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Introducing the Stowaway

May 8, 2014

Journalist Ryan Leighton, of Boothbay, Maine, will stow away aboard the CHARLES W. MORGAN during the ship’s 38th Voyage.

Recent Posts

Looking back at the 38th Voyage-Part 1

As the 38th Voyage winds down, the hardest question I get as the Morgan Stowaway is “So how was it?” I’ve seen and experienced some incredible things this summer, so when somebody asks me how the voyage went, I find it difficult to boil it down to a snappy response. Up until now, the 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan has felt like sprinting a marathon. It has been two months of exhilarating, inspiring, exhausting, important, sleepless, sweaty and spectacular moments, with a free soda thrown in from time to time.

Reflections of a Stowaway

It’s a rare sight sailing the Charles W. Morgan with no passengers onboard. The core crew living and working on this vessel worked her through the night. For the first time I saw the lower topsails flying in the night sky. It was glorious.

Stranded in Cape Cod

The Cape Cod Canal is known for its mighty sea current. It can rip as fast as 6 knots, and it’s strong enough to distress small watercraft that get caught in the standing waves. It's not always predictable, but about every six hours the current reverses direction. In between tidal shifts, the current slows and the water is dead calm for about 30 minutes. They call it “slack tide.” Then the torrent surges again.

Canal Talk

The Morgan’s bow may be pointed homeward, but the stowaway’s adventure continues! The Morgan is docked at Mass Maritime Academy, just in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cape Cod Canal.

The Morgan vs. Old Ironsides

Just when I thought there is nothing else I could possibly do that has never been done, the U.S.S. Constitution and the Charles W. Morgan, this nation's oldest military and commercial ships, are now docked together at the Charlestown Navy Yard.