DAY'S RUN Report of the American Sail Training Assn. In the end , ships built originally as training vessels are most suitable for the purpose. Ironically enough , most of those left are too large. An example is the Norwegian Sorlandet, which stopped seamen's education in 1972 and started in 1980 with shorter training cruises open to everybody. It proved difficult to fill all 70 berths even in the vacation season , and attempts to assemble a joint charter group did not succeed. Several former yachts are also used for sail training. The rig of most yachts is simply inadequate to occupy the trainees , and the accommodations very seldom leave any space for school classes. The Creole, for instance, which in 1978 came under the Danish flag for the purpose of becoming a training vessel, proved a financial and educational failure and has since returned to her earlier status as a private yacht. Many of the restored Baltic traders sail part of the time with charter passengers, and part of the time with trainees . The schooner Elinore for instance runs with passengers in the Carribean in the winter and with trainees from Canada in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the summer months. The total capacity is 20, of whom only 14 are trainees . Between this size and the Sorlandet 's capacity for some 70 trainees there are very few ships available. For optimum results, you have to construct a new vessel . The choice of the ship's size and type of rig naturally depends upon the kind of school , the number of trainees, and the length of the sailing period. If one wishes to cover the most sailing and educational possibilities , the best choice would be a brig, a brigantine or a barkentine around 150 to 200 tons gross, 100 feet long, with a draft of not more than 11 feet and room for 36 trainees or 24 passengers. With the growing interest all over the world in the restoration of historic vessels, there will soon be very few left to restore. It would be a pity if the new vessels which necessarily must be built will only be occupied part time due to an initial wrong choice of hull and type of rig. For the sake of sail training one could hope for some sort of international cooperation for the exchange of practical information and experience and maybe even a mutual development of a "MultiPurpose Sailing Vessel Project."
Captain Jespersen is director of International Tall Ship Training and Rigging, consultants in "all aspects of the design and operation of sailing ships," Norske Alie 8, DK-2840 Holte, Denmark. SEA HISTORY, SPRING 1985
Summer Sail Training Cruises ASTA is pleased to announce that a wide variety of one-week sail training cruise opportunities are available in US waters this summer for interested applicants. These cruises include a wide variety of experiences for the adventurous and the studious, the athletic and the artistic. Living and working conditions on board ship are rugged, but in spite of this , trainees feel a high sense of involvement, satisfaction , and accomplishment upon completion of their time at sea. Shortly after a cadet reports on board , he is assigned to a watch section . Training and most at-sea duties take place within this group. Watch duties may include line hand! ing, lookout duty, work in the galley, general maintenance, basic navigation , furling sails and rope work. The cruise program for the summer of 1985 will include four one-week cruises aboard Windsong (55-foot staysail schooner owned and operated by Captains Colin and Karen Day of Sarasota , Florida) and three aboard Providence (110-foot topsail sloop owned and operated by Seaport '76 of Newport, RI). MARINE EDUCATION CRUISES There will be two marine education cruises on Rachel and Ebenezer sponsored by the University of Rhode Island Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, in conjunction with Dirigo Cruises, Inc. of Clinton , Connecticut. The Sail and Study program will include a variety of experiments and discussions of the sea and its life, as well as time to learn marlinspike seamanship and enjoy the necessary close teamwork with your shipmates. You wi ll participate as a member of a watch, and as such you will perform regular duties and respond to a variety of sailing situations. Marine education, like other liberal arts programs, will give you specific information and affect your attitudes about yourself, your world, and your fellows. In addition , studying and working aboard a sailing ship creates an emotional commitment to the subject seldom achieved by more traditional academic procedures.
Rachel and Ebenezer is a traditional "down-east" packet schooner, built in Bath , Maine in 1975. She is 65 ' on deck with accommodations for 21 in eight cabins . Each has fresh water, and berths which are furnished with pillows, linen , and blankets. The main saloon is wood-
panelled , and is the principal gathering spot for meals and talks. Dates for the two Sail and Study Cruises are Sunday, June 16 to Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 30 to Saturday, July 6. Students will board at Newport , RI and will sail the waters of Cape Cod and the offshore islands. The cost of the cruise is $395, minimum age is 15 years . For information and registration contact ASTA .
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Additional opportunities in the Pacific Northwest and in New England we listed in the cruise brochure. Cruises are generally available to young men and women, 15 to 26 years of age, who seek an adventure at sea offshore under sail-although adults are also welcome on selected cruises. No sea experience is necessary, but all must be swimmers (as evidenced by certification or completion of an organized program , i.e. Scouting, Red Cross , Y's, etc.) . There are limited scholarship funds available for sail training cruises which ASTA will advise applicants of. As Nancy Richardson , Marine Consultant for the Girl Scouts, says, " On a ship at sea , challenges and personal adventure are brought together naturally in a uniquely concentrated setting .... Aboard ships, there's a special spark that rises from horizons of the spirit as well. Indeed in sail training you may set out to become a more skilled sailor but you are bound to come ashore as a better shipmate for our spaceship planet as well." For information on any of the above cruises and a copy of the cruise brochure, write: ASTA , 365 Thames Street, Newport, RI 02840; or call: (401) 846-0884.
1985 DIRECTORY Hot off the press is ASTA's 1985 Edition of the Directory of Sail Training Ships and Programs, which gives a comprehensive listing of over 150 Western Hemisphere ships, with close-ups on many. Also included is an overview of European and Asian square-riggers and sail training programs. Edited by Ms. Nancy Richardson, this valuable resource book is avai lable at a cost of $5.00, which includes postage and handling. Writeincluding prepayment-to ASTA , 365 Thames Street, Newport, RI 02840.
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