Today’s Amistad’s 10th birthday!
Her berthplace, Mystic Seaport has a good post with some photos of Amistad under construction.
Today also marks another major historic milestone for Amistad: she’s the first US flagged vessel to make an official call in Cuba.
Congratulations and Happy Berthday!
Filed under: sail training, tall ships | Tags: Class Afloat, Concordia, Prince William, Tall Ships Youth Trust
Hmmm, she suffered her catastrophic casualty less than a week ago but it seems that thoughts of the Concordia’s replacement might be in some people’s minds. (Probe to shed light on sinking of S.V. Concordia)
West Island College International began with a leased vessel and had the Concordia built in 1992. A second ship was leased to handle an extra-large enrolment last year, but the Concordia was the only vessel the company operated this school year, Mr. McCarthy said.
He would not say how much the lost ship was insured for, but noted that the tall ship Prince William, which is for sale, was a roughly comparable vessel.
Chris Law, chief executive of the U.K.-based Tall Ships Youth Trust, said the trust hopes to get about £4.5-million for the nine-year-old Prince William. She noted that building a new version of such a ship would cost nearly four times as much.
The Prince William needs a new home and Class Afloat needs a ship if it plans to continue. Makes sense to me.
Here’s a copy of the Prince William sales brochure
I wrote about the Prince William a while back. Brig Sale Away?
Filed under: life, maritime, sail training, tall ships | Tags: Class Afloat, Concordia
The following message appeared this evening on the Class Afloat website:
Our Students Teachers and Professional Mariners mustered together this morning for their final colors led by the Captain of the Concordia.
The whole crew arrived at the hotel last night. According to an Alumni parent who was on scene for the evening our students were bedraggled but happy and full of energy. First step off the bus was into the dining hall where all were well fed. From there, they moved into a large conference room that had been set up with chairs and tables. Small groups were then taken to a side room where they were first screened and quickly assessed for medical checkups and/or a chat with a trained psychologist. There were two doctors and two psychologists who attended to all.
Boxes of clothes were brought in by the Embassy that had been contributed by the Brazilian Navy and today, through the ship’s agent, additional clothes will be distributed for the trip home.
The story that is slowly emerging from our students and professional staff is of the heroic communal effort that saved all aboard. Students, well drilled in the emergency procedures of the vessel, helped one another and the professional crew in the extraordinary evacuation. That all were saved is a testament to the training, equipment and professionalism of our shipboard community.
Arrival of the Canadian contingent of the crew cannot yet be confirmed by our office. Class Afloat understands the need of the press to continue to tell this story; however, it should be clear to all concerned that when the children arrive, that reuniting with their parents must be first and foremost.
Nigel McCarthy 902-634-1895
Filed under: life, maritime, sail training, tall ships | Tags: Concordia, tall ship
The Calgary Herald published a timeline of events from the Concordia casualty to rescue.
Wednesday, Feb. 17
2:30 p.m. - A distress signal goes out from the Concordia
9:00 p.m. – Brazilian navy receives alert. Navy officials spend 18 hours confirming what ship sent the signal, whose flag it was under. Confirms location, attempts radio contact with the Concordia. Contacts the school — is informed the last contact with the ship did not indicate any problem.
Thursday, Feb. 18
2:30 p.m. - Brazilian navy asks air force to do a flyover of the area and alerts merchant ships in the region. Stormy seas prevail.
5:00 p.m. – Brazilian air force spots lifeboats.
9:00 p.m. - Merchant ships Crystal Pioneer and Hokuetsu Delight told to go to location. Stormy seas, bad weather continue.
Friday, Feb. 19
4:00 a.m. - Crystal Pioneer spots lifeboats — due to darkness and high seas, waits to pluck the survivors to safety.
7:00 a.m. – The relieved passengers start boarding the Crystal Pioneer and Hokuetsu Delight.
9:00 a.m. - Last lifeboat located, passengers transferred to Hokuetsu Delight.
Saturday . Feb. 20 - All 64 students, teachers and crew arrive safely in Rio de Janeiro
Sources: Nigel McCarthy and The Brazilian Navy
Filed under: Experience, life, maritime, storytelling, tall ships | Tags: Concordia, microburst, Pride of Baltimore, survival
It’s tough to imagine what was going through the minds of the young students of the tall ship Concordia during the 40 hours spent in life rafts riding turbulent seas after their ship, school and home capsized and sank 500 miles off the coast of Brazil last Wednesday.
