Tall Ship Adventuress News: "Get Kids on the Boat" with the 29 Dollars, 29 Days Campaign

Executive Director Catherine Collins with young sailors.

As every parent knows, childhood sails by faster than a schooner in a stiff breeze. The quality of those most important years depends on adults who are often overwhelmed with work or their own concerns, and many kids miss out on the kinds of healthy, exciting experiences that shape lives. Instead, they sit around indoors playing computer games or watching TV. Wouldn't it feel great to give them memories they'll never forget?

On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Sound Experience, the not-for-profit organization that owns the historic tall ship Adventuress, will launch a new fund-raising campaign. It's called "29 Dollars, 29 Days: Get Kids on the Boat" Twenty-nine dollars is what it takes to give one young person a three hour sail. Twenty-nine days is the duration of this fundraiser. Every day and every dollar counts.

Join the many friends and crew members of Adventuress to kick off this event at the Theo Chocolate Factory in Seattle, between 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. this Saturday night. The cost of attending the "Party for Adventuress: a benefit with live music" is, as you might have guessed, $29, and along with the live music you get food, beverages, and a lot of fun. You'll find all the details for registration when you click on the party link.

If you've been reading Good Life Northwest for awhile, you already know how much I've loved Sound Experience and Adventuress, ever since my first sail during Tall Ships Tacoma. This restored 1913 schooner sails the waters of Puget Sound offering environmental education with an emphasis on youth. I've personally seen how even one afternoon out on the water can change a child forever. This is hands on. They learn to raise the sails and feel the power of nature as the wind swells the canvas. Excitement builds as the deck tilts and water hisses by the bow when it cuts through waves. Sunlight glints off the layers of varnish on century-old wood. Wouldn't you love to give a child this opportunity? Even if you can't attend the party, please consider giving an online donation. Who knows?  The childhood memory you make might be the best one ever. Thanks, and "Fair Winds."

Win $100,000 for the SCHOONER ADVENTURESS and a free sail for yourself

If you've been reading Good Life Northwest for awhile you know how much I love the schooner Adventuress. The flagship for the not-for-profit Sound Experience, this is Puget Sound's resident tall ship, one with an environmental mission. I've enjoyed many sails, beginning with the first during Tall Ships Tacoma, and have volunteered some time and elbow grease, sanding and cleaning. But as gorgeous as Adventuress still is, she's 97 years old and like any 97-year-old her "stern" just isn't in the same shape it once was. Repairs are expensive and desperately needed.

Here's your chance to help save this historic vessel for future generations, and at the same time possibly win a private sail for yourself and 44 of your closest friends. American Express has teamed up with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as "Partners in Preservation" and Adventuress is one of 25 historically and esthetically important "places" in the Puget Sound area competing to win $100,000. The voting period is from April 15 - May 12, 2010. Read all about it here and watch a video explaining how this works. Sound Experience is asking all those of us who love Adventuress to vote daily, and each time you vote just let Sound Experience know you have, and they will enter you again and again in a drawing for a free sail. Please join us in this effort TODAY. Every vote counts, every day.

Here are links to some of my past blog posts about Adventuress:
Adventure on Adventuress: a Tale of Tall Ships
Setting Sail for the Future - Life's Lessons Learned on a Tall Ship
Discoveries in Unknown Waters
Serving My Country With Sandpaper
Fyddeye-a new maritime history community



photos courtesy of Sound Experience

Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe

Time warped last Sunday, on Elliot Bay. It happened as I admired the view of Seattle's skyscrapers through the rigging of a 1913 schooner, and it made me ponder the nature of time and connection. Others aboard must have had those thoughts too. Like Joe Follansbee. We'd never met before but by strange coincidence both showed up for the public sail on the historic schooner ADVENTURESS, along with several people I know from Tacoma. It turned out he knew some of them too.

