Elissa Youth Seamanship Program Begins Saturday, August 7
Texas Seaport Museum’s annual Youth Seamanship Training Program aboard Elissa, the Official Tall Ship of Texas, begins with an orientation session Saturday, August 7, at 9 a.m. Any interested person between the ages of 11 to 17 is invited to attend the orientation at the Texas Seaport Museum with no obligation for further participation. Youth who join the volunteer crew not only learn the skills required to sail this ship, they also become part of the team that keeps her in seaworthy condition.
Parents or guardians should attend the orientation with their youth from 9 a.m. to noon at the Texas Seaport Museum Theater. During orientation, parents and youth will learn about the original restoration of Elissa more than 25 years ago, and will have the opportunity to find out how youth seamanship training is structured and what to expect.
All the Saturday seamanship training sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m., during which time youth participants are not permitted to leave the site. All participants should bring a sack lunch. The Texas Seaport Museum is located at 21st and Harborside Drive on Galveston Island . Elissa is docked next to the museum.
Those youth who go on to participate in the 14-session program become a part of the Elissa crew.
(Participants are required to attend at least 11 of 14 sessions.) Youth who complete the program will have the opportunity to serve as crew members when Elissa sails in the spring. The youth seamanship training program is free of charge (except for the purchase of a t-shirt and a Youth Crew Uniform shirt), but requires a commitment of time to attend at least the 11 mandatory sessions. The sessions are held on periodic Saturdays running through mid-March.
For area youth, the program is an opportunity to work with experienced staff and volunteers, learning new skills and building in themselves the strengths of self-reliance and teamwork that seamanship requires.
Participants learn about climbing aloft and loosing sails as well as chipping rust, painting, sanding, varnishing, and overhauling the rigging: all part of what a seaman does as operating the ship under sail.
For more information contact John Schaumburg or Christine Hayes at the Texas Seaport Museum , 409-763-1877. For more information about Elissa, go to www.galvestonhistory.org or email elissa@galvestonhistory.org
Class Schedule 2010-2011 |
Orientation |
August 7, 2010 |
(9 to Noon) |
Class I |
September 18, 2010 |
|
Class II |
October 2, 2010 |
|
Class III |
October 9, 2010 |
|
Class IV |
October 23, 2010 |
|
Class V |
November 13, 2010 |
|
Dickens |
December 4, 2010 |
Bake Sale |
Class VI |
December 11, 2010 |
|
Class VII |
January 15, 2011 |
|
Class VIII |
January 29, 2011 |
|
Class IX |
February 5, 2011 |
|
Class X* |
February 12, 2011 |
|
Class XI* |
February 19, 2011 |
|
Class XII* |
February 26, 2011 |
|
Class XIII* |
March 5, 2011 |
|
Class XIV* |
March 12, 2011 |
Graduation |
*The youth will be assigned mentors from the adult crew for these classes.
The Dickens bake sale is voluntary; all other classes are required. Crewmembers must attend at least 11 required classes to be invited to sail in March.
Sail date is most likely to be on a weekday in March, 2011. Letters will be available to explain the day to school administrators. Youth Crew will spend the night before sailing at the museum.
A parents meeting will be held on August 7 as part of Orientation. Parents should attend this meeting to learn what to expect from the program and to have the opportunity to have questions answered. |
