Adventuress “Splashes” Back Into Puget Sound, Soon to be in Your Homeport

What an exciting day yesterday!  Adventuress "splashed" back into Puget Sound after four months of extensive restoration work, the latest in her multi-year Centennial Restoration Project.  By the end of March, Puget Sound's environmental tall ship will be sailing throughout the region, stopping in ports from Bellingham to Olympia.

This winter, the shipwrights of Haven Boatworks--along with a small army of Adventuress volunteers--tackled Phases II & III of the Centennial Restoration.  According to Capt. Korie Griffith, 73 futtocks and over 1100 lineal feet of planking were replaced from the combined two phases (9 futtocks and 400+ lineal feet aft, 64 futtocks and 700+ lineal feet forward).  Funding came from a number of sources including the Save America’s Treasures program, the Partners in Preservation program and many private donors.

Now, we're looking forward!  We have packed the boat with a variety of day-long and overnight programs throughout the year.  To get on board Adventuress for a short excursion, check out our three-hour Public Sails, offered at nearly every major port in Puget Sound.  Don't forget, Members sail free on all Public Sails. ;)

Here are a few upcoming Adventuress Public Sails:

Date: Saturday, March 6

What: Port Townsend, Boat Haven D-Dock

Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Click here to register

Date: Saturday, April 2

What: Seattle, Elliott Bay Marina

Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Click here to register

Date: Saturday, April 16

What: Tacoma, Foss Waterway Seaport

Time: 9:00 a.m. - Noon

Click here to register

For a more complete list of Public Sails, visit Sound Experience’s website: www.soundexp.org. 

For longer voyages, we have some awesome overnight trips for teens, families and adults.  Our Family Sail out of Friday Harbor, for example, is a very-manageable weekend long, Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7.  

Alternatively, teens can spend five days in summer exploring the San Juan Islands on a Fantastic Voyage.  Two Fantastic Voyages are offered this year, one for Grades 6 - 9 from July 31 to August 4; the other for Grades 9 - 12 from August 14 to August 18.

Also, this month we're running our “Grow the Family” Membership Drive.  During the month of March, we're encouraged Puget Sound residents to “join up” as members and get out sailing aboard Adventuress.  Members of Sound Experience sail on all Public Sails for free, receive discounts on overnight programs, plus a number of additional benefits.  At $50/year for an individual and $85/year for a household, membership is the most affordable way to get out sailing aboard Adventuress and experience Puget Sound!

For more info about Adventuress & Sound Experience, membership and to see when the ship will be sailing toward your homeport, visit www.soundexp.org or call 360-379-0438.

YOU DID IT! Our Exceptional Community Came Through Again!

By Zach Simonson-Bond

IT JUST HAPPENED. Thanks to our exceptional community, we have officially reached our 29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat campaign goal!!! That's $58,000 raised to support our work to educate, inspire and empower young people through powerful on-the-water education programs aboard Adventuress.

We are floored by the tremendous support from our community. Gifts and pledges came in from old and new friends, families, past participants, Board members, staff, crew, and many more! People contributed from all over the United States and even some from Canada. ;)

So, What Now?

Well... watch our movie again because all WILL be well! :D

Also, Adventuress will soon be undergoing Phases II & III of her Centennial Restoration project. I'll do a blog post soon, but to curb your curiosity visit our website: Centennial Restoration webpage.

Last, if you still want to make a tax-deductible gift to support our 29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat campaign, we are still accepting gifts and pledges (but not talking your ear off about it anymore). www.29dollars.org

I can't wait to bring you more updates about the exciting restoration work this winter. With lots of pictures! Oh and some videos too!

Still beaming because of our amazing community,

Zach

29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat

Hey everyone!

We are in the midst of our 29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat fundraising campaign! It has been so exciting!

We're off to a ROARING start thanks to everyone who attended the Party for Adventuress or gave online. After the party, we calculated that we had raised $38,525!!!!! We have such an AMAZING community. We love you!

