A Legacy Reclaimed:Steve Machesney's Return to the Mystic Whaler

Mystic Whaler was recently honored with a very special visitor! We are so happy to share Steve Machesney's reflections on greeting an old friend...

"My tall ship experience started back in 1990. As a 20-year-old taking a break from college, I signed on as a galley steward aboard the Mystic Clipper, sailing out of Mystic, CT, for Captain John Eginton. Over the next few seasons, I worked my way up the rigging to deckhand and relief mate—learning the discipline and reliance that only a traditional tall ship can truly teach.

That chapter closed when the Clipper was sold in 1994. Captain John immediately set his sights on the Mystic Whaler, then languishing in a Providence, Rhode Island, boatyard. She was a ghost of a vessel—yard-owned, her interior gutted, steel plating half-replaced, and covered by a tattered, forlorn shroud. She had been abandoned, but Captain John saw her potential. He bought the Whaler, and the race to restore her began.

I eagerly rejoined the crew to help with the refit and restoration. I even became the Whaler's first office manager, trading the old reservation system of golf tees, a pegboard, and paper for a database and, eventually, an online system. For the following two decades, I helped with marketing and sailed the vessel whenever I had the chance.

Fast forward to October 3, 2025. My son, Liam, recently moved to Orange County and arranged for me to see the Whaler again, now operating under Mystic Ocean Adventures and new stewardship. Truth be told, I was nervous. It was hard to imagine she could be as immaculate as she was under Captain John and Captain Pat's exacting care.

My anxiety vanished the moment I stepped aboard. I was astounded. Under Captain Healy’s command, the brass sparkled, the new galley gleamed, and the refurbished deckhouse tops glowed. She has never looked better.

The real gift of tall ship sailing is self-reliance. The moment you leave the dock, you and your crewmates are wholly responsible for every person and every piece of equipment. You learn to make it work, no matter the challenge, and you come out stronger for it. That lesson is still with me.

Thank you, Mystic Ocean Adventures, for carrying on this essential American maritime tradition."