Thanks to a collaboration of organizations and nautical business, many based in Ballard, today was cause for celebration as the 64-foot Ocean Watch, a steel-hulled cutter rig sloop sailboat, was christened, then hauled into the water at Seaview East Boatyard for its first sea trial. It will circle the Americas via the Northern Passage, a nautical first.

The retooled research vessel was built in Havre de Grace, Maryland, in 1988. It was spotted in Mazatlan last summer where it had been used to collect and research Humbolt squid around the Sea of Cortez. It was then brought to Ballard.

Led by renowned sailor Mark Schrader, the expedition is scheduled to depart from Seattle May, 31, 2009 and will visit 31 ports in 11 countries over the course of 13 months. After completing 25,000 of sailing in a clockwise circumnavigation of the Americas, the vessel will return to Seattle in June, 2010.

The Ocean Watch will have a full time crew of four including a journalist and a documentary filmmaker. Throughout the expedition, a Pacific Science Center educator will be onboard to facilitate education activities. In addition, ocean and atmospheric scientists will join different legs of the expedition to conduct research on board Ocean Watch.

Alaska Marine, Northern Lights, Sure Marine, Fishery Supply, Miller & Miller Marine, and other area businesses contributed to the refit of the vessel. Swedish Hospital in Ballard supplied emergency medical technician (EMT) training to the crew.

"This is the beginning of a voyage to draw attention to the beauty, and fragility, of the ocean and what we can do about it," said David Rockefeller, Jr., founder Sailors for the Sea, an ocean conversation group.
Presidnet and C.E.O. of the Pacific Science Center called Rockefeller "The inspiration behind this project."
"We will have an Increasing number of ocean stewards as Ocean Watch spotlights the issues and its crew speaks back to us on what they’re seeing," added Rockefeller. This will be a floating classroom in which all of us are invited to come aboard."