What's Up

at the

Custom House?

April 13, 2025

#StandUpForScience #Museums4Science

Helping out at the museum this week were USCGA cadets, from left, Jeremias Urieta from Panama, Kani McLean from Georgia, and John Carlo Lee from Florida. We had some heavy moving to get done!

The Custom House is Open Thurs.- Fri. 1-5 PM,

Sat. 10 AM-5 PM, Sun. 1-5 PM.

We will be closed next Sunday for Easter.

this Tuesday, April 15, 1:30 pm

JIBBOOM CLUB #1

Join Jibboom in April when Gordon Videll, Chief Executive Officer of Sea Services North America, talks about Sea Services' unique co-operative model to use local fishing vessels to provide scout and safety (guard) vessel services for offshore wind developers.

Near the docks of New London, Connecticut, a fishermen’s co-op is making history.

Established by fishermen for fishermen, Sea Services North America serves as the bridge between offshore wind developers and commercial fishermen. Their mission is to improve safety on the open water and create opportunities for local watermen to earn extra income by providing guard, scouting, and environmental compliance services to the growing clean energy industry. --from https://ss-na.com/

Jibboom Club is not a club, but a friendly gathering, with a speaker and refreshments, that is free and open to all! Please come and bring a friend. Generously sponsored by the Maco Family Fund!

Attorney Gordon Videll has long represented fishing clients in New London, Connecticut. As co-founder and CEO of Sea Services North America, Videll has led the full range of commercial, operational, and client interactions between offshore wind customers and commercial fishing vessel partners; Videll is the prime mover in securing offshore wind scout and guard contracts and ensuring Sea Services successful service delivery. Videll has led continuous improvement review processes with their OSW customers after each of the 9 campaigns that Sea Services has successfully conducted since its founding.

Videll brings a wealth of understanding commercial fishing dynamics, hard won offshore wind developer relationships; and the deepest understanding in the industry of the scheduling cadence balancing active fishing vessels fishing schedules and the growing list of needs of OSW projects that fisherman can satisfy.

Sea Services’ mission is to increase safety for commercial fishermen and provide commercial opportunities in offshore wind. To date, we have trained over 130 fishermen from 6 states and paid them over $21,000,000.00.

This week at the Custom House

From south Australia to just around the corner, we've had some fascinating visitors this week at the Custom House.

On Saturday, along with two travelers from down under, we met Isabella Portella, who we're hoping signs on as an intern to run our summer lighthouse tours.

As Australians do when they travel, our two visitors have been on a very long journey. Currently based in Boston, and in NL just for the day, they leave for Florida tomorrow. By the time they get home in July, it will be Australian winter, 'And the weather will be just like this: cold and damp.'

We invite you to become a Custom House docent!

Volunteering is a pleasant way to give back. Share your local knowledge with visitors and learn from their experiences. You'll be an ambassador for the City. And it's fun.

We can pair you with a seasoned docent to start with, then consider volunteering with a friend. Pack a thermos. It's a pleasant way to spend a few hour every week. Docents receive additional perks including 20% off in our fabulous shop. Just send an email and we'll get started.

--S

Photo, above: Two friends had a day out in New London, beginning at the Custom House.

Saturdays, Sundays, & by appointment year-round

a popular destination for more than a century.

Visit Inside NL Harbor Pequot Light

Visit Long Island Sound's oldest and tallest lighthouse. Photos: a family visits Harbor Light, the father helps his daughter on the stairs.

We offer Harbor Light tours every Saturday & Sunday at noon. Climb 116 steps up into the lighthouse lantern. The views are spectacular!​

Tours for up-to five people take approximately 40 minutes. Sign up today. To book a custom tour, send us an email.

Sunday, April 27, 6-9 pm

Open Mic at the Museum

Co-hosted by Kenny 'Doc' Frazier and Christina Corcoran, our monthly open mic welcomes music, poetry, prose, stand-up, or just state what is on your mind. Show up at 5:45 and get on the list! Open to all ages and abilities for fun & camaraderie. It's a friendly crowd!



Sponsored by Kozmik Music Services.  Admission is by donation. The evening is available on the Open Mic at the Museum Facebook page. The page also posts many of the individual performances from past sessions. Photo, above: Open Mic at the Museum.

On Thursday museum docent Christina Corcoran sent a photo, right, with this note: Felix, Jeremy, and Lucy from Ships of America stopped at the museum on their way to board the Eagle. They're sailing south to Mexico and on through the Panama Canal.

The NL HarborCam is your 24/7 eye on the harbor. Photo, above: NL HarborCam view of the USCG Eagle as she was leaving Friday. Photos, below, clockwise from left: Two visitor selfies in our exhibition 'Picturing Us at the Beach', USCGA cadets moving a new museum display, shoppers lined up across the street Saturday at Telegraph for Record Store Day, April 12.

Please share Bluesky our new social media platform so that we can find our people! We post videos (Jennifer Burns talks about her grandfather's USCG post in Alaska), events, and articles of note. @customhouse.bsky.social

Photo, bottom: Sailing at twilight towards Lynde Point Light. David Henry.