[SEMCO] MassSail and Nantucket Soundkeeper Media Release

[Tanya]

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Media Release 8.4
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Theresa M. Barbo:  774.263.4219



Spirit of Massachusetts Sails into Nantucket Sound 
Marine Education Programs with Nantucket Soundkeeper 
Aug. 18 - 30



(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA) - Spirit of Massachusetts begins a MassSail program with Nantucket Soundkeeper to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket August 18 -30.  

MassSail is a joint venture of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) and the Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF,) with a mission to foster stewardship and understanding of Massachusetts' marine coastal environment.  

Unique to MassSail is the opportunity for students to study marine ecosystems, marine mammals, and seafaring skills that take a student's hands and mind beyond the limits of traditional classrooms.  During its stay, Spirit will host 20 middle- and high-school teachers from the Cape on a marine science training sail, sponsored by Nantucket Soundkeeper.
    
Twenty students, ages 13-15, from the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod will take part in a separate four-day Soundkeeper Sail Camp that will take them from Hyannis to Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands. 
In a third sail, young people from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Martha's Vineyard will take a classroom day sail aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts from Vineyard Haven to Hyannis.  [Hy-Line Cruises has generously donated ferry tickets that will enable the young sailors to return to Martha's Vineyard from Hyannis the same day.] 
    

Free public open houses to tour the 125-foot Spirit are as scheduled:  

.    Nantucket: Straight Wharf, August 25, 1-4 p.m. (Co-sponsored by the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce);
.    Hyannis: Hyannis Marina, August 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (Co-sponsored by the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce);
.    Woods Hole: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service dock, August 29, 8:30-11:30 a.m. (Co-sponsored by the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce       and the Woods Hole Business Association);
.    Vineyard Haven, Tisbury Wharf, August 30, 8:30-11 a.m.

Protection and Preservation Goals
"This magnificent sailing ship enables people to experience Nantucket Sound and marine heritage up-close and personal," said Susan Nickerson, Nantucket Soundkeeper and Executive Director of its parent, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. "The ship's visit will enable us to advance our long-term goals of protection and preservation of the Sound in a highly-visible way at peak season for the region."
    
In support of the program, PCCS's Executive Director Peter Borrelli said, "Protecting water quality, preserving habitat for wildlife, protecting local fisheries and stewardship of the Sound are all vital to the survival of the Sound. Connecting people to the water in this way furthers those goals."    

**

Constructed in 1984 at the Charlestown Navy Shipyard, Spirit of Massachusetts is a 125-foot long authentic schooner modeled after the late 19th century fishing vessel, the Fredonia, designed by Edward Burgess, which sailed to the North Atlantic fishing grounds for cod.  Since MassSail's inaugural season that launched in May 2005, hundreds of students - aged 13 thru college - have crossed the Spirit's decks for an odyssey in experiential education.  
All curricula options are aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for History and/or Social Sciences, or Science and Technology and Engineering.  Students will be full participants in the operation of the ship, working with the vessel's professional crew to learn the skills and arts of traditional seafaring, studying cetaceans in the Gulf of Maine, including humpback and the critically-endangered North Atlantic right whales, and marine ecosystems. 

This personal and authentic experience of the ocean world forms a uniquely powerful context for education.  Lessons learned, achievements made, insights gained are internalized and retained, because students are invested in the process.  Their studies will include:
.    Charts and the Art of Navigation
.    Cetaceans - Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: A Biological and Historical Perspective
.    Fishing ¬- Fisheries, Species, History and Management
.    Weather for the Mariner
.    Geology and Land-Sea Interactions
.    Sea Birds - Species, Feeding, Distribution and Abundance
.    Whaling - Modern and Historic
.    Phytoplankton and Zooplankton
.    Conservation Biology - Entanglements and Ship strikes
.    Sea Turtles - Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology
.    Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses - Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology
.    Sharks, Rays and Skates - Natural History, Population and Conservation Biology

'30 Years of Discovery & Commitment'

The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies [ www.coastalstudies.org ] is a non-profit organization dedicated to research, education and conservation of the marine and coastal environments through applied science and education programs.   PCCS is internationally renowned for its whale research and rescue activities, and is a leading authority in science-based resource management policies in Massachusetts.

**

The Ocean Classroom Foundation [ www.oceanclassroom.org ] is a non-profit organization that provides programs of sea education and adventure for the youth of America aboard the schooners Westward, Harvey Gamage, and Spirit of Massachusetts.   OCF is a leader in experiential education, with award-winning programs sailing from the Canadian Maritimes to the Caribbean Sea.

**

Nantucket Soundkeeper is a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international environmental group that champions clean water (see www.Waterkeeper.org ). It was founded more than 20 years ago by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

**




PCCS Contacts
Theresa M. Barbo
Director of Communications
508.487.3622 x103   (office)
774.263.4219             (mobile)
ccsmedia at coastalstudies.org 
 
Joanne M. Jarzobski
Marine Education Director
508.487.3623 x108
masssail at coastalstudies.org 
 
OCF Contact
Laura Hunt
Communications Coordinator
800.724.7245 ext. 100
lhundt at oceanclassroom.org 

Nantucket Soundkeeper Contacts
Susan Nickerson
508.775.9767

Chip Bishop
508.398.1997
Chip at chipbishop.com 













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