Captain Joshua's Maintenance & Restoration Update

Volunteer Work Weekends

Adventuress' maintenance season is underway!  With both new and returning friends and volunteers, we held a fun and successful Volunteer Winter Work Weekend on December 3 and 4th at Historic Ships Wharf in Seattle.  With many hands, and support from The Center for Wooden Boats, we were able to accomplish quite a bit.  Chief Mate Sarah Felder organized the crew of volunteers as we:

• Prepped and painted the foc'sle interior and bunk boards (Huge Project!)
• Disassembled, cleaned, greased and painted blocks,
• Worked on fixing our Bosun's Tools Box and the ship's boarding ladder
• Fixed interior cabinetry in crew cabin
• Coat of varnish on some pin rails and
• Prepped and updated our signage

Thank you all who came to enjoy each other's company, and the remarkably good weather!  Thank you also to all who tried to make it down - we look forward to seeing you for the next one. 

Email joshua(at)soundexp(dot)org if you are interested in joining us for the next Volunteer Winter Work Weekend during the Martin Luther KIng Weekend and Day of Service, January 14-16th.  Sign up early to make sure we have bunk space available!

Adventuress' New Sails!
Everything is in place to begin building new sails for the Adventuress in January!  Students at The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, in conjunction with Sean Rankins of Northwest Sails, will be building a new Mainsail for the schooner Adventuress.  “The Boat School” is accepting applications for the 2012 Sailmaking and Rigging class to be taught January 9th through March 23rd, 2012.  And, there is space available for you to sign up!

The class will introduce students to the full range of traditional sailmaking skills, including tools, materials, design, measuring, handwork, machine work, canvas work and the range of basic techniques needed by Sailmakers and Riggers.  It is a hands-on, technique-oriented course that students will find to be a superlative introduction to the field.

This is a great opportunity to work alongside The Boat School as both organizations are learning institutions valuing education to increase awareness and skills of traditional maritime trades.  Many Boat School graduates work in tall ships, shipyards, boatshops and sail lofts across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia where their craftsmanship, creativity and artistic talents enhance their communities.

Sign up NOW for the last remaining spots; SCHOLARSHIPS are available!
http://www.nwboatschool.org/alerts/Alerts_Detail.aspx?processID=69

Upward Bound Students Sail Aboard Adventuress

By Keith Van Essen
Upward Bound Counselor

For three years now, Adventuress, a beautifully restored wooden schooner, has been home for 5 days/4 nights to a variety of Upward Bound participants, students who come from low-income families and will be the first generation in their families to attend college.

Getting out of Seattle for an adventure such as this is a once in a lifetime experience for UB students; many of them rarely even venture beyond the borders of their own neighborhood or city.  This year, two Upward Bound students, Alazar and Vivian, jumped at the opportunity to take part in this sailing adventure through the San Juan Islands.  Both of them had only positive things to say.

Alazar wrote, “I was able to see unique animals such as Orcas and Seals, and I hiked up to a huge lighthouse where I could overlook the beautiful Puget Sound.  The entire trip was an amazing experience!”

Vivian noted, “My trip on the Fantastic Voyage was amazing!  I learned so much like the names of the sails and ropes on the ship, the JKL (Orca) pods, and I learned some history of the San Juan Islands.  I definitely made some great long lasting friend and would love to go back again and again!”

Our students will forever be impacted by this experience as their minds and hearts have been enriched by this outdoor, experiential, team-building experience.  A HUGE thank you goes out to the generous staff of Sound Experience who for 3 years now have invited our Upward Bound students to come aboard the Adventuress and benefit from an amazing experience on the Puget Sound.

Sincere thanks,

Keith Van Essen
Upward Bound Counselor

Adventuress teams up with The Boat School for her new Mainsail

This coming winter students at The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, in conjunction with Sean Rankins of Northwest Sails, will be building a new Mainsail for the schooner Adventuress.  NWSWB, locally known as “The Boat School” is accepting applications for the 2012 Sailmaking and Rigging class to be taught January 9th through March 23rd, 2012.  And, there is space available for you to sign up!

The class will introduce students to the full range of traditional sailmaking skills, including tools, materials, design, measuring, handwork, machine work, canvas work and the range of basic techniques needed by Sailmakers and Riggers.  It is a hands-on, technique-oriented course that students will find to be a superlative introduction to the field.  A complete course listing is available on the Boat School's web page at:

http://nwboatschool.org/programs/Course_Detail.aspx?processID=79

Master Sailmaker, Sean Rankins, of Northwest Sails will teach the class and will be assisted by other professional sailmakers and riggers.  Sean has well over thirty years of experience as a sailmaker.  Adventuress has been working with Sean over the last year to design and build new sails as part of the Centennial Restoration Project.


