| Port Pastoral/Social
Services |
| |
| New Bedford Port Society,
organized in 1830, and later incorporated, is dedicated to the “moral and
religious improvement of seamen”. The society operates the Mariner’s
Home and the Seaman’s Bethel. For more information, contact the Port
Society at (508) 992-3295. |
| |
| Opened in 1851, the Mariner’s
Home, located at 15 Johnny Cake Hill next to the Seamen’s
Bethel, still provides overnight lodging for transient seamen. Originally built
as a private residence in 1787, the structure was relocated to its present
location. The Port Society charges a nominal fee for temporary lodging. The
home is not open to the general public. However, transient seamen may contact
the Port Society to inquire about overnight lodging. |
| |
| Seamen’s Bethel, the
famous “Whaleman’s Chapel ” on Johnny Cake Hill, was built in
1831 and dedicated in 1832. As described in Herman Melville’s Moby
Dick, marble memorials to lost seamen line the walls of the church. The
bethel is an active house of worship and regular church services are conducted
there. Pastoral counseling also is available. |
| |
| Harbor
Boating Programs |
| Community Boating
Center is a non-profit organization that provides people from the
Greater New Bedford area with educational opportunities and access to the
marine environment, regardless of means, through instruction, mentoring, and
coaching. The Center’s office and youth sailing program are located at
Fort Rodman and its high school sailing program is at Clark’s Cove. For
more information, contact (508) 992-6219 or
www.communityboating.org. |
| |
| Whaling City Rowing
Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to making open water
rowing accessible to people of all ages and income levels. The group promotes
open-water rowing to keep alive the history of traditional rowing craft and its
connection to New Bedford’s maritime heritage. Club members row 28-foot
long fiberglass whaleboats - replicas of whaleboats originally designed and
built by the Beetle Boat Yard in New Bedford during the mid-19 th century.
After school programs and summer day camps provide instruction to the
region’s young people throughout the year. Educational programs emphasize
maritime history, harbor environment, and personal fitness. The WCRC docks its
whaleboats in Fairhaven. For more information, contact (508) 997-4393 or
www.whalingcityrowing.org. |
| |
| Cultural/Historic Organizations |
| Azorean Maritime
Heritage Society, in conjunction with the New Bedford Whaling Museum
and the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and with the cooperation
of the Atlantic Challenge Foundation, has constructed two Azorean whaleboats to
raise awareness of the maritime history of the Azorean community on both sides
of the Atlantic. For more information, contact the New Bedford Whaling Museum
at (508) 997-0046, x. 118 or Azorean Maritime Heritage Society at (508)
993-0435. |
| |
| New Bedford Whaling
Museum, established in 1903, is the world’s largest museum
devoted to whales and the industry of whaling. Highlights include the
world’s largest ship model - an 89-foot, half-scale replica of a whaling
ship - and a rare blue whale skeleton. The research library contains whaling,
maritime, and local history materials, which cover the period from 1643 to
1984. For more information, contact (508) 997-0046 or
www.whalingmuseum.org. |
| |
| Waterfront Historic Area
League (WHALE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving
New Bedford’s historic character and promoting the preservation and
restoration of historic buildings, sites, and cultural activities of the
region. WHALE’s vision is a restored and reconnected city with a harbor
and waterfront reunited to its historic districts and downtown. For more
information, contact (508) 997-1776 or
www.waterfrontleague.org. |
| |
| Environmental Organizations |
| Buzzards Bay Action
Committee, created in 1987, brings together town officials from 13
municipalities around Buzzards Bay to foster regional cooperation and discuss
specific ways for communities to address environmental problems. For more
information, contact (508) 999-1131. |
| |
| Buzzards Bay Project
National Estuary Program is a planning and technical assistance unit
of the MA Office of Coastal Zone Management that is primarily funded by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program works with communities,
government agencies, and others to implement recommended actions in the
Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), which was
completed in 1991. For more information, contact (508) 291-3625 or
www.buzzardsbay.org. |
| |
| Coalition for Buzzards
Bay is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the
restoration, protection, and sustainable use and enjoyment of Buzzards Bay and
its 432-square mile watershed. Founded in 1987, the coalition works to improve
the health of the bay’s ecosystem through education, conservation,
research, and advocacy. For more information, contact (508) 999-6363 or
www.savebuzzardsbay.org. |
| |
| Educational Institutions |
| Northeast Maritime
Institute, a private, co-educational school, offers maritime career
oriented education, including Coast Guard licenses and Merchant Marine document
courses. For more information, contact (508) 992-4025 or
www.northeastmaritime.com. |
| |
| School for Marine
Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of
Massachusetts/Dartmouth is located in the Clark’s Cove section of the New
Bedford Harbor. SMAST’s missions are graduate education, research, and
economic development. Specifically, the school’s activities focus on ocean
prediction and monitoring, coastal zone systems, fisheries management,
aquaculture, ocean communications and control, and marine scientific uses of
underwater vehicles. In several programs, researchers are working with local
fishermen to assess and manage fish stocks, including scallops and cod. For
more information, contact (508) 999-8193 or
www.cmast.umassd.edu. |
| |
| U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary aids the Coast Guard in its non-military, non-law
enforcement tasks, such as search and rescue, aids to navigation maintenance,
environmental protection, public boater education, and private and fishing
vessel examination. The Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 65, located at the
Acushnet River Safe Boating Club in Fairhaven, offers boating and navigation
classes. For more information, contact (508) 992-8165 or
www.uscgaux.org. |
|
