UPCOMING:
5/6 TRAINING CRUISE DEPARTS
Date -- 24 April 2009
CASTINE, Maine - Maine Maritime Academy students, officers, and crew
will visit ports on the Atlantic coast, Puerto Rico, and Canada this
spring as part of the college's annual two-month training cruise to
foreign and domestic ports-of-call. This year's training cruise itinerary
includes, Key West, Fla., May 13-16; Ponce, Puerto Rico, May 27-28; San
Juan, Puerto Rico, May 29-June 1; St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, June
12-15; and Baltimore, Md., June 21-24. The ship will make a brief stop in
Rockland, Maine, for a family day sail on the return leg to Castine. Under
the command of Captain Larry Wade of Bradley, Maine, the training ship,
State of Maine, will begin departure operations 10:00 a.m., and will
depart from Castine harbor at approximately 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, May
6, 2009. The training cruise will commence in port on Friday, May 1, for
pre-sailing preparation.
According to Captain Wade, students participating in this year's training
cruise will have the opportunity to visit a number of dynamic port cities in the
U.S, Puerto Rico, and Canada. "This is the second year in a row that we've
cruised coastwise," said Wade. "While Maine Maritime Academy is known
internationally for the quality of its seafarers, U.S. flag commerce with Europe
begins right here in our home ports and it's vital to expose students to the
port operations on the Atlantic coast."
"Each year our students alternate training cruises aboard our ship with those
in industry so we plan cruise itineraries which focus on ports in North America
for two consecutive years. Then we head across the Atlantic for the following
two consecutive years. By doing this, most students gain exposure to a variety
of foreign and domestic ports pertinent to their future seafaring careers."
"Follow the Voyage," MMA's annual online ship tracking and interactive web site,
will be coordinated by students and staff as part of this year's training
activities.
"Follow the Voyage" is developed and presented in conjunction with a number
of external partners including the Maine Department of Education and the U.S.
Maritime Administration. In its ninth year of operation, the site covers the
Academy's annual training cruise from a variety of perspectives. In addition to
an interactive tracking chart of the cruise, the site provides links devoted to
teaching and educational materials for students of all ages. Once the ship is
underway, the public is invited to join the voyage by visiting www.mma.edu and
following the highlighted hyperlink.
Complementing the educational focus of MMA's and training cruise, students
and staff sailing aboard the State of Maine will work in cooperation with the
Belfast-based organization, Educational Passages, to launch five small sailboats
at various locations. Educational Passages utilizes 4.5 foot-long unmanned
sailboats to enable the study of ocean wind and current patterns by school or
community groups.~ Designed with assistance from an experienced naval architect,
the boats are made of molded fiberglass and are capable of making long ocean
passages. They are crafted to sail indefinitely downwind and will transmit their
location and boat speed for up to one year. The boats rely solely on wind and
current power and need no outside assistance.~ MMA enjoys an ongoing
relationship with Educational Passages. Initial sea trials were launched from
MMA's schooner Bowdoin in 2008, off the northeast cost of North America.
Coordinated by program founder, Richard Baldwin, Educational Passages is
working with Belfast Area High School, Camden Hills Regional High School, Old
Town Elementary School, Waldo County YMCA, and Union 93 Schools to facilitate
this year's program aboard the State of Maine. To follow the boats, visit
http://www.iboattrack.com/, or contact Baldwin, Richard.Baldwin@EducationalPassages.com,
207-338-4087, for more information.
Due to shipboard security, the vessel will not be open to the general public
for tours while in foreign or domestic ports. Well-wishers are welcomed and
encouraged to view the vessel departure and return from the Maine Maritime
Academy waterfront, however shipboard visits are not permitted.
On the return leg to Castine from Rockland, upper class students may invite
their parents to join them. The day sail allows parents the unique opportunity
to see the high level of technical proficiency and leadership achieved by their
students. The training ship will return to its homeport of Castine, Maine, on
Saturday, June 27. Arrival in Castine Harbor is expected at approximately 3:30
p.m., with docking anticipated at 4 p.m. Training cruise activity will continue
in port through Monday, June 29.
