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| Mayflower II, Mystic Seaport, 2019 |
For years, I've been wanting to go to the Mystic Seaport, specifically to participate in the community sing-a-long of Christmas Carols. For one reason or another I just never made it, but this year all the stars were in alignment! I had friends who were eager to join in, the weather was cold but bright and sunshiny, and admission was free with the donation of a non-perishable food item for the local food bank. We had a wonderful time touring the exhibits and ships before heading over to The Common near the new Thompson Exhibition Building for an hour of caroling fun!
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| View of the historic district across the Mystic River |
The Mystic Seaport's skilled shipwrights are currently working on repairs of the Mayflower II. A gift to the United States from Great Britain, Mayflower II was built in Plymouth, England between 1955 and 1957. The gift was intended to honor the friendship formed between the U.S. and Great Britain during World War II. The Mayflower II is an exact replica of the original Mayflower which sailed to the Wampanoag homeland, now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. Once completed, Mayflower II will sail back to its home port at Plimoth Plantation, a replication village of the English colonists first home in America.
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| The Schooner Sherman Zwicker is also under reconstruction |
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| The Mystic Seaport continues to be a real working seaport. Their specialty is reconstruction of historic boats and ships using traditional methods and materials. |
The seaport uses the oldest wood it can find in order to be as authentic as possible. Don't worry - no trees were cut down for this purpose. Instead, trees that have fallen due to hurricanes or other natural causes are preserved and shipped to Mystic where the wood is dried out for months or years before it can be used.
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| Mystic Seaport's lumber yard |
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| A better view of Mayflower II |
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| Fishing Schooner L.A. Dunton |
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| Steamship Sabino provides rides to tourist in warmer weather |
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| Gerda III |
Gerda III, a Danish workboat, played an important role in hiding and rescuing Danish Jews by ferrying them to the neutral coast of Sweden in 1943. The Gerda III rescued nearly 300 Danish Jews, as part of a Danish effort that ultimately saved 7,000 Jews - nearly the whole Jewish population of Denmark.
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| View towards the Mystic River bridge |
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| This charming building is the life saving station |
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| Me and Donna in front of the Lighthouse |
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| The Joseph Conrad |
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| Masts of the Joseph Conrad |
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| Deck of the Joseph Conrad |
The Joseph Conrad is used as a dormitory for education programs at the seaport, so we weren't able to go below deck. However, we did tour below deck on the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship. We saw the cramped quarters where crewmen slept and ate for months and years at a time. Up to seventy whales were caught, and processed in large on-board vats that cooked the whale blubber into an oil to be used for fuel in lamps. Once processed, the oil was stored in wooden barrels below deck. Once all the barrels were full the ship and crew returned home.
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An inspiring woman! - She saw something she wanted to learn and now runs the blacksmith shop at the seaport!
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After a quick tour of ship figureheads in the Wendell building, it was time to gather on The Common for Christmas Caroling!
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| Carolers gather on The Common in the McGraw Quadrangle |
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| The crowd begins to grow... |
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| Fun hats |
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| Eventually the crowd grows to over 1,000! |
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| The choir takes their places... |
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| ...and the singing begins! |
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The caroling was led by Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Connecticut, Jamie Spillane, and backed by the Museum carolers and a brass quartet.
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There is such joy in singing, but with over one thousand voices singing, and bodies swaying - now this is Christmas spirit! This is definitely a tradition I want to continue to be a part of each and every year!
In two weeks, we'll continue our tour of the Mystic Seaport with a visit to the J.M.W. Turner Watercolors exhibit, where we thawed out our toes inside the warm and balmy Thompson Exhibition Building!
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