The Inland Seas Education Association – Onward Bound!

By Sandra Serra Bradshaw
Sun contributor

Just about everyone has noticed the quite distinct red-sailed, emerald green hulled schooner traversing the waters around Leelanau County. This is the 77-foot schoolship, Inland Seas. A beloved ship to many, she has been around for more than 28 years now. Thomas Michael Kelly, the ship’s first captain, would be filled with joy to know that his original visions are being carried on well beyond his passing back in January 2016.

Kelly was a marine biologist and known affectionately as “Captain Tom” to thousands of students. His monumental vision was to teach children and adults to know, protect, and love the Great Lakes’ important ecosystem. He directed that passion into educating people far and wide with the singular goal of protecting these waters.

The idea to start an educational science program was rooted during his early research career on the University of Michigan’s Water Center ships, notably the Inland Seas and the Laurentian. The university’s long and prominent history in Great Lakes research stretches back more than a century and touches nearly every discipline relating to our world-unique Inland Seas.

The U-M Great Lakes research originally focused on fish and fisheries, but the emphasis began to shift after the 1920s to basic limnology, as in the scientific study of bodies of freshwater. That became Kelly’s focus as well. When he moved to Traverse City, he began the University of Michigan water lab, created to study the ecology of Grand Traverse Bay.  

Kelly had spent a month out east aboard the Clearwater, a sailing sloop whose group was working to clean up the then-heavily polluted Hudson River through advocacy and education. The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. was founded in 1966 by well-known folksinger/songwriter Pete Seeger and his wife, Toshi. The Hudson River, America’s first “superhighway,” was being destroyed by deposits of waste.

The well-traveled river had become “rank with raw sewage, toxic chemicals, oil pollution, and bacteria too anoxic to support fish life” (visit Clearwater.org). Seeger’s aim was to save the Hudson by raising awareness and halting the tragic pollution. Kelly’s experience, coupled with the group’s obvious positive impact on the Hudson River being cleaned up, caused him to realize that such a program was sorely needed here on the Great Lakes.

Providence seemed to pave the way for such a new venture; Grand Traverse Bay was just about to have a new tall ship grace its waters, reviving the sailing days of yesteryear—the schooner Malabar, owned by Traverse Tall Ship Company. This double-masted ship provided the perfect platform for introducing the unique learning experience that Kelly had envisioned. Kelly chartered the Malabar for students between 1989 to 1994, and its presence impacted thousands of school children to become aware of the need to protect our fragile Inland Seas. Thus began the Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) founded by Kelly and John Elder (then of the Traverse Tall Ship Company).

The newly formed ISEA began planning for its own vessel sometime around 1991. Kelly’s clear vision stipulated that this new vessel had to be a schooner, and it must be named Inland Seas, to honor both the endearing surname of the Great Lakes and the ship Inland Seas that Kelly had formerly worked on.  Another requirement was that this ship have “tanbark” sails to make it both distinctive and memorable for everyone watching from onshore or onboard her decking.  

These dark burgundy “tanbark” sails are no longer necessary in today’s modern synthetic sail cloths. Yet in more traditional boat design, with correspondingly traditional sail plans, many owners of these vessels—including Kelly—preferred the traditional appearance. On today’s synthetic sail fabric, this process actually shortens the sails’ life-span, a disadvantage that is being accepted just for the looks.

The Inland Seas was built by Treworgy Yachts in Palm Coast Florida. Launched on May 18, 1994, Kelly hung a brass plaque in the pilot house that reads “Many Great Works Are Yet To Be Done.”  “This statement succinctly communicates the dreams of the Inland Seas founder Tom Kelly,” reads the ISEA website, “and is the reason we work today to ensure his legacy continues long into the future.”

During this time, Kelly contributed an essay for the book, Seasons of the Leelanau. He wrote, “Leelanau is a special place for me because of the water. We are everywhere close to the water: marshes and bogs, constant cold-streams, lakes, and Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay. Even the hills and valleys that give the county its character and climate were shaped by water (frozen water, that is, and the glacial meltdown that followed).

“Being almost surrounded by water makes for a pleasant isolation. You can only get here on purpose, We are not on the way to any other place. Unless you are traveling by boat, the water is a connecting medium. It appeals to me that we are connected nautically with Boston, Bombay, and Buenos Aires.

“There is a freedom in knowing that our horizon is not confined by an inland lake, and with the right boat you could sail away to … There is something special here about the people. I don’t know if it’s the landscape, the waters, or the climate that makes it this way. I only know that there are a lot of unique people in Leelanau. Some have family names that have been here over a hundred years. Some have just moved here. But these are a friendly, creative preserving folk, and I am proud to be among them.”

Kelly’s vision also involved inspiring students to consider careers in the sciences. Keenly aware of the future problems the Great Lakes faced, he realized that ultimately many of the solutions to those problems will come from scientists who could develop this yearning as young students. His Schoolship program was designed in such a way that each assumed the role of a “Great Lakes scientist for the day.” These students use cutting edge scientific equipment. and learn firsthand what a job as a Great Lakes scientist actually looks and feels like in an exciting and fun manner. Today, five years after his passing, ISEA continues with his vision to inspire the next generation of Great Lakes scientists, ensuring that his vital vision for protecting the Great Lakes lives on.

Live on it does at the ISEA’s headquarters in Suttons Bay. Since 2013 it is run by executive director Fred Sitkins. He has been involved with ISEA since the beginnings in the ’90s and crewed aboard the Malabar. After receiving his Bachelor of Elementary Education at Western Michigan and Masters of Educational Administration at Central Michigan, he went on to become a teacher and later the principal at Boyne City Elementary.

“Today, it’s true to say that my early experiences with Inland Seas played a large role in my desire to pursue education as a career,” Sitkins said. “It would also be safe to state that my teaching philosophy of student engagement above all else was also developed through my early experiences with ISEA. It was an honor for me to have the opportunity to pick up the lantern from Tom.

“I admired and respected Tom immensely,” he continued, “and strive to lead the organization in a manner that I believe Tom would approve of. I’ve thought often how thankful I am to the groundwork that Tom built with ISEA,” said Sitkins. “The wonderful reputation and partnerships we enjoy today are the fruits of many years of hard work by Tom and they are what have made ISEA a truly sustainable organization which can gain strength even during a pandemic. I’m thankful for all that Tom built and am pleased to have the opportunity to continue this great legacy.”

Kelly was successful in inspiring more than 100,000 Great Lakes Stewards in his lifetime, and now the organization keeps the way open for many more. The Association offers a variety of options for schools to introduce their students to hands-on learning on and around the Great Lakes Region. There is a host of professional staff and seasoned volunteer instructors who help with the collection and analysis of Great Lakes samples during classes. Beyond onboard experiences, student also learn onshore. There are also adult programs and sailing adventures. For further info please visit ISEA’s website, Schoolship.org, or call (231) 271-3077.