The Restoration of the Charles W Morgan – presented by Mystic Seaport - Thursday February 9th. 

Staff of the Mystic Seaport Museum will be here to discuss the recent restoration of the Charles W. Morgan whaleship. If you have been to Mystic recently, it is hard to miss the huge vessel on the east side of the campus. If you have not been - you need to go! But first, come by to hear the speakers and whet your appetite. Read more about the Charles W. Morgan here.  Doors at 6 - Lecture at 7.

The RAMBLER Incident is Thursday January 19th.

View our Lecture Series page to learn more about this lecture and all othe rlectures presented this winter with our sponsors Points East Magazine.

Coastal Navigation Classes Offered  - Classes start January 18th

Beginning January 18th Herreshoff museum educator Richard Feeny will be teaching piloting and navigation classes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. This five-day ten-hour workshop will use Chapman Piloting and Seamanship as the primary textbook. Students will be taught the skills of plotting courses and bearings on provided charts with parallel rules and dividers also provided. Topics will include the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, latitude and longitude, nautical chart symbols, magnetic and true directions, tide and tidal currents. Classes meet from 6:30 - 8:30pm.  Museum Members: $160, all others $190. 15% discount for two people in the same family. Space is limited to 10 students.

Class will run three times.  Choose:
January 18, 19, 25, 26, February 1, February 2
Or
February 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23
Or
February 29, March 1, March 7, 8, 14, 15

Note: the sixth class is a makeup session

The 2012 Classic Yacht Symposium will be held on April 28th.
Please note: the symposium was originally scheduled for April 21st.

Topics will include: A Century and More of Big Schooners and The ALERION Revolution: What Nat Herreshoff started in 1912.

Stay tuned for an updated list of presenters, authors, and panelists.

See you on the 28th!



We say good-bye to our docent, volunteer and friend, Alan D. Storms.

Herreshoff Museum Volunteer, Alan Storms, passed away on Tuesday, November 8th.  Alan was well loved by our staff, volunteers, and visitors. He had a background in engineering and he knew everything about Nat , J.B., and the HMCo. If you ever visited the Museum on a Saturday morning or during a special event, you would know Alan well.  He was always eager to chat about engineering, sailing, and all things Herreshoff.  He started working at HMM in 1999 and was a loyal volunteer and advocate ever since. In addition to being a docent, Alan was on the Classic Yacht Symposium Committee and the Boat Preservation Committee. Below are Alan's answers to a volunteer questionnaire and below that you will find a link to his obituary.  He will be greatly missed by everyone who had the priviledge to know him.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with us? Meeting all the excellent volunteers and staff. It also is great to meet visitors and have them appreciate the help.

What are your other hobbies and interests? Photography, Skiing, and Travel

What experience do you have pertaining to your position here?
I am a lifelong sailor, mostly on the Great Lakes, and have absorbed a great deal of information on the history and achievements of the Herreshoff Company and the two brothers.

Favorite Herreshoff Memory: Meeting former Curator, Carlton Pinhero, while he was alive, and the visitor’s awe of hearing about the Reliance.

Read Alan's Obituary

Herreshoff Marine Museum Announces Grant from Collectors Foundation
for After School Boat Shop Program


(Bristol, Rhode Island, USA) – The Herreshoff Marine Museum/America’s Cup Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that the Collectors Foundation of Traverse City, Michigan, has awarded a $10,000 matching grant to the Museum to run an after school program teaching classic boat repair and maintenance. The after-school program begins this month in the same complex of 19th century buildings where the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. designed and built the boats used in the Museum's sailing program. The boats were built between 1914 and 1939.

At the Museum the Herreshoff Institute, organized in 1998, is part of a nationwide collaboration to teach math and science through sailing. The Herreshoff Institute runs year-round programs ashore and afloat to educate and inspire people. In 2010 the after school mentorship program teaching classic boat repair and maintenance enrolled 15 students from East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, and Tiverton. A Moses Brown student and a Barrington High School student developed senior projects which grew out of this program. Mt. Hope High School students can receive partial credit through the program, or count it as an extracurricular club.

The goals of the program are to help young people gain valuable skills, while contributing to their community’s rich cultural heritage and modern industry. The curriculum covers shop safety; shop cleanliness; planning a project and sequencing work efficiently; wood varieties and their respective properties; how to sand; primer and paint application; varnish application; brush cleaning; and hand tool use.

