In its 70 years, the Mystic Seaport Community Carol Sing has become a beloved part of the area’s holiday traditions. No one understands or appreciates this more than Jamie Spillane, who has been directing the event for exactly half that time, even when he lived as far away as Arizona. Spillane, an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Connecticut, has been participating in the Carol Sing for even longer – 40 years! He took a few minutes earlier this week to answer some of our burning Carol Sing questions.
Q. Tell us about your day job as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Connecticut – what does that entail?
A. As Director of Choral Studies, I oversee a choral program that includes eight choirs each numbering between 20-80 singers. My duties include directing the UConn Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and teaching undergraduate and graduate choral conducting and choral literature classes.
Q. You were out of Connecticut for a number of years and yet you came back every year to lead the Carol Sing – why?
A. When I went away to pursue my doctorate and then teach at the college level I lived in Arizona, Iowa (for 7 years) and then upstate New York in Rochester. I never missed a year because there is nothing like the Seaport Carol Sing. My family still lives here in Mystic so it was also a homecoming around the holidays. It was always a gift to myself.
Q. What’s your favorite Christmas carol?
A. I don’t know if I have a favorite though there are moments through the Carol Sing that warm my heart: When we sing I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas and get to the line “and hear sleigh bells in the snow” and dozens of people ring the bells they have brought. Or when we sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town and the family comes each year and brings props. Or when we sing Silent Night and friends and families huddle close to each other and gently sway. Or when we sing Joy to the World and truly wish it so. There is no true favorite, they are all loved family members.
Q. What’s the hardest Christmas carol to sing?
A. They are all about the same? Maybe the higher note in The First Noel can be a challenge but they are all pretty familiar!
Q. True or false – people only know the first verse and chorus of every Christmas carol.
A. Well…mostly true 🙂 That is why we have carol books!
Q. What’s the best part about the Mystic Seaport Carol Sing?
A. I learned long ago that truly the best part of the Mystic Seaport Community Carol Sing – is the community, It is a community of people who come together for one day, many for the 40th or 50th year in a row, and join together in song – celebrating the joy of the season. I would think this would be a better country and world if we did that more often.
The Community Carol Sing begins (rain or shine) at 3 p.m., Sunday at McGraw Quadrangle. The Mystic Seaport carolers will perform a holiday concert in the Greenmanville Church at 2 p.m. The Seaport is open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and free admission will be given from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with the donation of a canned food Item. See other activities scheduled for the day here.
Exhibition is the First for Museum’s New Thompson Exhibition Building
Mystic, Conn. (November 30, 2016) — Mystic Seaport will open its newest exhibition, SeaChange, an exploration of the theme of transformation through select maritime artifacts, on December 10. The exhibition will be the inaugural installation in the Collins Gallery of the newly constructed Thompson Exhibition Building, which opened this past September.
SeaChange will present a range of striking, surprising, and unusual objects drawn from the rich collections of Mystic Seaport. Some of these intriguing artifacts will be on display for the first time, others may not have been seen for many years, but all are presented in a new setting with surprising stories. Each is a survivor of the past that speaks to a notable transformation – in material, technology, the sea itself, or the broader American culture over the past 200 years.
“In creating this exhibit, we were drawn to pieces in the collections that are visually compelling and that tell stories about people, places, and events far from our own that nevertheless resonate today. They speak to the human transformation of natural materials, to massive shifts in technology, to changes in the natural world, and to the personal changes – metamorphoses even – caused by contact with the sea,” said Elysa Engelman, director of Exhibits at Mystic Seaport. “We hope the visitor is similarly transformed by the rich narratives these artifacts tell and leaves the exhibit moved and inspired to learn more.”
SeaChange is organized around ten primary objects. Together, they give glimpses into people’s lives in different places and times, from scientific surveyors charting the Atlantic coast on the eve of the American Revolution to western merchants trading for silk and tea in 1850s China, from Artic explorers to laborers harvesting bird guano off Peru for American farmers. They touch on a full range of human concerns, from foodways to family, art to science. In keeping with the bold design, clean lines, and natural materials of the Thompson Building, the exhibit design uses large, free-standing abstract structures evocative of sails or icebergs to frame each central artifact, taking advantage of the soaring heights in the Collins Gallery. The overall effect is visually stunning, an inviting space that entices visitors to contemplate, discover, discuss – and return to the exhibit.
