Maine’s First Ship is holding a raffle for a Vriginia themed sea chest. Inside the chest is a a  Virginia decorated quit.

The items are availabe for view and raffle tickets are available for sale at the Bath Freight Shed when the Visitor Center is open or during events.  They are $5 each or 5 for $20. 

You can call the MFS office at 207-443-4242 or send a note to info@mfship.org for other means of purchasing tickets.

The Sea Chest

The sea chest is made by David Wyman, the naval architect of Maine’s First Ship and is made of white pine. It is 13″ high x 24″ wide x 16″ deep.

David Wyman has been fascinated by boats and their shape from an early age. Over the years he has designed and built a variety of boats for both his pernalal use and for others. His boats have spanned the gamut from traditional small craft to historic ship replicas to modern hig-tech craft in use by navies. Davide resided in Castine and earns his living designing and surveying boats. Earlier in his careen he taught at Maine Maritime Academy, sailed on both commercial and Coat Guard ships, and worked at a naval research laboratory designing and develop8ing Special Operations craft for the US Navy, all while working on, designing and building boats in his own time.

This sea chest’s design and construction is based on historic sea chests, two of which are Wyman family heirlooms. One traveled around Cape Horn to the California goldrush in the 1850s with may great-great-grandfather.

I built this Sea Chest of local white pine using mostly hand tools. The joints are all dovetailed, the finish is marine varnish.

This sea chest features an image of Virginia, a pinnace that was built at the Popham colony during the winter of 1607. A reconstruction of Virginia, done to my design, is nearing completion along the Bath waterfront by a group of volunteers.

The Virginia Quilt

The quilt is Full size and is hand quilted by Martha Smith in 2001. It contains 6 panels with embroidered depictions of Virginia, based on a watercolor drawing by Bev Bevilacqua.

The quilt is hand-quilted with a title “The Virginia of Sagadahoc c.1607” and a dedication on the front:

“The Virginia” designed by my friend Bev Bevilacqua, Popham Beach, ME. Quilt made and hand embroidery by Martha Smith, Sebasco, ME year 2000-2001.