I was happy to see one of the teen-age girls from the Self & Sound program I've written about, with her family, and people associated with Tall Ships Tacoma. Somehow we had all ended up together on that gorgeous April day because of connection as strong and circuitous as a halyard around a sheave: our love of maritime history. That included the entire crew and Catherine Collins, Executive Director of Sound Experience, the not-for-profit organization that owns ADVENTURESS.

Everyone savored the afternoon, leaning against varnished surfaces that reflected the sun while holding its warmth. Enough of a breeze came up to arch out the yards of canvas and let us get a taste of what we'd come for: the timeless and organic triad of water, wind and wood. To the east the city spread out before us, so different now than the year ADVENTURESS was built. To the west the Olympic mountain range still white with snow, made a breathtaking border between blue water and blue sky. But of all the pleasures of the day, meeting Joe Follansbee and learning how deeply this man cares about Pacific Northwest maritime history, was one of the greatest. It seemed most fitting aboard a 96-year-old ship in the year 2009.

Joe Follansbee is a prolific writer and journalist with an impressive list of published articles in print and online, and four books to his name, including Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona. He was one of the people who tried to save WAWONA, and is one of many who now mourn the loss after her recent demolition at Lake Union Dry Dock. She’d been a celebrity since her beginnings in 1897: a three-masted beauty and the largest schooner ever built in America. On the deck of historic ADVENTURESS, wind in our faces, how could we not honor WAWONA’s memory and try to imagine her under sail?

Joe’s involvement with old ships goes beyond WAWONA. He’s project manager of the website Maritime Heritage Network, which is owned by 4Culture, King County's arts and heritage agency, and writes the MHN blog. He also serves as Director of Communications for the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, an educational organization that owns and operates two replica ships, the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain. He keeps busy on issues of local history. He's one of the people who cares. Without people like Joe I'd never have had the chance to see the current Seattle skyline and the rigging of the historic ship juxtaposed.


After three hours on the water ADVENTURESS tied up again at the Elliot Bay Marina and we all went our separate ways. I turned to take a look at her among the modern yachts, the past alongside the present. But what of the future?

I don't know when, if ever again, I'll end up in the same place and time as Joe Follansbee. But I'm glad I met him. From the perspective of a writer, I admire and respect his work. As a human being I am grateful to him and all the others like him who are dedicated to preserving our past. Maybe we'll never truly understand the concept of time, but luckily for us, Joe Follansbee is making the most of his.

Keeping You Posted - Good Gossip

Every March I wander around the yard looking for signs of life in the garden and think thoughts like, "Hmmm, I wonder what ever happened to those (fill in the blank) bulbs Dave planted." Then I realized some of you might also wonder "what ever happened" to the people or situations I've written about. Just for fun, I've decided to make this week's post as enlightening to my curious readers as the old "party line" was to telephone users, with all the latest gossip.

"rrrrrrrrrrring......."

"Hello?"

"Hi! It's me, Candace, from Good Life Northwest."

"Oh, hi! What's new?"

"Well, plenty, to tell the truth. Are you busy? I have n-e-w-s."

"Ooooooo. Really? Like what?"

"Well, for starters, I went to a pizza party last Saturday night down at the Working Waterfront Maritime Museum on Dock Street, here in Tacoma"

"No kidding. Who was there?"

"The teen-age girls who participated in the Self & Sound program last October, offered by Sound Experience through a grant from A.S.T.A. Remember that story? The girls left behind families, boyfriends, cell phones, text messaging, TV, hot showers and other things they thought they couldn't live without, to sail around Puget Sound for six days on the tall ship ADVENTURESS. You must have read my blog post called Discoveries in Unknown Waters." So they had a reunion and were there with their families, Catherine Collins, Executive Director of Sound Experience, staff member Elizabeth Becker, a few crew members from ADVENTURESS, people from Tall Ships Tacoma and the museum, and me. Then we had a surprise guest, Erma Lewis, President of Soroptimist International's Tacoma club, who showed up with a check for a generous contribution to Self & Sound."