Students pursuing an officer's license from the U.S. Coast Guard as a third
mate or third assistant engineer are required to train at sea for at least 60
days in each of their first three years at the Academy. Freshmen and juniors
sail aboard the MMA vessel, while sophomores are assigned to merchant ships
worldwide. In recent years, MMA training cruises have taken students to Aruba,
Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland,
Ireland Italy, Poland, Russia, and Spain; as well as other European and
Caribbean countries.
The 500-foot, 16,000-ton T/S State of Maine, the former USNS Tanner,
originally served as a Navy oceanographic research vessel and was converted in
1997 to accommodate the training needs of the college. The fourth vessel to bear
the name State of Maine, the ship is a modern, technologically advanced training
vessel.
Maine Maritime Academy, founded in 1941, enrolls more than 800 students from
35 states and several foreign countries. The college awards A.S., B.S., and M.S.
degrees in 15 fields of study.
Pictured: Maine Maritime Academy's T.S. State of Maine will set sail
on May 6 bound for southern U.S. and island nations in the Atlantic Ocean as
part of the college's annual two-month training cruise to foreign and domestic
ports-of-call. Photo courtesy Maine Maritime Academy.
http://news.mainemaritime.edu/articles.php?id=255
CONTACT:
Janice B. Zenter, 207-326-2256
Mini TransAt Race
Update
Date -- 31 August 2008
CASTINE, Maine - Richard Baldwin, head of Educational
Passages, Belfast, Maine, recently provided an update on the 2008 Unmanned
Mini Transat, a transatlantic <mini> boat race launched from Maine Maritime
Academy's schooner Bowdoin during
this year's voyage to the Arctic. The two sailboats (approx. 4-ft long),
were designed to sail indefinitely downwind and transmit their location
for up to one year to the public and to local participating schools. The
public was invited to follow the boats online via iboat.
According to Baldwin, O-Solo-Me-O
sailed more than 1,300 nautical miles in 78 days and averaged 3.9 knots
during a 2-hour period before ending up on Goat Island, an uninhabited
island in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The boat was recovered with help
from the Fox Harbor Authority and is currently being repaired in Fox
Harbor.
Running Free sailed 1,000 nautical
miles in 30 days and last broadcast from near Mistaken Point,
Newfoundland. The boat was last thought to be stranded in a Provincial
Reserve, but park rangers and campers have looked for the boat without
success.
Schooner Bowdoin Sails
for the Arctic
Date -- 25 May 2008
CASTINE, Maine - The public is invited to see the schooner
Bowdoin off for the Arctic on Thursday, May 29. The Bowdoin
is scheduled to set sail at approximately 12 p.m. This year's
student-centered voyage recalls the vessel's historic roots in Arctic
exploration and research while providing a unique setting for traditional
sail training.
Once underway, cruising experiences will include
watchstanding, navigation techniques, underway maintenance, and
seamanship. Students aboard majoring in Marine Biology will collect data
on seaweed rafts, and Fucus sp. distributions (rockweed). Other data
collection will take place throughout the trip, particularly in the region
of the Jacobshaven glacier, and will include precipitation, snow, and
seawater samples for contribution to an ongoing study conducted by the
University of Maine.
In cooperation with Dick Baldwin of Educational Passages,
Belfast, Bowdoin crew will launch 2 sailboats (approximately
4-feet long) for the start of the 2008 Unmanned Mini Transat, an unmanned
transatlantic "<mini> boat" race. The boats are designed to sail
indefinitely downwind and will transmit their location for up to one year
to the public and to local participating schools. Follow the boats at
http://www.iboattrack.com/, or contact Baldwin,
richard.baldwin@educationalpassages.com,
(207) 596-0374, for more information.
The public is invited to follow the Bowdoin's
travels online by following the highlighted hyperlink at www.mma.edu, or
linking directly to the Captain's Log:
http://bowdoin.mma.edu/arcticcruise/ , or iboat - Online Ship Locator:
http://charthorizon.com/m/cz/map?vessels=Bowdoin&history=2008_Arctic_Voyage&v_scope=recent.
For More Information Contact:
Educational Passages
415 Lincolnville Avenue, Belfast, ME 04915
Tel: (207) 338-4087
Internet:
Richard.Baldwin@EducationalPassages.com
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