american promise sailboat

American Promise

Specifications

Homeport of american promise.

Rig: Cutter
LOA: 60′
LWL: 60′
Draft: 10′
Rig Height: 89′
Freeboard: 6′
Hull: Airex foam core and fiberglass

American Promise was designed by Ted Hood, made famous by Dodge Morgan’s solo round the world voyage, and then used as an offshore sail training vessel for the United States Naval Academy. American Promise acts as the Rozalia Project’s mothership during our work addressing issues that affect ocean health in New England’s coastal waters and beyond.

USCG Certification: Oceanographic Research Vessel (Subchapter U)
Who Sails: Adults
Program Type: Marine Science
Normal Cruising Waters – Winter: Gulf of Maine
Sailing Season: May-October
Year Launched: 1985
Number of Crew: 3
Name of Contact: Ashley Sullivan, Executive Director
Phone: 7862131685
Website: http://www.rozaliaproject.org

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Techniques & Tactics

AMERICAN PROMISE: In-Mast Furling Pioneer

Here’s a piece of trivia from the Where Are They Now Department: American Promise , the Ted Hood-designed 60-footer that Dodge Morgan sailed around the world non-stop back in 1985-86, is spending the winter at Kittery Point Yacht Yard, just across the river from where I live. I cycled over during the weekend to pay her a visit and found her nicely buttoned up for the season.

I’ve been thinking a bit about Promise and Morgan ever since he died in September 2010, and the one thing that struck me most when I reviewed the boat’s design and original sail plan is that she had an in-mast mainsail furling system.

These days this wouldn’t be remarkable, even on a long-distance bluewater voyager like American Promise , but back then, over a quarter of a century ago, the technology was still more or less in utero. It surprises me that Morgan, a very cautious mariner who installed multiple back-up systems (e.g., two generators, two watermakers, multiple autopilots, etc.) all over his boat, was willing to take a chance on it.

Certainly he was aware of its potential for failure. In his original design brief for Promise , he mentioned the possibility of using such a system and was characteristically skeptical:

I have summarily looked at a stowaway main and was impressed by how simple to handle it all looked, how difficult it appeared to replace a blown sail, and how hopeless it seemed to consider my making a serious mechanical repair at sea. The only way I would sail with one is if there were tracks on both sides of the slot so that sails could be set the “old way” when the system fails.

Morgan in fact did have a Hood Stoway mast and main fitted on the boat and during trials the system failed spectacularly, with the sail jamming and the furling rod pulling partway out of the mast. In his book about the voyage ( The Voyage of American Promise , Houghton Mifflin, 1989), Morgan makes it clear that resolving the problem was a high priority prior to his departure, but he doesn’t describe exactly how it was resolved. Nor does he mention whether auxiliary sail tracks were in fact installed on the exterior of his Stoway mast, but near as I can tell from inspecting photographs of the boat and its rig they were not.

Having recently reread the book, I find no mention of the Stoway mainsail furler causing any problems during Morgan’s record-breaking 150-day circumnavigation, though it seems he did have persistent problems with his headsail furler.

We have certainly come a long ways since then. Indeed, in the past decade the concept of the in-mast furling mainsail has passed a tipping point of sorts. Where once it was decried as an unreliable abomination and an insult to the art of sailing, it is now becoming the dominant system on mass-production cruising boats. Some builders now even put them on their boats as standard equipment and charge extra to install conventional hoisting mains.

In-mast furlers have certainly been refined over the past several years and are now reasonably reliable. One unresolved problem, however, is that they can only be used with a fundamentally inferior sort of mainsail. Unlike headsail furlers, which demand no changes in the basic architecture of a headsail, in-mast furlers require that the entire concept of the Marconi mainsail be reinvented. Vertical battens, of course, help restore some of the lost area in the roach of a furling mainsail, but in fact I’ve never met a vertical-batten sail that was as efficient as a proper sail with horizontal battens. And most furling mains, of course, still have no battens at all and carry hollow leeches that make them simply atrocious air-foils.

Unfortunately, the nature of the technology involves a fundamental contradiction. The entire purpose of a modern Marconi rig–the reason we put up with all the highly tensioned rigging and extraneous hardware in the first place–is so we can fly very aerodynamic sails that improve performance, most particularly to windward. To take this already complicated performance-oriented rig and further complicate it by installing furling gear with many moving parts inside a mast, just so we can fly a sail that degrades its performance, is only self-defeating.

Leaving aside the question of performance, there are still other issues with in-mast mainsails. For one thing, because the sail track on the furling rod is located inside the mast, it can be difficult to bend on and hoist the sail. Some riggers I know estimate that about half those who own boats with in-mast mains feel compelled to hire a professional just to perform this simple job. This obviously is good news for riggers, but can be a real pain in the butt for owners.

Also, because the sail must feed through a relatively narrow slot in the back of the mast to reach the furling rod, some care is always needed when furling or reefing it. To prevent the sail from jamming in the slot as it rolls up, it is best that it be unloaded with little or no pressure or tension on the leech or clew. This ensures the neatest furl and makes for a flatter, better-shaped sail as it is reefed down, but it means the sail must be feathered into the wind as much as possible before turns are taken on the furler. To do this the boat may need to be turned to windward, at least to some extent, as the sail may otherwise get pressed hard against the edge of the slot as it enters the mast, increasing friction and hampering the furl.