Youth enrolled in the program work alongside skilled adult advisors who teach the parallels between boatyard work challenges and personal growth. The Museum is pleased to have the cooperation of local leaders in the marine trades, including Bristol Boats, Bristol Marine, Guck Inc., Kinder Industries, Hall Spars, and Jamestown Distributors. Collectors Foundation is an educational grant-making organization funded by collector vehicle and classic boat enthusiasts to serve youth development and the long-term interests of the collector vehicle and classic boat communities. More information about the Foundation can be found on its website: www.collectorsfoundation.org.

The Herreshoff Marine Museum and America’s Cup Hall of Fame are dedicated to the education and inspiration of the public through presentations of the history and innovative work of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and the America’s Cup competition.












2011 Herreshoff Classic Regatta Cancelled
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Herreshoff Classic Regatta scheduled for 26-28 August was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. 

The 2012 Herreshoff Classic Regatta is scheduled for 24-26 August, and we look forward to the return of classic yachts to the Museum.

The Museum will refund your Regatta payment by written request, or we would be delighted to convert your payment to a tax deductible donation to the Museum.  Please let us know in writing or by email to acct.dept@herreshoff.org.

Call the Museum offices for more information at 401.253.5000 

PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

(Mystic, CT & Bristol, RI) Mystic Seaport Museum and Herreshoff Marine Museum announced today that they have entered into an agreement in which the Herreshoff Marine Museum and Mystic Seaport will become affiliated.

Mystic Seaport and the Herreshoff Marine Museum are entering into a broad collaborative relationship because each museum’s mission, assets, programs and aspirations are complementary with the other. The agreement provides both Museums with new opportunities to tell the broad story of the American maritime landscape. Both Museums will continue to operate independently with their existing assets, but will serve as resources to the other as needed and as agreed.

“We are delighted that we will be working closely with the Herreshoff Marine Museum as we actively pursue our mission to inspire an enduring connection to American maritime experience,” said Richard Vietor, Chairman of Mystic Seaport.

Dave Ford, Chairman of the Herreshoff Marine Museum, said, “Our affiliation with Mystic Seaport is an innovative solution to many of the challenges faced by smaller museums in today’s economic climate and will greatly expand the scope of what we can accomplish.”

Under the agreement, Mystic Seaport and Herreshoff Marine Museum will work closely together in a number of important areas that will capitalize on Mystic Seaport’s well established expertise in areas such as collections management, curatorial and custodial support, and exhibitions. In addition, the Herreshoff Museum has named Mystic Seaport as its exclusive partner in developing exhibitions related to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

“The synergism created by the affiliation of America's leading maritime museum with the design innovation, yachts, and America's Cup heritage presented by the Herreshoff Marine Museum is highly positive for both museums' futures," added Halsey Herreshoff.

Steve White, President of Mystic Seaport, also commented, “Mystic Seaport’s collections, watercraft and exhibits, complemented by the Herreshoff Marine Museum collections, collectively tell a powerful story about maritime innovation, competitive success and inspiration. We look forward to working with the Herreshoff Marine Museum to ensure that the stories of Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and its important work are brought to the attention of all who value our maritime heritage.”

Founded in 1929, Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum by virtue of the breadth and diversity of its collections, library, exhibits and educational programs. Located in Mystic, CT, Mystic Seaport features tall ships, a re-created 19th-century village, numerous exhibits and a planetarium. Mystic Seaport is the home of the Charles W. Morgan, the only surviving wooden whaling ship in the world, which is undergoing a major restoration in the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. For more, visit www.mysticseaport.org. 

HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM SETS NEW COURSE

Dyer Jones Appointed Chief Executive Officer

November 24, 2010 – The Herreshoff Marine Museum has begun a new chapter in its history with the appointment of Dyer Jones (Newport, R.I.) as its Chief Executive Officer.

Well-known for his work in three recent America’s Cup events – as Regatta Director for the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain, and as Chief Executive and Regatta Director for the Challengers in the 2000 and 2003 America’s Cup events held in Auckland, New Zealand – Jones also spent close to 30 years in various positions with The Anchorage, Inc. (Warren, R.I.) which designs and manufactures Dyer Boats. In addition, he is co-author of The 12 Metre Class: A History of the International 12 Metre Class and is a former Commodore of the New York Yacht Club.

