Critical Changes to Licensing for Mariners

To all current and future license holders and vessel operators from the ASTA Ship Operations and Safety Committee regarding Critical changes to licensing.

It is important that you take the time to comment on this ruling!

The USCG has solicited comments on the proposed rulemaking to fully implement the STCW Code (International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Code and Convention.) The ruling includes a number of clarifications and changes in 46 CFR Parts 10, 11, 12 and 15. The deadline for the comment period is February 16, 2010 with a planned implementation of the new ruling in July 2010.

 Many of these proposed changes will seriously affect current and future mariners, especially within our industry.  The USCG is proposing increased sea time and increased tonnage requirements to qualify both assessments and sea-time in several endorsements/licenses. This will make it extremely difficult for mariners who commonly sail on vessels under 100 tons to advance to higher licenses and will also limit many mariners to near-coastal domestic voyages.

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It’s good to be back!

It’s a bright new year here at the American Sail Training Association.  After a brief hiatus off to recharge and refocus, we are ready to plunge headlong into all of the exciting new projects we have planned for 2010.

But first, a brief look at the accomplishments of 2009.  It was a pretty banner year so read on for some of the highlights and see what’s coming in 2010… 

Greenwich, CT to host HARBORFEST in April

In an exciting and unique approach to fundraising for public education, the  P.T.A  of the Hamilton Avenue Elementary School of Greenwich, CT is producing HARBORFEST,  April 23rd – 25th, 2010 in Greenwich Harbor.   All net proceeds will go to support the school. 

Success!….and we are already looking forward to next year

Now that the post-conference flurry has subsided somewhat, the ASTA team is back in the office and racing full steam ahead, planning regional meetings on the coasts and Great Lakes, a board retreat in the spring, and a naval attache reception in DC thrown in for good measure, all while working on next summer’s Great Lakes United TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE^®. Once again, we are left with the warm and fuzzies after spending a week conferencing with our fellow sail trainers and tall shippies, discussing what the future holds and how we can improve the sail training experience.

Join the ASTA team in Cleveland, November 5,6,7!

Huntington Cleveland Harborfest 2006

We are counting down to the annual ASTA conference and there is  less than a month to go! Join the team in Cleveland, Ohio for the 37th Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships. 

The conference will kick-off on Wednesday, November 4, with an evening Welcome Reception sponsored by Positively Cleveland and the host ports of the 2010 Great Lakes United TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race Series.  

These are challenging times and many of us can use some fresh ideas to help our organizations thrive in this economy.  The conference will offer a powerful agenda aimed at presenting some new ideas, as well as some new ways of looking at old ideas, designed to help your organizations, programs, and vessels function more effectively.

Nautical Tattoos: Mike from Alliance

Mike from Alliance's tattoo of Hiwa.

While spending time in Vancouver around 1995, Mike aboard Alliance choose this nautical tattoo for his right arm.  According to Mike, it is a tattoo of the dolphin Hiwa, a messenger from the gods in Northwest Indian tales as well as stylized around their totems.

Nautical Tattoos: Sam from Roseway

Sam’s cormorant tattoo was only 10 days old when we caught up with her on the Roseway back in May.  She picked the cormorant because she spent the last two years as a sailing instructor with Thompson Island Outward Bound where they would see the birds all the time.  

Nautical Tattoos: Elizabeth from Pride of Baltimore II

Elizabeth aboard Pride of Baltimore II got her tattoo of a Pig and Rooster in May.  Intertwined as mermaids and positioned in the middle of her back, she explains that the image signifies good luck and protection against drowning and shipwrecks.  Since neither of these animals can swim, they would want to get the sailor back to shore as quickly as possible.  It was done by artist Charlie Foos at Read Street Tattoo in Baltimore, MD.

Elizabeth’s Pig and Rooster for protection.

 

Nautical Tattoos: Gina from the Spirit of Massachusetts

The cliche of the sailor – weathered skin, salt encrusted hair, and gravely voiced with a faded tattoo. The cliche may hold true (sometimes) but there is a deeper meaning behind that ink.  It could be a souvenir of a journey or a deeply held belief, but the tattoo represents something that warrants permanence and display. This summer, Nelly and Amelia interviewed sailors at the tall ships events to find out the meaning behind their body art and came upon some fascinating glimpses into the sailor mind.

From Halifax to Belfast by Sea

The Crew in Belfast_Chris Speller

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

       It has been over a week since I waved goodbye to the HMS Bounty in Belfast. As she sailed off the dock and joined the Parade of Sail, I couldn’t help but wish I was on deck too, watching the city recede behind us as we sail off to the next port of call. Instead I wandered aimlessly through the streets of Belfast, missing my new friends and feeling out of touch with the people rushing about the city. I found I was eager to get back to work. At least then, ensconced in the planning for the Great Lakes United 2010 TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race Series, I would be able to talk to people who understood what it was like to be at sea for 22 days and how scary it is the first time you climb up to the royal yard while underway.

            My tall ship experience began on July 20^th, the day of the Parade of Sail out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was a stunningly gorgeous, windy day and a welcome change from the rainy, foggy weather that had settled over the city for the past few days. Not that the weather did anything to deter the crowds from coming down to the waterfront – if you live in Halifax, you learn to live with the fog.

            It was thrilling to finally be a part of a Parade of Sail and to know that I wouldn’t be getting off the ship and hopping on a plane home that night. There was nervous anticipation all over the deck. I looked around, not knowing the first thing about what I should or shouldn’t be doing, and thought to myself, “Can I live with these people that I just met this morning for the next three weeks? Is the weather going to be rough? And, most importantly, will I get seasick?”