IN THIS ISSUE
AND MUCH MORE!
Yes, Massachusetts' Schooner ERNESTINA is well established as a truly accessible and "user friendly" educational resource. The restored, National Landmark sailing ship offers a variety programs for next year and is reaching out to school systems throughout the Commonwealth to form working associations that will build an even richer, broader-based offering for teachers and students in Massachusetts.
The interdisciplinary onboard curriculum delivered with exceptional style and skill by the schooner's crew/faculty won rave reviews by administrators, teachers and youngsters throughout the ship's teaching season, May through October. Elementary, middle school and high school groups taking advantage of ERNESTINA's offerings got excellent press coverage up and down the Massachusetts coastline and even into neighboring Rhode Island. The initial delivery of this curriculum, developed with the help of regional PALMS teachers and infused with the energy of proven shipboard hands-on activities, was an unqualified success.
However, the ERNESTINA project is built on a foundation of cooperation and inclusion - between students and crew during programs, between ERNESTINA staff and their educational colleagues in the schools as programs are being planned and executed, and between Schooner ERNESTINA and the communities she serves and visits.
Programs for '95-'96
In the coming year the ERNESTINA staff will be looking for alliances with schools and districts in order to expand and regionalize, or, in some cases, focus and localize the teaching and learning aboard the ship. With the goals of sharing teaching expertise, curriculum resources and the cost of this kind of customized curriculum development, ERNESTINA education staff is ready to work with any and all interested colleagues.
The application and accessibility of ERNESTINA is an important part of the ship's mission, but more important is the full realization of her interdisciplinary potential as a moveable laboratory for science and math teaching (the interface of mathematics and geometry, physics and chemistry is amazing) and as a floating, multicultural museum of living history - full of lessons in changing technologies, economics, immigration and politics.
Funding for collaboration between ERNESTINA and schools has come from a variety of sources, public and private. Curriculum development funds allocated to local districts through the Mass. Dept. of Education (DOE) are applicable to the Schooner's curriculum initiatives. During the past season the ship hosted dozens of dockside and underway student programs (grade 3 through university level) and was frequently engaged as a high-impact teacher workshop site. Several of these programs were jointly funded through state, municipal and community-based, private sector contributions.
PDP's
Professional Development Points (PDP's) are being issued by Schooner ERNESTINA, as a DOE certified PDP provider, to participating colleagues. PDP's will be part of any curriculum development or teacher workshop event in association with Schooner ERNESTINA.
Team Building
Schooner ERNESTINA is also an excellent setting for team building activities Student, teacher, administrator and even school-involved parent groups can use the ship for dynamic team building purposes. For the same
reasons that the shipboard environment serves to amplify basic concepts across the core curriculum, the setting enhances motivational and group dynamic activities.
School ~ Community Events
School-community relations are always a priority and Schooner ERNESTINA serves as a spectacular meeting place for all segments of a school's or a school system's constituency. Because ERNESTINA has been serving all kinds of people for over a century, she seems to be a welcoming site for people to congregate in a purposeful, positive and productive manner.
This year so far ERNESTINA has opened a new world to 2,000 school children, many on the ocean for the first time. More than 750 teachers, educators and community leaders have come aboard for workshops or networking meetings. ERNESTINA has traveled several thousand miles, equivalent to a crossing of the Atlantic, to come to coastal communities where tens of thousands come aboard at festivals. Members have hauled away together for sails and transits with more than thirty opportunities available to them. Thanks to all who gave a hand this year!
Soon ERNESTINA will come alongside at Tonnessen Park in New Bedford. She will recharge over the winter with help from her members and volunteers. Some program development funding has been awarded to create programs even more effective and relevant for people of our coastal communities.
Teachers and educators: help us bring ERNESTINA back for more workshops, ed programs and meetings next year.
Historic Preservationists: join our efforts to restore and maintain one of the most significant historic vessels afloat today. Let's raise her topmasts by next year!
