Happy New Year - Almost

Well this is it, the last day of 2010. I hope it was a good year for you. It was for ISEA. Here are two ways to end the year on an up note:
1. Click here to make a year-end donation to Inland Seas!
2. Check out the beautiful underwater photos of Grand Traverse Bay taken by freediver Chris Morley.

Happy New Year, and be careful driving tonight. Tom Kelly

Inland Seas Summer 2010 Sailing Schedule Announced

Today ISEA announced its 2010 summer public program schedule. After a busy spring with school classes, the schooner Inland Seas will commence with public programs in July.

The Family Ecology Sail is designed to make "scientists for a day" out of the entire family, from grandparents to youngsters. The Gull Island Birding Cruise returns to the schedule on June 14. Our Maritime History Under Sail program honors the life and work of ISEA Volunteer Instructor Claudia Goudschaal and will sail from Suttons Bay to Omena and return. The Explore Power Island trip takes us to the crown jewel of Grand Traverse Bay, and gets us ashore to hike and see the natural wonders of the island. Our most popular program is always Astronomy Under Sail. We have two Astronomy programs this year, on August 9th and 10th. And a special all-day program for community leaders is called Day on the Bay, and features presentations and demonstrations in the Education Center and an afternoon on the schooner.

ISEA also has programs for teachers. Call the office or contact our Education Director Christine Crissman for details.

The Sea Gypsy by Richard Hovey

Here is some poetry for mid-winter dreaming. Enjoy.

The Sea Gypsy, By Richard Hovey

I am fevered with the sunset,
I am fretful with the bay,
For the wander-thirst is on me
And my soul is in Cathay.

There's a schooner in the offing,
With her topsails shot with fire,
And my heart has gone aboard her
For the Islands of Desire.

I must forth again to-morrow!
With the sunset I must be
Hull down on the trail of rapture
In the wonder of the sea.

Asian Carp Update

Asian Carp Found Just Above Lockport Lock in the Des Plaines River, Dec. 3, 2009 Rotenone poisoning of 5.7 miles of the Des Plaines River and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal turned up only one Asian carp, although DNA testing of water samples came up positive for Asian carp in the Calument Sag Canal near the confluence with the Des Plaines River and below the Obrien Lock. See maps of the DNA sampling area. A description and photos of the carp barrier and maps of the pre and post construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are at http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/projects/fish_barrier/index.html

Additional information, including maps, can be found on the Great Lakes United web site.

I'll keep you posted as new information is avaiable. --Tom K.

Creatures of the Great Lakes on TV - 2 this week.

Denise Baker, Tom Kelly and Rich Brauer enjoying memories of underwater film making in the 1980's.

Watershed Moments premieres on Up North 2 with a retrospective look at the 1984 film Creatures in the Great Lakes

Creatures in the Great Lakes features a cast of "underwater stars" from yesteryear and offers insight into why the clear water we see today is less desirable than the turbid water of the past. The 1984 film was originally intended to serve as an educational tool for classroom use, yet has become a baseline for the state of affairs in the Great Lakes.

Watershed Moments is a public access television program by the Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay that explores all facets of Grand Traverse Bay, the heart of our region. Its debut revisits Creatures in the Great Lakes with the film’s creators, Rich Brauer of Brauer Productions and Captain Tom Kelly of the Inland Seas Education Association.


Host Denise Baker delightfully navigates a scientific and technological inquiry of underwater cinematography and environmental education. Longtime friends, Rich and Tom reflect upon their early exploration of the aquatic world and the changes it has endured during the past twenty-five years.


Watershed Moments premieres on Up North 2 this Sunday November 15th at 8pm, Monday November 16th at 10pm, and Saturday, November 21st at 9am.

ISEA Great Lakes Seminar on Tuesday Evening

R/V Northwestern (foreground) Watching bottom profile output onboard the R/V Northwestern

The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on the on-going survey of the bottom of Grand Traverse Bay at 7:00pm on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The seminar, "Hydrographic Survey of Grand Traverse Bay," will be presented by Hans VanSumeren, Executive Director of Northwestern Michigan College's Water Studies Institute, and Mark Breederland, Extension Educator with Michigan Sea Grant. This seminar is free and open to the public. For more information click on http://www.schoolship.org/news_events/?id=927

Inland Seas Covered for the Winter

Schooners in their winter dress. Inland Seas in foreground, Manitou in distance.
Snug conditions under the cover.

Inland Seas is now wearing her new winter coat, made of white plastic. A brief window of good weather this past week allowed the crew (Remy, Allen and Jan) get the cover on before the next round for rain and high winds. Nice work guys. -Capt. Tom