ReTern to Sea
A History of Specimen Collecting Boats in Woods Hole
In 1957, Woods Hole’s Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) commissioned a small boatyard in Maine to build a pair of boats for their Supply Department. The boats were christened Tern and Sagitta, and they were launched by Riverside Boat Company in the fall of 1958. They were built traditionally, out of locally sourced lumber, with open cockpits and a hull shape unmistakably reminiscent of the lobster boats we have come to call “Downeasters”.
Tern and Sagitta joined Nereis, Limulus, Dolphin, Ciona, and the rest of an eclectic fleet of specimen collecting boats that prowled the nearby waters in search of organisms used in scientific research. Scientists used the catch from these boats to study all manner of biological processes. Breakthroughs in neurobiology, embryology, medicine and infectious disease led to Nobel Prizes. The scientific appetite for local organisms fueled an entire department at MBL. It fostered collaboration between boat captains, commercial fishermen, scientists, scientific divers and collectors. These collecting boats and their crew tell us a story of curiosity, exploration and modernization.
Tern was retired from service in the 1970s and is now under restoration at the Woods Hole Historical Museum Community Boat Shop. When her restoration is complete, Tern will continue to ply the waters of Woods Hole. We hope that those aboard will feel proud of her history and inspired by the beauty and mystery of the sea around us.