However! It's not over yet! Our goal for this campaign is $58,000. There are many ways you can help:

1. If you haven't donated, go to www.29dollars.org and donate $29.00!
2. Tell your friends! - Let your friends, neighbors and colleagues know about 29 Dollars, 29 Days! Direct them to www.29dollars.org.
3. Send an email - Encourage your friends to donate with an email
4. Use Social Media - Spread the word on Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter:
5. Change your Facebook profile picture - Use our 29 Dollars, 29 Days graphic as your Facebook profile picture. You can download it by right clicking on the icon above.

Thank you everyone for your support so far! We have 23 days left. Please help us spread the word. With your enthusiasm, we were able to win the Partners in Preservation competition. Now, with your help we will raise the funds needed to continue to deliver inspirational programs to youth throughout Puget Sound!

Fair winds,

The Crew & Staff of Sound Experience and the schooner Adventuress

Nathan's Adventuress Poem Caught on Video

By Zach Simonson-Bond

During the last night of the Fantastic Voyage, anchored in Shoal Bay, Lopez Island, we did an evening program called "Party Piece," a timeless classic aboard Adventuress. People can share anything they'd like whether it's a poem, music, skit, story, joke, and so on. The presentations range from serious to silly.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Nathan during this Fantastic Voyage. He was down to earth, had tremendous determination, and was simply hilarious. Listen to his poem!

A Story Made During Anchor Watch

By the Participants and Crew Aboard Adventuress
July 20 - 21, 2010

During anchor watch, each of our participants and crew stand guard over the sleeping ship. Well, we also like to have fun during anchor watch! Often we write stories or haikus as part of these one-hour rotations, with each watch adding a little bit to the tale! Here is one from our last trip:

While hiking on Sucia Island, the young sailors discovered...

a monol-bismol (a kind of pepto-bismal that does the opposite of pepto-bismal)

Adam thought that it was cranberry lemonade and drank it!

Once their stomachs recovered, they carried on and came upon an old smuggler's secret hiding place. In it they found not people, drugs or alcohol but rather...

purple sea lions singing shanties while turtles kept rhythm on their shells. On a large table were potentially explosive moose cupcakes... were the crew tempted?

They threw a cupcake out into the ocean to see if it would explode, and sure enough, it did. Everyone was pretty glad they hadn't eaten any. The young sailors spent the night on the island and were woken up by purple seals singing a new sea shanty. It went:

"Elijah has blue hair, oh my oh my!

Steve has cool glasses, oh my oh my"

And it went on, similar to that. It was midnight. The sailors were groggy, disoriented by the purple sea lions' song and managed to fall off one of the lovely sandstone bluffs.

With a splash and a splish they plummeted into the cold water! Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, came something they never expected! A line! Thrown in the water by a hooded nudibranch!

Its watermelon-y smell captured the nostrils of (purple) sea lions everywhere, and the young sailors balked at their sudden company. And Kat was pleased to finally meet her sea lion friend. Soon the sea lions were all hauled up on the deck of Adventuress (along with the hooded nudibranch) and a wild bluegrass dance party erupted. Porpoises provided the decorations to Elijah's delight, and Elijah said "porpoise!"

They all stayed up through every anchor watch (checking bilges as the party raged on) and it was the best night they'd ever had. It had swaggerfullisticalness!!!

The End

Glimpses from a Road Scholar Intergenerational Voyage, Part I

By the Crew of the Schooner Adventuress

At the beginning of our trip, we divided into three watches, which is an old maritime tradition. During the day, one watch is on deck sailing the vessel, while the other two watches choose between education stations and/or down time (the sun and sailing can take it out of you!). In the evening, after Adventuress has found a cozy anchorage, rotations continue! One watch cooks dinner & does dishes, one watch takes on the natural history report--which is about what they saw that day, and the remaining watch prepares for the "Resource Report."

