Appledore Tall Ships

BaySail's info

BaySail's Mission

>> To foster environmental stewardship of the Saginaw Bay Watershed and the Great Lakes ecosystem and to provide personal development opportunities for learners of all ages through ship board and land based educational experiences. <<

The Shipboard Itinerary

Welcome to the Schooner Appledore! Students will arrive having been assigned to one of three groups by their teacher:

Plankton Pirates Red
Benthic Brigade Gold
Water Wardens Blue

An Appledore Teacher will greet students while still ashore. Each student will be issued a clipboard, pen, and Appledore Journal.

Prior to boarding, students will receive a brief overview of what a watershed is. They will also meet and receive a safety talk from either the Appledore’s first mate or Captain.

Saginaw River Transit to the Bay

As we pull away from the dock, students begin to learn about the different sails the schooner Appledore sets. During the river transit, Appledore Teachers will take their groups through three different stations:

*Navigation: with activities like knot tying and chart work [latitude and longitude].

*Observation: includes wildlife identification and a discussion focusing on potential pollution problems along the river.

*Weather: which allows students the chance to discover the difference between true and apparent wind speeds, and calculate the relative humidity for that particular day.

“On-Station” Sampling

After dropping anchor in Saginaw Bay, each group will participate in using scientific equipment to collect the sample for which it is named. For example, the Plankton Pirates will collect the plankton sample, the Benthic Brigade will collect the benthic sample and the Water Wardens will collect the water sample using a plankton net, petite ponar dredge and alpha water bottle, respectively.

Raise the Sails!

Once all the samples have been collected, the crew will engage students in raising the sails. The teachers and chaperones are encouraged to participate as well!