Gundalow Gatherings

We are excited to be offering SIX wonderful Gundalow Gatherings in 2025! Three on April 5th and Three on April 12th.

Gundalow Gatherings are from 5p – 7p

Tickets are $100 per person 

100% of  Gundalow Gathering ticket purchases directly support our Gundalow Company programs and mission. 

We encourage you to review the topics and locations and choose the Gundalow Gathering that is best for you and perhaps bring a friend!

More details will be available soon and some of the below information may be edited to better reflect content.

Options on Saturday April 5, 2025 

GG #1  Tickets Here

Presenter: Jim Parmentier 

Location: Portsmouth 

Topic:  The Popham Colony and the Reconstruction of the 1607 Pinnace Virginia

For over 20 years Maine’s First Ship has been researching, designing and building a re-construction of the 1607-08 Virginia of Sagadahoc, the first ocean-going vessel built by Europeans in North America. The original Virginia was built at the mouth of the Kennebec River by men of the Popham Colony.

In his presentation Jim will describe the role of the Popham colonists within the broader context of English colonization of North America at the start of the 17th century.  He will present the archeological evidence that established the existence of the Popham settlement and a sister colony to Jamestown.  He’ll then describe the ship reconstruction project that MFS began in Bath in 2011.  That effort resulted in the successful launch of the modern ship Virginia in June of 2022.   

Jim has been sailing, rowing, and building small boats since he was a child.  He is currently building a 19-foot lobster boat in his home shop. He retired to Brunswick, Maine, in 2012 after 40 years of research and teaching in academics and the pharmaceutical industry.  He began volunteering on the Maine’s First Ship construction crew soon after he arrived and served on the MFS Board of Directors for several years.

GG #2 Tickets Here

Presenter: David Fredriksson

Location: Nottingham

Topic: Community-scale steelhead trout production in New Hampshire – From Hatchery to Harvest.

This presentation will focus on the growth statistics of steelhead trout production by University of New Hampshire, from stocking in October 2023 to final harvesting in September 2024.  Datasets will show how we responsibly operate to be below the Environmental Protection Agency threshold for discharge permit requirements.  Also, by maintaining accurate growth and harvest datasets, this community-scaled system can be managed to keep stocking densities below the nominal limit appropriate for fish welfare.  The talk will then describe how most of the fresh products were distributed and sold to local markets in Portsmouth, NH with some hot-smoked processed in Boston, MA.

Professor Fredriksson joined the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering and the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in August 2022. He is also the Director of the Center for Sustainable Seafood Systems. Dr. Fredriksson brings over two decades of experience developing ocean engineering methodologies for the farming of finfish, shellfish and macroalgae, with the goal of supporting seafood security for both the United States and abroad. His underlying passion is to grow new sustainable production methods and educational programs that will enhance both local maritime communities and the ocean environment. Professor Fredriksson has been the Principal Investigator for numerous research efforts, with projects most recently funded by the Department of Energy, World Wildlife Fund, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

GG #3 Tickets Here

Presenters: Athena Aicher & Chuck Verbeck

Location:  TBD

Topic: Boat Building a Community

Athena and Chuck will discuss their work restoring boats, personally and professionally and how they came to share that craft with others. Their talk will elaborate on how combining professional work with service contributes to maintaining a vibrant and diverse community of boaters in their coastal town of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Athena Aicher and Chuck Verbeck are professional boat builders on Cape Cod. Trained at the IYRS School in Newport, Rhode Island, their work focuses on traditionally built plank-on-frame construction and restoration. They spend their spare time running a community boat-building space in Woods Hole, MA, restoring their own vintage commercial clam-boat, sailing their Tancook Schooner TOWNY, and mountain biking with their dog Clio.

Options for Saturday April 12, 2025

GG#4 Tickets Here

Presenter: Tim Newton

Location: York

Topic: 30 Years Before the Mast – A Coastguardsman’s Tale

Retired Coast Guard Captain Timothy Newton will be sharing his journey and experience serving the US Coast Guard.

An experienced executive leader, Tim is currently a Managing Director of Government Strategy at Microsoft. His areas of focus include Public Safety & Justice, Public Finance, Critical Infrastructure and Public Health & Social Services. 

Tim retired from the Coast Guard in 2021 with 26-years of distinguished service. His military career was highlighted by command assignments afloat and ashore, as well as joint postings as Coast Guard Military Aide to the Vice President, Liaison to Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) Command, and Director of the Joint Interagency Counter Trafficking Center at the U.S. European Command. He specializes in interagency and joint operations, working with both domestic and international agencies to promote cooperation, commitment, and unity of effort across government.

Tim and his wife, Maryse, live in York, ME with their labs Holden and Finnegan, and Bean the cat. Their daughter Sophia is designing reusable rockets at Stoke Space in Kent, WA, their son Bradford is serving in Coast Guard Cutter TAHOMA homeported in Newport, RI and their youngest son Charlie is studying at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. 

GG#5 Tickets Here

Presenter: Holly Parker

Location: Rye

Topic: Collaboration with Communities for Coastal Resilience

Learn how the Schiller Coastal Studies is working with its working waterfront community (Harpswell, ME) to build partnerships and envision solutions for adaptation and resilience in the age of climate change.

In July 2022, Holly was named director of the Schiller Coastal Studies Center at Bowdoin College. In addition to her oversight of this marine science field station, Holly is growing the Center’s programs to include the local community, regional and global partners in interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development.

In an education career that has spanned almost 25 years in secondary school, higher education, corporate, and non-profit environments, Holly has consistently sought to create accessible pathways for all learners so that they might identify their passions and activate their strengths. Her passion for understanding how education can and must play a role in developing a sustainability literate and engaged citizenry is powered by her time spent in the maritime industry and a lifetime on, in and near the ocean. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern Maine.

GG #6 Tickets Here

Presenter: Alex Agnew

Location:  Portsmouth

Topic: Connecting kids with maritime career opportunities

Agnew is a co-founder and current Executive Director of Sailing Ships Maine. He served on the boards of Tall Ships America, Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island, the American Schooner Association and Casco Bay Community Rowing. He was a co founder and publisher of Ocean Navigator and Professional Mariner magazines.

Sailing Ships Maine is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing accredited experiential education for teenagers on board sailing ships. Sailing Ships Maine introduces students and teachers to the transformative effects of outdoor experiential learning at sea and is seeking ways to encourage students to pursue maritime careers.

Sailing Ships Maine operated Schooner Harvey Gamage from 2018 to 2023 and found crew recruitment a major challenge. Gundalow’s Captain Matt Glen was Gamage Captain for two semesters at sea (2022 and 2023) and was a student and crew favorite.