"She did? Wow. What a good example. I know Soroptimist works to "improve the lives of women and girls." And by the way, how are those girls doing?"

"Great! It was good to see them again. Many hadn't been together since they sailed last October. They had a lot of fun catching up and watching a presentation of the photos Elizabeth Becker took aboard the ship that day. Self & Sound taught them all kinds of things, like self-confidence, leadership, cooperation, and more. It really impacted their lives. The only thing is... funding for Self & Sound for 2009 still isn't secured, so the program could be in jeopardy. Catherine Collins works hard toward getting grants and other financial help, but in this economy it's tough. She's hoping the public will care about this great program. Even just by becoming members people can help, and sail for free too. She even gave every one of the Self & Sound girls a free one year family membership for their families, each valued at $85.00, to get more people out there on Puget Sound, realizing how important this education is. Wasn't that nice?"

"You bet. Say, what ever happened with the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie? I remember reading about that in your post called 'Getting History Back on Track'. How are the repairs going after those devastating floods in January?"

"Funny you'd ask. I just heard that the great organization 4Culture is contributing $50,000 for needed repairs. If you click on that blog post you can read a press release about it at the end of the post, in the comments."

"Wow. That's a lot. I guess their troubles are over now."

"I'm afraid not. As wonderful and generous as that gift may be, the amount required to do the job is estimated to be $100,000, so they still have to raise the rest. The most urgent need is to get the tracks repaired before the tourist season. The revenue generated by those train rides is crucial to their budget. Donations are still appreciated."

"I see. Hey, I loved reading about the contra dance you went to in that story called "Joyride" in Tacoma. When's the next dance at Wells Hall? I might show up and give it a try."

"March 21st. This time the band is La Pointe du Jour (which means "the dawning of the day"). Great name, isn't it? The caller is Mike Richardson and the dance goes from 8:00-11:00 that evening, with free lessons beforehand, starting at 7:30. You can go to the website for Tacoma Contra Dance for all the details and directions."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. That's all good news, but there's some that's not so good. Just this morning I called Karen Barkley from Toy Rescue Mission. Remember when I wrote about how there mission could become "Mission Impossible" back in December? Well, things are pretty grim. Without more funding they might have to close in June 2009. Right now she's trying to set up a Read-a-Thon through the Pierce County school district, as a fund raiser. Tacoma Community College Students are working on this event as a project. You can email their instructor, Mary Fox at mfox@tacomacc.edu, for more information."

"Hmmmm. I hope that works out. Hey, how's your Dad doing? Is he still 'Raking in the Memories' these days?"

"Sure is. He's doing quite well and almost halfway to his ninety-sixth birthday, I'm happy to say."

"I've gotta run, but it's been fun catching up. Oh yeah, one more thing... are you REALLY going to quit buying plastic wrap, like you said you would in that "Wishing You a New Year With Less" post?"

"Well, to be honest I still have a teeny-tiny bit left on that last big roll from COSTCO, and remember, I said I wouldn't buy anymore after I used it up."

"You haven't really answered my question."

"Okay, okay already. I WILL QUIT BUYING PLASTIC WRAP IN 2009. Did you hear that Readers? Yeah you, the ones listening in on the line. I know you're there. Margo? Are you with me on this?"

CLICK

Setting Sail For the Future- Life's Lessons Learned on a Tall Ship

“I’d like to be teenager again, for just six days”, I said to myself last Sunday. After the long drive from Tacoma to the Everett Marina, I stood once again on the deck of Adventuress, a 95-year-old wooden schooner and sighed. I’m getting to know her and getting attached. The passing of the previous night’s wind and rain storm, made the partly sunny sky feel like a gift. Sea lions poked curious faces up out of the water, and gulls circled above, as if watching our preparations to leave. 


