There is still time to register for the conference! After 5pm (Eastern) Friday, January 27th, conference fees will increase by $100.  Click here to register for  the conference.  

The support for the crew grant program has been awesome! We still have a few grants available and I encourage you to apply. It is so easy! Click here to read more about the Crew Grants and the conference Crew Track.

Have you applied for our Professional Development Grant? Check out the Crew Track Agenda to see what else we are offering for crew that attend.

            -           Be a Tall Ships America Associate Level or Crew Level member                                  in good standing. Not a member? Become one now!

            –           Be at least 18 years of age and a high school graduate. 

            -          Demonstrate that they have sailed in Tall Ships America Member vessel(s)for not less than 6 weeks in the past 24 months, as either Student trainee,  Volunteer, or paid Crew in any of the following ratings:1st– 4th Mate, Bos’n, Engineer,  AB, OS, Deckhand, Educator.  NOTE:  Even if you have sailed as Master, you still may qualify, if you have met the time requirements by serving in any of the other listed ratings (in any combination).

Want to know what the conference has to offer in terms of sessions for crew? Check out the Crew Track Agenda.

Conference Professional Development Grants are for the full 3-Day Conference and Safety or Education Forum, and will reduce the registration fee from $550 to $100. (Travel and accommodations not included.)  Applications should be submitted as a written request by email or fax to lori@tallshipsamerica.org  Fax: 401-849-5400. 

Tall Ships America wishes to thank the Maritime Simulation Institute (www.marinesafety.com ) for their generous financial support for this important grant program.

Ooooh, swanky!

On Monday, January 9th at 5pm, the block of rooms at the Newport Marriott (currently being held at the low, low price of $109) will be released.

If you have not signed up for the conference (seriously? why not?) make sure you register to take advantage of the reduced price before it goes away. 

We are working hard to make our annual conference more widely accessible to our membership and have several options for attending the conference – are you a member? Eligible for the Professional Development Conference Grants? Crew member?   We have an option that is right for you, so come and join us in Newport!

Click here to see the most current list of registrants

In partnership with Maritime Simulation Institute, we did it …and still have 28 more spots left for all eligible crew and sail trainers to apply for the Professional Development Grant Program.  You can attend all three days of the conference for $100!

The criteria is SO EASY -

• Be a Tall Ships America Associate Level or Crew Level member in good standing.
  (Not a member? Become one now!) 
• Demonstrate employment as a paid or volunteer crewmember (1st – 4th Mate, Bosun, Engineer, AB, OS, Deckhand, Educator) aboard a Tall Ships America member vessel(s) for not less than 9 months within past 24 months. 

This year’s conference is all about Crew Development . The conference will explore how training, safety, public engagement, and youth enrichment can be harnessed to develop the crews, career opportunities, and business systems necessary to prepare the Next Watch and will offer a track of sessions aimed at working crew who desire to sustain a seafaring career. 

Don’t let this opportunity to attend the Tall Ships America’s annual conference for $100 (!!) go to waste. Without your support for this grant, we won’t be able to offer something like this again. You asked. We listened.  Now it’s up to you.  Apply today.

Once of the most common fears I hear about sailing on a tall ship is of getting seasick.  While this can be debilitatingly true for many, for the most part I find that people talk themselves into the nausea. Seasickness is generally thought to be the physical reaction of our body trying to balance out the disconnect of what we are feeling (the motion of the ship), and what we are seeing (a still world). 

Sailing isn’t all sunshine, full sails and dry feet. Sometimes, you have to accept the bad with the good. Good being that you are having this sailing experience, building on your skills and learning how to deal with setbacks…but at the cost of your lunch.

However, like many uncomfortable things, seasickness doesn’t last forever. Once you get your equilibrium back, you can finally enjoy your tall ship experience knowing that you just went to a deep, dark place to come out on the other side stronger and with a great appreciation of ginger. And that first moment when you realize that you don’t have to feed the fish anymore? Awesome.

(For a not-for-lunchtime video from the Mythbusters team on the best cure for sickness, click here or you can just click here for the results.)

Have an idea or a story you want to share? Email it to me at erin@tallshipsamerica.org and I’ll add it to the blog with props to you.

Major credit to 1000 Awesome Things for the inspiration

Sleeping Ship Dreams for a Bright Future

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, Layed up at her Winter Berth
South Clinton Street, Baltimore, Maryland
Wx: Heavy Rain, but unseasonably warm, wind S F 3
By Captain Jamie Trost

Pride of Baltimore II is tucked in for a long winter’s nap, so to speak. With not only the spars, sails, rigging, safety and accommodation gear off loaded, but the guns and life rafts removed as well, she seems large and lonely. Under the opaque shrink-wrap cover, the deck from house top to house top is uninterrupted by clutter, while below PRIDE II – her bunks cleared out, her shelves stripped bare – is like an empty house.

