MEDIA CONTACTS:
Susan Daly (401-848-5777, ext 220 / sdaly@iyrs.org)
Cynthia Goss (203-453-2731 / media@iyrs.org)
IYRS Launch Day, Opening Day at Museum of Yachting on May 31
May Saturday Kicks Off Summer of Coordinating Events at Two Newport Organizations
Newport (R.I.) May 8, 2008 — The International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) and the Museum of Yachting (MOY) will each host events that celebrate maritime history and craftsmanship on Saturday, May 31.
On the morning of the 31st, the school marks graduation day by launching a fleet of wooden classics restored by students; graduates include students of IYRS' Boat Building & Restoration Program, as well as the first class to graduate from the school's new Marine Systems Program. In the afternoon, the festivities move across the harbor to opening day at the museum, when the public gets its first glimpse at new exhibitions that will run throughout the summer. Both events are free and open to the public.
“This is what we promised to the community: education and celebration on a bigger scale by bringing the school and museum together as a single operating entity," said Terry Nathan, president of IYRS and the MOY, commenting on the convergence of the two organizations. "A summer of coordinating museum exhibitions with restoration and boat building projects gives local residents and visitors a more in-depth and richer view of our maritime heritage.”
Graduation ceremonies at IYRS begin at Restoration Hall at 10:30 a.m. Rives Potts, general manager of Brewer Pilots Point Marina (Westbrook, Conn.), will be the featured graduation speaker. Students from the two-year Boat Building & Restoration Program will be joined by the first class to graduate from the school's Marine Systems Program. Developed in conjunction with the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), the systems program was launched in fall 2007 to meet the marine industry’s demand for workers skilled in the maintenance and installation of onboard systems.
The launching of the fleet takes place at 11:30 a.m. at the school docks. First-year students will launch a fleet of 12-foot Beetle Cats®. Second-year students restored the 1924 6-Meter Madcap (hull #12); an 11-foot Bulldog sailboat, whose design dates to 1935; and a replica of a 15-foot Whitehall tender.
Opening day at The Museum of Yachting debuts three new exhibits that span the one hundred–year period from 1883 to 1983. The school and the museum have coordinated these displays with boat building and restoration projects, so visitors can see projects underway and learn about the history of the watercraft and the individuals who designed them and sailed onboard in displays of historic photos, artifacts, and film footage.
The summer '08 exhibits include “Sparkman & Stephens: Evolution by Design," which explores the breakthrough thinking and boats that put this legendary yacht design firm on the map. The exhibition is coupled with the building of a replica S&S-designed 6-Meter, Cherokee. At IYRS, shipwrights will restore the 133-foot 1885 schooner yacht Coronet while the museum hosts an exhibit on "The Grand Voyages of Arthur Curtiss James." James (1867-1941), one of America’s wealthiest men who maintained a home in Newport, owned Coronet for five years and cruised worldwide onboard the schooner yacht and his series of Aloha yachts. A third exhibit focuses on the “America’s Cup, The Newport Years” and covers Cup history from 1930 to 1983. Opening day at the museum runs until 6 p.m.
For more information, visit www.iyrs.org or call 401-848-5777.
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