On May 14, 1986, the topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore also sailed into a microburst and sank. Tragically, she lost 4 souls. Next time you are in Baltimore you can visit the monument honoring the lives of Captain Armin Elsaesser 42; Engineer Vincent Lazarro, 27; Carpenter Barry Duckworth, 29 and Seaman Nina Schack, 23.
View Larger Map
To get an idea of what might have been going through the minds of the Concordia sail trainees, watch this video of the Pride of Baltimore survivors telling their harrowing sea stories. The video quality is poor but it’s really the audio that’s more important.
Filed under: Education, Experience, life, sail training, tall ships | Tags: Class Afloat, Concordia, sail training, tall ship
I will continue to update this post with articles about the sinking of the Concordia. There’s a lot of duplicate content out there so I’ll do my best to curate the best, most relevant. While I am a huge fan of the Class Afloat program you may see posts with different opinions since I think examining this incident from different perspectives can be valuable and instructive. Thanks for visiting and please feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment below.
Why I created this long post about Concordia sinking Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 24, 2010
Update March 24, 2010
Student Survival Story from High School Tall Ship Concordia Sinking (video) Sea-Fever blog – March 24, 2010
Update March 15, 2010
Sinking of ship and skiing out of bounds not similar Calgary Herald March 15. 2010
Class Afloat plans to sail again Calgary Herald March 12, 2010
Safety board interviews Concordia captain, officers The Chronicle Herald March 12, 2010
Students granted free use of town recreation facilities SouthshoreNow March 8, 2010
GME EPIRB credited for saving all 64 in schoolship sinking SailWorld.com March 8, 2010
Survivor talks of shipwreck experience Battle Creek Enquirer March 4, 2010
Canadian TSB Investigates The Sinking Of Concordia Off The Coast Of Brazil The Gov Monitor March 3, 2010
Bearspaw student reflects on shipwreck experience Cochrane Eagle March 3, 2010
Crew waited 40 hours for rescue: Concordia officer Toronto Sun – March 3, 2010
Tall ship passed stability testing, owners say Globe and Mail March 2, 2010
Class Afloat Sails On Southshore Now – March 1, 2010
BC Man Helped Others Off Sinking Ship WoodTV8 – Feb. 28, 2010
Buoyed by Coverage Calgary Herald – Feb. 28, 2010
Update Feb. 27, 2010 11:00 EST
Young heroes surfaced in high seas ordeal – Emergency training aboard tall ship helped produce maritime miracle Calgary Herald – Feb. 27, 2010
Ship Sinks, West Michigan Man Helps Passengers Evacuate FOX17 – Feb 26, 2010
Update Feb. 26, 2010 8:00 PM EST
Class Afloat to celebrate safe return – Reception planned to reunite students, staff who survived sinking of SV Concordia Chronicle Herald – Feb. 26, 2010
Safety, preparation go together EMC South Ottawa – Feb. 26, 2010 *must read!
