NEW SCHOLARSHIPS RECORD

I am thrilled to report that 2023 has been Call of the Sea’s most successful scholarship year ever, with $112,000 and counting in scholarships awarded to 55 schools and over 1700 students. 

The Scholarship Program is one of Call of the Sea’s most inspiring initiatives. The importance of scholarships is reflected in the “Diversity & Belonging” section of COTS’s new Values Statement:

“We actively reach out to provide scholarships to those who otherwise lack the means to participate in our programs. We create an equitable, welcoming, and empowering learning and working community for all people.” 

Many of you have generously contributed to our scholarships in the past. Your continued support will allow COTS to offer transformative experiential education to more young people as we will continue reaching out to new underserved schools throughout the Bay Area and beyond! 

Mark Welther

CEO, Call of the Sea

WHEN: OCTOBER 27, 2023, 5:00-9:00 pm

WHERE: SAN FRANCISCO YACHT CLUB, 98 BEACH ROAD, BELVEDERE, CA



• Ship Tours 5:00-6:00 PM~~~Dinner and Program: 6:00-9:00 PM
• Video and Testimonials~~~Auction and “Fund-a-Need” for scholarships

MATTHEW TURNER on the cover of Wooden Boat Magazine!

Congratulations to Volunteers John Skoriak (co-author) and Benson Lee (cover photo) for the lovely spread in Wooden Boat Magazine. Check the issue out here

Join a sail on Matthew Turner!

• Friday sunset sails in September
• ALOFT Program
• Fleet Week Airshow viewing cruise
• Veterans Day Sail

Note, we also sail on schooner Seaward, so a sail may take place on either ship.

Volunteer of the Month, Gwendolyn Holst

We interviewed Gwen, a frequent weekend sailing volunteer, about her sailing experience.

Where do you come from, and were you involved with boats there?

I am a Bay Area native who returned in 2021 after 9 years in Los Angeles.  Growing up here, my first tall ship was Balclutha, on which I was the Rigger's Mate during my Age of Sail overnight in 7th grade, but it wasn't until some years later that tall ships became more than a really cool field trip.  While in Los Angeles, I was introduced to the twin brigantines, Irving and Exy Johnson, and the three-masted schooner, American Pride, of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute through a sailing course I took at USC.  I caught the sailing bug and really started living and breathing tall ships in 2017 after my first year of law school.  From then on, I was spending most of the time I wasn't on the boats figuring out when I could next return to them - if there was a record for the amount of time spent studying for the bar exam while voyaging on a tall ship, I would probably hold it. Read More

Highlights from the Summer Season at Call of the Sea!

This August our campers had the pleasure of learning to sail not only our staysail schooner ‘Seaward”, but also the Pelican Boats of Spaulding Boat Works. Campers learned the difference between steering a big boat with a wheel and a little boat with a tiller. Standing at the end of the pier you could hear little voices shouting ‘’Ready About” as their fellow comrades shifted in their seats preparing to tack in the Richardson Bay. The little salty sailors enjoyed a week-long adventure packed with sailing, fishing, field trips, science, art, and of course fun.

Thank you to our partners in maritime education; Spaulding Boat Works, and The Sailing Science Center for helping us deliver a great summer program. Check out this awesome review from one of our campers: “John had an amazing time at camp! He literally came home every day and couldn’t stop talking about the day and slipping into the sailing language he had learned. The counselors were kind and fun too. They were so wonderful with the kids. He loved lunch ;) thank you so much for making this a magical and unforgettable last week of summer camp for him.”  Erica S., Mother

Who Says Sailors don’t swim? Temperatures are kicking up this summer in Sausalito but the crew are staying cool. After a successful season of camp, the crew decided to take a plunge to cool off from a season of hard work.

While we mean business, we definitely don’t shy away from having fun. A crew that plays together, stays together.

Safety First! Just like in school, students drill to prepare for emergencies, well so do our crew. You can sail safely knowing that our staff routinely practices emergency procedures for man overboard, fire/flood, and vessel evacuation. The crew works hard to perfect these procedures for the official Coast Guard Inspection and to ensure the safety of all passengers in case of emergency.

Now booking School and Youth sails for Fall and Spring!

Meet new COTS team member Patrice Young

Patrice Young joined Call of the Sea in early spring of 2023 as part-time administrative assistant, signaling an expansion of the office staff to keep up with the organization’s growing needs on the administrative side.

Patrice comes to Call of the Sea with over 20 years of office experience, as well as certification in nonprofit management from Cal State East Bay. She also has a Master’s in Social Justice Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California. 

Patrice has been around boats for much of her life, starting with her brother’s 24-foot sloop on Missouri lakes, then moving to Seattle and Puget Sound where she sailed with friends.  

More recently, beginning in 2000, along with a new personal relationship with boat lover Ray Garner, who became her husband, she became co-owner of the classic 37’ sloop Trenayle, originally a wooden fishing boat built in Norway in 1958 by Hvaler. Read More

BILL POWERED

Matthew Turner was originally powered with a first-generation hybrid-electric propulsion system. The system has been generally reliable, but, starting in 2022, we increasingly experienced down-time due to electrical problems and overheating batteries. Call of the Sea is now looking to upgrade our propulsion system in the next two years with third-generation batteries. 

To research this project, Captain Tony Arrow and I turned to Bill Bryan. Many of you know Bill as one of our leading woodworking volunteers, profiled in June, 2021. He is also a retired mechanical engineer, and came to the Matthew Turner build project in 2016. 

Beginning in June 2023, Bill stepped up as Technical Advisor for Propulsion, and has immersed himself into the project. Along with longtime volunteer Charlie Walther, Bill now provides COTS staff with the vital internal expertise we need for this complex (and expensive) upgrade. I am especially inspired when volunteers from the Matthew Turner build era continue to offer their professional skills as we transition our operations into the future. 

You can support the Matthew Turner upgrade and other projects by contributing to the Alan Olson Vessel Sustainability Fund. Together, we can provide tall ship experiences for 100 years and more!

Mark Welther

CEO, Call of the Sea

Call of the Sea