Restored American whaling ship prepares for first voyage in almost century

The crew of the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving ship from America’s 19th -century whaling fleet, is preparing for its first voyage in almost a century.

The 173-year-old tall ship is scheduled to be towed down the Mystic River to New London on Saturday.

It plans to stay there for a month, going on training cruises in Fishers Island Sound, before setting sail June 14 on a tour of historic New England ports.

This will be the ship’s 38th voyage and first since 1921. It follows a six-year, $10.6 million restoration at Mystic Seaport.

The 113-foot Morgan was originally launched in July, 1841 in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

It plans stops there and in Newport, Rhode Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Provincetown, and Boston this summer before heading back to Mystic.