NMHS/OPSAIL EDUCATION PROGRAM
THE OPSAIL PORTS: The Group
Plans Cooperative Action for Tall Ships Visit in 2000 and Receives $5 Million Sponsorship from Ocean Spray n 10 September this year the OpSail affi li ated ports met in Philadelphia. They met in hi gh spirits to deve lop joi nt pl ans for the gathering of the tall ships of the world ' s sail training fl eets in East Coast seaports fo r OpSa i12000. Most of the ports involved- San Juan, Miami , Norfo lk, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York-have previous experi ence dealing with the logistics of receiving a very large fl eet of bi g sailing ships. But fo r New London thi s would be a new experience, as it wo uld be, too, fo r Portl and , Maine, one of the affiliated ports that will receive the ships on the return journey after the trip up the East Coast. But fo r all the ports involved, thi s was the first time that they had worked together, united under the OpS ai l umbrell a. Charles A. Robertson, chairman of Operation Sail , pointed out that thi s unity of purpose could generate new resources for the seafaring heritage, as well as assure more effecti ve operati ons. "Ocean Spray has become the presenting sponsor of OpS ail 2000 with a $5 million contributi on," he reported to the group. "Thi s unprecedented support will all ow OpS ail to fulfill its mission, which includes supporting sail training and the maritime heritage." OpS ail leaders in the partic ipating citi es talked about the advantages of working in a unified way toward agreed goals. Promotion can be more effecti vely handled, backed by national publicity, and info rmation can be shared. The prospect of getting inner-city yo uth fro m the seaport citi es involved to sail in the ships from one port to the next will be greatly en hanced. Thi s program for youth is of spec ial interest to NMHS , because we put people from New York aboard the Gaze/a in her trip fro m Philadelphia to New York in OpSail 1992, and also put two youngsters aboard the USCG Eagle in her passage from New York to Boston that year. These are small efforts in the scale of things, certainly when compared to what Yi sionQuest and other organi zati ons devoted to city yo uth and the sea are doing every year. But these small beginnings will have reverberating consequences under the NMHS/OpSail Education Program, and we look to see a grow ing interest by philanthropic fundin g sources and the educational community in getting yo ung people to sea. At this meeting it was reported that Boston , a participant in a ll prev ious OpSails, is not, so far, part of OpSail 2000. In the meantime, an NMHS Boston Counc il has met to foster an educati onal program in the Boston area under the leadership of Ed McCabe and Lory Newmyer of the Hull Lifesav ing Museum , which runs ac ti ve programs for inner city youth in Boston Harbor. The OpSail city representatives agreed that their coming together under the OpSail umbrell a sent the right signal to the publi c and to supporters of thi s great effort on behalf of the maritime heritage and the sail training movement.
O
Philadelphia ~+-1-*--,_~-e~-
-Miami
Baltimore Washington, DC
c=:;s-- San Juan
P ETER STANFORD
SEA HISTORY 83 , WINTER 1997-98
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