This scene would be more than a bit forlorn if it weren’t for the winter crew diligently working on the dormant ship. So far, Assistant Sarah Whittham has been seeing to the blocks and spars with first time PRIDE II Winter Maintenance Crew Rohan Rao alongside. Their work goes on mostly in to shrink-wrapped shelters ashore, nicknamed “The Hobo Tent” (after our acclaimed Hobo Band of a few seasons back) and “New Sparlandia,” the latest rendition of our PVC framed Spar House. After the collapses we suffered last winter, this version has a bit more wood in the structure. Tonight’s forecast snow and wind will be the first real test of the season for the improvements.

Aboard the ship Emily Gustavsen – new to PRIDE II, but well seasoned in the fleet – patiently works at removing deck fittings in preparation for sanding and oiling to preserve the aging Douglas Fir planking and keep in going another 23 years or more. Below, Engineer John Pickering already has the port engine suspended for some maintenance underneath.

Click here to continue reading about Pride of Baltimore II

Please contact Pride of Baltimore II if you are interested in lending a hand.  Call 410-539-1151 or email pride2@pride2.org (indicate Volunteer Crew in the subject line).  Any and all skill levels are appreciated.

Tall Ships America is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the Maritime Simulation Institute (MSI) to underwrite the Tall Ships America Professional Development Grant Program with the establishment of 30 grants for reduced conference registration fees for the upcoming 39th Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships scheduled to take place on January 30 – February 1 in Newport, RI. 

The conference theme is Crew Development: Awakening the Next Watch.  Projecting forward for maritime commerce as a whole, the International Maritime Organization, the U.S. Maritime Administration, and commercial shipping companies all agree that we will soon face a critical shortage of licensed and qualified mariners.  In our world of tall ships and sail training, we already feel the pinch:  licensing requirements and costs keep climbing, but program revenues, business opportunities and wages struggle to hold par in a down economy. The conference will explore how training, safety, public engagement, and youth enrichment can be harnessed to develop the crews, career opportunities, and business systems necessary to prepare the Next Watch and will offer a track of sessions aimed at working crew who desire to sustain a seafaring career. 

Conference Professional Development grants are for the full 3-day Conference and Safety or Education Under Sail Forum, and will reduce the registration fee from $550 to $100. (Travel and accommodations not included).  

To be eligible for a Conference Professional Development grant candidates must: 

• Be a Tall Ships America Associate Level or Crew Level member in good standing.
  (Not a member? Become one now!) 
• Demonstrate employment as a paid or volunteer crewmember (1st – 4th Mate, Bosun, Engineer, AB, OS, Deckhand, Educator) aboard a Tall Ships America member vessel(s) for not less than 9 months within past 24 months. 

Applications should be submitted by email or fax as a written request to: Lori@tallshipsamerica.org  Fax: 401-849-5400 and include documentation (letter from captain or employer, record of sea time etc.) demonstrating that the applicant meets the above criteria. 

Applicants will be notified of the decision within seven days of Tall Ships America’s receipt of the complete application.  

Questions regarding the application process should be directed to Lori Aguiar, Tall Ships America Director of Operations, lori@tallshipsamerica.org 

For more information about the 39th Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships visit www.tallshipsamerica.org 

For more information about the Maritime Simulation Institute (MSI) visit www.marinesafety.com

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 5-12 , the Long Beach Unified School District , the Long Beach Singles Yacht Club , and other yacht clubs in the area have partnered with LAMI to launch a campaign to win a community $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant to fund the project entitled “Students at Sea” will enable over 300 high school students from 4 high schools in Long Beach to participate in a day at sea aboard small sailing vessels, 140 students to participate in day sails aboard tall ships, and over 100 students to have the opportunity to participate in three day sailing adventures aboard the tall ships to Catalina Island! The program will use the sea and sailing to teach life skills to at risk youth.

Voting is open until Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 9:00 p.m.

Here are 3 ways you can vote for this “Students at Sea” Pepsi Grant and help us win the $50,000:

1) BY TEXT: you can vote every day in December by texting Pepsi at 73774 and then typing 110702 to vote. (Standard text messaging rates apply)

2) ON PEPSI REFRESH WEB SITE: You can vote via the direct web site: http://www.refresheverything.com/students-at-sea

3) ON FACEBOOK: follow the voting instructions at the Pepsi Refresh page

Here are the sessions you might have missed:

The Future of Marine Weather Prediction Technology

Learning to Deal with Behaviorially Challenging Participants in the Field

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Prescription Medications at Sea: What You Need to Know Before You Leave the Harbor

Big Results with a Small Staff – Blending Traditional & Modern Fundraising Campaign Strategies for Small Organizations