SeaChange extends the sensory approach beyond the visual with more than a dozen custom-created interactives. Among them, visitors will have the opportunity to:
Peer through a scope at various “dazzle” ship camouflage designs from World War I to see which is most visually disruptive to a submarine commander
Use an endoscope to see inside the detailed interior of an 18th-century ship model
Tap to smell the scents related to one of the more curious cargoes of the Pacific trade
Listen to experts from a range of fields relate the backstories and answer common questions about each primary artifact through video touchscreen programs.
The exhibit will open to the public at 10 a.m. with a special Museum members preview at 9 a.m.
SeaChange was designed by the McMillan Group of Westport, CT, and the audio-visual and interactive programming was produced by Trivium Interactive of Boston, MA.
The exhibition is the centerpiece of the Museum’s initiative to increase its year-round, all-weather offering to visitors. SeaChange will be open into fall 2017.
About Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The newly opened Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibits, beginning with SeaChange, which opens December 10, 2016. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $26 for adults and $17 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and younger are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
The CHARLES W. MORGAN sails on her first sea trial off New London, CT, on June 7, 2014. Photo by Dennis Murphy/Mystic Seaport
The National Trust for Historic Preservation presented a Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Award to the Charles W. Morgan whaleship of Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. The project is one of several award winners honored by the National Trust during its 2016 PastForward National Preservation Conference in Houston, Texas, November 16, 2016.
The Morgan is the second oldest American ship afloat and the world’s only surviving wooden whaleship. Today she is a National Historic Landmark. Her restoration and 38th Voyage in 2014 was made possible by more than five years of work and $12 million raised in a broad national campaign.
Shipyard Director Quentin Snediker, right, accepts the Richard H. Driehaus Award from Jean Follett, member of the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Photo by David Keith.
The Morgan’s voyage promoted the stewardship of intangible heritage and public history, educating nearly 65,000 people about everything from the diversity of those who worked in whaling to human-whale interaction. She has since returned to Mystic Seaport to resume her role as a permanent floating exhibit: a significant landmark in herself and the preserver of wooden shipbuilding for years to come.
“While each is unique, this year’s outstanding Driehaus Award winners all reflect the importance of protecting our nation’s cultural heritage,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “From prominent gothic building along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue to a 19th-century whaling ship in Connecticut, this year’s Driehaus Award winners demonstrate how saving places is bolstering local economies and helping preserve the unique fabric of communities throughout the country.”
“Mystic Seaport is honored to receive the Driehaus Award for the restoration of the Morgan. There are many significant, historic structures in America, but rarely are historic ships spoken of in the same breathe as buildings,’ said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “The Driehaus Award validates the work of Mystic Seaport’s shipwrights as crucial custodians of historic design and function. All shipwrights and maritime preservationists will be honored by this recognition by the national trust, and, thus. we are most grateful.”
The National Preservation Awards are bestowed on distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and corporations whose skill and determination have given new meaning to their communities through preservation of our architectural and cultural heritage. These efforts include citizen attempts to save and maintain important landmarks; companies and craftsmen whose work restores the richness of the past; the vision of public officials who support preservation projects and legislation in their communities; and educators and journalists who help Americans understand the value of preservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places. www.PreservationNation.org
This report was prepared from a press release issued by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Mayflower II was hauled out of the water in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport on Friday, November 18, 2016. The process took about two and a half hours to maneuver the ship in the lift, settle her properly on the cradle, and then lift the ship out of the water. The next step will be to power wash the hull and pull her into the yard and then sideways to the spot where the restoration work will take place. That should happen early next week.