My own curly hair made a good wind gauge, tossed by the fresh salt air. I welcomed the mess. It meant enough of a breeze to cause the canvas to tremble and swell like a living thing, as we hoisted the heavy mainsail through team effort. Sunday marked the last of the season’s three-hour public sails on Adventuress, owned and operated by the non-profit Sound Experience. I’m proud to be a member and felt happy to be back on board. If I were a teenager though, by Thursday I’d be starting a possibly life-changing six day voyage.

On September 27th, twenty-five lucky girls from Pierce County between the ages of twelve and eighteen began taking part in a totally free program called Adventuress Self & Sound. The crew of Adventuress, usually made up of both men and women, is all female for this program, and will lead these girls through a ten-day-long journey toward a new concept of themselves and their environment.


That first weekend they had an orientation, enjoyed fun activities, spent the night on board, and then began learning the basics of sailing and navigation. They’ll return to the schooner on Oct. 9th, for the second part, to spend six amazing days voyaging from Seattle to Tacoma, getting the chance to actually sail a tall ship, explore Puget Sound, and study the environment and the threats facing it. They’ll rest each night in a cozy cove, being rocked to sleep by the waves. Along with the fun and education come other lessons, life lessons, such as teamwork, responsibility, concern for others and for the world we all share. The folks at Sound Experience like to point out that living on board in close quarters, in this self-contained world, symbolizes life on our planet, where resources are limited and what we do affects everyone else.


Sound Experience welcomes anyone interested in getting to know Puget Sound through sailing on Adventuress. It’s their belief that people take better care of something they love, and to many who come aboard it’s their first time to be that intimately connected with the salt water environment and the rich variety of life dependent upon it. But Sound Experience has a tradition of emphasizing youth outreach, and appreciates the partnership of two other organizations in making Self & Sound happen. A most generous grant from the American Sail Training Association (ASTA), through their Youth Adventure initiative, covers the costs, including all food and gear. Girl Scouts of Western Washington is also helping to support the program in several ways, including van transportation. Later in October, Girls Scouts will drive the participants up to Port Townsend, the home of Adventuress, for the third and final portion. The girls will gather for a last sail and overnight on board, followed by a celebration with parents to mark their accomplishments. When it’s over, they can look back on their own personal “Voyage of Discovery,”  not only of Puget Sound, but also of themselves and what they are capable of.

I too was a teenager when I began to learn a little about sailing. I loved it intensely, but as time went on, life’s circumstances didn’t include many chances to do more. During last summer’s Tall Ships Tacoma event, I sailed again for the first time in a decade.* I hadn’t forgotten the feeling. It’s all about freedom. It’s all about getting down to the basics: water, wind, air, sunlight, a sturdy and faithful vessel (hopefully wooden), and your own true self. It’s about learning who you are and what it’s like to feel the power of wind running down a line and right into you, through you, hurling you forward with exhilarating speed. It’s about feeling ALIVE. I wish every young person could have the chance to experience this kind of “high”. They’d never seek any other.

There are many reasons I wouldn’t want to go back to my teen years, bittersweet as they were. But if I’d been able to participate in something like the Adventuress Self & Sound program I might have gained the confidence to live more fully, more faithfully to my true self, than I did for many years. Through the efforts of Executive Director Catherine Collins, and others in Sound Experience, the generous grant from ASTA, the help of the Girl Scouts, and The News Tribune’s John Henrikson, whose article in Tacoma’s leading newspaper gave it publicity, Self & Sound is happening. Who knows how significantly this will impact the lives of these twenty-five girls, and even the future of our country? The Self & Sound program exemplifies the mission of Sound Experience but is only one of many. I may be too old for this one, but the organization offers a wide range of opportunities to learn, grow, and feel that youthful exuberance again, even for those of us well past our youth. Thank Goodness, the laughing teen-aged girl I once was, with the wind tangling her curls, still exists in my heart. We’re getting reacquainted these days.


Note: All photos are the property of Sound Experience and used with permission.


*Please see archived post from 7/9/08 "Adventure on Adventuress: A Tale of Tall Ships"