Meet These Next Generation Shipwrights

If a ship is referred to as a ‘she,’ then it seems only right to have a crew of ‘she’s’ working on her.

And these young women have a lot more at stake than just being women working as shipwrights, a traditionally and heavily male-dominated gig; each is a second or third generation shipwright or sailor.

Take Evy Ansel of Old Mystic.

The young woman, who graduated from Fitch High School and went on to earn a four year degree, first worked in the shipyard with her grandfather Will Ansel (who worked on the Morgan in the 1970’s) and now by the side of her father, Walt, a lead shipwright at Mystic Seaport; has been working the past year-plus on the Morgan.

“And I’m not the only one. There are quite a few of us. It’s so exciting; we’re the next generation. We’re learning from the best and most talented there are,” she said kicking and sweeping dried mud from her rolled up work pants. 

“These are the best shipwrights in the country,” she said gesturing to an assemblage of men in blue shirts many of which wear full gray beards, and even one or two with pipe’s dangling; the proverbial salty dog.

“I feel lucky to be a part of this,” Ansel said, as small beads of sweat began to appear on her beaming face. “It’s a really exciting time to be here.”

The exciting time being as the famous whale ship Charles W. Morgan is set to soon be launched into the Mystic River after five years of restoration.

Ansel is joined by Maggie Wright, of Noank, a second generation shipwright; her father is Quent Wright, the Noank blacksmith and Ali Mitchell, born on the Cape, raised in Florida but now calling Mystic home, is the daughter of a boat captain.  All three young women smile widely and their excitement and anticipation for the move of the Morgan is palatable.

They share in unison phrases like, ‘It’s so cool,’ and ‘It’s awesome,’ and ‘We’re lucky.’

So we salute these young women, the next generation shipwrights.

The Morgan has been undergoing a comprehensive restoration at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at the Museum since November 2008. A National Historic Landmark and the country’s oldest commercial ship, the Morgan will embark on a ceremonial 38th Voyage in late spring 2014 to historic ports in New England, including New London, Newport, Vineyard Haven, New Bedford, Provincetown, and Boston. She will also venture onto the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary near the mouth of Massachusetts Bay.