This is the third phase of a multi-year preservation initiative for the nearly 60-year-old ship. Mystic Seaport shipwrights and Plimoth Plantation maritime artisans are collaborating on the restoration, which is being carried out to prepare the ship for the commemoration of the Pilgrims’ arrival 400 years ago in 2020. Unlike past years, Mayflower II will remain at Mystic Seaport for a period of 30 months and not return to Plymouth in the spring as she has in past years.
Steamboat SABINO moments after her launch in the Shipyard July 27, 2016. Note that her pilothouse and canopy will not be installed until after the new boiler and engine are in place.
Mystic Seaport is very pleased to announce the steamboat Sabino will return to operation in 2017. The vessel is a National Historic Landmark and is one of the last coal-fired operating steamboats in the country.
Sabino has been undergoing restoration in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard since December 2014. This was a major project intended to enable her to continue her role as an operating exhibit for the next 25-30 years or more. The Shipyard addressed issues with her hull and numerous mechanical and systems upgrades. A number of frames and her keel bolts were replaced, some new planking installed, and general restoration and preservation work was carried out throughout the vessel.
The majority of Sabino’s restoration was completed in mid-summer 2016 and she was launched back into the water. However, the vessel needed a new boiler and additional time and funds were required to have one designed, fabricated, and installed.
SABINO’s Almy water-tube boiler on display in the Thompson Building lobby.
Thanks to the philanthropic support of numerous parties the funds were raised, and the Shipyard was able to identify and contract specialized vendors to do the work. The design was recently approved by the US Coast Guard and construction will begin shortly. The goal is to have Sabino back in operation for her usual seasonal run in 2017.
Sabino‘s old boiler was installed around 1940. It was manufactured by the Almy Water-Tube Boiler Company of Providence, RI. It was the vessel’s third one since she was first launched in 1908 and powered the steamboat for nearly three-quarters of her life on the water, including during passenger service in Maine, a private attraction in Massachusetts, and finally more than forty years on the Mystic River. It has now been placed on display in the lobby of the Thompson Exhibition Building.
Sabino will continue to be powered by her original 1908 two-cylinder expansion engine that was manufactured by J. H. Payne & Son in nearby Noank, CT.
For additional information on the restoration, please read the Shipyard Blog.
MAYFLOWER II just after arriving at the Shipyard on November 2, 2016.
Mayflower II, Plimoth Plantation’s 1957 reproduction of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Massachusetts in 1620, returned to Mystic Seaport November 2 to continue preservation work at the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.
This is the third phase of a multi-year preservation initiative for the nearly 60-year-old ship. Mystic Seaport shipwrights and Plimoth Plantation maritime artisans are collaborating on the restoration, which is being carried out to prepare the ship for the commemoration of the Pilgrims’ arrival 400 years ago in 2020. Unlike past years, Mayflower II will remain at Mystic Seaport for a period of 30 months and not return to Plymouth in the spring.
The Shipyard’s first task is to begin the process of downrigging and removing more than 50 tons of steel and lead ballast from the hold. Once that is completed, she will be hauled out of the water and moved to a location in the yard where the bulk of the work will take place.
“Our goal is to haul her as soon as possible,” said Quentin Snediker, the director of the Shipyard. “The next month-and-a-half to two months are going to have a pretty intense focus on preparation.”
“We’ve been working on the project for about the last two years,” he adds. “When she first came to us, we evaluated the structure, and since then we’ve been planning the process, acquiring the material, and getting ready to jump into the work that can now begin.”
Mayflower II will be available to view in the Shipyard, but visitors will not be able to go on board for the foreseeable future due to the nature of the work being done to the vessel.
From left to right: Ken Read, president of North Sails; Bob Johnstone, award recipient; Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport; Rod Johnstone, award recipient; and Barclay Collins, chairman of the Board of Mystic Seaport.
Mystic Seaport presented its 2016 America and the Sea Award to Bob and Rod Johnstone – J/Boats. Given annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.
The Johnstones received the award Saturday, October 22, at a gala dinner held in their honor at Mystic Seaport. The gala was held in the Collins Gallery in the new Thompson Exhibition Building. The America and the Sea Award Gala is the single largest fundraising event for the Museum. Proceeds from the event benefit the mission of the Museum to inspire an enduring connection to America’s maritime heritage.
