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South America, manned by a highly seasoned crew of professionals. Captain M ark Schrader is a ve teran of two solo circumnavigations and was the first American to do so via the extreme southern route. H e is ass isted by first mate D ave Logan, an ocean cruising and racing sailor with five Pacific Ocean crossings under his belt; H erb McCormick of Rhode Island, the former editor of Cruising World who is in charge of communications (i ncluding the daily blog); D avid Thoreso n, a photographer/sailor/adventurer who in 2007 becam e the first American to transit the Northwest Passage from east to west (see profil e of David 1 h oreson in "Sea History for Kids," page 27); and a rotating group of educato rs and ocean and atmosp heric scientists. O cean Watch is equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments that gather constant streams ofdata about water temperatures, salinity and pH, as well as weather conditions and the amount ofsunlight. A camera takes 3 60 ° photos from the mast 48, 000 times per day. programs and events in the ports they visi t. An educator's toolkit and curriculum can be downloaded free of charge from their web site. Around the Americas is a collaborative expeditio n organized by Sailors for the Sea, the Pacific Science Center, and the University of Was hingto n, with major funding from Tiffany & Co. Foundation and U nil ever. (For more informat ion, see www. aroundtheamericas.o rg and www.sailorsforrhesea.org.) ,t
Captain Mark Schrader guides O cean Watch through the ice ofthe Northwest Passage. Regarding those who searched for the Northwest Passage centuries before, Schrader said: "Sailing into these waters from the east with no real charts, only wind for power and a useless compass for navigation makes me shudder. " The scientists are collectin g data and conducting experiments on board, bur the ultimate goal is to educate the public. The boat travels with a full-tim e educator onboard who wo rks wi th gro ups near and far, thro ugh education al video feeds directly in to classrooms and afre r-school programs, as well as co nducting
(left) The crew of Ocean Watch joined the schoolchildren ofAlert Bay, British Columbia, for the community's annual Cultural Celebration. It would be hard to gauge who was the student and who was the teacher, the crew explained. While the sailors did their part to educate the community about the Around the Americas mission, it was the children who taught the Ocean Watch crew about the importance of local fisheries though traditional dance. The young girl who introduced the "Salmon Dance" explained what the dance meant to them and what they could learn from it. "This year, " she said, "we've really learned about the life cycle of the salmon, and what that means. We've learned how important the salmon is to our survival. "
SEA HISTORY 129, WINTER 2009-10
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