Note too that this will be more of a problem on one tack than the other, as the sail will be folded hard against the leeward edge of the slot whenever it is being rolled on to the leeward side of the furling rod. Unfortunately, it is also most likely to be an issue when sailing off the wind in strong conditions, which is precisely when one would most like to be able to shorten sail without having to round up.

On the other hand, as Dodge Morgan found, there’s no denying these systems can be incredibly convenient and easy to use. Personally, I’d say that for larger boats, starting at about 45 feet, they do make sense. And the larger the boat, the more sense they make. A large boat like American Promise with a long waterline and more inherent speed potential to begin with can better suffer some degradation in performance than a small one. On a large boat with a proportionately larger rig the ability to handle sail more easily is also proportionately more valuable. Finally, being forced to round to weather sometimes to reef or furl a sail is both safer and less intimidating on a large boat than it is on a smaller one.

On smaller boats–certainly on any boat where a conventional mainsail can otherwise be hoisted, handed, and reefed by a single person–I feel strongly it is best to stay away from in-mast mainsails. Here the increase in convenience is relatively slight compared to the loss of performance.

Getting back to the WATN Department: I see from googling around a bit that American Promise is now being used as an environmental tool. As of last year she was the mothership of the Rozalia Project , which is dedicated to finding and removing trash from the marine environment. According to the project’s website, the boat is now “packed full of underwater garbage hunting technology, she has 2 VideoRay ROV’s (remotely operated vehicles) capable of diving down to 1000ft, equipped with a Blueview imaging sonar, manipulator arm, Tritech’s Starfish sidescan sonar for imaging the ocean floor and a Lynn box for making fuzzy images sharp.”

I note, too, however, that she no longer carries an in-mast mainsail.

CHEEKI RAFIKI: Hull Found Again, Post Mortem

VALIANT 40 DELIVERY: Small Gale and a Bird En Route to the Chesapeake

Many fond memories of working on and sailing AP. I was the 1st person to disassemble AP’s mast after Dodge sailed around the world. That was about a year after USNA got the boat. Also sailed AP to Bermuda, Newport and trans-Atlantic from Annapolis to Brest France over the Flemmish Cap. Great times.

American Promise poised for new chapter

By Dodge Morgan

The sloop American Promise has been retired after 25 years of service as the flagship of the United States Naval Academy sail training fleet. She is the vessel I sailed around the world solo and nonstop in 1985-86.

The purpose of the academy sailing program is to engage midshipmen in an intimate and individually challenging relationship with the sea. There is no more effective teaching tool for these lessons than a sailboat, and Promise filled the role admirably. An estimated 300 midshipmen served extended tours aboard her. The boat competed in a dozen ocean races, made four Atlantic crossings, and showed the flag in dozens of foreign ports. She carried a crew of 10 to 12 middies and a sailing master.

On my watch, Promise completed the singlehanded, nonstop circumnavigation in 150 days, one hour and seven minutes, setting 13 solo-sailing records, including the fastest singlehanded circumnavigation under sail, nine days faster than Phillippe Jeantot’s 1983 record in Credit Agricole and 142 days faster than Chay Blyth’s nonstop record in British Steel. All of Promise’s records have now been obliterated, but she will always be the first American sailed vessel to round the world solo and non-stop.

Promise was designed by the inimitable Ted Hood, and built in 11 months in Marblehead, Mass. She is 60 feet overall, 56 feet on the waterline, and 17 feet on the beam. Her hull is glass and Kevlar over a core, and with eight inches of solid glass on the bow, as I specified, she should survive a collision with a container while sailing at eight knots.

Three men have been her major champions during her naval academy career. First was Commander John Bonds, who headed up the academy sailing program when she arrived and defined her eventual role. Next was Jack Reynolds, head of the academy small-boat service yard who refitted her after she was sunk in a collision with a loaded coal barge on Chesapeake Bay in August 1991. She was not holed in the collision, but was driven under the barge and hung up by her rig, then sinking in 45 feet of water 10 minutes later.

Reynolds, who surveyed the boat for the donation, has fallen in love with her almost incomparable strength. Her refit was a two-year project with bureaucratic delays adding another three years. The refit changes amounted to rig and interior layout. She was recommissioned in 1995, and took her shakedown to Bermuda in 1996.

At this time, she entered her most enduring and perhaps her second most intimate relationship (I must claim first there). Dan Rugg became her Sailing Master and served aboard as coach, disciplinarian, cheerleader, teacher to the teams of midshipmen assigned to her, and became her keeper and alter ego. I believe Dan and I are the two men who have found frustration by not figuring out how to consummate our relationship with her.

American Promise’s retirement from the United States Naval Academy closes her second life, a long and celebrated one, certainly. Her first life was with me, a short, intense, highly noted one for sure (she provided my “15 minutes of fame”). She has one more life coming to her I know. And I wonder who and where that will be?

After a two-issue hiatus, Dodge is back in action for Points East. Katy, bar the door.

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Photo by Carol PiermonteDodge Morgan center, L-R: Gene Piermonte, Gordon Bailey, Debbie Bailey, Homer Shannon, Dee Shannon.

