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Your involvement and support are vital to the Center's efforts to conserve endangered whales and marine ecosystems.
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| Friday, July 1, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: MassSail's Whale Sail Marine Science Education Program Underway(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA) - Whale Sail, part of MassSail, the new marine science education program at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS,) left Boston today aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts for a two-week expedition into the Gulf of Maine. Sailing aboard the 125-foot schooner are high school students and college undergraduates studying the natural history, biology and conservation of whales [cetaceans] for three college credits offered through Cape Cod Community College."Classroom learning without experiential education is a sin," says CCCC President Kathleen Schatzberg. "It's fairly well recognized among educators," Schatzberg adds, "even if it's simulated, one has to have an experiential component to make people understand why they're learning what they're learning, and to give them a 'real world' context." Leading the two-week Whale Sail is PCCS Marine Education Coordinator Joanne Jarzobski, who is also PCCS whale watch education director, and Senior Naturalist Dr. Carole Carlson, an adjunct faculty member at CCCC. All students fully participate in running the Spirit, such as standing 'watch' and learning the arts and skills of traditional seafaring. Whale Sail is a unique experience in education that no classroom can duplicate. In addition to Whale Sail, MassSail offers Community-based programming: Class Trip Day Sails, Class Trip Voyages and Community Days, when the Spirit is open to the general public for open house tours and day sails. This summer, three one-week Seafaring Camps are offered to 13-to-16 year olds to explore the Massachusetts marine coastal environment. MassSail is a joint venture with the Rhode Island-based Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF,) the award-winning educational non-profit and pioneer of at-sea education programs. Appreciating and understanding the natural and cultural history of Massachusetts' coastal environment, and promoting environmental stewardship, are key goals of MassSail. From the decks of the Spirit of Massachusetts, our goals are shared in a highly-visible and symbolic manner. Constructed in 1984 at the Charlestown Navy Shipyard, the Spirit of Massachusetts is a 125-foot long schooner modeled after the late 19th century fishing vessel, the Fredonia, designed by Edward Burgess, which sailed to the North Atlantic fishing grounds for cod. The Spirit is authentic in rig and construction though she carries modern navigation and safety equipment. The vessel is fully inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping as a Sailing School Vessel, certified for international ocean voyages. The Spirit carries a crew complement of nine, with sailing twenty-two berths available for overnight trips. ** The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is dedicated to protecting marine mammals and coastal ecosystems through public education, scientific research, and conservation programs. Since its founding in 1976, the private, non-profit has become internationally renowned for its whale research and rescue programs, and is the leading authority for science-based resource management policies in Massachusetts. For specific information about MassSail, visit: www.MassSail.org, or call (508) 487-3622 x108.** The Ocean Classroom Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that provides programs of sea education and adventure for the youth of America. OCF is a leader in experiential education, with award-winning programs sailing from New England to the Caribbean Sea.# # # ContactTheresa M. Barbo Director of Communications Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (508) 487-3622 x103 (office) (774) 353-8034 (mobile) ccsmedia@coastalstudies.org
Joanne M. Jarzobski
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