Inland Seas newest schooner, Alliance, arrives in Suttons Bay
From staff reports
The Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) will welcome the schooner Alliance when she arrives in West Grand Traverse Bay following a month-long, 3,000-mile voyage from Georgetown, Maryland. Alliance’s arrival in Suttons Bay is scheduled for Friday, July 14, around 4 pm. The public is invited to witness the arrival and welcome her to her new port.
The acquisition of Alliance, a 105-foot, three-masted schooner was in response to the growing demand for ISEA’s programming across the Great Lakes.
“The addition of the Schooner Alliance to the ISEA Schoolship fleet marks a pivotal moment in the history of our organization and the future stewardship of the Great Lakes,” said ISEA executive director Fred Sitkins. “This organizational expansion is a testament to the partnerships that ISEA enjoys throughout the Great Lakes region. Colleges/universities, nonprofits, K-12 schools, foundations, and other organizations partner with ISEA to develop environmental stewards and leaders to care for the Great Lakes.
“We make a lasting impact in the lives of youth and the health of the Great Lakes and we are thrilled that we can now reach more individuals and communities with the addition of another schoolship.”
The addition of Alliance will allow ISEA to deepen its impact by providing programming to more partners in Detroit, Chicago, Houghton, Green Bay, Cleveland, and other ports around the Great Lakes, while simultaneously having a larger presence throughout the sailing season at the home port in West Grand Traverse Bay.
ISEA’s expansion ultimately reflects a wider recognition of the importance of education in protecting the Great Lakes. Schools, organizations, and members of the public look to ISEA for this programming, but a lack of capacity has meant many requests go unfulfilled each year. The addition of another ship will allow ISEA to usher in the next generation of environmental stewards by continuing to connect them in meaningful ways with their watersheds.
The schooner Alliance was launched by Treworgy Yachts in 1995, a year after the yard launched the schooner Inland Seas. Originally named Kathryn B., she sailed as part of a windjammer fleet in Maine. She was purchased in 2005, rechristened the Alliance, and has been a charter and day sailing vessel out of Yorktown, Virginia before ISEA’s ownership.
Sails are scheduled for late July and early August for the public to experience programs aboard Alliance before she heads to Detroit this fall to work with students on the Detroit River.
