In New Bedford, fathers, they say, give whales for dowers
to their
daughters, and portion off their nieces witha few porpises a-piece. -Herman Melville
i read moby dick as a child, and have been watching the gregory peck version about once a fortnight for the past several months... so with visions of whaling old and new rolling through my head, i decided that i would head to new bedford, former american capital of whaling and see it for myself. my first stop after arriving in town was to head straight for the whaling museum... this wasnt the best move in retrospect because it meant i misse
d going inside the seamen's bethel. the old sailors church made famous by the movie... so, i went into the museum, free for active military. i'm not sure what i was expecting, but the museum entrance is open, airy, and has the skeletons of a right whale and another type. the first exhibit in the museum is from the hunt to conservation... about how new bedford is no longer the home of a host of ahabs...
the museum didnt have as many lithographs of whaling that i had expected to see... they did have some interesting charts,
including a large british c
hart of the gulf of mexico from 1836. it had whale sightings penciled in. who would expect 3 circles and a comment, good whaling ground about 200 nm of corpus christi... the museum talked up the diversity of the new bedford crews. sailors from the south pacific, the azores, cape verde islands, free blacks, and runaway slaves all sailed out of new
bedford amongst others...
with all that whale oil, new bedford was a very
propserpous town in 19th century new england. and that is well displayed in the many architectural gems the city has. the area has been revitalized, and converted into a national historic area. which is good, these sorts of places should be preserved, i wish that preservation didnt mean being converted into crappy tourist shops
and art galleries though. bring back limited whaling in the traditional manner, and let the town be a working whaling port.
on the way from philadelphia to new bedford, i passed by mystic seaport in conneticut. i didnt stop to go explore there because i wanted to get on to new bedford. but, that is something for another time. its a huge complex that tries t
o recreat a 19th century new england port complex... it is very picturesque from afar, i imagine that it isnt a van gogh... i also stopped by the navy exchange at the submarine base in groton, ct. i didnt take any pictures there because i didnt go to the submarine musuem, but i did buy a pair of black oxfords to wear with my polywools since i forgot my pair at home... new england is picturesque in the summer time, with the green grassy, hilly towns that spill down to the rivers, bays, and inlets that they overlook. still, not quite convinced about wintering here... i think va is too cold... but, the maritime history and abundance of water, shipping, and sailboats makes me happy.
to their 
daughters, and portion off their nieces witha few porpises a-piece. -Herman Melville
i read moby dick as a child, and have been watching the gregory peck version about once a fortnight for the past several months... so with visions of whaling old and new rolling through my head, i decided that i would head to new bedford, former american capital of whaling and see it for myself. my first stop after arriving in town was to head straight for the whaling museum... this wasnt the best move in retrospect because it meant i misse
d going inside the seamen's bethel. the old sailors church made famous by the movie... so, i went into the museum, free for active military. i'm not sure what i was expecting, but the museum entrance is open, airy, and has the skeletons of a right whale and another type. the first exhibit in the museum is from the hunt to conservation... about how new bedford is no longer the home of a host of ahabs...
the museum didnt have as many lithographs of whaling that i had expected to see... they did have some interesting charts,
including a large british c
hart of the gulf of mexico from 1836. it had whale sightings penciled in. who would expect 3 circles and a comment, good whaling ground about 200 nm of corpus christi... the museum talked up the diversity of the new bedford crews. sailors from the south pacific, the azores, cape verde islands, free blacks, and runaway slaves all sailed out of new
bedford amongst others...
with all that whale oil, new bedford was a very
propserpous town in 19th century new england. and that is well displayed in the many architectural gems the city has. the area has been revitalized, and converted into a national historic area. which is good, these sorts of places should be preserved, i wish that preservation didnt mean being converted into crappy tourist shops 
and art galleries though. bring back limited whaling in the traditional manner, and let the town be a working whaling port.
on the way from philadelphia to new bedford, i passed by mystic seaport in conneticut. i didnt stop to go explore there because i wanted to get on to new bedford. but, that is something for another time. its a huge complex that tries t
o recreat a 19th century new england port complex... it is very picturesque from afar, i imagine that it isnt a van gogh... i also stopped by the navy exchange at the submarine base in groton, ct. i didnt take any pictures there because i didnt go to the submarine musuem, but i did buy a pair of black oxfords to wear with my polywools since i forgot my pair at home... new england is picturesque in the summer time, with the green grassy, hilly towns that spill down to the rivers, bays, and inlets that they overlook. still, not quite convinced about wintering here... i think va is too cold... but, the maritime history and abundance of water, shipping, and sailboats makes me happy.