“Over the past 39 years, the Johnstone family and their company have influenced American yachting and sport of sailing in incomparable ways. They have established a record of accomplishment that few will ever challenge, and they have instilled in countless Americans a passion for enjoying time on the water with family and good friends aboard good boats,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.
The 2016 gala was co-chaired by J. Barclay Collins, II, Maarten de Jong and Kendra Matthew, Michael and Joanne Masin, and Cayre and Alexis Michas. S. Carter Gowrie is corporate co-chair.
Mystic, Conn. (October 21, 2016) — Mystic Seaport will present its 2016 America and the Sea Award to Bob and Rod Johnstone–J/Boats. Given annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.
The Johnstones will receive the award Saturday, October 22, at a gala dinner held in their honor at Mystic Seaport. The gala will be the first and only dinner held in the Collins Family Gallery of the new Thompson Exhibition Building prior to its ongoing use to display exhibits. The America and the Sea Award Gala is the single largest fundraising event for the Museum. Proceeds from the event benefit the mission of the Museum to inspire an enduring connection to America’s maritime heritage.
“Over the past 39 years, the Johnstone family and their company have influenced American yachting and sport of sailing in incomparable ways. They have established a record of accomplishment that few will ever challenge, and they have instilled in countless Americans a passion for enjoying time on the water with family and good friends aboard good boats,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “For these reasons and many more, Mystic Seaport is proud to bestow its America and the Sea Award to Bob and Rod Johnstone–J/Boats.”
Past recipients of the America and the Sea Award include oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle, historian David McCullough, legendary yacht designer Olin Stephens, President and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation, Thomas Crowley, philanthropist William Koch, former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, WoodenBoat founder Jon Wilson, yachtsman and author Gary Jobson, maritime industrialist Charles A. Robertson, and author and historian Nathaniel Philbrick.
About J/Boats
Bob Johnstone. Photo Courtesy of J/Boats
The J/Boats story began in 1974 when Rod, then an ad salesman for Soundings Magazine, designed and started building the 24-foot sailboat Ragtime in his Stonington, CT garage. Launched in the Spring of 1976, it beat everything in sight. Bob, then vice president of marketing at AMF Alcort, saw the potential in Rod’s design and a 50/50 partnership was formed in February 1977 to build and market the J/24. Today, some 14,000 “J’s” in 40 different designs are sailing in more than 35 countries. “J” owners have won silver in major sailing events worldwide including Fastnet, SORC, Transpac, Pacific Cup, Swiftsure, Ensenada, Middle Sea, Sydney-Hobart, OSTAR, Chicago-Mac, and the Bermuda Race. The J/24 was named “Best Keelboat in 30 years” by SAIL Magazine in 1981. A decade later, the J/105 revolutionized keelboat design with its retractable bowsprit and asymmetrical spinnaker. Nineteen other “J” designs have earned Boat-of-the-Year or Hall of Fame recognition. Five designs have achieved World Sailing’s International Class status. J/Boats Inc. was named by Fortune in 1991 as one of America’s Best 100 Products. J/Boats in the USA are built in Rhode Island and by licensed builders in France, Italy, South Africa, Argentina, and China. J/Boats remains a family business.
Bob and Rod grew up racing Long Island One-Designs and Lightnings at the Wadawanuck YC in Stonington CT, where from 1947 to 1954 they took home many club and ECYRA trophies. With their father, Rob, they built Lightning #3310 in a suburban Glen Ridge, NJ, garage, setting them on a course of sailing for life.
Rod Johnstone. Photo courtesy of J/Boats.
