While the celebration of Windjammers welcomes a fleet of tall ships to Boothbay Harbor, another unique vessel will be trolling the waterways of the Boothbay region.

Boothbay Sea and Science Center welcomed the captain and crew of the Rozalia Project, who arrived aboard the 60-foot American Promise at the Ocean Point Marina June 24.

Project Rozalia is a nationwide expedition based out of Kittery, and operates in the Gulf of Maine during the summer. Headed by Capt. Rachael Miller, a crew of seven interns and two remotely operated vehicles (ROV), Project Rozalia uses the latest technology to remove marine debris from the ocean, conducts research and educates the public.

The American Promise sails Maine's coastal and urban waters from May through September. Last year the team picked up over a half million pieces of garbage. This year, the crew will include over 31 interns throughout the summer, as they collect debris with their nets and underwater robots.

“We're doing more than just the shoreline, but cleaning up and learning about the surface and what's sitting on the bottom,” Miller said.

Based on their latest research, Miller's team designs models to show how ocean's currents and temperatures affect the flow of garbage throughout the Gulf of Maine.

“What we've found in Maine is there is a lot of water moving in and out,” Miller said. “And the areas of high current generally do not have a lot of underwater accumulation, however there is a lot of trash that ends up on shorelines.”

In the fall, the boat comes out of the water and the team travels to different parts of the country including the mid Atlantic region and the west coast for the rest of the year.

The American Promise will be docked at Ocean Point Marina in East Boothbay June 27-29. The boat will offer educational programs and invite the public as well as privately scheduled groups aboard to learn about trash hunting. For full schedule of events, visit www.boothbayregister.com.

To learn more about the Rozalia Project, visit www.rozaliaproject.org.