Immigrants' sons and daughters: many Americans have ancestors and relatives who came to this country on ships~~~ERNESTINA is the last transAtlantic Packet under sail to have carried people to this country to become Americans. Today she offers the same experience of going to sea out of sight of land and coming into a new port of call.
People of Cape Verde: ERNESTINA is a significant piece of Cape Verdean heritage telling a story important for all to know. The inspiring tales of this wonderful culutral gift between nations and people will serve as an inspiration to generations to come.
African and African-Americans: Through ERNESTINA we can tell the story of such heroes as Matthew Henson, in the Arctic with Peary, and Paul Cuffe, famous owner and captain of whaling barks, or the Armistad, a ship in the slave trade whose African crew, (bound for slavery in the Caribbean) broke for freedom against all odds. ERNESTINA is a vehicle upon whose deck we can explore rich African and African-American seafaring traditions.
ERNESTINA welcomes your help!
Here's what you can do:
There are great things waiting to happen in the '96 season; with your participation and support it will be another great segment of ERNESTINA's voyage into her second century.
Taking their cue from the spring Newsletter and realizing that a stint on board would not only be enjoyable but truly appreciated by ERNESTINA's crew, individuals, partners and even family groups stepped aboard to pitch in and help out.
Often, this summer especially, these supplemental crew members were teachers who came to the ship in May or June with their students or in connection with the many teacher workshops hosted on board. These educational colleagues learned and sometimes taught at one or more of ERNESTINA's six curriculum stations.
Other volunteers "learned the ropes," concentrating on the art and craft of sailing and maintaining the vessel. Once again, hundreds of work-hours were freely given through this volunteer effort by citizens from all walks of life and various backgrounds - many with their own reasons for helping, but all sharing the common belief that ERNESTINA is a truly valuable resource, an asset to be preserved and supported.
This kind of personal support is all-important as ERNESTINA expands and thrives as a public resource ~ people helping through membership contributions then stepping into the scene and investing a bit of themselves in the development of this wonderful project.
As ERNESTINA is gearing-up for next season's activities, keep your eyes on the Newsletter for member/volunteer opportunities and ~ "step aboard!"
In cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT), the USS CONSTITUTION Museum and the National Historic Park at the Charlestown Navy Yard, a series of day and evening sails were offered to the general public. Participants taking advantage of the ERNESTINA sails included individuals, family groups and some organizations (examples: youngsters from the Carol Center for the Blind, Newton, MA, educators from Cambridge Friends School, Boston Globe "Ocean Challenge" essay contest group).
The Boston sails were a great example of cooperation and collaboration between National Park Service staff, under Interpretation Supervisor William Foley, the USS CONSTITUTION staff of Acting Director, Ann Grimes Rand, Boston Park and Recreation's Courageous Sailing Center and our ERNESTINA staff, faculty/crew and member/volunteers.
Central and crucial to the entire effort was the work of the MOTT staff and their Director, Abbie Goodman, who also serves as an ERNESTINA Commissioner.
The hard-working and effective MOTT Travel Communications/Public Relations group put the word out, a cooperative Schooner ERNESTINA/USS Constitution Museum "package admission" deal facilitated ticket arrangements, there was National Park and Courageous Sailing Center support in regard to dockage and logistics - all these segments combine to create a great model for future visits.
And, once again, ERNESTINA crew delivered a first-class experience to all who came to the ship! Proving their skill and ability to "teach the lessons ERNESTINA has to offer" in both the structured, educational setting and in the more informal framework of the Boston day and evening sails, this year's onboard staff gave every visitor and participant a full measure of attention and care.
