Many years ago we took the kids to Mystic Seaport Museum and had a great time. We went by land but agreed that it would be much more fun by boat. At the time I considered the route in, with a long channel and multiple bridges, to be a bit intimidating and the nightly slip fees were more than we could handle.
After traveling the ICW the Mystic river no longer looked so intimidating and compared to other dockage fees near-by (try Sag Harbor at $7/ft) Mystic Seaport rates didn’t look so bad. ($3.25/ft if you become a member). We saw a nice weather window in late May and knowing we would be there well before the crowds so we headed off from our berth in Newport,RI for a few days at the seaport. What follows in this post is a discussion of the navigation into the seaport and highlights of what we saw when we were there, along with a few recommendations for others who might be considering taking their boats in.
Navigation: Mystic Seaport is at the northern most point of the navigable portion of the Mystic River. The entrance to the dredged channel is on the north side of Fishers Island Sound. The channel is well-marked and recently dredged. We never saw less than 12′ at low tide. The channel is lined with marinas and mooring fields and I would expect it to be quite busy during the summer. If you check Active Captain you will see a reference to an obstruction just outside the channel about mid-way up the river. It is really there, but well off the east edge of the channel.
At the north end of the river you will encounter two bridges, Mystic River Rail, and just past it, Mystic River Highway. The rail bridge is on request, and the highway bridge on a schedule, at 20 minutes before the hour. The rail bridge may or may not be open when you arrive, but call regardless. The track is busy during the week, not so much on weekends.
Both bridges monitor Ch 13 so they hear you calling either bridge, but you will need to talk to both tenders.
Once past the highway bridge you can talk with the dockmaster at the seaport and he will guide you to your dockage. There are multiple areas for docking, mostly all fixed. Some are actual docks, where we were, and some are sea walls. All have power and water and are in good condition. They provide fender boards if you need them.
Dockage is $4.50/ft for non-members and $3.25 for members. Mariner membership is $175. You can do the math, but for us, on a 55′ boat staying 3 nights, it was about a wash to join and get the lower rate, along with other benefits. If you stay 4 nights, the 5th is free, but the weather was about to turn so we stayed 3 nights.
The boats: If you like boats and are interested in our maritime history, then you will enjoy Mystic Seaport. Here are a few pictures of boats that I hope you will enjoy.
The Charles W. Morgan was a whaler in her time and is now one of the oldest tall ships still sailing. Fully restored by the shipyard, she last sailed in 2014. If they can collect enough money, she will sail again soon. (May I suggest reading, “In the Heart of the Sea, The Tragedy of the Whaling Ship Essex” by Nathaniel Philbrick. A facinating true story)
This reproduction of a Viking ship sailed across from Europe with a young friend of ours as crew. There is also a Viking exhibit that covers the Viking exploration of North America long before Columbus.
Ok, not part of the museum, but with her beautiful lines, might be there some day.
A quiz for wooden boat lovers. Name her designer?
The Museum: The museum is a mix of exhibits demonstrations and working restorations. I will just describe a few here:
Watching the sails unfurled on the Henry Morgan was fun. After reading all of the Master and Commander series, it was enlightening to see how it is actually done. Of course this demonstration was while the ship was in port. I couldn’t imagine being aloft in a blow doing this sort of work. I like my electric winches and roller furling.
watch a clip of Lisa helping to raise sail:
Sailors in those days received their first month’s salary in advance and had to spend it before leaving port on essential goods for the trip. They then spent the first month aboard broke. At the end of the month, on payday, they celebrated by “flogging the dead horse”. The scene was reenacted for us by the staff. The school kids got a kick out of seeing the “dead horse” dropped from the yard-arm into te sea.
So maybe cleaning fish is not so interesting. But how people used to prep and salt cod is a significant part of our heritage. For many folks, it was the only source of protein in the winter. Salted cod lasted for years, looked like shoe leather, and tasted about the same. Still some dishes made from it today.
Tricky getting the last stave in place before the whole barrel comes apart. The cooper was one of the higher paid crew on a whaling boat. The blubber was boiled and the oil transferred to barrels for storage below deck. On the first voyage of the Morgan she returned after three years with a full hold of oil. The gross was $57,000. The owners got 2/3rds of that amount, the captain 1/12th, the cabin boy, 1/400th.
The Mayflower II was built as a replica in the 1950’s and is in the restoration yard at Mystic.
This next image gives you an idea of the work ahead of them. This section of the transom is rotted out and will be replaced with new white oak members.
Where are we?:
It is easy to forget how easy navigation is these days. After a visit to the ship’s instruments shop in Mystic I can begin to appreciate the skills and the daring of these sailors.
Dragging this behind the ship to determine its speed was a significant improvement over the chip log, just a drag device and a long line with “knots” tied into it. Not sure the paddle wheel log on our boat is much of an improvement. It rarely works.
Determining latitude with a sextant is not so difficult. A good sun shot will do. But to get longitude, sailors needed speed and time data, along with a noon shot of the sun. Not always easy. I will stick with my GPS.
By the afternoon of our second day we were both a bit tired so decided to take a tour of the river on the restored Sabino. One of the few coal-fired passenger vessels still operating. Captain Dave welcomed us aboard. For you Krogen folks reading this, Captain Dave is also captain of the Krogen, Calypso, which docks in Mystic in the summer and often in Stuart in the winter.
The engine room of Sabino is a piece of art. The engineer feeds the coal and oils the pistons. In the picture below he is looking at his watch, timing how often he oils the crankshaft bearins, I would guess.
If you want the full experience, here is a video of the engine in operation:
See short video clip of the engine running here:
When we came up the river we had to wait a bit for the bridge. Even with twin engines and bow and stern thrusters, I was busy dealing with the tight quarters, the wind and the current. Captain Dave had only one steam-powered engine capable of maybe three knots. With no thrusters and no real throttle, he had to call down to the engine room for reverse, he calmly negotiated bridges and traffic and made it look easy. I was impressed!
Notes to future visitors: Coming by boat is a special treat. You get to walk around the grounds when the park is closed to all other visitors. Makes for special memories. If you can,
come in the off season, before Memorial day or after Labor Day. If not, try for weekdays. Both the museum and the river can get pretty busy on summer weekends.
…and one last photo:
answer to quiz: Nathaniel Herreshoff
the end.
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