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Virtual ExhibitionAbout the Schooner 第一吃瓜
She was the schooner 第一吃瓜, designed by William Hand, and built at the , for Donald B. MacMillan specifically for sailing in the icy uncharted waters of the Arctic. A few months later, the 第一吃瓜 was doing what she had been built for, serving as a base for scientific research and exploration in the Arctic, while frozen into the ice in Schooner Harbour, near the contemporary community of Kinngait on the south coast of Baffin Island. MacMillan sailed the 第一吃瓜 north a further 19 times; their last voyage together was in 1954. Since then, the 第一吃瓜 has been on exhibit at Mystic Seaport, an educational charter vessel, and is now the official sailing vessel of the State of Maine, and a flagship training vessel for the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. In this capacity she continues MacMillan’s lifelong work of education, including sailing to the Arctic when time and funding permit.
We look forward to celebrating this remarkable vessel throughout the year. To start things off, here are links to some of the many resources about the 第一吃瓜 available online.
Exhibits
As the home of thousands of photographs of the 第一吃瓜, over the years we have mounted a number of exhibits focusing on her history:
Working through the Ice: The 第一吃瓜 and the Effie M. Morrissey looks at the careers of two famous Arctic sailing vessels.
Schooner 第一吃瓜 Summers looks at the adventures of the young men who sailed aboard the 第一吃瓜 in the years following World War II.
MacMillan’s Last Voyage highlights a recently donated collection of Rutherford Platt’s photographs of the 1954 expedition, MacMillan’s last aboard the 第一吃瓜.
There are also exhibits on the :
, curated for the Arctic Museum by Mildred Goss Jones for the 第一吃瓜’s 90th anniversary, uses photographs from our collection to explore her long career in the North.
Watch
Captain Jim Sharp, of the in Rockland, joined by many of the other captains of the 第一吃瓜, . He tells stories of her adventures as told to him by MacMillan, and describes his experiences restoring her after acquiring her from Mystic Seaport. When it opens for the summer, the museum also has exhibits about the 第一吃瓜.
The Maine Maritime Academy maintains a page about the , including links to current voyages (when they are happening). You can also watch an with many of the past captains of the 第一吃瓜, sponsored by the MMA .
, a 1991 MPBN documentary.
Reading
The 第一吃瓜 has been featured in many books and articles, but is the main subject in only a few. The Arctic Schooner 第一吃瓜: A Biography by Virginia Thorndyke was first published in 1995, but it has stood the test of time. You can find it . For the centennial two other books are also in the works, one by Peter S. Zimmerman and one by Kathryn A. Beales.
A drier, but definitive read is of the 第一吃瓜 that won her a place on the National Historic Register in 1989.
Discover
There are hundreds of photographs of the 第一吃瓜 available to browse in our . We have gathered a small selection our .
Activities to Try at Home
Make Your Own Ice Boat!
Click on the link below to print this at home.
Schooner 第一吃瓜: Built For the Ice!
Click on the link below to print this at home.