Schooner ERNESTINA is, of course, a wonderful addition to the "historyscape" of a place like the Navy Yard. As a still-working example of a dory fisherman, the type of commercial fishing vessel that once crowded the Boston docks, she evokes an era sometimes hard to imagine in the midst of the modern waterfront. On this fiftieth anniversary year of the end of World War II it was also appropriate for ERNESTINA to be berthed close by the USN's Destroyer CASIN YOUNG ~ from 1942 through 1945, as the EFFIE M. MORRISSEY, the schooner was "battleship gray" stem-to-stern while under contract to the Navy!. (see "ERNESTINA Yesteryears")
Current Problems & Solutions
In ERNESTINA's engine room both generator systems were rebuilt this summer ~ the four-cylinder Diesel engine (it supplies electrical current when the main engine is not running) was overhauled at the capable D.N. Kelley machine shop in Fairhaven, and the hydraulic generator (which is driven by the main engine when the ship is underway) was likewise refurbished by naval architect and marine engineer Dan Blachly, who volunteered many hours to the rebuild.
Teaching Equipment & Supplies
Onboard science coordinator Tora Johnson saw to the acquisition of marine science educational equipment this summer. Under her guidance students of all ages learned the intriguing secrets of the watery world during their experience aboard ERNESTINA. The Department of Environmental Management through the Park Interpreters program, provided a large video display unit for dockside and onboard interpretive presentation of ERNESTINA's technical and archival video tape library.
However, the ERNESTINA's teaching facilities both onboard and shoreside are still very much in a formative state. Next season will call for a larger and more accommodating set of tools: our basic materials have been assembled this season, but many items are "consumed" with constant use and need replacing. Basic equipment such a nets, traditional magnifying devices and simple processing gear will always be a priority.
An important "high-tech" acquisition for next season is the video microscopy unit that allows groups of students to observe tiny organisms and specimens on an elevated monitor. This more sophisticated type of equipment needs to be underwritten or secured through donation: yet another part of our "winter's work".
Please contact the office if you can contribute or assist in the procurement of these materials.
As the season progressed some new faces joined the team. Here are some of the newer crew ...
Alex Fenton ~ stepped on during August bringing with him considerable experience: he has served as Waterfront Director for Mass. DYS programs at the Stephen L. French Youth Forestry Camp in Brewster, MA, and has shipped as first mate aboard Schooner HERITAGE for three seasons. Alex holds a U.S.C.G. 100 ton Masters license and as a professional ski patrolman (Stratton Mt., VT) is highly trained in rescue and first aid.
Mitchell Barros ~ with 17 years experience as a steward aboard the globe-spanning research vessels of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Mitchell found provisioning and providing for ERNESTINA's staff and clients was "duck soup" during the last part of the season. For their part, the crew thoroughly appreciated Mitchell's skill in the galley and his gracious, winning manner as his personality and presence became an important part of Schooner ERNESTINA in no time at all. Mitch joined the ship while on one of his long breaks from his "regular gig" at WHOI - when he left his place was taken by ...
Ken Cabral ~ who sailed and cooked for the Martha's Vineyard programs at the end of August and commanded the galley during the Labor Day weekend tending a full ship from New Bedford to Gloucester and back. Ken is retired from the North Providence, RI, Police Department and now divides his time between artistic (drawing and painting) and culinary activities (private catering, Prov. Police Dept.'s Camp Phoenix program). Ken's talent and skills are reflected in his educational credentials: Boston School of Fine Arts, Johnson & Wales and the law enforcement program at Bryant College. However, like Mitch, Ken was a "team member" from the outset and not only set out great meals, but supervised a gracious galley where people and provisions were treated with great care and regard.
Fred Sterner ~ with a background in business and education, knowledge of marine operations and maintenance and holding a 50 ton U.S.C.G. Master's license, Fred was a great addition to the ERNESTINA staff during August and September.
"We were glad to spend the summer of 1945 servicing Army stations on the west shore [of Baffin's Bay] At her farthest North the MORRISSEY sailed into Kane Basin almost 80 degrees latitude, but ice turned her back Passing Etah, Admiral Peary's base, we found it deserted Off Kap York we passed the Peary Monument, a tall shaft we had erected in 1932
At Thule, almost 700 miles above the Arctic Circle, we visited a United States weather station manned by the Danes. Thule, named for the ancients Ultima Thule (Most Distant Unknown Land), is, as its name implies, one of the world's northernmost settlements. It was founded in 1910 by the late Knud Rasmussen as a trading station for the Kap York Eskimos.
