2022 Sound Experience Annual Report

2022 Annual Report

Sound Experience aboard the schooner Adventuress

Photo: Shelly Rees Randall

Educate, Inspire & Empower

Nonprofit Sound Experience’s mission is to educate, inspire and empower an inclusive community that works to improve our marine environment and celebrates our maritime heritage. Our education platform is the fully-restored 1913 National Historic Landmark sailing ship Adventuress.

Photo: Marty Bluewater

Exploring Possibilities

Our work is...

Maritime

Helping students to experience the maritime industry through exploration of career pathways.

Environment

Teaching current issues in marine science through experiential education on the Salish Sea.

Leadership

Creating an environment for young people to be their unique selves, where they feel valued and are encouraged to  reach higher.

Engaging Hands-on Experiences

1,178

Children and teens served on all shipboard programs

128

Teens served on overnight shipboard programs

335

Passengers on Member and Festival Sails

Maritime Career Exploration program days

Growing Strong Community

125

The number of times the sails were raised

157

Sound Experience Memberships

LGBTQ+ youth thrived during the 2nd Annual Gender Odyssey Voyage

Community partnerships developed and/or deepened

Stories from the Ship

"This trip was one of the most unique and wonderful experiences I’ve had in my life. I have had an interest in maritime trades for a long time, and being involved in so much of what goes into living and working aboard a boat was a fantastic opportunity to build skills and make connections."

- Hannah, Gender Odyssey on the Salish Sea

"I do have a passion for the sea. Climbing aloft and the silence of anchor watch are two things that I'll never forget."

- K.P, Fantastic Voyage

"I know I learned so much on this trip. I'm just not sure what it is yet! Something magical definately happened and I know I will find out how much this trip changed me in due time."

- Nicco, Fantastic Voyage

"Seeing orcas and whales on the same day was spectacular.

Just getting Adventuress moving under sail was amazing."

- 7th Grade Participant, Cedarwood Waldorf School

[I’ll always remember being] “woken at three in the morning, getting up, dressing and then reporting to a crew member on deck who then explained to me how to stand anchor watch to me. For an hour I helped on deck to make sure everything was OK."

- Participant, Everett at Sea Week 1

"The crew that worked with our group were strong in their instructional practices and knew how to engage all out students. It was clear that they took the time to become knowledgable about the concepts that they taught and

were passionate about all elements of the program." - Teacher, Charles Wright Academy

"I loved rowing in the small boat Yashe and to do so many things out of my comfort zone."

- Participant, Everett at Sea Week 2

“Going aloft was pretty cool – we did it just like the sailors did it. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe I’ll get to come back next year and do it again.” - Jesse, Everett at Sea, overnight voyage

"As, we were cruising back into the Shilshole marina after a day under sail the students were mustered on the port side of the deckhouse. In the group was a student from Kenya, sitting next to a student from Mexico, sitting next to a student who had lived in 30 USA States, sitting next to a student from Cambodia, sitting next to a student from Taiwan. And only one of these students had ever been on a boat before!"

- Crew Member during the Highline Public School Youth Maritime Collaborative Spring Break program

"Grace was on bow watch while underway and was getting absolutely soaked by waves breaking on the bow. When invited to come aft to get away from the water she responded "No way! This is the best part of the trip!" with a bright and enthusiastic smile." - Recounted by a crew member from the Whatcom Hills Waldorf School

Hybrid Programs

2022 was still a year where everyone was navigating Covid - some schools were able to do overnights and others were not. To support these schools, our education team developed different hybrid options for schools.

We utilized our local state parks so that schools could camp at night and sail aboard the ship during the day. In the evenings, staff and crew provided our regular evening programs shoreside, such as Party Piece and other group games. We were excited to be able to adapt so that we could continue to meet the needs of students and schools throughout the region.

Program Partners

Partnerships are an important aspect of all work that happens at Sound Experience. We collaborate and build alliances with partner organizations to help achieve greater impact, efficacy, access to students and communities who can most benefit from these programs.

Over 10 partnerships were developed or deepened in 2022.

New Program Highlight

Tacoma Boat Builders

In August, Tacoma Boat Builders (TBB) partnered to run programs aboard Adventuress for marginalized and underserved youth in the Tacoma/Pierce County area. The explicit goal of the sails were to connect these youth and their families to their community waterfronts, and to give them the opportunity to experience the place where they live from a new perspective.

Over five days, parents and mentors joined 84 youth on programs operating from the Foss Waterway.

Our partner Tacoma Boat Builders creates transformational opportunities for marginalized and underserved youth through positive mentorship, woodworking, and traditional wooden boat building, and has been partnering with Sound Experience since 2019.

