There is an exciting opportunity for members of the UMass Boston community to go aboard the tall ship “Ernestina” on an eight-day trip. The voyage is a part of “Exploring the Coastal Environment”, a summer program of the Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education that is aimed at teaching students the nautical principles and skills necessary to operate a sailing vessel, including navigating, charting, and maintaining the sails.

The “Ernestina” will embark from the Massachusetts seaport of New Bedford on July 22. The schooner will make its way along the New England seaboard to New Haven, Connecticut, with possible stops at ports in Rhode Island and Long Island. Joining UMB faculty, students and staff will be one high school student chosen from essay writing contest.

The Ernsetina has had a long and illustrious history. First commissioned in 1894, the then “Effie M Morrissey” became a part of the Massachusetts fishing fleet. Fifty years later, the schooner was engaged in the events of World War II under the command of Captain Robert Abram Bartlett.

The ship was renamed in 1946 as the Ernestina and placed in the service of the Cape Verdean packet trade for over 35 years. The government of Cape Verde gave the ship back the United States in 1982 as a symbol of goodwill and fellowship between the two countries. The ship is now the official vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The fee for the sea trip is $750. The cost includes meals, passage, nautical training, and other marine activities aboard the “Ernestina”. Space is limited to 22 berths and the deadline for participation is June 13, 2002. Those interested in the program must fill out an application provided by the Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education. For more information, contact Kathy FitzPatrick at (617) 287-7913 or by email at [email protected].