"Charles D. Morgan" |
 Scratch built by Jerry Liana Marco Island, Florida
$1650.00 |
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Out
of more than 2,200 sailing Yankee whaleships, the Charles W.
Morgan is the sole survivor. Built in New Bedford in 1841 by
Quaker Charles Waln Morgan (1796-1861) of Philadelphia at a
price of $52,000, the Morgan is a stellar example of a Yankee
whaler of its period. During her 80-year career as a working
whaler, she made 37 voyages, ranging from 9 months to five years
duration. During her tenure, she brought home 54,483 barrels of
oil and 152,934 pounds of whalebone. She sailed the entire
Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans. She never sailed
into the Arctic, however, as her various owners (six in all)
felt the risks were too great and the expense to outfit her too
high. Originally built as a full-rigged ship with square sails on all three masts, the square sails were removed from her mizzen mast in 1867, making her a bark. This rig was typical of New Bedford whalers of the last half of the 19th century. Home to more than 1,000 whalemen during her career, her crews averaged 33 men per voyage. At least five of her 21 masters brought their wives and children with them. Since 1941, the Charles W. Morgan has been located at Mystic Seaport Museum, in Mystic, Connecticut. In 1967, she was formally designated a National Historic Landmark. At Mystic, she can be seen and explored at dockside in her restored state as she appeared in circa 1905. |
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