by Raye Tibbitts
Coastal Journal contributor
BATH - Maine Maritime Museum opened its doors to the public on Saturday, June 21 and almost 800 people streamed through the lobby and onto the grounds. The celebration of the first day of summer included free admission to all exhibits, boat tours along the Kennebec, and most of all, the christening of the newest addition to the museum's offerings, the play ship, Pirate's Paradise.
From behind the screens of endlessly clicking digital cameras, parents followed their kids who aimed cannons on the fo'castle of the ship, and turned the wheel at the stern. The ship's quarters were strung with real hammocks, and even - if one was brave enough to look - some pretty real looking rats! Junior swashbucklers could raise and lower the sail under the expert guidance of Captain Jim Spudcake. For the youngest swabbers, the yellow slide from the bow to the deck provided continuous amusement.
At noon, the ship was christened Pirate's Paradise, a name selected by Museum volunteers from suggestions provided by students from Bath's Dike-Newell School, many of whom were on hand for the ceremony. Even newly-retired principal, Denise Dow, along with his grandchildren were in attendance as the canvas fell revealing the official name.
The play ship, located on the banks of the Kennebec between the Museum docks and the visiting boaters building (and just behind the snack shack where Huber's Market of Wiscasset serves up sandwiches and drinks), replaces an older version that included a sand box and a crow's nest, “and not much else,” according to Amy Lent, executive director of the Maine Maritime Museum.
That former ship once entertained Maxine, the granddaughter of Nancy and Roy Wheeler, who live next door to the Museum. When Maxine and her mother Gigi Laberge visited, a step out the backdoor included the grounds of Maine Maritime Museum, so that in her mind, the ship belonged to her grandparents. While the very basic 12-foot structure had the capacity to inspire a child's imagination, time and exposure to elements led to its removal in March 2007.
But the Wheeler family was already planning for a new ship. When Roy died in 2006, Nancy directed memorial donations to the Museum, specifically for the construction of a new play space. Along with other donations and much volunteer effort, the museum began construction last summer. Lent decided, “Hey, let's not just do it, but let's really make it great.”
The roughly 15' X 30' Pirate's Paradise is constructed of composite materials so that it will be around for generations of kids to enjoy. For period details, the Museum turned to Jim Nelson (a.k.a. Captain Spudcake), author of many books and short stories on the subject of pirates. But for total accuracy and optimal fun, Lent consulted with her seven-year-old son, Jack.
For him, this meant that the ship had to have real cannons, real hammocks, real sails, real vermin, and most of all, a REAL figurehead.
Donated by Jack Schneider, a sculptor and woodworker from Georgetown, and 20 year Museum volunteer, the hand-carved pirate figurehead looks out across the Kennebec with a snarl that is sure to make other pirates think twice before landing. Schneider, whose work also appears at Robinhood Marina, felt that carving the figurehead was, “something he could do,” in addition to volunteering twice a year to spruce up the Museum exhibits. A former art professor at U Maine, Farmington, Schneider played around with a mermaid model and a sea serpent model before finally settling on the pirate.
In addition to the play ship opening, the Museum offered face painting, arts and crafts such as building and painting a lighthouse and designing a pirate flag, and 18th Century games such as stilt-walking and three-legged races. The Museum store set up an outpost on the grounds selling all manner of pirate regalia. Allison Freeman and Charlie Ipcar led a sing-along of seafaring songs, and Captain Spudcake told stories of his travels before organizing a tug-of-war with hopeful deckhands.
Inside the Museum, visitors viewed exhibits that detailed Maine's shipbuilding and seagoing past, and throughout the day, boats cruised up and down the river offering a view of local lighthouses, and Bath Iron Works from the waterside. Tours of the Percy and Small Shipyard and Bath Iron Works rounded out a very full day of family fun.
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