Sea-Fever blog

It’s a proud accomplishment for any academic institution to make the front page of the NY Times. For me it’s even more exciting when it one that uses maritime culture and heritage to change the lives of inner city youth and it’s even better when I know some of the people involved.

Today’s NY Times (June 26, 2008 ) has a great front page article by Sara Rimer about the Urban Assembly’s New York Harbor School entitled Taking Lessons, and Confidence, From the Water. It’s a must read for anyone interested or involved in maritime education. Here’s a link to my previous post, The Privilege of Sailing, that I did on the Harbor School along with co-founder Murray Fisher adding a comment.

Outcomes are what matters in programs like this and here’s some interesting facts from the article:

The Harbor School has 390 students in grades 9 to 12, 70 percent Latino and 30 percent black, with many from the Caribbean. Last year’s graduation rate was 63 percent, Mr. Fisher said, nearly triple the rate of the old Bushwick High School, which once occupied the same building. The citywide average is about 50 percent.

But more importantly the voices and pictures bring this success story to life. Please don’t miss the audio clips or slide show! If you only have time to do one thing today, please listen to student Jennifer Mendez and teacher Melissa Franco and you will get a better understanding about the power of the sea to teach and change lives!

Yes, she, Jennifer Mendez, 15, the girl from Brooklyn who used to be afraid of the water and everything related to it — fish, boats, bugs — was steering the Lettie up the river, along the Upper West Side. The captain of the ship, Denise Meagher, was standing by. But with her hand on the wheel, Jennifer felt as if she were the captain, responsible for the ship and everyone on it — the crew, her ninth-grade classmates and their science teachers, Roy Arrezo and Ann Fraioli.

A little later, Jennifer would write in her class journal, “I feel as if I can do anything.” Even, she confided, make the honor roll.

“I feel so privileged to learn about the water,” Jennifer wrote in her journal. “The Hudson River is like an ancestor of our past, and if we listen to it, it just might tell tales.”

Congratulations to the Murray Fisher and Nathan Dudley and all of the professional and volunteer leadership of the Harbor School for creating something special for New York City youth and for a well deserved acknowledgement on the front page of the NY Times! Also, congratulations to all of the Harbor School students who work so hard to make this unique program a success! Like sailing a tall ship, you’re all in the same boat so keep up the great work!

Photo credit: Ruby Washington / NY Times

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Stunning photo!

“People look at fireworks with the Russian tall ship Mir illuminated in the background, on the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia, early Saturday, June 21, 2008. The tall ship Mir participated in festivities marking school graduation. Graduation ceremonies are held all over Russia now as students of elementary and high schools and military academies finish their education.”

via commercialappeal.com “Day in Pictures – June 21, 2008”

Photo: AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky

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Here’s a link to another great article by Bermuda Sun senior writer Meredith Ebbin about the youth maritime education program that I’ve been working on for the past six months with Northeast Maritime Institute.

Course opens up waterways of the world for students (June 13, 2008 )

Here’s a link In case you missed Ms. Ebbins first article, Pilot programme to train young seaman (May 23, 2008 )

This is a very exciting project. Ten young men and one young woman, between the ages of 16 and 30, most of whom dropped out of Bermuda’s traditional education system, have embarked on an educational journey which will ultimately give them the knowledge, skills, experience, credentials and confidence to launch professional maritime careers at home or around the world.

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(33 minutes)

Download MP3:Messing About In Ships episode 25 – June 5, 2008

Subscribe Via iTunes HERE

Shownotes: Messing About In Ships blog

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If you are looking for a star to steer by, you should check this out.

The Planetarium at Mystic Seaport in conjunction with the “NavList” online community is pleased to announce the second biennial “Celestial Navigation Weekend” devoted to preserving the art and practice of celestial navigation and nautical astronomy, to be held at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut Friday through Sunday, June 6,7,8, 2008.

In case you can’t make it to Mystic you can always brush up on your stellar knowledge on Google Sky.

I’m sure that there’s lots of good info on the Interwebs but this one caught my eye. Boating for the Not-Too-Bright offers “Celestial Navigation for the Complete Idiot.”

Finally, I know this appears to be off topic but it’s one of the best music videos I’ve seen in a long time and there actually is a loose connection.

