Sail away with "Summer at Sea" July 12

Explore Waterford’s whaling and sailing past as the Waterford Historical Society once again brings history to life on Jordan Green with Summer at Sea, with fascinating maritime lessons for all ages with hands-on activities and demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. There will also be notecards, maps and books for sale in Jordan Park House where visitors may also enter a drawing to win a nautical oil painting by a local artist.

The Dirty Blue Shirts historians Amanda and Theresa will introduce a new hands-on activity: creating mini ditty bag. Young and old can try stitching canvas with a sailor's palm and a sail needle, spinning the rope for a handle, and embroidering a pocket with colorful cotton floss to fashion rough ditty bag that sits in the palm of the hand. Perfect for collecting tiny shells and other gifts from the beach or to give to a sweetheart left behind in the last port.

Alyssa will be in the blacksmith shop fashioning jib hanks, the open rings to which a small sail gets tied so it can slide up a stay when set and down again when furled. The jib is set on the jibboom, the spar that sticks out on the very front of a vessel.

Dan will exhibit his extensive collection historical naval and marine material culture and artifacts sure to delight any sailor or landlubber fascinated by maritime history.

Nate will be hauling cargo with a net, finding a sturdy tree or an overhang in Stacy Barn to rig up a substitute yardarm. He’ll also teach knot work with the mini ditties, and with rope-making.

Rebecca will tell of local fisheries of the past: the Niantic River vessels that fished locally and brought their catches to Boston or New York markets, or those that sailed further to the Grand Banks after cod, halibut and herring. She’ll show the washtub for testing fishermen’s wet mittens and Newfoundland trigger mitts and nippers for hauling in the long-line trawl and set up a demo net to teach the knots.

Maritime history professor Liz Kading rounds out the day’s offerings with accounts of whaling history at the trypot, that big black “witch’s cauldron” in front of Jordan Park House. She’ll have spermaceti (whale oil) candles and examples of scrimshaw, and a sea chest that illustrates how well a sailor needed to pack for a voyage that usually lasted two to five years.

The event is free and family friendly and open to the public. There is ample parking at Avery Lane and Rope Ferry Road parking lot, and handicap accessible bathrooms are located in Stacy Barn.

The Waterford Historical Society is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from visitors and is grateful for all contributions.