38th Voyage of the Charles W Morgan

A 173-year-old whaleship, the Charles W Morgan, arrived under full sail into Vineyard Haven harbor on Martha's Vineyard last week. The trip was the ship's first in nearly a century, after 37 voyages that set the Morgan's crew after sperm whales around the world.

When boarding, you smell the pine tar still used to seal the seams of the ship's original oak deck. Today's crew sleeps in the original crew quarters. The captain's cabin features a gimbal bed to keep it level in rough seas.

Alas, I couldn't find a good place to stow away.

And, if you're worried that whales no longer capture our imagination, here's this week's New Yorker magazine cover. Yes, it says "Cap'n Ahab's - A "whale" of a burger!"

Bruce McCall ~ The New Yorker