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Marblehead Ocean Week features American Promise, the world-sailing boat turned to research

In the 1960s, Dodge Morgan, a sailor and businessman from Malden, made a promise: He would one day sail around the world.

About two decades later, in 1985, he finally embarked, venturing from Bermuda on a 60-foot sailing vessel built in Marblehead aptly named American Promise. As promised, Morgan successfully sailed around the globe — a record-breaking, non-stop trip completed in 150 days, one hour, six minutes.

On June 4, the intrepid American Promise -- touted as the world's "greenest" sailing vessel -- is returning from her base of operations in the Gulf of Maine to her home port for Marblehead Ocean Week. She is a fitting highlight for the event, having spent the last 12 years in pursuit of a new promise: To clean and protect the oceans.

Marblehead Ocean Week, co-sponsored by Sustainable Marblehead and the Rozalia Project , is inspired by the internationally celebrated World Oceans Day, observed June 8.

The Rozalia Project, said Rozalia's Visual Arts and Media Director Gigi Veve, is "a non-profit that tackles marine debris in our lakes, rivers, streams, ocean, and overall waterways," working to clean and protect the ocean through scientific research, outreach, education, and cleanups.

The Vermont-based organization uses Morgan's tried and true sailboat, turned oceanographic research vessel, to pursue its mission.

On Saturday, American Promise sails into Marblehead Harbor ahead of several Ocean Week programs sponsored by the Rozalia Project and Sustainable Marblehead, a community organization that, according to its website, is "working to reduce waste and pollution and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040."

Marblehead Ocean Week programs "will highlight issues affecting the waters and offer solutions and activities that raise awareness and inspire action."

It is not yet determined what time American Promise will arrive, but when she does she'll moor at Tucker's Wharf for most of her stay, apart from shifting over to the Pleon Yacht Club dock, 42 Foster St., for an open boat event later in the week.

Marblehead Ocean Week promotes ocean conservation and appreciation

Ocean Week in Marblehead kicked off on June 2 with a presentation by Rich Wilson, Vendee Globe Around the World Sailor, at the Old Town House.

After American Promise's arrival Saturday, Ocean Week activities will continue, first with an outdoor screening of "Around Alone." The film, which follows Morgan on his storied sail around the world, will be shown on the lawn at Lee Mansion/Marblehead Museum , 161 Washington St., starting at 8 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and snacks.

Schedule for Ocean Week in Marblehead

Other programs and events planned for Ocean Week include the following:

SUNDAY, JUNE 5: Community beach clean up at Devereux , Riverhead and other beaches, followed by trash sorting at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School , 17 Lime St., from 9-12 a.m.

Also on Sunday, visitors can check out American Promise up close at Tucker's Wharf during public tours being held 2-5 p.m. A harbor fair is planned as well.

TUESDAY, JUNE 7: American Promise open boat, 4:30-6 p.m. at Pleon Dock, then a cocktail reception, 5:30-7 p.m., at the Eastern Yacht Club Sailing Center , 47 Foster St., followed by a presentation by the crew of the American Promise at 7.

Registration is required; call EYC at 781-631-1400.

American Promise will be part of Boston's World Ocean Weekend, too

Those who are unable to check out American Promise, or to participate in Marblehead Ocean Week events, will still have a chance to tour the sailing vessel out and participate in cleanup activities during Boston's World Ocean Weekend.

Plans in Boston include the following:

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

9 a.m. – Cleanup along the Charles River at Community Boating Inc., 21 David G. Mugar Way, Boston. Got to www.rozaliaproject.org/events and scan the QR code to register for Ocean Day Cleanup along the Charles River.

11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Public trash sort at Patagonia Boston, 346 Newbury St., Boston.

6 p.m. – An evening with Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean and local community partners at Patagonia Cambridge, 39 Brattle St., Cambridge.

SUNDAY, JUNE 12

10 a.m.-12 p.m. American Promise open boat at Courageous sailing, Charlestown Navy Yard near Pier 3.

More about the Rozalia Project's work

Founded by National Geographic Explorer and Explorers' Club Fellow Rachael Miller, the Rozalia Project is described as being "at the leading edge of marine debris and microplastic research, solution development, and solution implementation using a combination of expedition science and innovation to make an impact."

According to post on the Rozalia Project's Facebook page , each year "an estimated 11 million tons of plastic waste enters the ocean, equivalent to a cargo ship’s worth every day."

"The silver lining is each of us can do our part. When you hear the quote, 'it’s only one straw, said 8 billion people,' it's hard not to acknowledge the power we have as individual consumers," the organization says. "We are lucky to have a variety of alternatives to avoidable plastics, but we as individuals need to adapt our habits to take into account the health of our planet."

Miller and the rest of the Rozalia Project team lead summer expeditions aiming to remove debris from the waters and educating to prevent further pollution.

"We offer opportunities for volunteers, interns, and scientific researchers to come aboard American Promise and help conduct studies with us," the organization says.

All information about getting involved can be found at the project's website: www.rozaliaproject.org

New England Aquarium plans World Ocean Day activities on June 8

World Oceans Day will also be observed at the New England Aquarium , 1 Central Wharf, Boston, with free activities planned on June 8 that focus on the importance of protecting the oceans for future generations.