Sea-Fever references in Star Trek (via Memory Alpha)

• “John Masefield was a 20th century English writer and poet, noted for his
  poem ‘Sea-Fever’ which contains the line: ‘And all I ask is a tall ship and
  a star to steer her by.’ This line appeared on the dedication plaques of
  the USS Enterprise-A and the USS Defiant.
• In 2268, James T. Kirk quotes from Sea-Fever to Leonard McCoy. (TOS: ‘The
  Ultimate Computer’)
• In 2287, Leonard McCoy confused the Masefield for Herman Melville, but was
  corrected by Spock. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
• In 2372, Quark paraphrased Masefield’s poem, Sea-Fever, while aboard his
  ship Quark’s Treasure, saying ‘all I ask is a tall ship…and a load of
  contraband to fill her with.’ (DS9: ‘Little Green Men’)”

Live long and prosper!  

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The TED Conference might be out of reach of most of us but thanks to the miracle of YouTube we can experience presentations by some of the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.

Here is Bob Ballard’s great 2008 presentation. I saw him deliver a similar program at the 2006 BIF2 conference in Providence. He’s a very entertaining and passionate speaker delivering an important message. Please watch and enjoy.

Interestingly, he closes by asking why we aren’t colonizing the sea. Sounds like he’s an advocate for seasteading, too.

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Episode 21 of Messing About In Ships has launched.

(39 minutes)

Download MP3:Messing About In Ships podcast # 21

Subscribe Via iTunes HERE

Shownotes: Messing About In Ships blog

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Episode 20 of Messing About In Ships has launched.

(46 minutes)

Download MP3: Messing About In Ships Episode 20 (April 24, 2008 )

Subscribe Via iTunes HERE

Shownotes: Messing About In Ships blog

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  Northeast Maritime Institute recently announced a new maritime career and US Coast Guard license counseling service to people interested in pursuing maritime careers as well as independent mariners looking to advance in the maritime industry.

Northeast Maritime Institute faculty will be joined by Andrew A. Hammond, a 14 year veteran of the US Coast Guard Regional Exam Center in Boston, MA, at Northeast Maritime Institute’s Fairhaven campus every other Wednesday afternoon to meet with mariners and guide them through the regulatory process of Merchant Mariner Licensing.

An appointment is required. Please call 508-992-4025 to schedule a Maritime Career and USCG Licensing Counseling appointment.

“Northeast Maritime Institute is pleased to offer this valuable new service to mariners,” said Eric Dawicki, Northeast Maritime President and CEO. “The regulatory waters can be complex but this new program will guide mariners through the process and on to successful maritime careers.”

Northeast Maritime Institute provides professional education for mariners and prides itself in being one of the forerunners in private maritime education and training in the United States and around the globe. A specialized agency with an international client base, NMI helps mariners complete the training necessary to receive their U.S. Coast Guard license, Commonwealth of Dominica license, or Merchant Marine document allowing them to work within the maritime community worldwide. Building awareness of safe and efficient maritime operations for both commercial and recreational operators is Northeast Maritime Institute’s highest priority.

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The Tabor Boy Project is one year old!

It all start after attending a Headmaster’s Council meeting at Tabor Academy on April 14, 2007. I have always felt incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to Tabor but that day really brought it home for me. While It is great to catch up with a few of the Council members that I went to school with or which I knew from living locally, the real inspiration came from the camaraderie and fellowship that spanned across the decades represented that day.

Last April Drs. John Crosby and Karl Kistler made a great presentation during the Headmaster’s Council meeting that became the inspiration for the first post on The Tabor Boy Project. Teaching Ocean Science at Tabor. Last Friday, April 11th, Dr. Crosby, this time with 5 Tabor students, made another fascinating presentation about the Caribbean studies program that took place aboard SSV Tabor Boy this winter. Clearly for me the highlight was listening to the animated young students tell stories that will stay with them for a lifetime. It’s great to know that at her advanced age, Tabor Boy still has it in her to excite young people, foster real learning and transform adventurous adolescents into young adults. Check out the Caribbean Studies section of Tabor’s website.

