"Building the Schoolship Inland Seas" is Topic of December 13th Seminar

Tom Kelly, ISEA's Executive Director, will present an illustrated discussion of the design, construction and sea trials of the schooner Inland Seas on December 13th at 7pm.  The presentation is part of ISEA's monthly Great Lakes Seminar Series and will be held at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay.  The program is free and open to the public. Many of the delivery crew will be present to offer their remembrances of the trip from the Palm Coast, Florida shipyard to Grand Traverse Bay in 1994.

The Treworgy Yachts building crew pose in front of the hull of Inland Seas, Palm Coast FL.
Mark and Toni Treworgy are in the center.

Happy Birthday, Inland Seas!

Launch Day, May 18 1994, Treworgy Yachts, Palm Coast, FL

Tuesday May 18 is our schooner's 16th birthday. Help us celebrate at 12:30 pm dockside with a performance by the Suttons Bay High School Band. See you there. --Capt. Tom

Launch Day - 14 Years Ago Today

In the late morning of May 18, 1994, at Treworgy Yachts in Palm Coast Florida, Toni Treworgy smashed a bottle of champagne over the bows of ISEA's new flagship. I opened a flask of Lake Michigan water and wetted her hull, saying "this is you home water, now take us there". With "God bless this ship and all who sail in her", the new schooner Inland Seas slid into the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. Her builders, her crew, and all others gathered, gave three cheers.

In the photo above, taken just before launch, are ISEA crewmembers Tom Kelly, Remy Champt, Megan Trzaskoma, Scott Gienow, Bob Sprenger, and Dave Almeter.

Next came three weeks of "beat the clock boatbuilding" as the yard gang and boat crew worked like madmen to get the vessel finished and rigged in order to make our first paying job at the Toronto Tall Ship Festival. We got there a day early.

Our thanks to naval architech Charlie Wittholz (who passed away as the vessel was nearing completion), Parker Marean NA, who finished up the design work, and to Mark and Toni Treworgy and the crew at Treworgy Yachts for creating such a beautiful and capable ship.

"Happy Birthday Inland Seas"

- Tom Kelly