MARITIME EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Life at Sea Is the Teacher! by Alix T. Thorne
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week, th ey we re o rganized into standing watches and taught the line-handling skills and co mmands necessary fo r operation of the vessel. T hey began a week of visiting the places where our maritime tradi tions we re created. Fro m the great po rt of Boston aboard a repli ca of a G lo uces ter fis hing schooner, they transited the m odern mi racle of the Cape Cod Canal and sail ed o n to absorb th e whal ing histo ry of Na ntucket. Next they navigated the tri cky river up to Mystic Seapo rt for an overview of li fe in a New England seafarin g village and a visit to other ships like th e L. A. Dunton-an authentic fishin g schoo ner. With summer warmth long go ne, so me strong winds, rainy nights and, at rim es, the dreaded sea sickness, they learned what it was like to be burrowed deep into the covers and hear "Time to get up , yo ur wa tch ," and know that their frie nds on deck we re co ld and we t and yea rning fo r sleep. If they we re home, perhaps they wo uld ro ll over and skip school that day, but on the ship that is not an o ption-yo u get up , even if it is 3:30 in the mo rning, because to morrow it will be yo u in the rain on deck and yo ur shipmate will do it fo r you . Above all, they learn that no matter After receiving the Walter what, the ship comes fi rs rCronkite Award, Alix Thorne (left) returned to sea their survival depends o n it. So o n with the journey herselfas second mate and arri va l in the great and aboard the .frigate Rose wo nd ro us port ofNew York, where she could be found rhreadi ng th e treacherous furling the t'gallant. (Photo, H ell's Gate, past the jeering courtesy Alix Thorne) priso ners locked in co nverted Glenn McKechnie, Hollie fe rry boats nea r Ryke r' s IsGillis, Eddie Ng and Mariah Keagy .from Ocean land, past the lux ury apartClassroom met with Walter men rs, and beneath the t rafand Betsy Cronkite at the fic roa rin g across the BrookNMHS reception (Photo: lyn Bridge. Every turn of the Patrick Callahan) river prese nts a new and wondrous view ofNew York, one nor visible from cars and subways o r even o n foo t. T hey ti e up at South Stree t in the shadow of the mi ghty ships Peking and Wavertree. T he next morning it is "All Hands" at 4AM and these kids, fres h from life on a repli ca fis hing schooner, visit th e Ful to n Fish M arker where the history of th e fi shing industry comes
hank yo u to all of the t rustees of NMHS fo r choosing me to be the 1998 rec ipi ent of th e Wa lte r Cro nkite Award fo r Excellence in Maritim e Educa tio n. Ir was a great ho nor to meet Walte r Cro nkite at Indi a H ouse in New Yo rk C ity on 6 O ctober, as well as to be part of a tribute to him. His in te rest in the m ari time wo rld has been an inspirati o n ro many of us who are dedica ted ro raking kids to sea. Yo ur Society, my H arvey Gamage Foundati o n, the A merican Sail T raining Associatio n, O peration Sail and the myri ad orga nizatio ns that advocate the benefits of education at sea, sail trainin g, and the preserva ti o n of m aritime traditi o ns are all wo rki ng to offer opportuni ties to yo uth of d ive rse backgro unds to grow in to respo nsible yo un g leaders who will "lean forwa rd in to li fe, " as Irv ing Johnso n observed. T he fo ur students fro m Ocea n C lassroo m who attended the ce remo ny at India H o use had just spent their fi rs t week on boa rd the Spirit of Massachusetts in the co mpany of 16 other students, two teachers and eight professio nal crew. In that first
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alive amidst the hustle and bustl e, th e sigh rs and smells of the market. The vessels and th e quantiti es and types of fi sh have changed, but th e buying and selling, th e search fo r freshn ess and quali ty continue. By evening, tired and exhilarated by th e sights of New Yo rk, fo ur of rhe students represented the gro up at India Ho use, to meet W alter Cro nki te. As I accepted the award fo r th e H arvey Gam age Fo undatio n, I loo ked at those students with awe and envy. T hey are living the life that we all, in di ffe rent ways, are wo rking so ha rd to make poss ibl e-th ro ugh fund raisin g, program development, ship preserva tio n and advocacy of the benefits of exposure to life at sea. Fri ends and fa mil y ofren ask what it is that I do with the Harvey Gamage. Isn' t it ni ce, th ey say, that yo u reach kids to sa il , that yo u rake them cruising. No, no, I say-th e life at sea is the reach er, the experi ence alo ng the way and the sight of fa r off places and di ffe rent cultures are the textbook. W ith the help of qualifi ed teac hers, with the dedi catio n of profession al crew, with the invaluabl e support of Proctor Academy in New H am pshire fo r academic accredi tatio n, we can combine all of the elements of education under sa il. Al l those ph rases that we speak so earnestl y-sail train ing, seam ans hi p, character buil d ing, leadership and respo nsibility, teamwo rk and cooperation-as soon as the lin es are cast off o n the first day, th e lesso ns begin and the adve nture unfolds, as limitl ess as the imagin atio n of each perso n o n board. T he students who came to India H ouse went back to their ship, and at the slack ride, they left the dock, ancho ring at midnight in the shadow of the Statu e of Liberty. E ight weeks and approximately 25 00 miles late r they will dock for th e fin al rim e in the Dominican Republic. If they experienced so much in that first week, im agin e th e sto ries they will have wh en they join their fa milies fo r T hanksgiving-imagine th e changes the fa m ilies will find in their so ns and daughters. And the res t of us present at India H o use th at evening we nt back to o ur own ways of suppo rting these kinds of o ppo rrun ities for kids across the nati o n. ~
Schooner Harvey Gamage Foundation, Inc., PO Box 446, Cornwall NY 12578; 914 534-3881 SEA HISTORY 87, WINTER 1998-99