This is a great opportunity to work alongside The Boat School as both organizations are learning institutions valuing education to increase awareness and skills of traditional maritime trades.  Many Boat School graduates work in tall ships, shipyards, boatshops and sail lofts across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia where their craftsmanship, creativity and artistic talents enhance their communities.

Adventuress’ Mainsail is the second largest working sail on the West Coast and carries over 3,000 people a year throughout Puget Sound and the lower Salish Sea.  At 2,500 square feet it will be the first of the four lower sails to be built for the ship’s 100th birthday.


During the 2012 class, students will also make sails for the Dana Point CA-based gaff topsail schooner The Spirit of Dana Point.

The Sailmaking and Rigging class is a comprehensive and intensive class.  Students will work in the School's Sail Loft 10am - 5pm Mondays and 8am -5pm daily Tuesday through Friday as well as on other local vessels as appropriate.


Other Boat School programs include 9 month diplomas and 12 month Associate Degrees of Occupational Studies in Traditional Small Craft, Traditional Large Craft, and Contemporary Wooden Boatbuilding in addition to the 3 month Certificate program in the Sailmaking and Rigging class announced above.  


Interested?  Contact Captain Joshua Berger at: Joshua(at)soundexp(dot)org


Or, the NWSWB directly at:


The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding

42 N Water Street, Port Hadlock WA 98339

360-385-4948

www.nwboatschool.org
(See them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NWBoatSchool)

Girls Take the Helm

By Elizabeth Becker

In late July, an enthusiastic group of 16 young women, average age 13, boarded Adventuress in Friday Harbor for 3 days of sailing, learning, and exploring.  Except for one group of five Girl Scouts who had journeyed all the way from central Oregon, the girls didn’t know one another.  But any hesitance quickly evaporated during the opening circle, lunch, and Watch Group orientations.  A sunny afternoon of sailing kept everyone busy hauling on lines, tacking, and taking turns at the helm.  At anchor in McKay Harbor off Lopez Island, preparations began for the evening program, which would include resource reports and game night.

One of the unique aspects of Girls at the Helm is having a group of women mentors aboard to share their passions and expertise with the participants.  On this trip, the five mentors shared their interests in wildlife biology, teamwork, photography, tall ships, and water quality.  The crew, which was mostly female for this trip, added plankton and sail theory to the mix.

Furling the jib in windy weather

On day 2, the ship headed south and east into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, heading up Rosario Strait.  The sun and calm seas of the day before had given way to cooler temperatures, stronger winds, and sizable swells, giving all aboard a taste of saltier sailing.  Heading back through Thatcher Pass brought smoother waters along with a bit of rain. But once at anchor in Blind Bay off Shaw Island, the sun came out and there was plenty of time for climbing aloft, sailing Ayashe, and doing some fancy knotwork.

During dinner, the participants had an opportunity for some one-on-one time with the mentors, with an assignment to ask them questions and then share the answers with the whole group during the evening program. The girls did an awesome job with their presentations, which were followed up with skits by each Watch Group.

The trip ended far too soon. Day 3 brought Adventuress back to Friday Harbor under sunny skies. The girls left with great memories, a better sense of their abilities, and a new window into what’s possible.
“I learned that I’m stronger than I thought.” ---participant

Studying plankton

The Intrepid Mentors

Hauling up the mainsail

Studying the charts

Learning Adventuress' sails

Preparing to go up Adventuress' mainmast!

Getting Personal

By Zoë Plakias

Our family within a family

Oh, Adventuress. [Insert sigh here]. For those of you, like me, who don’t live nearby, it’s easy to forget why we love Adventuress so much. Sure, we can give money when asked, or respond to Facebook posts, and these are important aspects of our community. But we forget what it’s like to be onboard – to see someone’s realization of self worth when they first learn to tie a bowline or that look of fear that precedes the climb aloft followed by pure joy on the return to deck. We forget that feeling of shared satisfaction coupled with exhaustion at the end of a long day of sailing.

I first sailed aboard Adventuress more than 5 years ago now. But it had been a few years since I’d participated in a program. This past week, I had the joy to sail as both a volunteer crewmember and participant with my partner, a crewmember, and his 13-year old niece. This allowed me the best of all possible worlds—to participate in a program in a way I never had before. I was both a member of a watch as a participant, and a crewmember without a watch, spending time in the galley and on deck, able to observe from a few steps back.