Photo: Meet Leo TBB's Therapy Dog who sailed aboard every day

Program Locations

Bellingham
Port Townsend
Everett
Seattle
Tacoma

Crew

23 seasonal crew members employed

2022 saw a return to regular, liveaboard seasonal crew. Due to the many changes in the world and workforce during Covid, Sound Experience worked to evolve ways to keep our employment opportunities relevant to today's workforce and sustainable to our program, community and our crew.

Thank you to an incredible crew community who rallied to deliver powerful and meaningful youth programing!

Volunteering

1,256 Hours

Volunteers over the years have been vital to the care, maintenance and sailing of Adventuress and 2022 was no different.

Volunteers accomplished many routine winter projects including varnishing the spars and servicing and painting blocks. In 2022, they helped to uprig Adventuress in late February for the sailing season.

The summer saw volunteers helping out as needed on day sails and programs. In November, they helped haul Adventuress for the winter at Boat Haven in Port Townsend (including pressure washing the hull) to get her ready for the 2023 winter topmast replacement and re-ballasting project.

Maintaining a National Historic Landmark

Preparation for the rigging of the topmasts and the addition of lead ballast to the keel was the focus of the 2022 winter season. As with any large wooden vessel, hundreds of other projects were completed.

Sound Experience thanks its dedicated volunteers and the businesses and community members that help to maintain the important National Historic Landmark and on-the-water education classroom.

A special thanks to:

Project manager Paul Erb, and Dirk Kristensen and Cathy Zhang with Glosten Marine for the generous donation of time and expertise extensively evaluating the stability of the ship

Companies Petit and International Paint – for a generous donation of bottom paint

Brion Toss Rigging – for providing a new, stronger and lighter rig for the topmasts

Haven Boatworks – for fabricating and donating the new main and fore topmasts

Phil Rome – for the rebuild of the main skylight

The winter live-aboard crew – while Adventuress was on the hard, this team rose every morning and turned to the job at hand no matter what the weather

Winter Engineer Victor Boyer - for replacing the fresh water system on Adventuress

Force 10 sailmakers - for building a new fores'l from Clipper canvas with Suncloth

Mark Donahue and the dedicated Sound Experience Ship Committee - for the long range vision, drive, and skill to adapt the ship to meet modern standards while maintaining historic integrity

Membership

A Sound Experience Membership conjures up sails on Adventuress, volunteer opportunities and a connection to the Salish Sea.

Member Sails returned in 2022! Over 200 members and their families sailed out of Bellingham, Port Townsend, Seattle and Tacoma to haul on halyards, take a turn at the wheel and spot orcas and other marine life on many of the sails.

144 memberships were renewed in 2022.
This brought in $16,000 in Membership supported income which shows the members unconditional dedication to Adventuress.

This continued support helps to ensure that Sound Experience can continue to deliver more programs to youth throughout the Salish Sea.

Festivals

The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

A highlight of 2022 was the return of the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival after a two-year hiatus. Light winds prevailed throughout the weekend, but this did impact the enthusiasm for sailing on Adventuress.

The picture (to the right) shows Adventuress ghosting back to the finish line during the NW Schooner Cup race.

As in previous years, Adventuress was open for deck tours where crew members welcomed hundreds of visitors aboard.

Photo: Cindy Brittain

Conferences & Presentations

Tall Ships America Annual Conference

Virtual Presentation

Just Gender: Creating Safe Spaces on our Tall Ships

Nonprofit Association of Washington Annual Conference

Virtual Presentation

Just Gender: Creating Safe Spaces on our Tall Ships and in the Work-place

e3 Washington Annual Conference

Virtual Presentation

Sailing the Education Tall Ship Schooner Adventuress

Shilshole Bay Yacht Club

In-person Presentation

From a little red rowboat, to a historic schooner

Mystic Seaport Museum

Virtual Presentation

Just Gender: Creating Safe Spaces on our Tall Ships

Northwest Maritime Center

Virtual Presentation

Ask an Expert Presents: LGBTQ+ and Finding My Way in the Maritime Industry

Workplace Sails

Each year Sound Experience offers a few exclusive Workplace Sails to companies and businesses. Aboard Adventuress, work colleagues come together to raise the sails, experience the teamwork required to sail a 133-foot schooner and marvel at our Salish Sea waterways. Sometimes we even see a whale!