Back on land, but not for good TVNZ – Feb. 26, 2010
Local teenager’s sailing trip abroad ends in open water NC Advertiser – Feb. 26, 2010
Sailing days over, says wreck survivor CBCNews – Feb. 26, 2010
Update Feb. 25, 2010 10:00 PM EST
Interview with Tall Ship Concordia Captain Bill Curry on Sinking Sea-Fever blog Feb. 25, 2010
Update Feb. 25, 2010 noon EST
Whitehorse girl home from tall-ship ordeal CBCNews Feb. 25, 2010
How to be prepared when disaster strikes The Globe and Mail – Feb. 25, 2010
Tall ship crew well-prepared for emergency, says survivor from Gatineau Ottawa Citizen – Feb. 25, 2010
The Sailing Yacht Concordia (Tall ship) due to call at Tristan da Cunha in March sinks off Brazil The Tristan Times (Brazil) Feb. 25, 2010
Tall ship sinking probe focuses on response time TheStar.com – Feb. 24, 2010
Cowichan Bay student at home after shipwreck off Brazil Times Colonist – Feb. 24, 2010
Agency investigating sinking of Concordia to interview ship’s captain this week MetroNews Vancouver – Feb. 24, 2010
Captain of sunken ship to face questions The Edmonton Sun – Feb. 24. 2010
Update Feb. 24, 2010 noon EST
Local native has ties to sunken SV Concordia Standard Freeholder Feb. 24, 2010
Local teen survived tall ship disaster Northumberland Today – Feb. 24. 2010
Class Afloat Ponders the Future The Chronicle Herald – Feb. 24, 2010
Survivors tell tales of 40-hour ordeal at sea The Windsor Star – Feb. 21 2010
NZ student on way home after boat capsized Otago Daily Times – Feb. 24, 2010
West Van teen survives 38-hour life raft ordeal North Shore News – Feb. 24, 2010
Class Afloat prof recounts shipwreck MetroNews.ca – Feb. 23, 2010
Grandmother relieved after hearing from granddaughter who was aboard SV Concordia The News (Pictou) Feb. 23, 2010
Incident Photo of The Week – Tall Ship Capsizes, Students Rescued At Sea gCaptain – Feb. 23, 2010
Update Feb. 23, 2010 11:00 PM EST
Brazilian navy faults Canadian ship for sinking The Montreal Gazette – Feb. 23, 2010
Could the Brig Prince William Replace the Barkentine Concordia Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 23, 2010
The Story Behind the Story Lloyd’s List Feb. 24, 2010
Two MOL-owned Woodchip Carriers Rescue Shipwrecked Students PRLog – Feb. 23, 2010
Probe to shed light on sinking of S.V. Concordia The Globe and Mail Feb. 23, 2010
Update Feb.23, 2010 6:00 PM EST
Lost-at-sea student describes 41 hours on life raft Peace Arch News – Feb. 23, 2010
Trenton teacher survives ship sinking Trentonian – Feb.23, 2010
N.S. teacher stays calm on rough seas – The Chronicle Herald – Feb. 22, 2010
Emotional bonds forged during 40 hours adrift at sea Calgary Herald – Feb. 23, 2010
Unanswered questions about the sinking Globe and Mail – Feb. 23, 2010
Update Feb. 23, 2010 10:00 AM EST
Concordia Rescue Photos via AMVER Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 23, 2010
Exclusive photos of the Concordia rescue – AMVER blog – Feb. 23, 2010
Dead calm to screaming winds – South Atlantic weather changes in seconds, says Brazilian sailor The Chronicle Herald Feb. 23, 2010
‘I didn’t think we would be rescued’: British teenager reveals how she spent two days in a lifeboat in middle of Atlantic after tall ship capsized – DailyMail – Feb. 23, 2010
Tall Ship Teens Saved After Two Days In Ocean SkyNews – Feb. 23, 2010
Concordia’s Voyage and Sinking (Graphic from The Globe and Mail) Sea-Fever blog Feb. 23, 2010
Raising children entails exposing them to risk – Vancouver Sun Feb. 23, 2010
Update Feb. 22, 2010 10:00 PM EST
First-hand account of the sinking of the Concordia Globe and Mail Feb. 22, 2010
Former Acadia prof recounts sinking of SV Concordia The Chronicle Herald – Feb. 22, 2010
Calgary teen watched ship go down CBCNews – Feb. 22, 2010
Two rainy nights singing Disney: How Class Afloat survived at sea National Post – Feb. 22, 2010
Burlington teen recounts shipwreck ordeal TheStar.com – Feb. 22, 2010
Islander safe after ship sinks off Brazil The Guardian – Feb. 22, 2010
Teen home after 41 hours on a life raft Peace Arch News – Feb. 22, 2010
Rescued teens reunited with families at Pearson (+video) TheStar.com – Feb. 22, 2010
Concordia, AMVER, EPIRBs and At Sea Rescues Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 22, 2010
more about “Students Survive Two Days at Sea – CB…”, posted with vodpod
Update Feb. 22, 2010 Noon EST
Interview with Ben Strong of the United States AMVER unit regarding epirbs and at sea rescues.