And I was blown away by what I saw. I had forgotten the aspects of sharing and camaraderie that make Sound Experience so special. We share our knowledge and our songs and our poetry and our history and our dreams with each other. We get personal. This is the point where Catherine, our Executive Director, get’s a little worried about what I’m going to say. It’s a bit of a joke within the Sound Experience community that many past crewmembers and volunteers end up in romantic relationships later on. My partner and I are two such crewmembers. And although this is meant as a joke, it comes as no surprise. I have learned more about my fellow shipmates on one six-day trip than I have learned about friends I have known on land for years. There are no walls on a ship. There is no room for baggage. This is true of Adventuress more than any other ship I have sailed on. Participants and crew literally sleep in a cabin together with no divisions, bulkheads or curtains. There really is no space for extra clothes, rolling suitcases, and all that stuff we like to carry with us these days. And this reminds us—there is no need to worry if someone sees us without our make-up on or our hair brushed. Who cares if we wear the same shirt as yesterday? Everyone else is doing the same.

In just six days, all of us—crew and participants alike—are able to let go of these trivialities, get to know each other and our selves better and to push ourselves to do things we have not done before. Captain Joshua says he has one goal for a trip. “I consider a trip to be successful,” he says, “if we all return just a little bit better off than when we started.” What I love about this goal is how all encompassing it is. It means a participant overcoming a fear of heights to climb aloft. It means a crewmember calling the setting of a sail for the first time. It means learning something that you never knew about a loved one or a friend. It means being a little bit stronger and having more of a tan. Each of us gains something different from sailing aboard Adventuress. For me, it was a reminder to have faith in my fellow shipmates and in myself—that no matter how much planning time we put in, faith is always a necessary component.

So with that, I want to encourage you as well to do what I had forgotten to do for a long time—go sailing. Make the effort. Buy the plane ticket. Remember why you love Sound Experience. Although I have continued to support Sound Experience over the years, I had forgotten why I was doing it. I had forgotten about the serenity of Parks Bay at sunrise. I had forgotten how hard I could laugh. I had forgotten the power that just six days can have on a group of people that has never met before. I had forgotten how to get personal with myself and other people in a supportive and meaningful way.

And I had forgotten that it’s our responsibility, as members of the Sound Experience community, not to forget. So don’t.

Road Scholar Intergenerational Day 5 of 6 Day Voyage – Headed down Puget Sound toward Seattle from Everett

Q & A with the Grandchildren – 6 boys ages 10-13

Describe what you’ve liked the most on this trip so far:

"Climbing aloft.  You’re up there above everything – you can see everything afar – and it’s windy up there!  It’s an awesome experience."

"I’ve never been really, really high up before, except on roller coasters."

"I liked when we went on a hike – it’s just an island to itself.  And you needed a boat to get out there.  I’ve only been to islands you can drive to before."

"I think it’s really fun setting the sails – you’ve got everyone working together doing something that affects everyone else.  It’s kind of rewarding putting up something that weighs several thousand pounds!"

Each night we have evening program.  What has been your favorite part?

"I really like the whole program – the different “reports” – and everyone comes together to play games and sing.  There were old songs that I didn’t know but my grandmother did – and it helped us win!"

"I loved the murder mystery game! That was so funny in the end."

"It’s fun to see my grandmother here on the boat; she’s really different here than at home."

This final question was posed by one of the boys to the other boys…How do you think this experience has changed you?

"It’s taught me a lot about food waste and how you can eat healthy foods."

"I’ve learned to love different kinds of tea."

"You have to work hard to do something and in the end, it’s really rewarding."

"If no one did the dishes, you’d just have dirty dishes."

"Every little thing you do affects the environment – every little thing contributes to a big thing, which affects all other things."

"It’s definitely given me more experience in sailing.  I learned about new and different boats, the San Juan Islands, and history."

Road Scholar Day 3 of 6 day voyage – Headed down the east side of Whidbey Island

Submitted by Ann Collins, Catherine’s mother

Yesterday was a bit rainy but not enough to stop anybody from enjoying above decks.  Most of the folks aboard went to discover Hope Island, spotting eagles and other wildlife.  A hike across the island was a welcome stretch of the legs with the delightful surprise of a rope swing over the bay upon arrival at the island – all ages took a turn!

I’m finding that I’m just enjoying the whole atmosphere, with time to think about all that life has given me with my daughter and my grandson Ben with me on the trip.  It feels like life has come full circle from the time I was a youngster, especially as I watch Ben learning what it takes to be comfortable at sea.  I grew up cruising the Maine coast in the 1940s and early 50s on a wooden yawl named the Fortune.  It has been years since I’ve spent time on a wooden boat, and it brings back all the memories of things my mother and father taught me about living on a boat. I hope I can share some of these things with Ben, as he is absorbing the shipboard culture alongside the enthusiastic Adventuress crew.

Today, we had the opportunity to climb way up into the rigging, and Ben loved it so much that he didn’t want to come down.  I trusted that despite my own fears about climbing, that I’d be able to return him in one piece to his parents at the end of trip.  Ben, on the other hand, was elated to have reached the top!