I NMHS Annual Meeting at the New Bedford Whaling Museum-Saturday, 21 May 2011 NMHS Program Chairman Captain Cesare Sorio invites you to join us in New Bedford, Massachusetts, for rhe Society's 2011 Annual Meeting ar the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Museum president James Russell will be our host for the event, and we are looking forward to learning more about this dynamic facility. Whether yo u're a frequent- or first-time visitor to the Whaling Museum, you'll find there's a lot to discover, much rhar's new, and then there are rhe many aurhentic historic attractions all along the New Bedford waterfront to New Bedford Whaling Museum J check our. From atop Johnny Cake Hill, the New Bedford Whaling Museum looks our over the harbor, once home to a fleet of357 whalers at rhe height of the fishery in 1857 and current home to an active commercial fishing fleer. The cornerstone of rhe New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the Whaling Museum houses the world's largest collection of whaling logbooks, prints, journals, and scrimshaw. It is home to the world's largest ship model, Lagoda, a half-scale whaling ship built in 1916 by the aging shipwrights of the port. The museum contains twenty galleries and exhibits four species of complete whale skeletons. My own interest in the history of whaling was rekindled by two NMHS-related events in 2008. That June, NMHS co-sponsored rhe Whaling Heritage Symposium that met ar Mystic Seaport and rhe New Bedford Whaling Museum to examine the broader cultural aspects of historic whaling and how it impacts our relationship with the sea. We were immersed in whaling stories and were reminded what a wonderful gem is the New Bedford Whaling Museum. I learned that New Bedford surpassed Nantucket as the foremost whaling port in the world in 1823 and was, at one point, one of the richest cities in the country. I also hadn't considered that the whalers who were traveling the globe were, even if rhey didn't realize it at the time, the early ambassadors of a young nation. Later that summer, Sea History editor Deirdre O 'Regan went to sea with NOAA's Papahanaumokuakea Maritime Heritage Expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They succeeded in locating and documenting five historic whaling shipwrecks, including the New Bedford whaler Parker, which wrecked on the reef at Kure Atoll in 1842. When she returned, she shared some of the expedition's discoveries in Sea History 125. By gathering at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, yo u too will get a chance to learn more abour this important part of our maritime heritage. What can yo u expect at our annual meeting? Members will have an opportunity to meet rhe Society's Board of Trustees and share your ideas with them. We'll be there ready to greet yo u between 8:30 and 9:30AM, during which time you can register and enjoy some coffee and a continental breakfast while catch ing up with friends and colleagues, old and new. The Business Meeting starts promptly at 9:30AM and will be followed by presentations that will stimulate your interest in whaling and inform you abour the upcoming War of 1812 bicentennial events that are planned for next year. Among the speakers will be the museum's maritime curator, Michael Dyer, who will talk about "New Bedford in the Atlantic World." Following the morning presentations, we'll gather for lunch and then take guided tours of the museum in the afternoon. This is your opportunity to elect NMHS trustees. Standing for re-election for the C lass of 2014 are: Charles Anderson, James Carter, Karen Helmerson, Richard Scarano, Howard Slotnick, H . C. Bowen Smith, Philip Webster, and Daniel Whalen. Trustees up for election are: RADMJoseph Callo, USNR (Ret.); William Jackson Green; Capt. Sally Chin McElwreath, USNR (Ret. ); Michael Morrow; Timothy Runyan and Jean Wort. Registration: Cost for the meeting, including rhe continental breakfast and luncheon, is $55 each plus a cash bar. Please register using the form on the inside back wrapper of this issue of Sea History, online through our website at www.seahistory.org, or by calling NMHS headquarters at 1-800-221-6647, ext. 0. -Burchenal Green, President
Hotel Accommodations: We have booked a group of rooms at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott at 18 5 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, MA 02470, just four blocks from the museum. To receive the discounted rate, you need to book before 21 April (while rooms last). You can call the hotel at 774 634-2000 and be sure to ask for booking code NMS. You can also go online to www.Marriott.com/ewbfi and type in the following booking codes under the special rate sections: Standard Double/Double Standard King Standard Suite
NMSNMSAA NMSNMSAB NMSNMSAC
SEA HISTORY 134 SPRING 20 11
$ 94.00 $ 94.00 $114.00
Harborview Double/Double NMSNMSAD $114.00 Harborview King NMSNMSAE $ 11 4.00 Harborview Suite NMSNMSAF $134.00
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