This is one of the models you will find on your visit to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum.
Welcome!
We hope you will enjoy this new blog, the Ship Model Journal, provided by the modelers at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum! Unknown to many visitors, the Museum houses an incredible collection of ship models. They are on display throughout the museum, in the gift ship and the Keepers’ House. Some are quite large while others are fairly small. Some have tremendous detail while amazing in their simplicity. When you tour the Lighthouse facility, be sure to check them out.
Both age and exposure can cause damage to these ship models due to the very delicacy of their structure. There is a team of volunteer modelers who work diligently on maintenance. In addition, the team is currently working on the repair, restoration and completion of a donated model, HMS Victory. While visiting the Lighthouse, climb the stairs to the second floor of the Keepers’ House. There you will be able to see this magnificent work in progress. We enjoy talking to our visitors, so don’t be shy! Feel free to look over the ship, watch while we work and ask all the questions you may have.
The modeling team consists of four members at this time. Lester Cole, Retired Master Mariner, takes the lead in the group. With his 40-year history on the sea, he has gained an amazingly expansive knowledge of ships and the their history. He is seemingly a walking encyclopedia of information and experience, as well as being an incredible story-teller.
David Parlin is a world traveler as well as a modeler. He spends part of the year in St. Augustine and the other part in the far nether regions of our Country not to mention his trips abroad.
Eric Sponberg, sweetwater sailor, has designed a series of houseboats. He has been instrumental in creating and installing new gun carriages on the deck of the Victory. He too travels extensively.
I am the fourth member of the modeling team. My forte is in the research and gathering of information needed to repair the models. Additionally, I work on the miniscule details and creation of small parts.
In closing for the day, I again welcome you to the Ship Model Journal. There are many, many exciting projects we would love to share with you! We will tell and show the story of the model of HMS Victory with you. We will bring to you the tale of the Rebecca who guarded the coasts of St. Augustine during the American Revolution. We invite you to come back often and stay long!! Above all, we hope you enjoy this blog and the stories being documented here.