"Sea School showed me that community can be formed anywhere -- even on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean-- and with the most diverse of people. To find one's roots sometimes means losing the ground beneath one's feet -- literally!-- and then learning the rhythm of the vessel that carries you. Through my current work, I am thinking through the philosophical basis of community-building and rootedness in a globalized world."
Pam is currently a PhD student and is teaching philosophy in Sackville, NB, the marshlands of the piping plover.
"I started getting involved with the Sea School in my teens, helping to build boats over the winter and sailing in the summertime. Something that immediately struck me and has always stayed with me was the way that Crane and the other staff members were able to always keep cool in the face of any obstacle, be it a power tool misbehaving in the hands of a teenager, a dangerous maneuver onboard the Dorothea, or a pack of hungry sharks off the side of the boat. Almost every challenge was met with an easy smile and some quiet words of advice, never taking over the reigns or loosing their cool. That kind of leadership is hard to come by, and has been absolutely invaluable in my work leading a crew into the crazy realms of independent film production. I can't express how grateful I am that I had a chance to be a part of the Sea School and how incredibly helpful those experiences have been for me ever since."
Doug is a film writer/director currently living in New York. After fifteen years of documentary and narrative filmmaking, he has just completed production on his first feature-length film two weeks ago. The film, Art Machine, a coming of age dark comedy about a child prodigy painter wrestling with a bipolar disorder, stars Joseph Cross (Milk, Running with Scissors), Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl, Piranha 3D) and Joey Lauren Adams (Big Daddy, Chasing Amy) and was shot mostly in Brooklyn.
"Sea School sailing trips are wicked. I love the high winds and power of sailing on the small boats. I have always loved being outside and the Sea School offers an unstructured teaching approach that I can really identify with. It's a hard core trip but I am convinced that anyone can do it."
Hailing from the shores of LaHave, Nova Scotia, Sea School leading crew and alumni participant Nick is 18 years old. This past summer, Nick sailed as Leading Crew on our 21-day sailing expedition. Nick has recently purchased his own Wayfarer wooden 16 foot sailboat.
Nick was introduced to the Sea School when he was 13 by one of our instructors. His previous sailing experience was minimal through the LaHave Yacht club. In his short duration with the Sea School, he has attended 5 sailing trips, 3 wilderness courses and has connected with the Schooner Virginia for two 3 week journeys in 2008 and the Bark Europa in 2009 for a trans-Atlantic crossing from Halifax to Ireland.
In the off season, Nick is passionate about learning wilderness survival skills. He is looking forward to spending more time on the water in his new boat and hopes to eventually spend a winter on a tall ship overseas.