In 2022, we were thrilled to welcome the following companies on board:

Financial Overview

2022 Income & Expenses

*Program includes restoration and maintenance of schooner Adventuress

Community Financial Support

$10,000 raised

49 donations

48 donors

$109,400 raised net

22 fundraising teams

242 donations

$55,500 sponsorships

33 companies and individuals

& Year-End Giving

$84,000 raised

146 donations

139 donors

The Adventuress Cup - A Race for the Salish Sea

On Saturday, September 17, 2022, sailboats, motorboats and an enthusiastic ever-growing community came together throughout Puget Sound to support the mission of Sound Experience. This year marked the third exciting, inclusive on-the-water and virtual race that highlights the extraordinary Salish Sea marine environment and to raise funds to support the work of the iconic, fully-restored schooner Adventuress in a peer-to-peer style race. Learn more and view winning teams on our website.

Folks participated by:

Racing their sailboat
Creating a virtual team
Joining the pre-race parade with their powerboat

Becoming a sponsor
Completing pre-race, educational activities called Wind in Your Sails Challenges to support a team
Donating to a team

Thank you to our

Generous 2022 Adventuress Cup

Sponsors

Photo: Jan Anderson

Dedicated to Excellence

Sound Experience Board of Directors

Board Invitational Sail, Shilshole Bay, June 17, 2022

Board Led Committees

Development

Chair - Rusty Lhamon

Susan Brittain

Catherine Collins

Jim Congdon

Michael Hoffman

Jenny Huntley

Satish Iyer

Jason Karas

Julie Masura

Dave Schoeggl

Nate Seward

Gordon Sims

Education

Chair - Michele Wolski

Emma Gregory

Missy Herb

Jenny Huntley

Patrick Hutchins

Amy Kovacs

Emma LeValley

Julie Masura

Fiona McBride

Caitlyn McFarland

Maddy Savage

Yvonne Shevalier

Emrys Takahashi

Anne Willey

Gaia Wilson

Finance

Chair - Jim Welsh

Catherine Collins

Ben Crowl

Julie Masura

Dave Schoeggl

Ship

Chair - David Jackson

Catherine Collins

Mark Donahue

Ken Greff

Katelinn Shaw

Nate Seward

Gordon Sims

Current Board Member (2022) Past Board Member Staff Member Past/Current Crew Member

Julie Masura

Years on Board: 2016-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2012

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Board President, all Committees

Hello! My name is Julie Masura and I have been with Sound Experience since 2011, partnering with this group by exploring microplastic marine debris in the Salish Sea. Since then, I was the Chair of the Education Committee and am now the Board President. I love the Salish Sea and have the honor to be a part of a community that shares my passion of providing opportunities for all to board our ship the Adventuress and leave a part of our crew!

Alex Tellez

Years on Board: 2020-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2020

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Secretary, Executive Committee, Development Committee

Hello! My name is Alex Tellez and I have partnered with Sound Experience since 2020. As a recent Marine Science and Policy graduate at UW, I was inspired by the work Sound Experience is doing to foster stewardship of the Salish Sea in the community. I currently serve as the Board Secretary and am honored to support such an impactful organization.

Jim Welsh

Years on Board: 2019-present Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Treasurer, Executive Committee, Finance Committee Chair

Rusty Lhamon

Years on Board: 2020-present Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Development Committee Chair

Michele Wolski

Years on Board: 2009-2017, 2021-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 1984

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Education Committee Chair

I joined the Sound Experience Community as volunteer crew in 1984. I remained engaged for many years beyond as a volunteer at Wooden Boat Festivals, as a high school science teacher sailing and learning with my students, and finally as a Board Member. After 33 years in the classroom, I have retired. I am filling my days with travel, most recently to Africa and London, hiking and bicycling and looking forward to spending more time onboard Adventuress and with the SE community.

David Jackson

Years on Board: 2020-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2004

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Ship Committee Chair

I came on board Adventuress during Ernie Bennet's leadership as a volunteer and once as a relief captain. I started on the Ship Committee and am now the chair.

Joshua Berger

Years on Board: 2016-present Sound Experience Community Member: 10+ years

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Ship Committee

Joshua is a beloved past captain of Adventuress and now is the President & CEO of Maritime Blue. As a strategic alliance to accelerate innovation for a sustainable and inclusive maritime and ocean economy, Joshua works at home and abroad to support economic growth, address climate action, and serve communities’ interests. He is also a licensed and professional Merchant Mariner having worked in the towing industry and aboard traditional sailing ships as platforms for education and training, including nearly ten years as Captain and Restoration Project Manager of the historic schooner Adventuress.

Jim Congdon

Years on Board: 2001-2004, 2010-2014 and 2017-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2001

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Development Committee

I am a retired physician and enjoy sailing and our maritime history. I strongly identify with the mission of Sound Experience to introduce the ecology of the Salish Sea to our community, provide the youth of our region the opportunity to sail aboard Adventuress and at the same time preserve our cherished, historic maritime vessel, Adventuress.

