Voyagers

Eighty-five individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds sailed aboard the ship and participated in an unprecedented public-history project, using their own perspectives and talents to document their experiences. Meet the Voyagers »

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"It's unusual that the museum opted to put its most valuable artifact in harm's way. More meaningful, though, is the example this set for other institutions dedicated to curating public history."

Svati Narula: A Priceless Museum Artifact, But in the Ocean

A journalist explores the implications of the 38th Voyage.

Francomano recording

Dante Francomano: Cetacean Citations

Hear a contemporary concert piece inspired by the soundscapes of whales and whaling and by sounds recorded during the Morgan’s 38th Voyage.

Mike Vogel pg. 1

Mike Vogel: Voyage Journal

A commemorative poem for the 38th Voyage.

Charles-W-Morgan portrait

Mike Vogel: The Light from the Whale

The Charles W. Morgan still exists. So does the 1833 Buffalo Lighthouse that once burned oils brought back by America’s whaling fleet. Its keeper tells the tale.

"How many hundreds of other young men, for example, served on whalers, without writing a word about it, or perhaps even being able to do so? There is nothing probable, really, about Melville turning his whaling years into literature..."

Ellie Stedall: Sea-Room

As Melville noted, “You must have plenty of sea-room to tell the Truth in.”

"... sailors were not really supposed to sleep. They were supposed to work. And it is in seeing them work that one truly begins to appreciate the whaleship as an intricately calibrated wood, rope, and canvas machine."

Karim Tiro: Screw the Past

Reflections on the extraordinary range in the life of the nineteenth-century whaleman.

"I stood for a long time on those ropes, facing the sky. The fifteen percent of myself that still remained of the little girl reading Moby-Dick in the armchair was the girl who, even though none were expected that day, looked out to the water for whales."

Julia Pistell: An Account of a Voyage on the Charles W. Morgan

A podcast interview and essay.

John Bryant: crew working

John Bryant: Melville, the Morgan, and Me

A Melville biographer explores his subject through a 21st century adventure on a 19th century ship.

Salt Horse

Stowaway: P-Town to Beantown

Sailors love snacks. In today’s snack box there was a peculiar tin can with a funky little label. “Olde Plowe Salt Horse – For the discerning mariner.”

Veronica Lawlor: Foggy Journey

Veronica Lawlor: Sailing Through The Mist

"...a thick cloud of fog and mist settled over the ship. In that magical atmosphere, she seemed transformed into another ship, from another place and time. Which, of course, she was."