Media Release 5.2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Theresa M. Barbo
774.263.4219
ccsmedia@coastalstudies.org

MassSail Launches Second Season
PCCS Marine Education Features WhaleSails & Community Days

(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA) - MassSail begins its second season of marine science education programs on May 17 aboard the schooner Spirit of Massachusetts.

MassSail - a joint venture between the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) and the Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF) - is a series of marine education programs to promote public awareness and encourage interest and stewardship in Massachusetts' rich marine environment through shipboard and dockside programs in Massachusetts coastal cities and towns.

The 2006 schedule comprises over 90 days at sea, through programs run from May through September. In its inaugural season in 2005, MassSail programs took Spirit to sea for 70 days. "MassSail's 2006 schedule includes Community Days Programs in several new communities along Massachusetts' coast, including Duxbury, Bourne and an expanded program in Boston," said Marine Education Director Joanne M. Jarzobski. "With last year's success with MassSail's WhaleSail program, we designed a new, one-week long version for younger students to participate," she added.

Community Days, Advanced WhaleSail, and WhaleSail are core components of MassSail.

Community Days programs are based in various cities and towns in Massachusetts, including Boston, Bourne, Duxbury, Hyannis, Nantucket, Newburyport, and Provincetown, with open houses, dockside programs for elementary school students, day-long programs for middle school students, and five to seven day voyages for middle and high school classes. Community Days begins in Boston on May 22. "The expansion of MassSail's Community Days Programs into Boston will allow us to sail with students from 9 different middle schools, and one high school, from the Boston Public School District, for a total of 15 days, including day sails and 2-day overnight transit voyages," said Jarzobski.

All curricula for Community Days school programs are aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for History and/or Social Sciences, or Science and Technology and Engineering.

WhaleSail offers 13 to 16 year-old students a one-week adventure and environmental exploration for high school students to explore the marine environment, to study endangered large whales of the Gulf of Maine, and to learn time-honored seafaring arts. From the deck of Spirit of Massachusetts, students will explore Massachusetts' unique marine environment, learning about the diverse marine ecosystem, and maritime history.

Advanced WhaleSail is a two-week program for three college credits offered through Cape Cod Community College. This program for students aged 16-22 is an intense immersion into the biology, natural history and conservation of cetaceans in the Gulf of Maine. Hands-on cetacean, environmental and oceanographic data collection, and time-honored seafaring skills, are part of this program. All students are full participants in the voyage, standing watch and learning the arts and skills of traditional seafaring. WhaleSail is scheduled for July 22 thru the 28, and Advanced WhaleSail begins June 25 thru July 8. Both WhaleSail and Advanced WhaleSail are sold out, but two full scholarships will be available for Cape Cod High School students on Advanced WhaleSail. Five full scholarships will be available for Bourne and Falmouth students on WhaleSail. Visit Masssail.org for scholarship information, curricula, applications, and a schedule of specific dates for Community Days.

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Joanne M. Jarzobski
Marine Education Director
508.487.3623 x108
masssail@coastalstudies.org

OCF Contact
Jenny Doak
Communications Coordinator
800.724.7245 x105
jdoak@oceanclassroom.org