Photograph by Caryn B. Davis from “A Connecticut Christmas”
Built in 1841, the whaler Charles W. Morgan is the world’s oldest surviving merchant vessel and the only remaining American wooden whaling ship. Voyaging around the world thirty-seven times, the ship was home to sailors from as far away as New Zealand and the Seychelles. Today it is one of the main attractions at Mystic Seaport, where it hosts events like the Moby Dick marathon and the Lantern Light Tours. Who knows what Christmas celebrations were once held on its deck during storms in the South Atlantic or at a dock in faraway India?
