About Meshellae

Mesha was born in Bermuda, where you're never more than 10 minutes away from the sea. The islands of Bermuda have a rich maritime culture that has sadly dwindled significantly over the past few decades.

I knew from an early age that I wanted to study and promote this culture, leading me to study Archaeology at the University of Southampton. During university I spent my summers volunteering with the Custodian of Wrecks in Bermuda. This was an eye opening experience which gave me the chance to dive shipwrecks and work on underwater excavations.  I wanted to focus on the maintenance of shipwrecks and their artefacts so studied a masters in Principles of Conservation.

My dissertation focused on the loss of traditional maritime practices and skills in Bermuda, so I was very excited to find a traineeship focused on combating the loss of traditional sailing skills in the UK. I can't wait to see what the year brings and I hope to be able to significantly promote and develop this industry in the future. 

Read more about the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the opportunities available as part of the SHTP 2 project.

Latest blogs

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2020 - Once again it feels as if this month has gone by in a blink of an eye! I’ve gotten to be involved with so many interesting projects during my time at NMRN, and this month has been especially packed with amazing experiences...Read more

UPDATE AUGUST 2020 - Although the original plan was to move to the Collections team in August, as I am still working on some interesting projects with the Conservation department, I instead split my time between the two...Read more

UPDATE JULY 2020 - The first couple of weeks in July sailed past as normal with me keeping to my established working from home routine of digitisation and cataloguing, whilst peppering my days with various talks and documentaries on different maritime heritage and sailing topics...Read more

UPDATE JUNE 2020 -  Along with two new digitisation projects, I’m still working on the Navy Crew list digitisation project I mentioned in a previous blog. These projects have been a great way for me to still feel involved with the Maritime world over the lockdown and I feel incredibly lucky to get the chance to be involved with them...

UPDATE MAY 2020 - Throughout the month of May I’ve been steadily working on the online courses outlined in my last blog post, studying conservation methods and making sure to end each day with a batch of digitisation....Read more

UPDATE APRIL 2020 - With the wealth of resources available to me online I feel like I will be able to make this time stuck at home really worthwhile. I am continually grateful for opportunity this project has provided me to be able to expand on my knowledge and the continued support from the project organisers,,,,

UPDATE MARCH 2020 - Although my time working with the conservators at NMRN was sadly cut short due to the shutdown of the museum as the Coronavirus pandemic escalated, it was enough time for me to realise that I definitely want a career in maritime conservation....Read more

UPDATE JANUARY 2020 - On the 6th January I arrived at The National Museum of the Royal Navy slightly nervous but mostly excited to get started...Read more

UPDATE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER BLOG 2019 - Our time at the International Boatbuilding Training College started off lightly, with introductory lectures exploring timber in general, boatbuilding terminology, and the technical aspects of boatbuilding...Read more 

UPDATE OCTOBER 2019 - Our journey began in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, a location that is especially significant for me as this is where I will be spending the majority of my traineeship...Read more
Meshellae Payne