Mystic Seaport

Yesterday the students spent the day at our second to last stop, Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut.  Lady Maryland sailed up the Mystic River toward the seaport around lunch time, then docked for another great trip.  The students were pleasantly surprised when the Captain offered to take the students for ice cream at the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream shop.  They gained their land-legs as we walked to the shop, then exercised them a little more as the students did a scavenger hunt around the grounds of Mystic. Mystic Seaport is a large campus entirely dedicated to America's history at sea.  There are buildings dedicated to how rope is made, how ships are made, a scale model of the Mystic River, a planetarium, and so much more.  Mystic is also the home of the last wooden whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, who was recently restored and is scheduled to go out for another voyage in summer 2014.  She is scheduled to be officially launched, without rigging, this summer on July 21st.  The students finished their scavenger hunts impressively, and learned much about sailing and whaling.  After the museum the students went through their nightly routine of dinner and cleaning, then were hustled over to the Charles W. Morgan for a special concert.  They climbed up to the Morgan's deck and were greeted by a chantey-man.  He sang multiple chanteys for the students, encouraging them to sing along with him as he wailed on his fiddle, picked his banjo, and piped the concertina.  He explained the difference between the variety of chanteys, and what their uses were.  There were hauling chanteys to help haul up the sails with a definite rhythm, pumping chanteys for the bilges, ballads for entertainment, and many others.  The students were enthralled and were caught up with the music, and grateful for such a unique experience.  After the mini concert, the students ambled back to Lady Maryland and into their bunks, content and quite ready for a good night sleep.

Today our students awoke early and left Mystic.  They spent the day being on watch and learning from our educators, enduring a slight drizzle and some fog.  Now we are anchored, waiting for dinner (the students' favorite time of day!) as they work on their final shipboard project.  Tomorrow is the last full day of the trip, and the student and crew are ready to make the most of it.