Ken Greff

Board President 2013-2015 Founding member of Centennial Circle 2013 Adventuress Captain 1987-94

Years on Board: 1992-2000, 2006-2015, 2022-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 1989

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Ship Committee

I am a retired educational psychologist who got inspired by witnessing the power of experiential education and the positive enduring impact that sailing tall ships can have on youth. I have been privileged to participate in and support programs on Adventuress since 1978 and honored to join the amazing and talented community of people that surround the ship and programs.

I served as chair of the ship committee for years, and subsequently part of the leadership team managing the Centennial Restoration Project, re-power and deck replacement. I have re-joined the board with a focus on working to build a Legacy Gifts Initiative for Sound Experience, to help strengthen the Centennial Circle, and to help expand and to solidify a permanent home for Adventuress.

Caitlin Hardy

Years on Board: 2019-2022 Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership:

Hi! My name is Caitlin Hardy and I was fortunate enough to have my own experience onboard a tall ship as a kid and saw first hand the magic and power ships like Adventuress lend to learning about our oceans, engineering, and teamwork. Organizations like Sound Experience create pivot points for youth to dare to dream and to see what bright futures exist from the maritime industry to understanding our oceans.

Michael Hoffman

Years on Board: 2000-2004, 2008-2014, 2022-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 1999

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Marrowstone Island/Outdoor Education Committee, Development Committee

Ahoy, my name is Michael Hoffman, and I’ve been involved as a volunteer and Board Member with Sound Experience since 2000. As an architect, local business owner for 20 yrs, and avid sailor, I cherish the Salish Sea and our unique, interconnected, environment. I see the life-changing effects of education and outreach programs aboard Adventuress as critical to the health of our environment and social fabric, and I look forward to helping guide our future.

Satish Iyer

Years on Board: 2021-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2017

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Development Committee

Hello my name is Satish Iyer and I joined Sound Experience as a Development Committee member in 2017. I became a Board Member in 2021. It has been an absolute honor and joy for me to be part of an organization that makes an amazing impact to our environment and the children in our communities through their educational programs.

Jason Karas

Years on Board: 2019-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2019

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Strategic Planning, Development Committee

Hi, I'm Jason Karas. I grew up sailing and teaching sailing in New England, and I was thrilled to find Sound Experience when my family moved to Seattle. Sailing had a huge impact on my growth as a kid. It built my confidence & independence, fostered curiosity about nature & environmental issues, and created lifelong relationships. I'm a business planner and entrepreneur, and I love that I can apply those skills to expand the reach of Sound Experience, introducing more kids to the joys and learning only possible aboard a sailboat.

Dirk Kristensen

Years on Board: 2018-2022 Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Ship Committee

Maggie Mallon

Years on Board: 2021-present Years in Sound Experience Community: Since 2015

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Strategic Planning

I am a long-time member of Sound Experience and joined the board in 2021. I’m passionate about the Sound Experience’s commitment to undeserved youth and the health of the Salish Sea. With an equal passion for people development, I’m excited to learn more about how this amazing organization works and to share my expertise in order to further strengthen our capabilities.

Katey Noonan

Years on Board: 2021-present Years in Sound Experience Community: Since 2021

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership:

Hi there! My name is Katey Noonan, and I’ve been a board member for just over a year. I'm no stranger to the maritime

world however, as I was a Sea Explorer in my youth and had family in the industry! I was a marine insurance broker for over 15 years and am currently the Executive Director for Washington’s Assigned Risk Plan for US Longshore & Harborworkers Compensation insurance. I am excited to bring my expertise to the group!

Dave Schoeggl

Years on Board: 2016-present Sound Experience Community Member: Since 2016

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Ship Committee, Finance Committee

I am a lifetime boater and currently own an old wooden boat. I've always admired Adventuress and was interested in the Board for that reason, but my true passion is helping to get more disadvantaged kids out on the water. I'm also a lawyer in Seattle practicing aviation and insurance law.

Henry Veldman

Years on Board: 2020-present Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Finance Committee, Development Committee

I’ve owned a boat for more than 25 years and love being on the water. To be part of Sound Experience is an honor. Giving young people a chance to learn beyond traditional modalities on the schooner Adventuress can be eye opening to youth as they think about what awaits them in life. Helping Sound Experience maintaining viability as a steward of our ship and programs is a privilege as a Board member.

Captain Jonathan Ward

Years on Board: 2015-present Sound Experience Community Member:

Board Leadership Position and/or Committee Membership: Development Committee

As a professional Mariner my entire career I’ve had the previlege of seeing ADVENTURESS on the waters of Puget Sound and The Salish Sea for decades. I relate to and believe in the mission and goals of this organization. These are continually reinforced by seeing and hearing of the positive impacts and influence Sound Experience has in the lives of scores of our area youth.