AMVER (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System) website | blog | Twitter | iPhone App
Update Feb. 22, 2010 9:00 AM EST
School awaits investigation into ship sinking CBCNews Feb. 22, 2010
Students who survived ship sinking arrive back home CTVEdmonton Feb. 22, 2010
Parents of rescued students say full tale of ordeal yet to be told Calgary Herald – Feb. 22, 2010
Students who survived ship sinking arrive at Pearson TheStar.com – Feb. 22, 2010
Rescue light in sky ‘best feeling in world’ for shipwrecked group Vancouver Sun – Feb. 22, 2010
British teenager saved after drifting for two days in Atlantic on a lifeboat London Evening Standard – Feb. 22, 2010
Update Feb. 21, 2010 10:00 PM EST
Message from Class Afloat About Returning Concordia Students – Feb. 21, 2010
Class Afloat program classes to continue Calgary Sun – Feb. 21. 2010
Concordia Timeline: From Abandon Ship to Rescue – Sea-Fever blog via Calgary Herald – Feb. 21. 2010
Shipwrecked teens to reunite with families in Toronto – Toronto Sun – Feb. 21, 2010
Update Feb. 21, 2010 8:00 PM EST
Survivor tells sister of ship ordeal The National – Feb. 21, 2010
Uncertainty over whether sea school program will continue after ‘miracle at sea’ Calgary Herald - Feb. 21, 2010
High school on the open seas – Globe and Mail – Feb. 21, 2010
Update Feb. 21, 2010 3:00 PM EST
Brazil defends its search efforts in shipwreck - The Washington Post – Feb. 21, 2010
Shipwrecked students drifted in rafts for 24 hours – News3 New Zealand – Feb. 21, 2010
Survivors of Canadian ship sinking prepare for return home from Brazil The Canadian Press – Feb. 21, 2010
Update Feb. 21, 2010 12:00 EST
Survival Stories: Pride of Baltimore Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 21, 2010
Update Feb. 21, 2010 9:00 AM EST
Concordia, sailing ships and microbursts Sea-Fever blog – Feb. 21, 2010
Domino effect of bad luck led to sinking The Globe and Mail Feb. 21, 2010
Survivors tell tales of 40-hour ordeal at sea – Vancouver Sun – Feb. 21, 2010
Ship’s survivors recall scramble to safety The Globe and Mail – Feb. 21, 2010
Class Afloat attracted only top students Calgary Herald – Feb. 20, 2010
Update Feb. 20, 2010 10:00 PM EST
Shipwrecked Students Feared Remote Death at Sea New York Times Feb. 20, 2010
64 People from Shipwrecked Canadian Sailboat Concordia Arrived Safe in Rio Latin American Herald Tribune Feb. 20, 2010
Update Feb. 20, 2010 8:00 PM EST
“It was like the Titanic” Passengers drifted for 30 hours before rescue TheStar.com Feb. 20, 2010
Update Feb. 20, 2010 5:30 PM EST
We’ve made it! British teenagers survive 40-hour ordeal after ship is sunk by towering waves Mail Online Feb. 20, 2010
Update Feb. 20, 2010 1:00 PM EST
Ship sinking was like the Titanic, student tells dad The Star.com Feb. 20, 2010
Survivors say Canadian tall ship sank in minutes (video/audio) CTV Edmonton – Feb. 20, 2010
Captain of floating university: Sudden ‘microburst’ knocked ship onto side off Brazilian coast The Canadian Press – Feb. 20, 2010
Rescued Canadians dock in Rio – The Globe and Mail – Feb. 20, 2010
Rescued students arrive in Rio - CBC News – Feb. 20, 2010
Training helped save students as Canadian ship sank: teacher The Star.com – Feb. 20, 2010
‘Absolute nightmare’ ends well for students Edmonton Journal – Feb. 20, 2010
Canadian agency won’t play big role in probe The Chronicle Herald – Feb 20, 2010
Updated Feb. 19, 2010 – 11:00 PM EST
Students safe after capsizing of N.S.-based ship CBC – Feb. 19, 2010
Canadian School Ship Sinks Off Brazil; All Rescued NPR – Feb. 19, 2010
Updated Feb. 19, 2010 – 10:00 PM EST There is still so little information available about what happened but the following story at least let’s us know that some communication has occurred with the captains of both the Concordia and the rescuing ship and that there are no serious injuries. The rest at this point is all speculation and conjecture. One thing that we do know for sure is that going to sea has always been and will always be fraught with risk and that’s one of the reasons why the experience can be so powerful.
