Great Great-Great Granddaughter, Sarah Bullard, of Charles W. Morgan
Rechristened the “Morgan” with a vintage blend of waters from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans symbolizing the rebirth and return of the worlds last remaining wooden whaleship to the sea from whence she came.
At the ceremony was Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, State Senator Andrew Maynard, D-18th District, and New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, with good humor, promising to let the “Morgan” leave the safe harbors of New Bedford’s Inner Harbor for her return trip back to Mystic Seaport.
Also in attendance at the launch was Eugene E. Cuffe III, of Long Island’s Shinnecock and Montauk tribes, whose ancestor, William Cuffe, sailed on the Morgan in the 1840s as a harpooner. Shinnecocks and Montauks have an ancient whaling tradition, Cuffe said, and were crew members on many New England whaling voyages.
Award-winning filmmaker and keynote speaker Ric Burns, so eloquently stating that the ship has been given “back its wings.” Stating global commerce and the Industrial Revolution has now been transformed from an institution of commerce and killing to one of wonder, imagination and knowledge.
To ensure that the restored Morgan will sail once more on her 38th Voyage in the late spring of 2014 to historic ports in New England, consider Supporting the Morgan.