Highlights outside on the wharf include:

“Ask a Scientist” booth – Scientists from the aquarium’s research institute, the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, will be on hand to answer questions about their work protecting the ocean and the whales, sharks, and turtles that live in it.
Interactive ocean banner – Put your thumbprint on an ocean banner, acting as a pledge of support for protecting special places in the ocean.

Inside the aquarium:

Presentations at the top of the giant ocean tank about 30×30, the global initiative to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
Interactive activity on Marine Protected Areas – Educators in the second floor temperate gallery will lead an activity focused on migratory species, tracking where they are in the ocean and the importance of protecting key areas to ensure these animals can thrive.
Educational signage – Signs throughout the main aquarium building will draw attention to places in the ocean and what makes each special from the viewpoint of various animals.

The aquarium’s summer hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be reserved in advance at neaq.org

A New Engine for American Promise!

By rachael z. miller, co-founder/executive director of rozalia project for a clean ocean.

Now that the American Promise part of Rozalia Project’s season is over, we want to tell the story of our re-power, the decisions, the reality and partners who made it happen. Previously we had a 1986 Perkins diesel. It gave us no more than 5.5 – 6 knots (mostly with the current behind us), using 2.5 gallons per hour or more. It filled the boat with fumes, most noticeably from hydraulic fluid. It bellowed black smoke on start-up, if it started at all, as the engine spent nearly all of last year with a 60/40 chance of starting without needing to use all of the boat’s battery power.

Learning about the State of Maine’s Clean Marine Diesel funding gave us the inspiration we needed to put our re-power research into high gear. We had been looking at re-powering and the possibility of going to a completely electric propulsion system. We (optimistically) envisioned a boat without any combustion engines, powered only by renewables in the form of solar, wind and hydro power.

We had no-compromise requirements and some compromises we’d be willing to make. Safety was no compromise – we needed reliability and range. Next came environmental considerations: improved efficiency and reduced emissions. Then, human comfort: reduced noise and fumes and finally, features such as the ability to use biofuels and a seamless switchover without needing to rewire the whole boat or learn entirely new procedures.

We soon found that, though an electric motor (or two) could power a boat as large and heavy as American Promise, no reasonable combination of electric power and battery banks could give us a safe range. While there are boats for which electric power is a viable option, for American Promise there is not enough range or safety to be found in an electric motor now or in the near future. Enter the Steyr Tier 3 marine diesel engine:

• This summer we averaged 8-9 knots under power, using 1.8-2 gallons per hour.

• We do not have a boat filled with fumes. This engine has an 80% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions over a Tier 2 engine.

• We do not belch black smoke upon startup, nor at any time. This engine has a 150% reduction in particulate matter over a Tier 2 engine and 1,000% improvement from our 1986 diesel.

• The engine starts every time we turn the key.

• We cannot hear the engine while on deck from the bow to aft of the mast. We don’t need to shout when under power, either below or in the cockpit.

•We outran two fast moving thunderstorms, arriving at our mooring with time to spare for one that slammed us with 60 knots at the masthead.

•We were always able to maintain control and precision in the swift-moving waters of our homeport (the back channel of Kittery Point off the Piscataqua River).

• We did not need to rewire the entire boat.

• We did not need to learn any new procedures. We check the oil, turn the key, check the exhaust and go. The maintenance schedule is reasonable and easy to follow. Our home boatyards (Kittery Point Yacht Yard and Maine Yacht Center, who did the installation) are certified to work on the engine.

• Using a combination of power and sail and the generator for house bank power, we traveled 170 miles over three days for $61 in fuel, including conducting four surface tows under power. Additionally, once we are out of the break-in period we will be able to start running on biodiesel, all the way to B100. We could even be eradicating ocean pollution while running on restaurant waste in the form of veggie oil.

American Promise is the first vessel in North America to install this Tier 3 Steyr engine. We showed the engine off all over the Gulf of Maine and in Boston, and we’re spreading the word that a switch to a Tier 3 marine diesel is a reasonable and accessible change. Rozalia Project is grateful for support from the State of Maine Clean Marine Diesel Program with the Maine Marine Trades Association, 11th Hour Racing, Kilroy Realty Corporation, Maine Yacht Center and Kittery Point Yacht Yard. We will have a wider and wider effect as we share information with everyone who loves the ocean and wants to do their part to keep it healthy.

Rozalia Project is 501(c)(3) non-profit, whose mission is to find and remove marine debris, from the surface to the seafloor, through action, technology, outreach and research. For more information, visit rozaliaproject.org.

Dodge Morgan: First American non-stop circumnavigator

Dodge Morgan, former Air Force fighter pilot, working journalist and successful entrepreneur, first dreamed of sailing solo non-stop around the world in the 1960s. Morgan spent a couple of years living aboard his 36-foot schooner, Coaster, and sailing from New England, through the Panama Canal to Alaska. He loved the experience, but it wasn’t until the early 1980s that the dream of his circumnavigation got some traction. Having achieved financial independence by selling his electronics company for a reported $35 million, at the age of 52 Morgan found himself ready to tackle his dream.

