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A View From Aloft

February 2014
edition

Welcome Aboard!
Hello and welcome to the first edition of BaySails quarterly newsletter A View From Aloft. This inaugural edition is filled with information about upcoming events, our successes from last year and our continuing commitment to making strides in the year ahead. Each edition of A View From Aloft will serve as an interactive platform to engage BaySails valued volunteers, trainees, members and our many other generous supporters. I also invite you to interact with us through social media such as Facebook and Twitter! I hope you enjoy the first edition of A View From Aloft and keep an eye out for future editions in May, August and November! Scott Ellis, Marketing, Communications & Special Events Manager

Upcoming

nts e Ev

BaySails Annual Meeting

February 25th at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bay City. 5:30-7:30pm. Tickets are $35.

Volunteer Educator Training

Detroit Science Under Sail Programming

April 7 11. Contact the Director of Education for more information.

From STEM to Stern

Even when our ship Appledore IV isnt sailing during the cold winter months, theres plenty happening behind the scenes. Director of Education Greg Allington is in the process of thoroughly reviewing our programsfrom STEM to sternand updating them to include the Next Generation Science Standards, enhancing the science, technology, engineering and math principles students encounter in our programs. He has also been busy creating new course offerings including two continuing education programs for in-service teachers that have been approved to provide State Continuing Education Clock Hours (credits).

April 28 May 2. Dates & times are still available throughout the week. Contact the Director of Education for more information.

Public Sails Begin

Summer Breeze Fundraiser

June 8. A full schedule for 2014 public sails is available at baysailbaycity.org.

We have accomplished a great deal and have a great deal more to do.
Captain David Leanza has been busy in the wood shop fashioning new deck boxes and turning new pins on a lathe. They are functional and beautiful! He and First Mate Jason have continued to work on routine maintenance throughout the winter months, including sanding and re-varnishing the masts. The staff has collaborated on a dynamic schedule for the 2014 season which includes Article continued on Page 2

August 21. An evening of dining and dancing dockside. Tickets will be available soon!

From STEM to Stern, Cont. from Page 1

programming in Detroit, Monroe and Cleveland, as well as Bay City. Three Windward Bound voyaging programs have been added to the schedule including one new mini-voyaging program for scouts that include transit to and from Tawas and camping at the Tawas Point State Park. Marketing, Communications & Special Projects Manager Scott Ellis has been busy boosting our social media presence, planning our Annual Meeting in February, a special fundraising event for the Fourth of July Fireworks Festival and our first annual Summer Breeze fundraiser in August. Dare I forgetthis newsletter is also the result of Scotts hard work!

Public Information Specialist Jennifer Acker researches and supports our grant writing efforts. Her hard work in collaboration with other staff has led to the receipt of $6,000 in grants from the Bay Area Community Foundation to upgrade equipment and fund the creation of professional development programs for educators, a $2,300 grant from the Michigan Council for Art and Cultural Affairs to fund the development of a new Plein Air Art Discovery program, and a $10,500 grant from the Saginaw County Community Foundation to fund SCIENCE UNDER SAIL experiences for Saginaw County students. We have accomplished a great deal and have a great deal more to do. However, we start the year 2014 with boundless energy and optimism, ever grateful for our dedicated Board members, enthusiastic volunteers and growing list of members. (If you havent done so, please visit our website to learn more about the benefits of joining BaySail. Your on-going support means the world to us.) We have a great crew at BaySail. We welcome you aboard and invite you to join us on our journey.

Sailing can be a singular experience and there are many jobs onboard a ship that can only be accomplished by an individual working alone. More often than not, however, members of a crew need to come together and work in unison to keep the ship from harm and moving in the right direction. Shirley Roberts, Executive Director

Strong Foundation for 2014 Educational Programs

BaySail enjoyed a terrificif very wet and rainy2013 season. We taught 1517 students from 31 schools about the Saginaw Bay Watershed and freshwater ecology during 52 SCIENCE UNDER SAIL voyages! Almost 400 additional young people from 12 youth groups participated in 17 other educational trips including ECOSAIL, MAINSAIL and HISTORY UNDER SAIL programs. (There is no better way for elementary students to voyage into Michigans 1800s than aboard a traditional Great Lakes schooner!) Long-time volunteer Dick Crooks received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Educators (MAEOE) at their annual conference on Belle Isle. Congratulations Dick! analysis. Students and teachers will be able to access the latest Great Lakes data, as well as produce their very own video presentations of their scientific expeditions with the use of 2 new i-Pads. Finally, we now own a state of the art, portable Enviroscape Watershed Model that we can take into classrooms for new outreach programs. With the addition of this new equipment, BaySail will be even more successful at getting students actively learning about the Saginaw Bay Watershed, the importance of wetlands and the impact of pollution. With so much new equipment and the introduction of new programs, theres a lot of information to share with our volunteer educators. A daylong Volunteer Training Day will be held on Saturday, April 5th from 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m. More comprehensive training follows the week of April 711 including visits to Article continued on Page 3

Thanks to several grants from the Bay Area Community Foundation, we will start off the 2014 SCIENCE UNDER SAIL season with 2 new Hach DR 900 digital Colorimeters to test water samples, collect water quality data, and send it to computers for

Freshwater Sailor of 2013, Nick Werle!

Windward Bound is a multiday sail training program onboard the Appledore IV. In addition to learning the art of sailing a tall ship, trainees have the opportunity to learn more about themselves. Character building, increased self-esteem and a passion for adventure are direct effects of participating in a Windward Bound voyage. Select graduates of our program are invited to continue their involvement with BaySail by becoming volunteer crew.

For the ninth year we have recognized an outstanding volunteer crew member with the Freshwater Sailor of the Year Award. This award acknowledges both skill in seamanship and contribution to the Windward Bound sail training program. Past recipients of this award have gone on to work as professional crew for BaySail, to work professionally aboard various sailing vessels across the country and to serve in the US Navy. Several have even gone on to earn a Captains License. This year we recognize Nick Werle as our Freshwater Sailor of the Year.

Nick came aboard as a trainee in 2010 and 2011 sailing for a week on Lake Erie and the next summer on Lake Huron. The next spring Nick began volunteering on Appledore IV. After an all-day car ride, Nick said goodbye to his parents and joined the crew for a 5 week journey from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Halifax, Nova Scotia and back to Bay City, Michigan. By the journeys conclusion, Nick had learned a lot about sailing the lakes and the sea while forming friendships with a new group of sailors.

This past year Nick was a vital part of our crew, sailing aboard Appledore IV for over a month which included two Windward Bound voyages and three Tall Ship festivals around the Great Lakes. We are proud of Nicks many accomplishments and happy to honor him with the Freshwater Sailor of the Year Award. Captain David Leanza, Director of Operations

Strong Foundation for 2014

the Saginaw Bay Visitors Center, Delta College Planetarium, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Green Point Nature Center as well as a sailing experience aboard Appledore IV. Past volunteer educators can visit the Appledore Volunteer Wiki page to register for program dates. New volunteers should contact Greg Allington at (989) 895-5193 or program@baysailbaycity.org for information about signing up. Greg Allington, Director of Education

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