Inland Seas at the Traverse City Film Festival

ISEA's schooner Inland Seas will be sailing from Traverse City all this week during the TC Film Festival http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/. In the evenings you can visit the ship dockside at the Clinch Park Marina/Open Space area opposite the big outdoor movie screen. Stop in to say hello before watching the free outdoor movie. We will be alongside doing tours from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday evenings.
There is still room on some of our 3-hour Family Science Sails also.

ISEA is also co-sponsoring the film Waterlife, with Crema http://www.crematc.com/, at the Film Festival. See you there! Click http://campaigns.hellocoolworld.com/index.cfm?campaign_id=12 to see the movie trailer.
-Capt. Tom

Inland Seas Featured in NBC Nightly News Report

Inland Seas was included in the NBC Nightly News report on President Obama's Great Lakes Program. See the report and watch the two videos at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31970351/ns/us_news-environment/?ns=us_news-environment#storyContinued
-Capt. Tom

Inland Seas Visits Escanaba

Schooner Inland Seas spent a week in Escanaba starting Monday, July 6. The trip across the big lake was fairly smooth, with the only casualty being the stove. Tuesday morning was spent preparing for the programs, which began that afternoon with a group of 5th graders sponsored by NewPage. A big thanks to Paul Goodman, who came by in the morning and fixed our stove! Greg was very appreciative he could cook again, and Paul sailed with us later in the week with some of his grandkids.

Wednesday was a full day of programs. Students from Bay Pines sailed in the morning, and another group of NewPage-sponsored 5th graders participated in the afternoon program. The crew of Inland Seas spent the evening doing maintenance and preparing for the weekend overnight trip.

Thursday, students from Hannahville participated in a Schoolship Program in the morning. During the afternoon, members of Delta Force got a chance to learn more about Little Bay de Noc. Don French discussed the treatment of waste water and drinking water in Escanaba, and there was a great discussion about water-related issues. Darren Kramer from the Michigan DNR also discussed fisheries in Little and Big Bays de Noc, including recent changes in the walleye population. It was a great afternoon to sail and learn more about local resources. That evening, NewPage treated the crew of Inland Seas to a wonderful dinner at the House of Ludington. A local historian talked about schooners in Escanaba during the Age of Sail and provided some wonderful pictures. It was an evening of good food and good company.

Friday, NewPage-sponsored 5th graders participated in the morning Schoolship Program. After the program, the Inland Seas crew said goodbye to volunteers John Casteel and Len Klein, as well as ISEA intern Sam Giraud. Their hard work throughout the week was much appreciated, as was their company! That afternoon members of the Bay de Noc College Foundation joined us for a nice sail around Little Bay de Noc.

Saturday morning, 10 high school girls boarded Inland Seas for a 2-day, Zonta-sponsored Young Women in Science Program. We had a fairly rough sail over to Fayette in Big Bay de Noc, so the girls were glad to see Snail Harbor. The evening was full of exploring the town, playing a game of soccer, and listening to a little music in the Music Hall provided by some of the crew (Allen Wolfe, Tyler Champt, Greg Hatfield, and Christine Crissman).

The next morning, we started off a great day by hiking around the bluffs in Fayette. After the students spent some time working on their research projects, we went out into the Bay (which was much calmer), took a few more samples, and had a nice sail. Once back at the dock, the students gave presentations about their research projects to their parents and others gathered on the dock.

That evening, Inland Seas began its voyage back across Lake Michigan towards its home port of Suttons Bay. It was a relatively quit evening and the crew enjoyed a nice (but chilly) sail home.

Many thanks to all those who made this trip possible, including Kelvin Smyth, Pam Farrell, and Maria Maniaci from NewPage, John McDonnough for taking pictures, ISEA volunteers Len Klein and John Casteel, ISEA intern Sam Giraud, and the crew of Inland Seas Remy Champt, Allen Wolfe, Tyler Champt, Greg Hatfield, and Christine Crissman.

Inland Seas at Escanaba, Capt. Tom in Scotland

Inland Seas is in Escanaba all this week, and will be at Fayette this week end. Capt. Remy Champt is in command.

Capt. Tom is with his family aboard St. Hilda, Loch Fyne, Scotland. Anchored tonight at 56-06.70 N, 5-14.99 W.

-Capt. Tom