“The challenge in taking on this role will be to build on the momentum that has been created by the founders of the Herreshoff Marine Museum. We must continue to preserve the legacy of the Herreshoff family, while working to move the institution forward,” said Jones, whose primary focus as CEO will be external relations and fundraising.

"We are very fortunate to have someone with Dyer Jones’ stature leading the Museum,” said Dave Ford (Bristol, R.I.), who was recently named Chairman of the Board, having served as a trustee since 2003. “His experience, expertise, passion and extensive network throughout the global sailing community will be a perfect fit with the Museum’s future plans. I have never been more excited about the direction of the Museum."

MUSEUM PREPARES FOR FIFTH DECADE

In 1971, A. Sidney DeWolf and Rebecca Chase Herreshoff founded the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol and progressed to establish in 1977 exhibits on Burnside Street, on the site of the former Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, where hundreds of elegant and record-setting yachts were built, including eight consecutive defenders of the America’s Cup. In the forty years since then, their son, Halsey C. Herreshoff, has been a driving force behind the growth of this very special Museum.

As the Museum enters its fifth decade, and following his induction into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in September, Mr. Herreshoff has decided to resign as President at the Museum. Although stepping back from daily operations, he will continue to work for the advancement of the Museum and remain a member of the Board of Directors through the end of his term.

“It is a great satisfaction to the Herreshoff family that the Herreshoff Marine Museum will continue to perpetuate the great tradition of design and construction of the worlds finest yachts. For me it has been a pleasure and considerable satisfaction to have had a role in the development of the Herreshoff Marine Museum/America’s Cup Hall of Fame as an enduring institution in the mosaic of such outstanding Bristol organizations. While no longer involved daily with the Museum I shall help in all ways possible and be the museum’s greatest cheerleader”, said Halsey C. Herreshoff.

One of America’s outstanding sailors, Halsey Herreshoff is the grandson of the legendary “Wizard of Bristol”, Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, and is himself a naval architect and marine engineer. Along with the late Edward duMoulin, he founded the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 1992, an additional attraction at the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Through his sailing prowess and the Hall of Fame, Halsey Herreshoff has made friends around the globe, adding considerably to the prestige of Bristol. Halsey is perhaps best known for his career as an America’s Cup sailor, having served on many cup defenders of the 12 Meter Era, first as bowman on Columbia in 1958 and concluding as navigator on Liberty in 1983.

Outgoing Board Chairman David Burnham stated, “It has been a great privilege for me to have sailed with Halsey both in the United States and in Europe and to have worked especially closely with this brilliant, versatile man in recent months. We are indebted to Halsey for nurturing the Museum over the years and making it one of Bristol’s leading attractions.”

Incoming Board Chairman David Ford added, “I am very excited about the future of the Museum and working to build upon the great foundation that Halsey has laid.”

WHISTLER REJOINS THE S CLASS

The 1928 Herreshoff S Boat WHISTLER, Hull #1080, was re-launched Saturday, June 19, 2010, shortly after 11:00am at Casey's Boat Yard in Newport, RI. WHISTLER has had a great sailing history on Narragansett Bay since 1943 and she has been through a recent rebuild by Jens Lang.

The museum would like to congratulate Ted Boylan and his family on the restoration of WHISTLER and her rejoining the Narragansett Bay S Class.
 

HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM ANNOUNCES GRANT FROM COLLECTORS FOUNDATION FOR AFTER SCHOOL MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

The Herreshoff Marine Museum/America's Cup Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that the Collectors Foundation of Traverse City, Michigan, has awarded a $10,000 matching grant to the Museum for the planning, development, and implementation of an after school mentorship program in classic boat repair and maintenance. The new after school program will reach out to the Museum's skilled volunteers, staff, and regional boat restoration specialists to serve as mentors to middle and high school students. The Museum is actively seeking charitable contributions to meet the $10,000 goal set by the Collectors Foundation and fully fund this new addition to its Herreshoff Institute programming.

Youth enrolled in the program will work alongside skilled adult mentors, in the same complex of 19th century buildings where the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. designed and built the boats utilized in the Museum's sailing program. Using tools and patterns not unlike those utilized nearly a century ago, students will assist in servicing and maintaining the Museum's fleet of Herreshoff 12 ½ s and other boats utilized in the Herreshoff Institute Seamanship Program. The program is the only one of its type in the nation, utilizing wooden boats designed and built nearly a century ago at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., now the home of the Museum.