Up until Morgan’s effort in 1985, there had been no American sailors who had completed a non-stop single-handed passage around the world. There were American circumnavigators, the most famous of course Joshua Slocum, but his and other circumnavigations done by American sailors always had ports of call.

The last non-stop circumnavigation had been completed 15 years previously by British sailor Chay Blyth aboard the 59-foot British Steel. In that effort Blyth spent 292 days sailing from west to east against the prevailing winds. Morgan wasn’t looking to make a westerly passage. He did want to sail the 27,000-mile voyage in 180 days or less. That meant an average speed of 6.25 knots. Morgan writes that though setting a record was something he had thought about, the trip itself was the thing: “Although I do have the record-making time of 180 days as an objective, my fundamental purpose is most certainly not the record book.”

Morgan hired Ted Hood to design and build a 60-foot fiberglass cutter. Hood designed a boat for Morgan that was meant to be comfortable and safe-speed was not the first consideration. “Let’s make things redundant,” writes Morgan of a conversation he had with Hood and “boy, did we make things redundant.” Morgan wanted at least two of everything on American Promise so that if something broke, he wouldn’t have to fix it. The boat was outfitted with two complete sets of sails (14 in all); two rudders (one retractable); four electrical power sources (two diesel-powered generators, the engine, and a propeller-driven water generator as a final backup); 3,000 pounds of batteries to store that power; 60 circuit breakers; two autopilots; two satellite navigational systems; two machines to convert salt water into fresh water; two 60-gallon water storage tanks; 13 winches; five 200-gallon fuel tanks; five watertight bulkheads; and three bunks. American Promise, all 30 tons of her, was a high-tech, state-of-the-art, $1 million-plus sailboat. From the cockpit Morgan could furl or unfurl the sails with the touch of a button.

Morgan was only the 4th person to circumnavigate non-stop. He made the passage in a record-breaking 150 days one hour and six minutes, completing the voyage on April 11, 1986. His average speed was 7.13 knots.

After the record-breaking passage, Morgan donated American Promise to the U.S. Naval Academy. It was involved in an accident in 1991 in the Chesapeake and sunk as a result. The Navy refloated the vessel and it continues as a cadet sailing vessel. Morgan bought an island in Maine and lived there until his passing in September 2010. Of interest is the book he wrote called The Voyage of American Promise. It is a primer on all the information that Morgan collected about the circumnavigation. Very useful information for someone who might to want to follow in his shoes.

Morgan considered himself a competent celestial navigator and did noon sights three times weekly. He never mastered star sights and relied both on his noon LANs and the fixes he obtained from the pre-GPS satnav system.

Let us join Morgan aboard American Promise as he rounds Cape Horn on Feb. 28. His DR at the time of LAN is 56° 04’ S by 67° 45’ W. The Hs of a lower limb shot of the sun is 41° 41.6’.

A. Calculate the time in GMT of LAN.

B. Reduce Hs to Ho.

C. Calculate latitude.

A. Time of LAN at DR in GMT 16:44.

B. Ho 41° 53.7’.

C. Latitude 56° 01.2’ S.

By Ocean Navigator

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Michelle Levano and Marina Garland pick up trash on the shores of Hurricane Island before returning to Boothbay on June 24. Courtesy of the Rozalia Project

Rachael Miller's life changed forever when she took a vacation to Matinicus Island. A nor’easter had washed piles of trash up along shoreline. Repulsed, Miller said she couldn't take it anymore, so her husband suggested she do something about it.

A million pieces of trash later, Miller and her team of scientists and interns scour the coastlines and waterways for marine debris.

In three years, the Rozalia Project has become a nationwide organization dedicated to protecting the environment through action, technology, outreach and research.

The Rozalia Project recently visited Ocean Point Marina in Boothbay to welcome the public aboard the American Promise , a rugged 60-foot sailboat armed with a remote operated vehicle, (ROV), surfboards and two furry Newfoundlands.

In four days, curious onlookers were treated to a formal presentation, trash hunting demonstrations and even a sea chantey entitled “We're Sick of Seeing Garbage in the Ocean,” sung by the lively crew.

Miller said she acquired the American Promise from the United States Naval Academy, but it was no ordinary sailboat.

The American Promise had belonged to Dodge Morgan. In 1986, Morgan became the first American to sail solo around the world in 150 days without stopping. He broke the previous world record by 142 days.

Miller reconfigured the interiorand had the vesseloutfitted with an Austrian diesel engine, a clean, energy-efficient system capable of pushing the 75,000-pound vessel at 9 knots through the water with just a gentle purr, said Mark Naud, the project coordinator and a friend of Miller.

“It's just a great platform to do the work they're doing, and it supports the staff and the floating laboratory that (Miller) wants,” Naud said.

On the water the Rozalia Project crew uses nets and hooks to pick up trash on the ocean surface, while relying on sonar imaging, and their underwater robot named “Hector the Collector” to roam the sea floor, send images back to the crew, and collect garbage with its mechanical claw.

Miller said the most common trash collected includes plastic bottles and containers; however, other bizarre items hauled over the railing have included an old ship’s bell, an antique bottle of moonshine, a witch hat, fake buttocks and traffic cones.

Every single piece of trash collected is documented and entered into the Rozalia Project’s databank.