The War deprived Thule Eskimos of the white man's luxuries to which they had become accustomed. Their privations were a blessing in disguise. Wearing out store clothes, they returned to bearskins. Scattering out to hunt, they lived healthfully in the open
Some old-timers, including three survivors of Peary's North Pole expedition, taught the younger generation how to live off the land and the sea In place of easy-to-buy coffee, tea and bread, they ate hard-to-catch seal, walrus, narwhal, white whale and polar bear.
We caught a polar bear in Melville Bay, south of Kap York, skinned and refrigerated him My log for Aug. 15, 1945 reads: Our bear meat is not popular with the crew...
One bear we did not consume He was a cub, cute but ferocious, which we lassoed on an ice floe and dragged on board. It took almost my entire crew to cage him Sixty-three pounds of snarl and growl, he was delivered protestingly to the New York Zoological Park in the Bronx."
From the Aft Cabin
This column will carry a message from ERNESTINA Executive Director Gregg Swanzey, who served on the Board of Directors for Sloop Clearwater, a grass roots environmental organization in the Hudson Valley of New York during the 80's before coming to ERNESTINA. He has seen how people can make a difference when they work together. The Hudson River, once considerably polluted, is now swimmable and fishable, thanks to a combination of legislation and the efforts of citizens taking action for a better quality of life.
ERNESTINA's first full underway season in her hundredth year is drawing to a close. She has met new challenges with the vigor of a Gloucester highliner as in her fishing days. She shows the endurance of an explorer beyond the Arctic Circle and the strength of will of a Cape Verdean transAtlantic packet.
Schooner ERNESTINA's
THANK YOU
So many have helped support Schooner ERNESTINA this season. In each Newsletter we include a Thank You listing, hoping eventually to salute all who have assisted in so many ways!
~ List ~
Member/Volunteers:
The Rest of the Crew ...
Member/volunteers involved in the operation and maintenance of Schooner ERNESTINA have been a steady source of support through this 1995 teaching and sailing season. Interested ERNESTINA member/volunteers have been present and active on virtually every transit and on many educational program days during this busy spring and summer.
On Boston Harbor
Schooner ERNESTINA Extends Freedom Trail
Yes, during the height of the season visitors (and natives, too!) following the Freedom Trail in Boston could venture right out onto the water on board one of the most historic vessels afloat. The warmest and sunniest days of summer found Schooner ERNESTINA sailing in Boston Harbor and among the Harbor Islands tourists, Bostonians and a grand variety of other folks in tow, all getting a wonderful new perspective on the city from the decks of ERNESTINA.
The Ship's Shape
Turn to and Bend on New Sails!
In July, Schooner ERNESTINA was fitted-out with two new sails: the monster mainsail and the jumbo, which is the larger of the two headsails situated between the jib and the foremast At the end of the bidding process, low-bidding, well-respected Force 10 Sailmakers of Norland, Washington, delivered the two sails ~ collectively over 2700 square feet of 22oz Duradon and all attendant bolt ropes, hand sewn rings, spectacle irons, leathered splices and reef bands ~ for a total cost of $12,672 including materials, labor and shipping!
Who's Crew?
The schooner's core crew/faculty worked this season as a remarkable team of seasoned professionals ~ the long hours and arduous labor of the April yard period that pushed into May, the demanding schedule of school programs that , because of the extended haul-out, was chalk-a-block during May and June, the skill and patience called out from each and every one of these dedicated people showed ERNESTINA's clients and constituents that this is a ship, a crew and a program that delivers! Of course, it was the people handling the delivery that made all the difference.
ERNESTINA's Yesteryears
aboard EFFIE M MORRISSEY - 50 Years Ago
1945 ~ Captain Bob Bartlett, skipper of the EFFIE M MORRISSEY speaks to us from the pages of National Geographic Magazine in an article entitled, "Servicing Arctic Airbases":