Gray Ferris and Rebecca Hadik will be Sea and Science Instructors at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center (BSSC) this summer. Ferris and Hadik hold US Sailing Level II and Level I certifications respectively.

Ferris has a hard time imagining spending summers anywhere but in beautiful Midcoast Maine. According to Ferris, he has been fortunate to not only learn to sail on these waters, but also to have had the opportunity to be the sailing director during the inaugural summer of the Boothbay Sea and Science Center.

Ferris also taught sailing at the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club. In addition to being a sailing instructor, Ferris is also a professional French horn player and brass teacher. He received a master’s degree in music performance as well as an associate degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

As an undergraduate, Ferris attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham, where he spent his non-sailing time working on a bachelor’s degree in education. Ferris is currently a member of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Sinaloa de las Artes in Culiacan, Mexico, and formerly of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Hadik grew up sailing in Savannah, Georgia, where she spent her summers on the water in Optimist (Opti) dinghies. Moving with her family to Maine, she continued to sail Optis but became more interested in keel boat sailing. During high school she spent several summers working for Windward Passage, a nonprofit sailing program. Hadik also enjoyed the opportunity to be guest crew for a two day trip aboard the Pride of Baltimore II.

At the start of her freshman year at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, Hadik enrolled in the Sea Education Association (SEA) Program that took her on a semester long transatlantic voyage affording her a hands-on experiential learning opportunity. According to Hadik, the curriculum used during the trip taught her how closely sailing and science are linked. SEA is a field-based environmental education at sea program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Immediately following her return to Clark University, Hadik started a sailing club. Hadik is proud to share that in April 2015 the Clark U. Sailing Club hit the water for the first time.

Hadik is looking forward to her summer at BSSC. “I’m extremely excited about working with the kids at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center and sharing my love for both sailing and the marine environment that makes it possible.”

For more information about BSSC, visit www.boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org or call 207-350-5357. BSSC invites you to like them on Facebook.