Photos by Thad Koza

Newport, RI - The Museum of Yachting at Fort Adams was the setting for the 3rd Annual Buccaneer’s Bash thrown by the American Sail Training Association on June 16th.. Over 125 people attended this year’s event raising $30,000 in support of the American Sail Training Association’s mission to encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the North American public, and support education under sail.

Live and silent auction items included charters and merchandise from ASTA member vessels; a Cayman Islands getaway; tickets to the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals; fine art and other extraordinary items. A one-week stay in a luxury villa on St. Bart’s donated by WIMCO Inc. was raffled-off.

The celebration is ASTA's main fund raising event of the year and started out with a gorgeous afternoon sail aboard the Aurora through Newport Harbor  Live pirate entertainment, delicious hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer, Dark n’ Stormy’s® and a live band ensured everyone had a memorable night.

The guest of honor was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, who was presented with a commemorative ASTA flag and framed photograph of Rhode Island’s own tall ship, the Sloop Providence. Congressman Kennedy has played a pivotal role in helping ASTA develop a pioneering program to provide life-changing experiences for at-risk youth — at sea, facing genuine character-building challenges aboard tall ships, all under a federal delinquency-prevention program.  

This has allowed ASTA to support numerous educational programs around the country.  Among them is a program run by the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation (PMHF).  This program gives inner-city youth from greater Providence the chance to build confidence and teamwork by facing real-world challenges aboard the historical Sloop Providence.  

The event also showcased the products of the new sponsor of ASTA’s TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Races from Newport to Halifax —Vectrix— a builder of high-tech electric motorscooters.  In its environmental education programs, ASTA uses tall ships as an example of clean, free energy.  As a sponsor, Vectrix is a natural match, because it is a modern example of a sustainable, low-carbon-footprint technology.  

The American Sail Training Association's story began in 1972 when the small brigantine Black Pearl, skippered by Newport's Captain Barclay H. Warburton III, sailed across the Atlantic joining the USCGC Barque EAGLE to become the first U.S. vessels to participate in the European Tall Ships Races. Upon his return to Newport, Warburton founded the American Sail Training Association.  Beginning with just a handful of vessels sailing New England waters, ASTA is now an international institution with more than 250 tall ships and sail training vessels representing 30 different countries and navigating all of the world's major bodies of water. Currently, the American Sail Training Association is the largest sail training association in the world with more than 300 organizational members. 

ASTA hosts an annual conference on sail training and tall ships, and publishes SAIL TALL SHIPS! A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea.  ASTA also raises money for scholarships, and administers grants directly supporting youth education and leadership development programs that shape young people’s lives and build tomorrow’s leaders.

Each summer, on a different coast of the U.S., ASTA organizes a series of Tall Ships® races.  This year, the ASTA fleet has been in Charleston and Norfolk before arriving in Newport next week to participate in Tall Ships® Rhode Island.

After the ships leave Newport, they’ll be on to Halifax to finish the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Race Series for the year.   Next year, the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® fleet will be on the Pacific Coast.