These boats have been maintained by generations of experienced and knowledgeable individuals, alongside whom successive generations of youth were taught to care for them with equal skill. These are the boats we seek to preserve, to care for, and to restore while at the same time building young people of greater character and responsibility who can better appreciate their role as stewards of these boats and of the skills necessary to insure their preservation for future generations.

The Herreshoff Institute Seamanship Program serves a diverse population of young ladies and gentlemen from the Narragansett Bay region who attend the program for a modest fee. It is a testament to the program's success that many of these students return, some for several consecutive years, and that alumni continue their relationship with the program as seasonal instructors.

The new mentorship program is scheduled to get underway in Summer, 2010.

Collectors Foundation is an educational grant-making organization founded by Hagerty Insurance and funded by collector vehicle and classic boat enthusiasts to serve youth development and the long-term interests of the collector vehicle and classic boat communities. More information about the Foundation can be found on its website: www.collectorsfoundation.org.

HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM AWARDED CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT GRANT

The Herreshoff Marine Museum is honored to have been made the recipient of a Conservation Assessment Program grant to assess the historic Herreshoff House and related collections at the Museum’s campus along Hope and Burnside Streets.

The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) is supported through a cooperative agreement between the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Heritage Preservation. This conservation assessment will provide a survey of the museum’s domestic life collection as well as the environmental conditions, policies and procedures relating to the collection’s care. The program supports multiple site visits by conservation professionals to perform the assessment. These professionals, expert in collections care and historic architecture, will provide assessment reports for both the structure and collection.

“This award validates the Museum’s efforts to expand our work to include the life and work of the Herreshoff family beyond its well known contributions to the yachting world”, says Lawrence Fisher, Executive Director of the Herreshoff Marine Museum. “It is important that we document and preserve examples of domestic life at HMCo during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. This grant will enable us to better interpret this important asset which was the home of John Brown Herreshoff and Nathanael Greene Herreshoff during their formative years and at the birth of their famous boatbuilding enterprise.”

Heritage Preservation is a national non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the nation’s artifacts. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Heritage Preservation’s Conservation Assessment Program is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute. For more information on IMLS, please visit www.imls.gov; for more information on the CAP and Heritage Preservation, visit www.heritagepreservation.org.  

SY NELLIE REBORN IN MAINE

The Herreshoff Marine Museum congratulates owners Jeffrey Boal and Fernando Alva on the launching of the restored sailing yacht NELLIE on Sunday, October 18, 2009. This beautiful 46' cutter, designed by Nathanael G. Herreshoff and originally launched in 1903, has been expertly brought back to life by Wayne George and the restoration team at Warren Pond Boatworks of Maine.
 

HERRESHOFF ALERION LAUNCHED BY BEETLE BOAT SHOP

On September 26, a new Herreshoff-designed 26' foot Alerion sloop was launched in Mattapoisett Harbor by the Beetle Boat Shop of Wareham, MA.  The Herreshoff Marine Museum offers its congratulations to Beetle and the vessel's owner, Alden Brewster, and our thanks to them for keeping the Herreshoff legacy alive.

For more information on the new Alerion and additional photos, please visit the Beetle Boat website.

HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM SAVES 100-YEAR OLD Q BOAT FROM DESTRUCTION

The Herreshoff Marine museum stepped in and recently rescued an important wooden boat built in 1909 from destruction by chainsaw-wielding wreckers on the Boston waterfront. The boat, originally named MORE JOY, is an original ‘Q’ Boat type, designed and built by Captain Nathanael Greene Herreshoff for the President of American Coal Products, and is the oldest surviving boat of its type. Amazingly, this boat had not only survived for one hundred years, but is likely to have sailed every year of her life.

At the urging of the Owner, whose health is in decline, the Museum was able to save the boat from the wreckers and she has been delivered safely to the Museum site in Bristol, RI. The Owner and now donor stood between the wreckers and the boat as efforts were made to call off her imminent destruction.

Click here to read more about MORE JOY (HMCo #691) in this article by our curator, John Palmieri.
 

HERRESHOFF MARINE MUSEUM CELEBRATES FOURTH OF JULY IN STYLE

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NEWS ARCHIVES

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