“A Whale of a Day” Sunday July 21 at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum If you stop by the Boat Shop at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum these days, you will hear something different from hammers and saws – the voices of whales fill the air as Museum staff and volunteers begin to build a whaleboat destined to go aboard Mystic Seaport’s newly restored whaleship Charles W. Morgan. On Sunday, July 21 at 1:30pm, LCMM will host a viewing of live streaming video from Mystic sharing the relaunch of America’s last wooden whaleship. We will then invite visitors into LCMM’s boat shop to see the first steps in construction of the whaleboat, and measure themselves against a whale jawbone, ribs and vertebrae on loan from New Bedford Whaling Museum. Background: In a once-in-a-lifetime project, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) has been chosen to build one of ten new whaleboats for Mystic Seaport’s whaleship Charles W. Morgan mysticseaport.org/visit/explore/morgan/ . LCMM’s Champlain Longboats youth boatbuilding program will build the whaleboat in 2013-14, and it will be on board in May 2014 when Morgan embarks on a voyage to several historic New England whaling ports. Since Viking and Basque times, people have been clever, inventive, persistent, and extremely courageous in their pursuit of whales. Many New England fortunes were built on the whaling trade. Stories of people risking their lives on the high seas to hunt whales are vivid and exciting. Yet this relentless killing led to the near-extinction of several species with unanticipated long-term environmental consequences. While we are building the whaleboat, a special exhibit at LCMM will connect the Champlain Valley to this dramatic chapter in America’s maritime past. The exhibit also takes a look at recent efforts to redefine the relationship between people and whales, and to help ensure the survival of the world’s marine mammals. The Museum will offer special opportunities to visit the Boat Shop to see the work in progress, and you can follow the progress of the Whaleboat project on LCMM’s Facebook page. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is open daily, 10-5, through October 13, 2013. Located at 4472 Basin Harbor Road, seven miles west of Vergennes, is a world-class nautical archaeological research center with 14 exhibit buildings and a fleet of full-sized and operational replica vessels. The museum’s team of nautical archaeologists has explored the lake’s 300+ historic shipwrecks, transforming their discoveries into hands-on exhibits, films, and programs. More information about new exhibits, special events, and on-water programs, and the itinerary for schooner Lois McClure can be found on the Maritime Museum website lcmm.org.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:25:53 +0000
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