Megan Mitchell (second from left) poses (L-R) with Vice President of Shipyard Operations Christian Cabral, Shipyard Education Programs Manager Jenn Kuhn, and Maryland Department of Labor Apprenticeship Navigator Jane Sinclair after last Friday’s graduation ceremony.

At the beginning, what excited Megan Mitchell most about the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Shipwright Apprentice Program was the chance to put boatbuilding theory into practice.

Over three years, Mitchell has learned while doing her part on a variety of projects, most notably the CBMM Shipyard’s build of Maryland Dove. As she completes the program, CBMM’s Seip Family Foundation Shipyard Apprentice is grateful for the hands-on experiences building, repairing, and maintaining traditional Chesapeake Bay vessels – and the sawdust-infused memories she’s gathered along the way.

“In this industry, there are so many things that you really have to learn by doing,” said Mitchell, who came to CBMM after completing a one-year program at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, Wash. “For me, this has been great for the guided experience and having a whole yard full of teachers to learn from.”

Mitchell officially graduated CBMM’s Shipwright Apprentice Program last Friday in a Shipyard ceremony attended by CBMM staff and friends. She became the third graduate, and first woman, to complete the program since it became accredited through the Maryland Department of Labor in 2018.

The graduation ceremony offered a well-deserved celebration of Mitchell’s growth as a boat builder and contributions to the team since arriving in January 2021.

“We’re so proud of Megan and the work that she has put in during her apprenticeship,” CBMM Vice President of Shipyard Operations Christian Cabral said. “Megan rose to every challenge that we sent her way with a thoughtful approach that rubbed off on everybody in our Shipyard. We’ll certainly miss having Megan around every day, but we know she’ll be great in what’s next for her.”

Mitchell’s path to a career in boatbuilding is a testament to that determination and enterprising spirit.

A Northern Virginia native, Mitchell had barely ever been in a boat before taking up sailing as a student at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. After graduation, she contemplated a career in data analytics before a volunteer opportunity at Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport led to a leap into the world of traditional wooden boatbuilding.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take chances and see where it leads you,” Mitchell said. “If I had done the wise thing and stayed on the path that I decided on in college, I wouldn’t be here, and I’d probably be a lot more miserable.”

Mitchell’s one-year program certificate from the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding satisfied the first year of CBMM’s apprenticeship program, which in full requires participants to log 8,000 hours of real work experience, plus leadership and management skill development.

With that knowledge base, Mitchell was excited to dive in at CBMM to learn the trade one project at a time, working alongside CBMM’s shipwrights on traditional Chesapeake vessels for outside clients as well as CBMM’s own historic floating fleet.

Some of the biggest learning moments came in the small details of the job, she said.

“There are a few neat bits of repair that I’m proud of, but they’re all under several layers of paint now,” Mitchell said with a smile.

Among the highlights of her apprenticeship: Mitchell handled a good portion of the caulking on Maryland Dove and also assisted Curatorial Shipwright Sam Hilgartner on spar making and rigging on the reproduction of the ship that accompanied the first European settlers to Maryland in 1634.

Most recently, Mitchell led the new build of a St. Michaels sailing scow with help from CBMM’s Rising Tide after-school program. The project, involving collaboration with CBMM’s Shipyard, Education and Curatorial teams to revive a century old design utilized by the Miles River Yacht Club, served as a capstone of sorts to her apprenticeship.

Beyond those projects in the Shipyard, Mitchell was able to take courses in marine welding and metal fabrication through Chesapeake College as part of the apprenticeship. She also received Marine Corrosion Certification through the American Boat and Yacht Council, logged 360+ hours of sea time on CBMM vessels, and gained experience leading CBMM’s Women’s Woodworking Workshop.

“Megan’s confidence has grown immensely during her time here,” CBMM’s Shipyard Education Programs Manager Jenn Kuhn said. “It’s been really cool to see. She’s a lot more comfortable now going after a project and knowing that she’s got it.”

