibits, is one specifically on whaling, titled “Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers.” The exhibit is full to bursting with interesting items ranging from artwork and interactive displays to skeletons and poetry. Outside the building lies a very cute, painted sperm whale.
This picture gives you an idea of just how much there is to look at inside the building. At the bottom of the display case is a full set of sperm whale teeth, the size of which are quite formidable and are used to consume large prey. These teeth contrast the baleen just above them, which baleen whales use to filter feed for plankton and other miniscule critters, despite these whales being the largest animals in the sea. Above the baleen is a narwhal tusk, which were often collected purely for novelty from the “unicorns of the sea.”
This display gives the audience a sense of just how vast whales are, which is often hard to comprehend without seeing a live whale. To the left are human sized body parts (a hand, tongue, eyeball, brain, and heart) and their whale counterparts lie to the right. The tongue of a grey whale takes up the majority of the display, because it is eight feet long!
Clearly, the whales that whalers sought were colossal, which made for a very dangerous voyage. Interestingly enough, the payoff for whaling for the average crewman was abysmal. This pie chart shows how the seamen, greenhands, and cabin boy (these men making up the majority of the crew) would often receive 1/160th, 1/190th, and 1/400th of the profit, respectively, from their whaling ventures.
So why did whalers undertake this dire mission if their rewards were often so low? There was still the chance that great fortunes were to be made from these trips, which was typically a point that was emphasized when they were being recruited. There are many other potential reasons: love of adventure & travel, escape from a bad life on the mainland, no other chance of employment, and so on. Even after the height of whaling passed, and petroleum began to replace whale oil, the fashion industry kept whaling alive and kept these men employed. For instance, shown here is an example of a corset containing whalebone, a popular commodity.
