Tall ship serves as classroom for Central Coast Ocean Adventures
A talk about the tall ship Mystic Whaler will take place Thursday at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
Christine Healy and Michael Sheehy will share the story of the tall ship Mystic Whaler, her voyage from Connecticut to California and the plans for her future during an in-person lecture, “Central Coast Ocean Adventures and the Tall Ship Mystic Whaler,” at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way.
There will also be a pre-lecture reception for members only from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m.
Ms. Healy is captain of the Mystic Whaler, and Mr. Sheehy is director of development and programming for CCOA, a nonprofit with the educational philosophy: To adventure is to discover and learn from the unfamiliar.
The 110-foot, two-masted tall ship Mystic Whaler is a steel-hulled representation of a 19th-century merchant schooner with 3,000-square-feet of sail, where CCOA plans to deliver ocean-based educational experiences to Santa Barbara.
“Adventure-inspired learning is explored through sailing and the sea onboard Mystic Whaler and is central to CCOA’s programs that develop and strengthen STEM academic comprehension, nautical skills and social/emotional learning.” according to a news release from the Maritime Museum.
“CCOA is committed to making engaging experiential education and the Santa Barbara Channel more accessible to the communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.”
The sailing bug bit Ms. Healy as a teenager in Annapolis, Maryland, where she learned the basics of sailing racing with her brother aboard his 26-foot sloop, Wolpertinger. At the age of 19, she bought her first boat, Esmeralda, and took weekend trips all over the Chesapeake Bay. While living aboard, she was offered her first long boat delivery from Annapolis to St. Vincent via Bermuda.
“It was my first time truly out at sea, and I knew it was what I wanted to do with my life. Needless to say, it all worked out, and my career as a professional sailor began,” said Ms. Healy.
After several deliveries, she began her first job aboard the schooners, Woodwind and Woodwind 2, which was the beginning of her traditional boat career. With that experience, she moved onto larger ships, Pride of Baltimore 2, Amistad, Clipper City, Liberty and many others.
At the age of 23, Ms. Healy sat for her first captain’s license: 100-ton master with sail endorsement. In 2008, she moved to California and worked on the Lynx, which sailed up and down the West Coast, then out to Hawaii as an exhibition class in the Transpack 2009.
She has been working on the West Coast based out of San Diego since.
Her experience has varied throughout her career, from deliveries, charters, research and private yachts to sail training and educational vessels.
“The challenges that change every day keep it interesting. The ocean and sailing have the power to challenge students to push themselves and inspire their imagination. To teach and share maritime history, the structure of life at sea, the beauty of our oceans and the life within is a passion and privilege,” said Ms. Healy.
Mr. Sheehy’s love for the ocean is at the heart of his diverse professional experience, including marine science instruction and research, environmental conservation advocacy, nonprofit program directing and nonprofit strategic development.
His main outlet to the outdoors at the age of 7 was through learning to sail with his dad. He fell in love with the ocean and has made a life of learning from it and sharing it with others.
Mr. Sheehy studied the ocean and its wildlife as a working scuba diver for NOAA and as a research associate at the Marine Science Institute at UCSB, where he lectured in marine biology, and taught marine science for Northeastern University’s Three Seas Program in Jamaica and aboard the tall ship Westward for the Sea Education Association.
Mr. Sheehy led marine science research in the Caribbean for UCSB and marine conservation advocacy as director of marine programs for the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. He went on to support marine conservation as executive director of the Code Blue Foundation and was an independent consultant to business and nonprofit organizations on strategy and development.
Before joining CCOA as director of development and programming, Mr. Sheehy increased opportunities for youth to access the coast and oceans as director of development aboard the tall ships Irving Johnson, Exy Johnson, and American Pride for the Los Angeles Maritime Institute and Children’s Maritime Institute in San Pedro and Long Beach, respectively.
He holds a master’s in marine ecology and evolutionary biology from UCSB, an MBA from Pepperdine University and a certificate in social entrepreneurship from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Executive Program.
Mr. Sheehy sits on the steering team for the LA STEM Collective, a network of more than 40 entities committed to equitable access of STEM informal education for youth in the Los Angeles area.
email: mmcmahon@newspress.com
FYI
“Central Coast Ocean Adventures and the Tall Ship Mystic Whaler,” an in-person lecture by Christine Healy and Michael Sheehy, begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum,113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara. A reception for members only will be held from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. Admission is free for SBMM’s Navigator Circle Members, $10 for all other members and $20 for members of the public. Register at sbmm.org/santa-barbara-event. To become a member, go to sbmm.org/membership.
