Almost Spring

Looks quiet on the outside, but Capt. Ben has multiple projects underway under the cover.  Sailing soon!

-Capt Tom

The Schoolship in Winter

I visited Inland Seas yesterday but I could not get in as the lock was frozen.  Capt. Ben will come later with a torch!  Otherwise, she is wintering well.

I don't think anyone would want to swim here today.

Inland Seas with her sister Schoolship, Manitou

--Stay warm, Capt. Tom.

New Book "Aboard the Great Lakes Schoolship" Now Available

Heather Shaw's 96-page book on the history of Inland Seas, titled Aboard the Great Lakes Schoolship  is available at the ISEA office or Horizon Books in Traverse City.  The cost is $16 plus tax.  This book would make a great gift to any friend of ISEA. 

 

Boy Scout Troop 290 - 3 Day Sailing & Science

On September 5 - 7, 14 Boy Scouts and 6 adults sailed with us on Grand Traverse Bay.  Most of these Scouts had never sailed before.  In 3 days they were sailors and scientists! 

Abandon Ship Drill prior to leaving dock

Abandon Ship Drill

Sampling for Micro-Plastics with the Manta Trawl

Manta Trawl coming aboard

Chief Scientist Jeanie with Manta Trawl

Happy Helmsman

Reed's Poster

 

We had a great time with these Scouts.  Hope to sail with you again soon! 

 

-- Capt. Tom & the Crew (Ben Hale, Jim Herman, Jeanie Williams, Allen Wolfe)

Inland Seas at Escanaba, July 2014

Crew Change on Friday, June 27

Young Women in Science students present their research results

Second group research results

Aloft to adjust the fore topmast backstay

Foredeck from aloft

Escanaba Harbor channel

Sand Point Lighthouse

Weathered in at Escanaba Monday & Tuesday

Leaving Escanaba, wind N 20 - 30 kts

Len and Ben Swanton off St. Martin Island

We made it home to Suttons Bay in 8 hours and 10 minutes.  --Capt. Tom

Topmasts Up!

On last Thursday and Friday the crew, lead by Captain Ben Hale, set the topmasts.  This is usually done in April but was delayed this spring by the lingering winter and our busy spring class schedule.

Captain Ben Hale and Deckhand Ben Swanton guide the main topmast into position

 Other News from the Schoolship Inland Seas:

New crew member Jim Herman removes the washdown pump for replacement

We are using a flux-gate compass until our magnetic compass is repaired (damaged in the lightning strike last October)
Thanks to The Traverse Tall Ship Co. for the loan of the KVH flux-gate compass.

The big news was reaching our 100,000th student mark last Tuesday.  

-Capt. Tom 

Gull Island Birding Cruise, June 1, 2014

We had a great day to sail to Gull Island in Grand Traverse Bay.  We were able to observe the herring gull colony, mute swans, cormorants and Caspian terns.  Bill Scharf counted 45 Caspian tern nests, which is good news for this threatened species.  We noted many fewer cormorants this year.

Our thanks to our presenters Jenee Rowe of the Leelanau Conservancy and Bill Scharf, and to the Leelanau Peninsula Birding Festival.

Remains of the house on Gull Island

Close up of the old house foundation and chimneys

Gull Island Sail Participants

Thanks also to all who sailed with us.  Great to have you aboard. --Capt. Tom

Launch and Transit to Suttons Bay, May 1, 2014

Launch at Northport Bay Boatyard

Hull reflection - note ice in well

On our way home

We disassembled the cover frame enroute

Heavy ice off Omena Point

Near Omena Point

Open water ahead...somewhere

We made it home safely after a 3 hour passage.  One hour longer than usual.  --Capt. Tom

More Inland Seas Fit-Out Photos....

NBBY Workers putting on 6 coats of Interlux epoxy primer...

and two coats of red anti-fouling 

Capt. Ben aloft to install the new radar on the main mast

Schoolship Inland Seas Fit-Out Underway at Northport Bay Boat Yard

Lower "skirt" cover added to allow work on the bottom

Inside the lower cover, ready for sand blasting off the old paint

Capt. Ben fairing out a repaired area of the Pilot House roof

Control for the new inverter/charger.  We also replaced a VHF radio, radar, GPS plotter and added an isolation transformer this winter.

More photos from fit-out coming soon.  We hope to launch as soon as we have open water.  The Bay is still completely frozen, except for a few places around the edges. -Capt. Tom

R. M. Young Co. Assists ISEA After Lightning Strike

The R. M. Young Company, based in Traverse City, has replaced the lightning-damaged weather instruments on our schooner Inland Seas.  R. M. Young donated a new Wind Monitor, Wind Tracker display, and repaired the temperature/relative humidity display.

Many thanks to our good friends at R. M. Young Company.  Your continued support of the Inland Seas Education Association will keep us sailing and teaching about the Great Lakes. We use these instruments as part of our education program and to provide information to the National Weather Service.

Tom Kelly
Captain/Founder

Remains of our Wind Monitor after being hit by lightning on October 3rd

Replacement Wind Monitor supplied by the R. M. Young Co.

Inland Seas Hauled Out at Northport

Inland Seas was hauled out this morning at Northport Bay Boatyard in a snow storm.  Nice day for a boat trip.  We will now winterize the engine and other systems onboard and put on a shrink-wrap cover (as soon as there is a break in the weather).  Our thanks to NBBY for their good work. 

Ben Clark sweeping off the snow prior to departure.

Haul Out at NBBY in the snow

--Tom K.

Schoolship Season Ends With A Bang

ISEA’s last Schoolship Program of the 2013 season (our 25^th!) was on the morning of October 3^rd with Kalkaska Middle School.  We had a great trip with light winds and warm temperatures.

This final trip brought our total student population for this season to 4,119, giving a total of 98,809 students since our founding in 1989.

The rain held off for the final trip of the season, but it soon began to rain and thunder, and this weather continued off and on for the next four days.  Around 11 pm on October 3^rd, Inland Seas was struck by lightning.  Our deckhand, Ben Clark, was asleep in the foc’s’le, just a few feet from the foremast that was hit.  He awoke to a huge BANG and then the sound of objects hitting the deck above.  He went into the pilot house where he could see the deck and rig.  Nothing looked out of the ordinary, so he went back to bed. 

The next morning it was obvious that we had sustained a lightning strike to the foremast.  Little pieces of the R. M. Young Wind Monitor (anemometer) were scattered on the deck and dock, and the wooden disc that supported the anemometer was lying on the deck, blasted from the masthead by the strike.

 All that remains of the Wind Monitor after the lightning strike    As we began a thorough inspection of the vessel we found no structural damage except to one of the topmast shrouds. The bad news was that many of our electronic instruments no longer functioned, including the radar, the pilot house VHF radio, the graph depth sounder, the wind and weather instrument displays, the pilot house GPS and inverter.  We may have to replace the compasses also.  This will run in excess of $9,000, and should be covered by insurance after our $4,500 deductible is paid.

If you would like to make a contribution to help replace the damaged instruments, you can send ISEA a check (write Schoolship Fund in the memo line) or use our secure web site at http://www.schoolship.org/giving/donate-now (type Schoolship Fund in the Special Instructions box).  Any funds received over our deductible will be used for future maintenance and upgrading the Schoolship Inland Seas.

Thank you for your help with keeping our ship sailing and safe. 

Best regards,

Tom  Kelly

ISEA Executive Director

Master, Inland Seas