Maritime museum and schooner promise 'no lost lunches' on whale-watching trips

San Diego—With the 2010/2011 whale watching season commencing mid-December, the famous sailing schooner America has announced what is typically unheard of in this industry: a “No Seasickness Guarantee.” Operating from the Maritime Museum of San Diego, the America conducts daily whale and dolphin-watching sailing trips to as far out as 12 miles on the ocean during the four-month viewing season from December 11 to April 17.

To offer such a guarantee is very comforting for folks interested in seeing the whale migration, but have been reluctant because of the traditional motion sickness issues.

"Ask any boater who has sat in a fishing boat or typical whale watching vessel anywhere in the world and they’ll tell you that motion sickness is very common, and very unwelcome," says Warren Allan, Director of Sales & Marketing for Dennis Conner’s famous yacht.

“What we bring to the industry is a very large, low profile sailing vessel upon which the typical seasick motion is reduced considerably by the huge underwater keel," Allan says. The 11-foot deep keel is there to counterbalance the wind in the sails, he adds. Without the keel a sailing yacht would tip over.

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Jamie White takes over the helm of the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston

Galveston, Texas—The Galveston Historical Foundation has announced the appointment of James “Jamie” White as director of the Texas Seaport Museum, home of the restored 1877 sailing vessel Elissa and several other vessels. A master rigger, White has more than 30 years of experience in the historic sailing ship community, leading the restoration, rigging and maintenance of dozens of restored vessels and replicas around the U.S. and in the United Kingdom. He has a 100-ton Master’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard, and has logged more than 30,000 miles at sea aboard traditional sailing vessels. He began his new duties at Texas Seaport Museum October 1.

“Jamie brings an amazing depth of experience, both in rigging and maintaining traditional ships like Elissa, and in working in maritime museum environments. He has earned tremendous credibility in the world of tall ships,” said Dwayne Jones, GHF’s executive director. “We are very fortunate to have him aboard.”

No stranger to Elissa, White spent six months in 1988 at the Texas Seaport Museum overhauling the ship’s rig and preparing her for sea, while acting as a sail training officer before her annual sea trials. He returned 20 years later in 2008 to survey the rig after the stresses of Hurricane Ike, re-tensioning shrouds and again supervising preparations for the 2009 sea trials, which were carried out on schedule.

Read more: Jamie White takes over the helm of the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston

Chesapeake Bay skipjack Kathryn relaunched in St. Michaels Md after maintenance

St. Michaels, Md.—The Kathryn, a Chesapeake Bay skipjack built at Crisfield, Maryland in 1901, was launched back in the waters on August 18, 2010 after two weeks of maintenance work at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. Noted as one of the fastest skipjacks on the Bay, Kathryn is designated a maritime National Historic Landmark and is currently owned by Capt. Harold "Stoney" Whitelock of Dames Quarter, Maryland.

The Kathryn is 50 feet long, 15.67 feet wide and draws 4.17 feet of water. With an unusual "soft" chine, she is fore-and-aft-planked, unlike most skipjacks, which are cross-planked. The Kathryn carries the standard skipjack rig with a raked mast, 64 feet tall and 12 inches in diameter, carrying a clubbed jib and a jib-headed mainsail.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has a working boat yard, including rail facilities to haul historic boats in and out of the waters. For visitors interested in trying their hand at building a boat, CBMM offers Apprentice for a Day programs on weekends. For more information, visit www.cbmm.org or call 410-745-2916.

Find photos of the launch on the CBMM Facebook pages.