Along the way, Mitchell found the atmosphere on CBMM’s waterfront campus to be a strong fit for what interests her most about the field, which is sharing the history of the vessels and explaining the trade. She hopes to ultimately find a position within the industry that emphasizes project management and education.

“Boatbuilding seems like this horribly complicated, arcane thing, but it doesn’t have to be,” Mitchell said. “It is complicated, but it’s not necessarily difficult. It’s just a lot of moving parts. So, I see that there is a need in the maritime museum industry for people who can explain this complicated thing with many moving parts in a way that people find approachable.”

Mitchell called being the first woman to graduate from CBMM’s accredited program “important but shockingly not very daunting.” She’s found the Shipyard and wider boatbuilding industry to be largely inclusive and welcoming for anyone willing to put in the work.

No doubt it helped to have Kuhn, who completed a CBMM apprenticeship prior to the program’s accreditation, as a model to follow. Ultimately, Mitchell hopes that she can similarly set an example for the next generation of boatbuilders.

“Since I have been here, now there is space for someone else who is like me,” Mitchell said. “That’s someone who doesn’t necessarily come from a boating background, someone who is more the crafty sort than the hard-bitten Chesapeake sort, and someone who is a woman.”

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is thrilled to invite the community to its Welcome Center Grand Opening on Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10am-4pm.

The festivities will begin with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building at 10:30am and continue with a festival-style celebration highlighting the theme of “Winter on the Chesapeake” that features authentic Chesapeake Bay experiences, including food demonstrations, hands-on activities, campus tours, and live music.

The entertainment includes a performance by renowned smooth jazz saxophonist and St. Michaels native Anthony “Turk” Cannon, whose father Wilson “Turk” Cannon was an iconic waterman who is featured in CBMM’s Oystering on the Chesapeake exhibition.

CBMM general admission is free for all guests that day to share in the celebration of the transformational new addition to the campus experience. Get more information and sign up to receive the latest event updates via email at cbmm.org/WelcomeCenterGrandOpening.

“This is a truly exciting day in CBMM’s history that has been many years in the making,” President & CEO Kristen Greenaway said. “Our wonderful new Welcome Center is integral to CBMM’s mission and takes the guest experience to the next level, and we look forward to sharing all that it has to offer with our friends and community partners at the Grand Opening. We’re grateful to all who have played a part in making this building a reality and delighted to celebrate with everyone.”

CBMM’s new Welcome Center is a 12,000-square-foot, fully ADA-accessible building constructed overlooking Fogg’s Cove, housing three exhibition spaces, a reception desk, restrooms, and the Museum Store. Its construction marks the start of Phase II of CBMM’s ongoing Master Plan campus upgrades.

Guests will find a new orientation exhibition, Navigating the Chesapeake’s Maritime Culture, constructed on a wall adjacent to the entrance that uses photos and artifacts to set up the themes found across campus.

Water Lines: Chesapeake Watercraft Traditions is an exhibition showcasing CBMM’s small craft collection, some of which have been in storage and will be shared with guests for the first time, while the forthcoming Stories from the Shoreline exhibition will present an expansion of the storytelling in the current Waterfowling exhibition to include info about the ecology of the Bay and the experiences of the people who have called the region home over time.

In its new home, the Museum Store will continue to be a shopping destination carrying unique items, including home decor, souvenirs, toys, and apparel with coastal, nautical, and regional themes. It’s a space designed to engage guests with stylized ceiling tiles, a historic photo of Crisfield’s Horsey Brothers Department Store, and several exhibit vessels. Guests exit onto the Joan & Ned Hennighausen Family Veranda with excellent views of the Miles River.

During the Welcome Center Grand Opening, guests are invited to explore the new building while also experiencing “Winter on the Chesapeake” through special programming led by CBMM staff and community partners. There will also be a variety of food items and beverages, including beer and cocktails, available for purchase.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Anthony Cannon and his five-piece jazz ensemble will take the stage for a special homecoming performance.

