From the Charles W. Morgan to the Far West

Prior to my event at Mystic Seaport, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my good friend Matthew Stackpole, son of the great Nantucket whaling historian Edouard Stackpole. Matthew is helping raise the funds required to restore the seaport's crown jewel, the Charles W. Morgan, the only surviving American whaleship.

The Charles W. Morgan with a whaleboat in the foreground.

Matthew had given me a tour of the ship a little more than a year before, and it was amazing to see how much progress has been made in anticipation of her launch in July 2013.

Although whaleships were not the most nimble of craft, there is nonetheless a powerful grace about the Morgan.

The restoration project is so extensive that this 170-year-old ship will be able to sail once again, something she hasn't done in a great many decades. Having had the chance to sail on the Mayflower II a few years ago, I know what a thrill it is to be on a historic vessel under sail alone. Instead of a barnacle-gathering artifact, the Morgan will be, once again, a living breathing part of our collective history.

Matthew Stackpole in the belly of the Morgan.

It was great fun talking about The Last Stand at the Seaport, especially when it came to discussing that miraculous riverboat the Far West. One of the themes running throughout The Last Stand is that the wilderness of the West and the wilderness of the sea are essentially one and the same, and nowhere did that seem more true than last night at Mystic Seaport.