According to her research, Miller said 80 percent of marine debris comes off the land; and since land people tend to congregate in cities, the Rozalia Project operates mostly in urban and coastal waterways up to 100 miles offshore.

“When we’re near shore we tend to get items that are more intact,” Miller said. “It’s a lot easier to pick up a bucket, while it’s still a bucket.”

Miller said she calculated a five-gallon plastic bucket turns into 10,000 pieces of plastic smaller than 5 mm in diameter, called microplastics that flow into slowly churning garbage patches called ocean gyres.

Rozalia Project’s first mate and scientist Marina Garland said there are five major gyres spread throughout world’s oceans. Garland said last year she visited the North Pacific Gyre, a patch of marine debris which people falsely claim to be a floating island of trash, twice the size of Texas.

“It’s not a floating island, it's actually a lot harder to research, and hopefully not impossible, but at present, it’s impossible to clean up because it’s really spread out,” Garland said. “You can’t take a picture, and you can’t fly over it and see it. It’s more like plastic chowder with lots of chunks and really teeny bits.”

Another gyre exists in the North Atlantic ocean, prompting the Rozalia Project to collect data to better understand how and where trash accumulates off the coastline.

Miller said her hypothesis for “Mission Atlantic” is pinpointing high concentration areas off the Gulf of Maine where cooler and warmer waters converge with faster and slower moving currents. “That’s where trash accumulates,” Miller said, as she displayed a chart modeling their initial findings.

The Boothbay Sea & Science Center invited the Rozalia Project to the region as part of the center's inaugural program.

Center Director Pauline Dion said Miller and crew plan to return in the fall to work with local teachers to raise environmental awareness and further education in the ocean sciences.

For more information on the Rozalia Project, visit www.rozaliaproject.org.

For Boothbay Sea & Science Center schedules and course registration, visit www.boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org.

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Adventure; around alone.

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Real-life stories which transport viewers on journeys set in remote mountain villages, endangered waterways, and through treacherous terrain. Each saga is filled with suspense and surprise for the modern day explorers who personify the spirit of discovery that lies at the heart of every ADVENTURE. See individual episodes for further descriptions. Series release date: 1987

The amazing story of Maine sailor Dodge Morgan's non-stop solo voyage around the world aboard his 60 foot sailboat American Promise. Setting a record for the fastest solo circumnavigation- ever, Morgan's 27,500 mile journey is recorded by on-board cameras and highlighted by footage of storms, doldrums, and the psychological stress of sailing 150 days without seeing another human being.

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The Voyage of American Promise Hardcover – January 1, 1989

Print length 255 pages
Language English
Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date January 1, 1989
ISBN-10 0395440963
ISBN-13 978-0395440964
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition (January 1, 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 255 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0395440963
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0395440964
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,267 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

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Dodge morgan.

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The voyage of American Promise

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Navy accused of thwarting collision probe…

Navy accused of thwarting collision probe Dispute arises over ownership of sailboat that sank

As a result, the Coast Guard says it abandoned its probe of the sinking of the American Promise and turned its findings over to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which normally depends on the Coast Guard to lead marine accident investigations.

And year and a half later, the NTSB still hasn’t completed a report that officials say should have taken less than three months.

Although the Coast Guard suggested in its findings that blame should be divided between the crews of the $1.25 million sloop and the tug boat Sun Coast, which was pushing the barge, the delay might have more to do with a dispute over who owned

American Promise when it sank — the public Naval Academy or the private Naval Academy Sailing Foundation.

If the sloop was indeed owned by a private corporation — as the Coast Guard alleges — it would mean the government would not be able to pay for legal bills and repairs, which alone total $1 million.

“How do you get the boat fixed?” asked Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Michael D. Kearney, chief of investigations for the Marine Safety Office in Baltimore. “Who pays to repair it? Is it the taxpayer or the Naval Academy Sailing Foundation?”

The Navy says it didn’t want the Coast Guard involved because under the law, the NTSB is responsible for investigating all accidents between public and private vessels.

“As the Coast Guard well knows,” the Navy attorneys said in a March letter to the safety board, “there is no question regarding the ownership and/or public-vessel status of American Promise.”

Dodge Morgan of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, donated American Promise to the Naval Academy Sailing Foundation in 1986 after he sailed it on a record-breaking solo voyage around the world. The foundation, which solicits boat donations to the Naval Academy, turned the vessel over to the institution, but retained ownership until nine months after the accident, according to documents on file in the Coast Guard records office in Norfolk, Va.

The vessel sank early on the morning of April 21, 1991, four hours after it collided with a 365-foot Baltimore Gas and Electric barge loaded with 7,500 tons of coal just north of Cove Point near the mouth of the Patuxent River.

According to Coast Guard reports, the barge was heading north from Newport News, Va., to BG&E;’s Brandon Shores plant. American Promise, which was returning to the Naval Academy from a two-day training mission in the southern bay, was crossing the path of the barge as crew members wrestled with a rigging problem.

The Coast Guard report adds that the tug boat did not sound its horn in time, but it concludes that while both sides share blame for the accident, the Naval Academy crew failed to use “all available means to determine the existence of risk of collision,” mainly failure to monitor emergency radio channels.

