PORT TOWNSEND — The schooner Adventuress brings an educational benefit to North Olympic Peninsula residents of all ages, a speaker informed the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
“We want to get people on the water so they can learn about the environment, sailing and each other,” said Sound Experience Education and Outreach Coordinator Megan Addison.
“When people are out of their element, they can learn so much.”
The Adventuress is in the middle of its summer season.
It was in Port Townsend over the weekend to conduct several public sails.
Addison said that about 25 such sails take place each year, sandwiched between the vessel’s educational programs and public exhibitions.
“The programs provide new opportunities closer to nature,” Addison said.
“And it lets us know why we live in a really cool place.”
While people from 8 to older than 80 participate in the vessel’s programs, Addison said the “heart and soul” of these programs are schoolchildren.
Throughout the season, schools take entire classes on day sails or longer duration, where the kids learn what it’s like to live on a boat.
Part of the draw is that all of the approximately 40 people who are aboard are needed to keep the tall ship going.
“We need people to help raise the sails — the crew can’t do it by themselves,” Addison said.
“When you are 10 years old and are expending all your energy to raise a sail, it can be very empowering.”
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience for visitors is to climb the rigging, which lifts the traveler to a point 95 feet above the water.
“When you climb all the way to the top, it is a magical experience,” Addison said.
The Adventuress, which turns 100 next summer, is a work in progress, Addison said.
There are constant improvements, such as the new sails that were installed on the schooner earlier this month.
Addison said a lot of the ship’s wood dates back to the time it was built, “but there is less every year.
“We are always replacing different parts,” she said.
“When we do this, we strive to do it right, and everything we replace is done in a way that will last another 50 years.”
Two additional public sailings will take place in Port Townsend this season, on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3.
The vessel also is sponsoring a fundraising cruise Sept. 23 that leaves from Royal Argosy Pier 55/56 in Seattle.
The cost for the fundraiser is $65 per person.
For more information, go to www.soundexp.org.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