Cannon – who added “Turk” to his stage name in homage to his father – grew up just a few blocks away on Lee Street with a keen appreciation for the cultural heritage that CBMM preserves.

For many years, Turk Cannon kept his workboat moored at Honeymoon Bridge adjacent to CBMM’s campus, and he also crewed on the skipjack E.C. Collier that is on exhibition in the Oystering building. In that exhibition, guests can find a life-size cutout of the elder Cannon and quotes from the waterman who served as a primary source during its construction in 1993.

As part of that process, Turk Cannon shared his pride that his five children would not “have” to be watermen and could decide their own paths. With this concert, Anthony Cannon will help celebrate a new chapter in CBMM’s history with a nod to the past within view of the exhibition building that shares his father’s story.

“Performing at CBMM will truly be a full circle moment for me and my family,” Cannon said. “St. Michaels is home and such a big part of who I am and the music that I play. It’s an honor to be part of the Welcome Center’s Grand Opening. We’re going to have a lot of fun celebrating that day.”

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a non-profit educational organization that preserves and explores the history, environment, and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region, and makes this resource accessible to all.

Every aspect of fulfilling this mission is driven by CBMM’s values of relevance, authenticity, and stewardship, along with a commitment to providing engaging guest experiences and transformative educational programming, all while serving as a vital community partner. For more information, visit cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916.

CBMM is hosting a Grand Opening for its new Welcome Center on Dec. 2 from 10am-4pm.

The Shipyard team began work on the new construction build last fall after finishing up its build of Maryland Dove and worked over the past year under the direction of Shipyard Foreman Jeff Reed to bring the vessel to life.

A contract build for owners Grigg and Cindy Mullen of Lexington, Va., Mr. Dickie will be on display later this month at the Sultana Downrigging Festival in Chestertown before returning to dock at CBMM.

“Grigg provided the opportunity for us to have our Shipyard team do a complete build from start to finish, creating a unique object in a way that realizes Grigg and our dream of a comprehensive construction that allows for public and Shipwright education,” said Vice President of Shipyard Operations Christian Cabral. “It’s been an incredible experience.”

The construction of the unique vessel in CBMM’s Shipyard offered a glimpse into the past while highlighting the future for a historic style of vessel vital to the story of the Chesapeake Bay.

Buyboats are cross-planked workboats that were traditionally used for hauling oysters from skipjacks to market in season and anything else that needed transporting the rest of the year. Today, there are estimated to be fewer than 30 buyboats that continue to ply the Bay’s waters.

Mr. Dickie pays homage to the 60-foot buyboat Mundy Point, designed to bring the buyboat look to a scaled-down 36-foot version. It was constructed from heart pine, white oak, Atlantic cedar, and western red cedar, and outfitted with a restored late-1930s Buda diesel engine. 

A retired engineering professor, Grigg Mullen maintained a hands-on role throughout the yearlong construction, working alongside CBMM’s Shipyard crew whenever his schedule allowed. He and Cindy were on hand for a CBMM Member Night on Oct. 12 celebrating Mr. Dickie and the Oct. 20 launch for the new buyboat that is named in honor of the late Dickie Whaley, Mullen’s neighbor growing up in Queen Anne’s County.

“It’s been a wonderful year building Mr. Dickie and working with the Shipyard folks,” Mullen said. “Every time there was a decision to make, it was always—if we do it this way, it’s going to be better. It’s turned out wonderfully.”

With Mr. Dickie completed, CBMM’s Shipyard will stay busy with a variety of projects heading into the winter months, including on-going work on a pair of buyboats in its historic floating fleet. 

Winnie Estelle, CBMM’s passenger-carrying 1920 buyboat, is amidst a refit that includes the removal, fabrication, and replacement of its structural timbers, while 1938 buyboat Choptank is undergoing a final fit out, which involves building out the interior with cabins and heads for expedition-style overnight trips and outfitting it with modern safety equipment and a new rig.

Find more information about CBMM’s Shipyard and its projects at cbmm.org/shipyard.