The Robert Dann Towing Co., owner of the tug boat, argued in separate court papers asking a judge to exonerate the company from liability on grounds that its crew saw the sailboat on radar and called the vessel on two emergency channels, “but got no response.”

The documents also described the midshipmen as “confused and distraught, with nobody seemingly in command” after the collision.

Mr. Kearney said his investigators were unable to complete an adequate probe because the Navy wouldn’t allow midshipmen to be interviewed the day of the accident.

“While everyone else was talking about the accident while it was fresh in their minds, the Navy personnel were waiting for their attorney,” he said.

“Some people might call that obstruction. You could say it was bureaucracy working the way it works. We just wanted to do our job.”

Chester J. Szychlinski, a marine accident investigator for the NTSB, would not comment on his conclusions. He did say the report is taking an unusually long time to complete, partly due to delays by the Navy in turning over information.

“It wasn’t until January of this year that we got the charts that we were after,” he said. “I don’t know any reason for it.”

He said a 100-page report on a major accident usually takes about 85 days. “They have just made it difficult in getting things, which is a bit awkward,” he said.

But part of the delay is due to the Navy’s insistence that the Coast Guard not get involved. “They were obstructing the Coast Guard investigation,” Mr. Szychlinski said.

And the Coast Guard still insists that it should have been involved because American Promise was a privately owned vessel, according to its documents.

George C. Curran, executive director of the sailing foundation, said the foundation retains title to all donated boats to make it easier for the Naval Academy to sell the boats later by avoiding bureaucratic paperwork involved in a government sale.

But last Jan. 24, the foundation removed itself as the documented owner.

Mr. Curran said the change was made because the accident brought the apparent shortcut to light.

“It raised an issue that the Navy didn’t want to fight in the future,” he said. “It just made things cleaner.”

But the Navy claimed all along that American Promise was

publicly owned, pointing to an acceptance letter dated May 4, 1987, from then-Secretary of the Navy James H. Webb Jr. to Frank Simpson III, president of the sailing foundation.

“The Coast Guard’s continued reliance on American Promise’s alleged improper documentation as its basis for finding that American Promise is a private vessel is unreasonable and may raise questions regarding the Coast Guard’s objectivity in this matter,” Capt. Robert R. Rossi, a U.S. Navy Admiralty Counsel wrote to the NTSB in March.

In the letter, Captain Rossi said the Coast Guard was confused over why the Navy wouldn’t cooperate. “The Navy is not required to submit to Coast Guard investigators of collisions between public and private vessels,” the letter said.

Mr. Szychlinski said the dispute over boat ownership didn’t sit well with Navy officials and may be one reason for their lack of cooperation.

But Mr. Curran said he never felt that the foundation would be deemed liable for any mishap because he too considered the boat as belonging to the Navy.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

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IMAGES

The Rozalia Project Aboard American Promise
American Promise
America's Promise Sailboat Painting by Jeffrey Phillips
Setting Sail to Search for Marine Debris in the Gulf of Maine
AMERICAN PROMISE: In-Mast Furling Pioneer
American Promise moored off Hurricane Island, ME

VIDEO

PROMENADE
Closeup of American Banksy sailboat chalk art. #AmericanBanksy #Sailboat #chalk #art #chalkart
Couple Rebuilding an American Wrecked Sailboat
Discovering the Power of Community Through Sailing
PREMIERE: American Promise (Opolopo Rebounce) [Version Galore]
The American Promise

