[SEMCO] Free Public Tours of Spirit of Massachusetts on Cape & Islands

Tue Aug 22 07:42:50 EDT 2006

MassSail, a joint venture of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies and the Ocean Classroom Foundation, in partnership with Nantucket Soundkeeper, will be hosting FREE public tours of the 125-foot schooner Spirit of Massachusetts this month throughout the Cape and Islands.

Free public open houses are scheduled as follows:

* 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.

MassSail (www.MassSail.org) is a joint venture of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) and the Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF); its mission is to foster stewardship and understanding of Massachusetts’ marine coastal environment.  MassSail, conducted entirely in Massachusetts' waters from May to September aboard the 125-ft schooner Spirit of Massachusetts, includes a menu of different programs, designed for a broad spectrum of public audiences, age groups and constituencies.

MassSail Programs include an intensive 2 week, 3 college credit Advanced WhaleSail course, 1-week WhaleSail learning adventures for 13-16 year olds and community days programs from Provincetown to Newburyport, including class trip day sails, class trip voyages (3-7 days) and public community programs.

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. 

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. 

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. 

Studies 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

Spirit of Massachusetts replicates the fast and able fishing schooners of the late 19th century that sailed to the North Atlantic fishing ground for rich harvests of cod. Built in 1984 at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston for service as a sail training ship, she is a 125-ft long, and carries 22 students plus her crew of 9, and is modeled after the Gloucester fishing schooner Fredonia, designed by Edward Burgess in 1889.

Spirit is authentic in rig and construction, and she is fitted with up-to-date navigation and safety equipment. Spirit of Massachusetts is fully inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping as a Sailing School Vessel, certified for international ocean voyages.

’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.

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Joanne M. Jarzobski
Marine Education Director

Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies
PO Box 1036
5 Holway Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
508/487-3623 x107
508/487-4695 fax
solution at coastalstudies.org

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