Lewes

From Cape Gazette

During the month of September, the Zwaanendael Museum at 102 Kings Highway in Lewes will shine a spotlight on southern Delaware’s unique maritime history with a series of programs that explore local shipwrecks, seafaring traditions and the area’s early whaling industry.

Lectures and tours of the remains of His Majesty’s Sloop DeBraak, which was capsized and lost off the Delaware coast on May 25, 1798, will take place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Mondays, Sept. 10, 17, 24 and Oct. 1.

The program begins at the Zwaanendael Museum and includes a trip to the DeBraak hull facility in nearby Cape Henlopen State Park for an interpreter-led tour of the ship’s remains. Limited seating. Admission is $10 in advance by reservation only at http://history.delaware.gov.

From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, historical interpreter and artist Sharyn Murray will demonstrate the stipple technique used to draw artifacts from the Roosevelt Inlet Shipwreck, a British commercial ship that sank off Lewes in the late 18th century. Free admission.

At 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21, “Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of … .” The Fun Friday Oktoberfest program will explore beer, grog, rum and other beverages and foods that sustained sailors on their long voyages. Museum open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free admission.

At 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 29, “A Whale of a Tale, Part One” will explore the whaling industry’s relationship to the first settlement in the First State by the Dutch in 1631. Museum open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free admission.

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