Another exciting week came to a close at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center, with Andrew and Jane Marvin, age 5 and 7, respectively, participating in the first BSSC “Mizzen” program of the 2013 summer season. The BSSC “Mizzen” program is a class designed to introduce sailors ages 5, 6 and 7 to the sport of boating and sailing.

Like the pre-teen and teen sailors, Jane and Andy demonstrated phenomenal rowing and sailing talent, as well as basic seamanship skills. Unlike the pre-teen and teen sailors in the Keelboat Program, they learned to sail together in a Turnabout dinghy.  

The afternoon pre-teen and teen class sailors included Kylie Brown, Sophia Gudroe, Willem King, Caelan Newton and Ben Pearce. These sailors not only enjoyed a week of rowing and sailing in Boothbay Harbor and beyond but also gained firsthand knowledge of weather systems, navigation, compass and chart reading. These sailors also practiced touch and go mooring exercises aboard the Center’s Sonar sailboat.

The Boothbay Sea and Science Center’s special events of the week included a tour of the cruise liner Independence docked at Wotton’s Wharf as well as a trip to Bigelow Lab where the morning and afternoon sailors attended the Lab’s open house.

This field trip not only afforded the students an excellent opportunity to conduct hands-on science experiments but also to tour the facility and speak with scientists about their fields of expertise of study.

A very special thank you to all of the staff and scientists at Bigelow Lab for sharing their time and knowledge with us!Rounding out the week, on Friday, the BSSC sailors and their families enjoyed a lunchtime pizza party.

BSSC’s program is currently offering weekday instruction in sailing and seamanship for students age 5 to 55-plus in rowboats, Turnabout sailing dinghies and Sonar keelboat at Wotton’s Wharf.  Boats are also available for private instruction on some weekends depending on availability.

Please contact Gray Ferris, BSSC Sailing Director, by calling 207-350-5357 or email the Center at info@boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org. For more information about our exciting programs please visit www.boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org. Classes at BSSC are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.