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Harvey Gamage Schooner Sets Sail with FA Students
from Fall 2021
FA NEWS
August 13th, 2021: FA students and staff on the Schooner Harvey Gamage.
BY JUDY HEININGER ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, OFFICE OF POST-SECONDARY PLANNING & SCHOOL COUNSELING
Beginning August 9, 2021, six Fryeburg Academy students sailed for five days on the 131-foot schooner Harvey Gamage with Judy Heininger, administrative assistant, Office of Post-Secondary Planning & School Counseling, and Arts Department Chair Mike Sakash. The voyage stemmed from the 2020 Sailing May Term class, which was postponed due to the pandemic.
Student sailors on board were Kyleana Carbone ’21, Will Marshall ’21, Maggie Powers ’21, Brendan Simkins ’21, Naomi Harper ’22 (whose cousin Aiden Sakota joined the trip), and Padric McGrath ’22. Of note, an exceptional member of the crew was deckhand/educator and FA alumna Amber Dindorf ’14.
Considerable training and safety gear were provided, and the group was divided into three watches, along with the crew of ten and three summer semester students. Students learned shipboard safety and terminology, line handling, watchkeeping skills, and they participated in two educational components while at sea, engaging in all aspects of shipboard life.
The voyage included two nights at sea. The first night was calm, and each four-hour watch saw fantastic clouds of bioluminescence flow under and around the ship as schools of fish swam by, as well as heard whales spouting nearby. In contrast, conditions on the second night, sailing 35 miles out from Portland, included Beaufort Scale force six winds (2531 mph) and heavy seas in much darkness. Both nights were extraordinarily memorable. Thursday afternoon at anchor allowed for swimming, schooner Olympics, skits, line dancing on deck, and an open mic session of music and stories.
It was an amazing experience; Will Marshall ’21 summed it up in a follow-up email: “I had such a great time! I was very thankful to be able to join!” The icing on the cake for Padric McGrath ’22 was that he was hired on another schooner three days later and worked on it for the rest of the season. Plans are now underway for a 2022 Sailing May Term class!
Top left: Mr. Sakash at the helm. Top right: Aiden, Naomi Harper’s (’22) cousin, on bow watch. Above left: Dancing on deck. Above right: Kyleana Carbone ’23 at the helm. Left: Sunset Thursday evening.