After Princeton (’56), Bob spent 17 years managing Quaker Oats subsidiaries in Colombia and Venezuela. Returning to Chicago, he became Quaker’s Marketing Man of the Year. Later at AMF Alcort, he acquired marine market experience, a key to start-up success of J/Boats. In 2002, with the next generation in place at J/Boats, he founded MJM Yachts. The MJM 50z received the 2014 AIM Editors Award for Best Down East Cruiser 50 Feet Plus. Bob has won the 1969 Penguin Internationals, National Hospice Regatta, Maine Retired Skippers Race, New York Yacht Club Queen’s Cup plus Antigua, Block Island, Charleston, Key West and Down East Race Weeks. He was runner-up in the 1983 J/24 Worlds, served as Secretary/Treasurer of the United States Olympic Sailing Committee and was founding chairman of both the United States Youth Sailing Championship and J/24 Class Association. Bob and his wife, The Reverend Mary Johnstone, reside in Newport RI. He is a member and Past Commodore of the Northeast Harbor Fleet and a member of the New York Yacht Club and Little Cranberry Island Yacht Club.
After Princeton (’58) Rod started designing and building sailboats while teaching history at the Millbrook School in NY from 1959 to 1962. He then ran a yacht brokerage in Stonington, later becoming a planner for submarine builder Electric Boat Co. Rod sold ads for Soundings from 1970 to 1977 when he came to know the key players in the sailboat industry, especially Everett Pearson, whose role as builder of J Boats designs for over 25 years was key to their success. In 1988 Rod co-founded Johnstone Yachts, Inc. with nephew Clay Burkhalter to produce his JY 15 sailboat design. Nephew-in-law, David Eck, took over in 1991 and produced over 3,300 JY 15s. Mystic Seaport uses JY 15s in its sail training program. Rod still helps design new J/ Boats and continues to race actively. He has won championships in the J/24, J/22, J/30, J/35, J/120, J/70 and J/88 classes and at various Race Weeks. Rod and his wife, Lucia, live in Stonington. He is a member and Past Commodore of the Wadawanuck Yacht Club, Past Chairman of the Stonington Board of Education, and member of the Stonington Harbor Management Commission.
About Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The newly opened Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibits, beginning with SeaChange, which opens December 10, 2016. The state-of-the-art Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $26 for adults and $17 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Mystic, Conn. (October 13, 2016) — Mystic Seaport announces it is honoring the Pacific Class owners and the San Diego Yacht Club with the 2016 William A. Baker Award. The award is given to promote the awareness and appreciation of fine examples of one-design classes or boats of like kind, and to foster faithful preservation and restoration, and encourage their continued use.
The Pacific Class (PC) owners and the San Diego Yacht Club are being recognized for their effort to preserve and maintain a significant class of American sailing craft.
The PC is the first wooden one design racing sloop designed and built especially for Southern California waters. Designed by George Kettenburg, Jr., in 1929, the 31-foot-long sailboat has survived more than 80 years and is still enjoyed today. While the largest of the fleets is in San Diego, there are smaller groups in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles and Washington State. Of the 84 hull numbers assigned, all but 19 are still sailing. Hull number 8, Wings, believed to be the oldest hull in existence, is now on display at the San Diego Maritime Museum.
Antique and classic boat festivals throughout the country typically present awards for the preservation of wooden boats. As a rule these awards are presented to individual owners or vessels, recognizing some superlative aspect of the work that has been done to keep them up, most-original, or the finest craftsmanship.
The William Avery Baker Award is somewhat unique in that it is customarily presented to a class association or group of owners. The purpose is to recognize the people and communities that do the bold, arduous and often expensive work of keeping a large group or class of vessels actively sailing.
“It is this authentic notion of active use that is being recognized and commended,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport. “It is one thing to save an old wooden boat from inevitable destruction; it is another thing entirely to save a class of vessels from extinction. It has been our experience that this can only occur when a community of like-minded enthusiasts comes together with a common purpose. Thus, we are proud to honor the Pacific Class owners and the San Diego Yacht Club for their effort to save the PC from the brink of extinction and thus allow future generations to sail and enjoy these fine boats.”
About Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The newly opened Thompson Exhibition Building provides a state-of-the-art gallery to host compelling, world-class exhibits, beginning with SeaChange, which opens December 10, 2016. The Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $26 for adults and $17 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and younger are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Mystic, Conn. (October 21, 2016) — Mystic Seaport will present its 2016 America and the Sea Award to Bob and Rod Johnstone–J/Boats. Given annually by the Museum, the prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American character.
