Schooner ‘Adventuress’ Celebrates 95 Years By elizabeth T. Becker and lyndie Browning It’s a rare event these days for a vessel to reach the graceful age of 95. So this milestone provides good reason to celebrate the remarkable history of the schooner Adventuress, Puget Sound’s environmental tall ship. The 133-foot schooner has been a “fixture” along the Port Townsend waterfront since the early 1990s, although her presence in Puget Sound dates back much further. Literally tens of thousands of people have sailed on Adventuress since she arrived in Seattle around 1960, and that tradition continues today as the ship voyages the waters of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands with a mission of educating, inspiring and empowering “youth of all ages” to care for and protect our unique marine environment. Under the stewardship of the nonprofit Sound Experience, Adventuress offers environmental education programs for school groups, teens, families and seniors, sharing how small changes in our daily lives can make a big difference. Hands-on Science Increasingly, teachers – from preschools to universities – are turning toward hands-on, experiential learning methods to teach complicated scientific concepts. The technique is especially effective for students who are classified as “visual,” or “active,” learners. Through no fault of their own, these students often find themselves bored or confused by word-heavy textbooks or one-sided lectures. Katelinn Shaw, a former relief engineer aboard ship, noted that students get connected through the Adventuress. “It’s applied – and it’s so much easier to get kids excited about science when they’re holding a sea cucumber in their hands.” Students learn about environmental science topics such as watersheds, marine mammals and resource conservation – along with nautical skills such
Tell Your Story of Adventuress
Have you sailed on Adventuress during the past 95 years as crew or participant? Sound Experience would love to hear your story! Stop by the ship during Dockside Tours on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when its crew will be taping oral histories, or write a message in a logbook at the ship or booth. If you can’t make it to the Wooden Boat Festival, send an email with your story and contact information to mail@ soundexp.org. as maritime history, sailing and courage. As part of a nautical skills class series, students on overnight trips learn to identify the galley, head, sole, luff, clew, tack, peak and throat – words that roll trippingly off the tongues of lifelong sailors and quickly
Under the auspices of the nonprofit Youth Adventure in the 1 60s and ’ 0s, the schooner Adventuress was used as a youth sail-training vessel, introducing many people (adults included) to sailing on Puget Sound.
become part of participants’ vocabulary too. Students also learn to tie bowlines, make ballantine coils and navigate Puget Sound’s waters. They’re even invited to climb the rigging and try their hand at dinghy sailing on Ayashe, Sound Experience’s small skiff. Under sail, the ship is a metaphor for the planet: It’s a closed system that functions best when everyone is working well together. The crew operates as it did 90 years ago, with a limited supply of electricity and fresh water.
From 1 1 to 1 1, Adventuress served as a San Francisco Bar Pilot vessel off the Golden Gate. Photos courtesy of Sound Experience
Liveaboard students give reports on resource consumption every evening so they remain aware of how much fuel, water, food and electricity are consumed – as well as how much waste (separated into food and
Today at years of age, Adventuress sails under the flag of Sound Experience, with a mission to educate, inspire and empower “youth of all ages” to care for and protect Puget Sound. Her homeport is Port Townsend.
1 • 2008 Wooden Boat FestivaL
general) is generated. To minimize impact, Adventuress is a vegetarian boat that composts its food waste. Onboard lessons almost always include a personal element – what people can do to preserve the Sound around them. Free Tours Festivalgoers and the general public are invited to visit Adventuress during free Dockside Tours at the Northwest Maritime Center Dock from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Adventuress will sail each afternoon. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday sails are available at www.soundexp.org or at the Sound Experience booth just outside the Festival entrance. Space is very limited, so advance reservations are highly recommended. (Elizabeth Becker is the special projects director with Sound Experience in Port Townsend and spends her spare time as a maritime photographer and writer. Check out her work at www.seaportphotography.com. Lyndie Browning is a former reporter with the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader who specializes in natural and environmental science writing.)
Port townsend & Jefferson County Leader