Nova Scotia school ship sinks off Brazil; all safe but parents want answers The Canadian Press – Feb. 19, 2010
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Very sad news today about the sinking of the high school tall ship Concordia sinking off the coast of Brazil in heavy weather. Thankfully all students and crew were rescued.
This story is still developing so not a lot of details are available; however, here are a few news reports.
Students rescued from sinking ship – CBC News Feb. 19, 2010
Canadian students ‘safe’ after boat capsizes off Brazil – TheStar.com Feb. 19, 2010
64 rescued after ‘catastrophic problems’ strike Canadian ship off Brazil – The Gazette – Feb. 19, 2010
I’ve posted about Concordia’s amazing program in the past and know the former owner and several of the captains and crew from my American Sail Training Association days. If you are not familiar with the Concordia or Class Afloat, please take a few minutes to watch this video about their amazing life forming programs for young students.
During a time when so many sail training vessels and tall ships are experiencing challenges, this is even more sad news. Concordia was a wonderful ship that did great work over the years and she will be sorely missed.
Filed under: life, maritime, maritime heritage, reality tv, sail training, storytelling, tall ships | Tags: Picton Castle, sail training, tall ship
Think sailing a tall ship is challenging? That’s nothing compared to building one. Think building one is difficult, that’s nothing compared to finding the trees, cutting them down, dragging them out of the jungle, loading them on another tall ship and sailing them halfway around the world. Tall ships sailors never do anything easy.
Grab a beer and some popcorn because this will be the best reality TV that you’ll watch this week.
Flag dip to my friend Voytec on Facebook.
Filed under: Experience, Leadership, life, maritime, sailing, tall ships | Tags: sailing, Senator Edward Kennedy
Just over a month ago I wrote a post about the loss of an American sailing icon, Walter Cronkite, and tonight it’s sad to think about the loss of another, Senator Edward Kennedy.
The above photo was taken in 2004 aboard the schooner Aurora in Newport, RI when I was executive director of the American Sail Training Association. We arranged a morning sail for a youth group from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center and invited our local Congressman Patrick Kennedy to experience sail training first hand. Without advance notice Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy showed up at the dock too. He came aboard to meet the young people and share his enthusiasm and passion for sailing. As we departed the harbor, he sailed passed us at the helm of his beautiful schooner Mya.
Over the years I had several occasions to meet with the Senator and every time impressed me more. They say this about all great leaders, but when you were in his presence you really felt that he was totally focused on you and what you had to say. Of course, our brief meetings were always about tall ships and sailing, topics that were very important to him. As a student of leadership, I often reflect back on my very short, yet impactful experiences with the Senator and am grateful that I had the opportunity to spend time with him.
Filed under: FotoFriday, maritime art, photography, tall ships | Tags: FotoFriday, Frederick LeBlanc, maritime art, photography, Windjammers
Earlier this week I received a copy of Fred LeBlanc’s new mini-coffee table book, Windjammers Downeast
I met Fred when I was at the American Sail Training Association where he was always extremely generous with his images. He’s dedicated his work to helping promote this very unique fleet of tall ships that sail along the beautiful Maine coast.
So next time you are heading over to someone’s house for a summer dinner, you might want to skip the predictable bottle of wine and cut flowers and present them a copy of Windjammers Downeast; especially if they’re sailors or just love the sea. It’s about the same price and it’ll bring enjoyment much, much longer.
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Filed under: maritime heritage, sail training, storytelling, tall ships | Tags: Brigantine Romance, Captain Arthur Kimberly
My friend and former colleague Mike Jehle, who’s now the executive director of the Fairfield Museum and Historical Center, sent me a link to the below trailer for a documentary about the Brigantine Romance. Like many before him, Mike’s life was forever changed by his experiences sailing aboard this amazing ship under the command of American Sail Training Association Lifetime Achievement Award winner Captain Arthur Kimberly and his wife Mrs. Kimberly. It’s great to see the crew coming back together to capture the rich history of the Romance.
[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4GAmldPAXc]
YouTube – Brigantine Romance Trailer
The Squaresail.com website is a great resource on the ship. I particularly enjoyed reading through the logs and imagining what those round the world trip must have been like. But if you’re an armchair adventurer like me, touring this website can still be pretty exciting.
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