In 2009 you can join Summer Sailstice and Sailors for the Sea for the start of a virtual and real 25,000 mile circumnavigation of Americas! Summer Sailstice has teamed up with the Sailors for the Sea as a charitable partner so sailors can join them in helping preserve the world's oceans. When you sign up for Summer Sailstice, you can pledge $1 (or more) per mile sailed on Summer Sailstice so we can all sail to save the seven seas.

After starting their voyage in Seattle on May 31st Mark Schrader, Herb McCormick and the crew of the 64’ steel vessel ‘Ocean Watch’ will be somewhere North near Dutch Harbor, AK on the weekend of June 20/21. This is at about 54N and 166W so they’ll likely be one of the furthest North for Summer Sailstice. You can follow their adventure at www.sailorsforthesea.org

This epic voyage will highlight many aspects of the challenges faced by the oceans. The ocean is changing: seawater pH is falling, endangering coral reefs; warming waters are causing sea level to rise, imperiling low-lying areas; and Arctic sea ice is shrinking, threatening local wildlife. Changes in the marine environment affect not only inhabitants of the sea, but also have great ramifications for coastal communities and even inland populations.

These changes are heavily influenced by human activity, and consequently, sailors participating in Summer Sailstice and everyone can each play an important role in improving the health of our oceans. Sailors for the Sea knows sailors can mobilize to take action to protect our fragile oceans: our life on land is dependent on the health of our seas.

Their mission is to build awareness throughout the Americas so that citizens understand the precipitous changes that are occurring at the poles and along our coasts and what they can do to mitigate these changes.

The Around the Americas Project is a circumnavigation, by sailboat, of the North and South American continents as though they were one, gigantic island. Project Director and Captain Mark Schrader will depart Seattle in May 2009 sailing his 64 foot boat, Ocean Watch, through the Northwest Passage, down the east coast, around Cape Horn and up the west coast returning to Seattle in July 2010. 

In partnership with Seattle’s Pacific Science Center and the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab, Sailors for the Sea will use the dramatic nature of this never-completed sailing adventure to focus international attention on ocean health by:

* providing direct access to voyage updates through web-based field reports;
* creating bi-lingual educational materials that will be freely available to classrooms, after-school programs, and homes;
* hosting media events at 30 ports of call featuring conversations with scientists and educators discussing the relationship between the larger patterns of global climate change and its impact on local ocean environments;
* producing a film and book about the expedition.

We are exploring opportunities to make this expedition as environmentally neutral as possible. Some possibilities include:

* alternative fuels and use of wind and solar energy;
* non-toxic paints and cleaners;
* always pumping onboard toilets;
* disposing of trash and recycling on land and never at sea.

The voyage will bring audiences in direct contact with the health of our oceans through scientific observation and evaluation of the ocean environment and will provide a platform for scientists and educators to communicate the urgency of the issues to the broader public.

We hope all sailors sailing on Summer Sailstice will take a moment to recognize the efforts of Sailors for the Sea and support their Around the Americas voyage. It’s one simple thing we can all do to sail and save the oceans.

For more information visit: www.sailorsforthesea.org

Sailors for the Sea also conducts the following programs:

Rainy Day Kits – a program developed for junior sailing to engage children in ocean environmental awareness on days when the weather prohibits outdoor sailing activities.

Clean Regattas – created to help yacht clubs, regattas and junior programs achieve a third-party certification by reducing the environmental impact of their events.

A Sea Chane – supporting this new film premiered at the Environmental Film Festival in March 2009 in Washington, D.C.

The 64' steel cutter 'Ocean Watch' will begin its circumnavigation in May 2009.