COMMENTS

Meet American Promise
It can generate roughly one amp per knot under sail and has been a great addition to our sustainable home. This easy to use, compact and reliable tool allows us to minimize our carbon footprint. Wind. Onboard American Promise we use the DuoGen D400 wind turbines. DuoGen D400 wind Generator is a new direct-drive wind generator, designed for a ...
American Promise (yacht)
American Promise is a 60-foot (18.3 m) Bermuda rigged sloop, boat that was designed by 1974 America's Cup winner Ted Hood for Dodge Morgan's solo round-the-world record attempt. The boat was the last to be built by CW Hood Yachts in Marblehead, Massachusetts.The company relocated to Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1986. Hood recalled it was designed for sturdiness rather than speed: "Everyone said ...
The Rozalia Project Aboard American Promise
We're aboard the historic American Promise, made famous by Dodge Morgan's 1985-86 record-breaking solo nonstop world circumnavigation. These days she belongs to the Rozalia Project, and each summer she houses volunteers, scientists and lots of positive energy. The Rozalia Project, founded by Rachael Miller and James Lyne, is an organization ...
American Promise
American Promise was designed by Ted Hood, made famous by Dodge Morgan's solo round the world voyage, and then used as an offshore sail training vessel for the United States Naval Academy. American Promise acts as the Rozalia Project's mothership during our work addressing issues that affect ocean health in New England's coastal waters ...
Our Work
Through our expeditions, onboard the 60' sailing research vessel, American Promise, Rozalia Project protects and cleans the ocean using technology, innovation, solutions-based research and engaging STEM programs. Our Approach. Rozalia Project. Based in Burlington, Vermont. & the Gulf of Maine aboard American Promise. Mailing Address: PO Box 3075.
AMERICAN PROMISE: In-Mast Furling Pioneer
And the larger the boat, the more sense they make. A large boat like American Promise with a long waterline and more inherent speed potential to begin with can better suffer some degradation in performance than a small one. On a large boat with a proportionately larger rig the ability to handle sail more easily is also proportionately more ...
American Promise poised for new chapter
By Dodge Morgan. The sloop American Promise has been retired after 25 years of service as the flagship of the United States Naval Academy sail training fleet. She is the vessel I sailed around the world solo and nonstop in 1985-86. The purpose of the academy sailing program is to engage midshipmen in an intimate and individually challenging ...
Marblehead Ocean Week features American Promise, the world-sailing boat
TUESDAY, JUNE 7: American Promise open boat, 4:30-6 p.m. at Pleon Dock, then a cocktail reception, 5:30-7 p.m., at the Eastern Yacht Club Sailing Center, 47 Foster St., followed by a presentation ...
A New Engine for American Promise!
Now that the American Promise part of Rozalia Project's season is over, we want to tell the story of our re-power, the decisions, the reality and partners who made it happen. ... using 2.5 gallons per hour or more. It filled the boat with fumes, most noticeably from hydraulic fluid. It bellowed black smoke on start-up, if it started at all ...
American Promise Launch, 2022
After two years of being on land, American Promise has set sail for the summer expedition season!
'American Promise' to take part In Camden Classics Regatta
American Promise will take part In Camden Classics Regatta. CAMDEN — The Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean will be racing its vessel, American Promise, in the 7th Annual Camden Classics Cup Regatta taking place July 27-29. The vessel is a custom Little Harbor 60-foot that was designed and built by Ted Hood and made famous by Dodge Morgan's ...
Dodge Morgan: First American non-stop circumnavigator
American Promise, all 30 tons of her, was a high-tech, state-of-the-art, $1 million-plus sailboat. From the cockpit Morgan could furl or unfurl the sails with the touch of a button. Morgan was only the 4th person to circumnavigate non-stop.
The 'American Promise'
Miller said she acquired the American Promise from the United States Naval Academy, but it was no ordinary sailboat. The American Promise had belonged to Dodge Morgan. In 1986, Morgan became the ...
Research Vessel American Promise Visits Gloucester
Rozalia Project for a clean ocean dropped anchor in Gloucester Harbor a few days of education programs with Gloucester Maritime Center. Through their expeditions, onboard the 60' sailing research vessel, American Promise, Rozalia Project protects and cleans the ocean using technology, innovation, solutions-based research and engaging STEM programs.
DVD Review: Around Alone
In 1983, Dodge Morgan, then 53, sold his electronics company and made a promise to himself: he would sail around the world, alone, without stopping. He hoped to complete the 27,459-nautical-mile voyage onboard his 60-foot cutter, American Promise, in 220 days. That would require him to sail 100 miles a day at an average speed of 6.25 knots. As Morgan boarded American Promise in
Adventure; Around Alone
The amazing story of Maine sailor Dodge Morgan's non-stop solo voyage around the world aboard his 60 foot sailboat American Promise. Setting a record for the fastest solo circumnavigation- ever, Morgan's 27,500 mile journey is recorded by on-board cameras and highlighted by footage of storms, doldrums, and the psychological stress of sailing ...
The Voyage of American Promise
American Promise, a 60-foot cutter, was completed in less than nine months, and in October 1985, Morgan set out from Portland, Maine, only to limp in to Bermuda when the self-steering gear failed. After repairs, he set out again, and returned triumphant to Bermuda a record-breaking 150 days later. This is first-class adventure for salts and ...
The voyage of American Promise : Morgan, Dodge
American Promise (Sailboat), Single-handed sailing Publisher Boston : Houghton Mifflin Collection internetarchivebooks; inlibrary; printdisabled Contributor Internet Archive Language English. Maps on lining papers Maps on lining papers. Describes the author's voyage around the world from Nov. 1985 to April 1986
Navy accused of thwarting collision probe Dispute arises over ownership
American Promise when it sank — the public Naval Academy or the private Naval Academy Sailing Foundation. If the sloop was indeed owned by a private corporation — as the Coast Guard alleges ...
Ted Hood
Ted Hood, besides being the founder of Hood Sailmakers which, at one time was the worlds largest, was a successful racing skipper, founder of Little Harbor Yachts, and an innovative marine inventor and yacht designer. Hood officially started his sailmaking business in 1950, though during the 1940's sail repair was a side business for him, using the living room of his parent's home as a ...
20 American Promise ideas
Feb 23, 2012 - American Promise is Rozalia Project's trash-hunting mothership. She is a Ted Hood 60' built for Dodge Morgan (who was also very involved in her design) to make an attempt at the solo, nonstop circumnavigation record. He broke that record in 1986 and then donated it to the US Naval Academy who used it for sail training. In 2010, Rozalia Project acquired this amazing boat to ...
Ship AMERICAN PROMISE (Sailing Vessel) Registered in USA
Vessel AMERICAN PROMISE is a Sailing Vessel, Registered in USA. Discover the vessel's particulars, including capacity, machinery, photos and ownership. Get the details of the current Voyage of AMERICAN PROMISE including Position, Port Calls, Destination, ETA and Distance travelled - IMO 0, MMSI 367605910, Call sign WDH3259