Amelia

Ahoy! I just graduated from New York University, and am extremely excited to begin my internship with the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Series!  I look forward to the opportunity to share my love of sailing with others while combining my passions for photography, history and writing.

As a kid, I lived aboard my parent’s sailboat as we cruised from our home in Detroit, Michigan to the Bahamas and back. We would often come across tall ship festivals and events in the Great Lakes and along the East Coast. It wasn’t until high school that I realized the large role organizations such as ASTA have in bringing together tall ships from across the globe into organized and memorable festivals and Challenges, when I raced aboard the Pride of Baltimore II from Newcastle, UK to Fredrikstad, NWY, continuing through the North Sea to Bremerhaven, GER.  Most recently, I crossed the Atlantic aboard the tall ship Prince William in 2007.

At NYU, I have gained experience editing, designing, writing and taking photos for Seaport magazine as an intern in the publications department of the South Street Seaport Museum. I also worked as a free-lancer, writing feature articles for SpinSheet and PropTalk, sailing and boating magazines in Annapolis, MD while an intern at the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

Sailing has encompassed my life, and by the end of college my resume has taught me that as much as I may enjoy other things, they have yet to be done without a sailing connection!  I hope to be lucky enough to continue in this direction well into the future, and am excited to be an intern with ASTA this summer!

  Nelly

In May, I graduated with a BA in Social Anthropology from the University of Michigan, where I also got to take classes in naval navigation and oceanography. During my four years in Ann Arbor, I played on the Michigan’s Ultimate Frisbee Team, braving everything from snowy to sweltering practices.

My love of travel took me on a gap year after high school, which is where I discovered tall ships. I’ve sailed twice for the Tall Ship Youth Trust, both as a crewmember and watch leader. I sailed aboard the Stavros S. Nairchos around England and Spain and loved every minute of it. I also had a chance to crew on a Swan 62 for Race Week in Antigua in 2005. One of the reason’s I love sailing so much is the opportunity is presents to travel to so many different places.

Being able to spend the summer as an intern for the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE ® Series 2009 is a dream come true for me because I have loved sailing since I was nine and learned to sail in an El Toro, a dinghy about the size of a bathtub.