NANTUCKET, MA – The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is pleased to present the Sailors’ Scuttlebutt Lecture Series at the Whaling Museum on July 10 and 24, and later on August 7, 22 and 28, 2018.
Sailors’ Scuttlebut Lectures are presented in partnership with Nantucket Community Sailing and feature a line-up of presentations and discussions connected to the sport of sailing.
“Nantucket Community Sailing is honored to partner with the Nantucket Historical Association to bring some of our renowned sailor friends to speak in this series,” says Diana Brown, Chief Executive Office of Nantucket Community Sailing. “This is a great way to celebrate Nantucket’s maritime heritage, both in the past and today, and the speakers will be of interest to sailors and non-sailors alike.”
“Cruising the Atlantic” with Alife Sanford
On July 10 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Alfie Sanford will speak about his experiences of Atlantic cruising based from Nantucket and learning to sail in Nantucket in the 1950’s.
Alfie describes: “Cruising is the art of exploring the interaction of the land and sea. Land and sea intertwine in a myriad of ways that create particular local geographies. Visiting these locales by sailboat brings one in touch with their peoples and cultures. Important, because learning about places afar teaches us about home.”
“Celebrating Sailing” with Gary Jobson
On July 24 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Celebrated sailor, Gary Jobson, presents stories of inspiration on the sport of sailing. He will also live-narrate the screening of his short films on the Olympics, America’s Cup, Canada’s Sable Island, and the 1979 “Roughest Ocean Race in History” disaster in Ireland that brought about the world’s current safety regulations at sea.
“The International One-Design, Eighty Years Young”, with John Burnham
On August 7 from 6:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. John Burnham will present a lecture on the iconic International One-Design. This sailboat has sailed thousands of races and has been the subject of remarkable photos in its eight decades of competitive history. Join John Burnham, a past champion and former editor of Sailing World and Cruising World, on a photographic tour tracing the history of the class. Burnham will cover the development of the Nantucket fleet, his own experience of the last thirty years and the array of other extraordinary venues where the boats are sailed.
“Oceans, Human Health, and the Genomic Future”, with Dr. J. Craig Venter
On August 22 from 6:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. guest speaker Craig Venter will join us for a lecture on Oceans, Human Health and the Genomic Future. Dr. Venter J. Craig Venter, PhD, is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his numerous invaluable contributions to genomic research. He was on the 2007 Time 100 most influential people in the world list made by Time magazine.
The Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS) is an ocean exploration genome project with the goal of assessing the genetic diversity in marine microbial communities and to understand their role in nature’s fundamental processes. Begun as a Sargasso Sea pilot sampling project in August 2003, Venter announced the full Expedition on 4 March 2004. The project, which used Venter’s personal yacht, Sorcerer II, started in Halifax, Canada, circumnavigated the globe and returned to the U.S. in January 2006.
“Second Wind” with Nat Philbrick
On August 28 from 6:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. Nat Philbrick closes the Sailors’ Scuttlebutt lectures, speaking on his most recent book, a memoir on sailing on Nantucket’s ponds in the 1990s. The book covers a personal tale of Philbrick’s experience as a stay-at-home dad, shifting into his comeback as a Sunfish racer, and training for a sailing championship he had won over a decade earlier in his life.