Page Updated: December 15, 2023
The Charles W. Morgan
The Charles W. Morgan - Mystic CT
Once the member of a fleet of more than 2,700 vessels, the Charles W. Morgan is the only remaining wooden whaling ship in the world. Built in 1841 and sailing 37 voyages, the Morgan is now docked in Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic CT and can be toured with admission to the museum.
We visited the Charles W. Morgan on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at the end of July. The town of Mystic was having it’s Moby Dick Marathon – A reading of Moby Dick by Herman Melville on The Charles W. Morgan. We were asked to read when we boarded but chose to skip it in favor of spending our time exploring the ship. But, the event did create an interesting vibe.
Exploring a whaling ship is a surreal experience. You’ve read about them. You’ve seen them in movies. But standing on the decks of one and walking through its belly provides a completely different understanding of the life of a whaler.
On Deck
Loaded with masts, sails and rigging, the deck of the Morgan displays harpoons as well as its try pots - large cauldrons used to render blubber into oil: the heart of the whaling industry.
Processing a single whale could take one to three days with crews working around the clock.
Writings from whalers depict just how disgusting the process was:
“Everything is drenched with oil… Shirts and trowsers are dripping with the loathsome stuff…. Feet, hands and hair, all are full… biscuit you eat glistens with oil, and tastes as though just out of the blubber room… From this smell and taste of blubber, raw, boiling and burning, there is no relief or place of refuge.” —Charles Nordhoff 1856
New England Historical Society
Captain’s Quarters
Below deck, the Captain’s quarters consists of an office, sleeping quarters, and a privy. All are spacious and whitewashed helping it not seem so dreary.
Below Deck
Below deck, visitors pass crew bunks; including those for the cook, carpenter, cooper, and boatsteerers. We found it interesting the Charles W Morgan had bunks instead of hammocks.
The holding for processed barrels of oil is short, and Lee (who’s 6’ 3”) had to duck as we passed through. Interpretive signs in the hold explain the complete process of making oil; from cutting in (removing the blubber from whales), lowering cuts into the hold, mincing, and the process of rendering blubber.
Interpretive signs on shore explain the cultural melting pot of the world of whaling, and the outline the high-risk, high-profit of the industry.
These reads shouldn’t be missed. It’s mind-blowing to see the economic value whaling products added to the economy of the day.
-b&b
Mystic Seaport Museum
The Breakers
