american tall ship institute

Saturday and Sunday are the days the tall ship goes out for 3 hours (1 to 4 p.m.) true sail. This is a working ship and the mostly all-volunteer crew lives on board. It is a very big ship and the passengers get involved in raising and lowering the sails as the engine power is cut. No longer are you a tourist but now you are part of the crew. Such fun, you go out through the channel opening into the ocean. During our trip, we saw the crew take part in a "Man-Overboard" drill (removal of balloons from the sea) and we cheered them as they accomplished this feat in slightly more than 4 minutes (5 minutes is the target). The crew's stories (why are you here? what made you choose this life?) are very interesting and for the price of $40 (Senior discount) each, it was an excellent way to spend a wonderful afternoon on the water. It is an historic ship and the Captain will tell you all about it, why he bought it, and what the boat does for at-risk youth and schools' various programs. You can learn more about this cruise at the Island Packers website, where you can also schedule tickets for this sail and other outings with different companies' water outings.