While Historic Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg do their best educating people about history, “There’s nothing to relate to maritime history connecting the two. That’s where we come in,” says John Collamore, one of seven founders and now president of the Colonial Seaport Foundation (CSF) in Deltaville, VA, where he grew up sailing and started building boats.
In 2007, the organization started out as a side branch from a living history reenactment group. It’s now an educational nonprofit focused on preserving facets of America’s colonial maritime heritage (17th to 18th century) by providing historically accurate presentations and education to the public, from living history encampments to classroom presentations and on-the-water instruction.
“We have taught Sea Scouts, home-school students, and at-risk youth sent to us by the courts—we’ve had tremendous success with that,” says Collamore. Whereas many historical tall ship programs offer sail training, CSF is “open to what anyone brings to the table… We wanted to make sure all of our programming was family friendly, so kids, grandparents, and everyone else are welcome.”
Among CSF’s current offerings are 17th and 18th century seamanship and navigation, colonial cooking demonstrations, model building, rope making, weapons and tactics, and hands-on artifact presentations. CSF’s educational programming includes STEM-based ecology, trade and commerce, clothing and textiles, and life of the sailor.
CSF is currently focused on constructing an 18th century Bermuda sloop named Luna, “a coastal workhorse” that at one time hauled goods from one port to the next and spread the day’s news. CSF’s volunteers must finish the hull and set her up with her rig, spars, and engine and hope to be done by spring. Collamore and crew intend to sail her to historic ports from North Carolina to Maryland “to be able to tell the maritime history of the colonies and the seeds of revolution that led to our freedom.”
Luna may even be able to do cargo deliveries for farmer’s markets for non-perishables (and semi-perishables such as honey) giving people more eco-friendly options. Collamore asks, “How much greener can you get than delivery by sail?”
CSF seeks volunteer boat builders, educators, and living historians as well as donations. Visit colonialseaport.org or facebook.com/colonialseaport.