The Resource Watch goes throughout the ship finding:

• How much fuel we used
• How much water we drank
• Estimating the amount of compost made from cooking
• Estimating food waste made from uneaten morsels
• Estimating trash produced that day

The resource report has been presented in various ways. Sometimes it comes as a skit, sometimes a discussion, sometimes a game. This time however, the Bodacious BarbaRays Watch (B Watch) presented a Resource "Opereta," which included the following rap!

Yo
This is Big Papa Sailor and
I'm on a boat
yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm on a boat
and it can float
We be rockin' and rockin'
making distance and distance
So let me give you a little somethin' somethin'
We went 10 nautical miles
Wow it's all down in our nautical files
Yeah
I know the number's pretty big
Yeah
I said big just like our nautical rig
Wait, before we run out of time
Let me give you one more rhyme
Yeah
Man, our boat don't cower
We got 2.4 nautical miles per hour
So do me a favor and keep it dope
Cuz get ready, get set,
I'm on a boat!

Sailing Through Deception Pass

By the Crew of the schooner Adventuress

It is a highlight for all mariners – passing through the ever-so-narrow Deception Pass. We experienced this ourselves on June 25th with a group of young participants from the Treehouse organization (www.treehouse4kids.org) onboard. We were travelling from Everett to the San Juan Islands.

The pass is known for its majestic towering cliffs on both sides and turbulent currents. We timed our passage at slack tide to avoid the worst of the currents. Additionally, we paid tribute to Ko Kwal Al Woot (aka the Maiden of Deception Pass) by sharing her story and paying tribute with a sacrificial brownie to ensure our safe passage. Our timing and sacrifice paid off as we motored safely through the narrow passageway. (Maiden photo comes from: http://www.stonebard.com/carving_the_maiden_of_deception.htm)

The story of the Ko Kwal Al Woot dates back to the time the Samish people lived in this area where they found plenty of food from the sea. The “Maiden” (as she is known) makes the ultimate sacrifice for her people by agreeing to marry a man living in the sea who had power over their food and water sources. The man used his power to persuade this beautiful maiden, who he had fallen in love with while watching her gather clams along the shore, to marry him. Initially, she returned to her village once each year to see her people. But in a short matter of time, she no longer wanted to leave her husband or the sea. So, she stopped coming back to the village. She had fallen in love with the sea. (A more complete story of Ko Kwal Al Woot can be found at exhibits.pacsci.org/puget_sound/Maiden.html.)

There was one additional highlight of our passage through Deception Pass. A couple of our newest Shipboard Volunteers were standing on the towering bluffs waving us on. One of them played the bagpipes as we passed by. We could feel their presence on the deck of the ship. It is always wonderful to see this kind of community support. Thanks Chiara, Rob and Danaan!

Fair winds,

The Crew of the schooner Adventuress

Haikus From Anchor Watch on the Waldorf Trip

Recently, two Waldorf schools joined us for a four-day overnight trip out of Bellingham and through the San Juan Islands.

On our overnight trips, everyone aboard stands a one-hour anchor watch to keep the ship and their slumbering shipmates safe!

Anchor watches are magical hours. Participants are roused gently from sleep by whispering their names and tugging at their pillows. They don their anchor watch garb--which was thoughtfully laid out the night before--and make their way gingerly to deck.

Always there are things to do on anchor watch. Careful not to make a noise, we sneak around checking and rechecking the ship. How high is the bilgewater? Is the anchor light still on? Are our bearings still within an acceptable range? Check, check and check!

As the nights progress, our participants learn the ropes and we finish with time to spare. Sometimes, like on this trip, we write haikus. Here are the haikus written by the Waldorf students:

Night is very dark

Chuckanut Bay is awesome

We love it here

Ripples on water

Rain pats softly on the deck

Clouds cover the stars

The water is smooth

Glossy like a mirror's face

Quiet like the moon

Tomorrow is now

The water is calm and clear

All is sound and safe

Campfire on the shore

Joyful music and singing

As we guarded home