I received an email today from Abby Wood, education specialist at Save the Bay, with a link to her blog Abby’s Day on the Bay in which she posted about a program we recently put together with her organization and the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation on the Continental Sloop Providence. Check it out.
Continue reading Save the Bay with the Continental Sloop Providence
ASTA Intern Matt wrote a great post on the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE blog about the Sloop Providence’s participation in ASTA’s Tall Ships Youth Adventure program. I had a chance to sail with many of these young people during the program’s first week and even over that limited time period it was amazing to see the transformation take place and attitudes change. Read my previous posts here, here, here, here , here, here and here. ASTA Matt wrote:
I think I learned as much in those two weeks as the kids. Sure, I learned some things about sailing, but I learned a lot about working with youth. I learned that you really can make a difference by spending some time with the kids and giving them some attention. And most importantly and most surprisingly ,by giving them some responsibilities – something I remember getting too little of at that age.
I wholeheartedly agree with Matt. I also believe that creating a safe environment of structured freedom makes the adventure one of learning, maturing and fun.
A significant percentage of these teens expressed interest in sailing again next summer and I look forward to working with Middletown’s Public Schools, Substance Abuse Task Force and Police Department in making that happen.
Above photo by astamatt. For more great photos check out the ASTA TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Flickr account.
Technorati tags: Sloop Providence, sail training, tall ships, Middletown, RI, American Sail Training Association
I asked Sgt. Fred Bodington, a Middletown Rhode Island Police Officer who was instrumental in recruiting trainees for the Sloop Providence / ASTA Tall Ships Youth Adventure Program to write something about his experience sailing with kids over the past 2 weeks.
As a community police officer working in a low income housing complex I have the opportunity to see these cadets in their home environment. The transformation I see during the training is incredible. Although not across the board most of these kids are literally jumping at this opportunity. Each morning I have been boarding the bus with the kids and they all show the same “I don’t care indifference” when asked about the upcoming day. Their body language, however, tells a different story. One girl who complains about being tired and not getting to sleep is the first on the bus and just about ran me over getting there. The kids are seen walking around with pieces of line tying bowlines and making daisy chain necklaces and bracelets. We even hear them starting to use nautical terms as if they always had. I can just imagine the looks the teachers will give them when they go back to school and ask to go to the head.
On Monday, day 1 of the second week, we observed the same out of place feeling among the new kids that was displayed in the first week. This quickly went away as the crew and cadets who returned from the first week started to interact. Day 1 is hard on the kids who think that they are going to start sailing right away and it takes some time for them to grasp the fact they need to learn the ship before sailing her. Continue reading Sail training diary – Week 2 – Sailing with Kids (Guest Post)
Nice article in today’s Newport Daily News about the Continental Sloop Providence’s youth sail training program which I have been blogging about over the course of the past week. This 2 week program is a partnership with the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation, Middletown Public Schools, Middletown Substance Abuse Task Force and the Middletown Police Depart.
Seafaring program puts teens to test – Newport Daily News – August 6, 2007
Technorati tags: Middletown, RI, Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation, Sloop Providence, sail training, tall ships, education, experiential education, youth development, youth education
Well this is starting to sound redundant but it was another perfect day for sailing. The wind was up a little more than Day 4 which added a little more challenge to line handling and the trainees were up to it.
After the Thursday day sail, there was an overnight expedition. Six trainees got the opportunity to spend the night aboard and work like crew. The Sloop Providence anchored in Potter’s Cove and from all reports it was a great experience. Even being woken in the middle of the night to stand anchor watch was managed with enthusiasm. The vessel returned to the dock on Friday morning and the shore bound trainees joined at 10:00 am.
Day 4’s challenge needed to be completed so ASTA Intern Heather organized a line naming contest and all of the professional crew. A line would be read out and the first player that grabbed it would win a point. The first team to 10 won. The trainees got stumped by the trickery of crew member Jody when he called out the “waterline.” It also took a good 10 minutes for one of the teams to figure out how to tie a bowline. All in all, the trainees recollection of line locations was surprisingly poor considering how well they sailed on Day 3. It’s funny that each winning has chosen scrubbing the deck rather than planning the voyage. Physical activities trumps intellectual activity which is not a surprise for this age group
Today was parent day and we had six aboard which was great. The trainees seized the opportunity to show their stuff with setting the sails. This was the best demonstration of their team work yet. Continue reading Sail training diary – Day 5 – Sailing with Parents and Graduation
We could not have ordered better weather this week. Each day the wind has grown a little stronger which has allowed our fine trainees the opportunity to handle lines and improve their skills. There wasn’t a breath of air this morning when we arrived at the vessel but as we motored out to Castle Hill the breeze began to freshen; ultimately we ended up having perfect conditions to get the Sloop Providence up to a respectable speed.
Continue reading Sail training diary – Day 4 – Fair Wind and Plenty of It
Today a lot of positive progress was made by the trainees in general and a few surprises were presented by individuals. All in all it was another remarkable day.
After a sail under their belts, the crew transferred more responsibility to the trainees. As a team, they began to get the hang of tacking the vessel and the relatively light winds may not have proven that Providence is the “fast ship” she claims to be, but it did allow the trainees to handle the lines without the threat of injury. A lot was learned today and we intend for them to take even more responsibility for sailing the ship over the next few days. Our goal is to have an impressive parent/guardian sail on Friday and I believe that we are on the proper course to meet that objective. Continue reading Sail training diary – Day 3 – Taking Responsibility
Today was one of those days that reconfirms the transformative power the sail training experience can have on young people’s lives.
I arrived at the Providence a little before the bus and after the USCG completed the final portion of their inspection. As I walked down the ramp of the floating dock I was met by a gentleman who had a few questions about the boat. It turned out that his daughter was part of our program and he was in the neighborhood and wanted to take a look. It didn’t seem to take much selling to get him interested in the parent sail scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The bus arrived missing one of our star trainees from Day 1 but we picked up a new one new so our count remained even at 13. Not too much later, our missing young man arrived with his dad who seemed a little annoyed that his son missed the bus.
The beginning of day 2 and we already have 2 fathers down to the boat with interest about what their children were doing. This is a great sign.
Continue reading Sail training diary – Day 2 – Scrub Decks, Polish Brass, Sail
This week I’m going to post about something a little different.
The Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation is one of Sea-Fever Consulting LLC’s clients and today we launched a new sail training program aboard the Continental Sloop Providence for a group of teens from Middletown, RI. This program was made possible by a grant from the American Sail Training Association and is part of their Tall Ships Youth Adventure Program.
ASTA’s Tall Ships Youth Adventure Program was the result of a federal appropriation under the US Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and is categorized as a demonstration project. This funding was secured and program created when I was executive director of the American Sail Training Association. Enough of that, let’s get on to the good stuff. Continue reading Sail training diary – Day 1 onboard the Sloop Providence
Sea-Fever blog 