RJ Lavallee Appointed Ship Keeper for Discovering Amistad
Shipkeeper’s Log
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Juneteenth 2021
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RJ Lavallee of Old Saybrook has been hired to be the Ship Keeper for The Amistad.
Under his skilled care, the ship will be restored to Bristol condition over the next few months, so she will be ready for sea trials in June.
An experienced woodworker, Mr. Lavallee is well known at the Mystic Seaport Museum, where the ship will be tied up until the pandemic threat has abated. Since 2015, RJ has been a volunteer at the shipyard. Among other projects, he fabricated most of the wooden blocks on the MAYFLOWER II’s restoration and worked as a deckhand for her sea trials.
A lifelong woodworker and “maker,” RJ built a hull for a hovercraft at the age of 14 and built custom windsurfing boards in his twenties. Off the water, RJ ran a video-production and writing business, and was a stay-at-home dad for his two children. Now that his youngest is in high school, RJ is committed to seeking opportunities as a marine professional. He will be teaching a class in blockmaking at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, ME in August and he has begun working towards an ASA teaching certification and a USCG 6-pack Captain’s license, both of which he hopes to have completed by October.