My mother found the these two photos in a shoe box last week. In the top one, that’s me on the left handing Captain George Glaeser a present. To the right of Capt. is Billy Rose, also Class of 1977 and First Lieutenant on Tabor Boy. For a little spooky foreshadowing, I’m wearing a t-shirt from the American Sail Training Association, an organization that I would go on to lead 24 years later. (2001-2006)

To me the above picture really captures the essence of my experience at Tabor. There’s Capt. and Mrs. G. sitting around with us boys and a couple of dogs: one big happy family. Of course, we all had our families at home but this was our Tabor family all brought closer by our shared experiences aboard Tabor Boy. For me The Tabor Boy Project has extended that family even farther.

I started using Google Analytics to track activity on The Tabor Boy Project in August 2007 and thought you may be interested in some of these statistics:

• 109 Crew members
• 425+ photographs
• 2,812 visitors
• 1,783 absolute unique visitors
• 19,144 page views
• 53 countries
• Dozens of blog and forum posts and replies,
• Countless messages between members

More important than any of these numbers is that The Tabor Boy Project, through words and pictures, tells the incredible story of this amazing ship that has changed so many young lives over the years. It has reconnected lost shipmates and been the catalyst for new friendships.

I had very few expectations when I launched The Tabor Boy Project on April 15, 2007. It was simply an experiment in using web 2.0 / social networking tools. One of the exciting things about it is you just don’t know what somebody will contribute. I sincerely thank all who have done so over the first year and I look forward to welcoming aboard more new members, reading more sea stories and viewing more old photographs over the next year. The Tabor Boy Project comes to life through your amazing contributions. Let’s keep telling the story together.  

Cross posted in The Tabor Boy Project and Sea-Fever blog.

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Nearly a year ago I launched a website called The Tabor Boy Project. From the Welcome Aboard:

For over 50 years, the schooner Tabor Boy has taken young Tabor Academy students to sea under sail. This remarkable ship has played a significant role in helping Tabor Academy transform adventurous teenagers into confident young adults.

The Tabor Boy Project is a living history project and social network by and for Tabor Boy sailors and supporters. While it will help create and preserve the rich stories that make up the schooner’s history, it will also connect shipmates that have been “lost” for years.

On April 1, 2008, The Tabor Boy Project welcomed it’s 100th member, a 2007 Tabor Academy graduate. Members span 6 decades: from the 1950’s to current students. There are hundreds of wonderful photographs and sea stories that tell this amazing ship’s history.

None of this would have been possible just a few short years ago. Photos that languished in shoe boxes in the back of alumni closets have experienced a new life on the website gallery and long lost shipmates have been able to reconnect through the member pages.

Web 2.0 social media tools allow us to build communities around common causes, interests and passions. They allow us to reconnect and have meaningful conversations about things that are important to us. They also allow us to collaborate to capture history, experience and knowledge in ways previously unimaginable. The Tabor Boy Project utilizes the Ning social networking platform which is powerful, flexible, easy to use and inexpensive.

I believe that the most important part of these types of projects is setting a strategy and having a few catalysts who can help build excitement. I was lucky to enlist 2 of my shipmates, Captain Bob Glover and Jamie Hutton (pictured below) from the beginning to jump aboard and work hard to spread the word. It’s all part of that teamwork ethic that was integral to the sail training experience and which has been a major part of each one of our lives since the days we first stepped aboard the Tabor Boy.

The Tabor Boy Project is an independent project and not something created, authorized or maintained by Tabor Academy. It’s content is generated by its members all of whom lives were touched by positive experiences at the School by the Sea and the schooner. Despite this, The Tabor Boy Project has been incredibly fortunate to have received interest and support from Tabor Academy leadership. Interim Development Director Kerry Saltonstall has been a huge advocate for The Project. We really appreciate and benefit from her frequent mentions in the Tabor Alumni and Friends e-newsletter Currents. Each time it appear, there is a nice uptick in new members. Thanks Kerry!

On April 14th, The Tabor Boy Project will celebrate it’s first anniversary. If you are reading this and have any connection what so ever to the schooner Tabor Boy, please join us. The Tabor Boy Project is a website for everyone who has ever sailed or who just is interested in the great work this ship (and school) has done to transform adventurous adolescents into young adults.

All-A-Taut-O!

Related posts:

The Tabor Boy Project - Storytelling and Living History

Flash Back - 31 Years Ago Today

The Privilege of Sailing

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