Upcoming Events / IYRS and the Museum of Yachting
(March – September 2009)
March 10 / IYRS Lecture: "Lessons in Restoration: Restoring Two of JP Morgan's Corsair Tenders" / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport) / 7:30 pm
Seth Hagen—an IYRS graduate who founded East Passage Boatwrights of Bristol with two classmates—takes lecture-goers inside the process of restoring two tenders owned by the legendary JP Morgan. The event is the first of IYRS's five-part Dinner-and-a-Lecture series, Close to Home: The Waters, Boats, and History Surrounding IYRS. Newport's Café Zelda coordinates a special IYRS menu on lecture nights (for reservations, call 401-849-4002). Lectures at IYRS Restoration Hall at 7:30 pm are free for IYRS and Museum of Yachting members, $7 for nonmembers. For more information: www.iyrs.org
March 24 / IYRS Lecture: "Merchants, Mills and Malls: The Newport Waterfront, the Aquidneck Mill Building, and Recent Research on the Newport Waterfront" / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport) / 7:30 pm
Spend an evening with Catherine W. Zipf and James C. Garman, both of Salve Regina University, and learn about the Lower Thames Street neighborhood that surrounds IYRS. Zipf and Garman will take a closer look at this Newport waterfront area—including the newly restored 1831 Aquidneck Mill Building on the IYRS campus and an excavation going on down the street from IYRS, supervised by Garman—in an evening lecture that is part of the school's spring Dinner-and-a-Lecture series, Close to Home: The Waters, Boats, and History Surrounding IYRS. Newport's Café Zelda coordinates a special IYRS menu on lecture nights (for reservations, call 401-849-4002). Lectures at IYRS Restoration Hall at 7:30 pm are free for IYRS and Museum of Yachting members, $7 for nonmembers. For more information: www.iyrs.org
March 28, 2009 / Open House / IYRS Bristol Campus (253 Franklin Street, Bristol) / 9 am – 12 noon
An Open House at the new IYRS Marine Systems Facility in Bristol is an opportunity to learn about the school's one-year Marine Systems Program and the career paths this training will lead to. Developed with the Rhode Island Marines Trades Association (RIMTA) and the American Boat & Yacht Council, the IYRS Marine Systems Program offers comprehensive training in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting onboard systems such as electrical, electronic, steering, plumbing, and propulsion. The training is specific to the skills marine businesses are seeking in their workforce. For more information, contact John Freer (jfreer@iyrs.org / 401-848-5777, ext. 203).
March to September 2009 / IYRS Continuing Education Courses
Building on the success of IYRS's full-time programs, the school offers a wide variety of Continuing Education courses designed for marine industry professionals, boat yard employees, and boating enthusiasts. Offerings run from March to September 2009 and include courses in marine systems—such as diesel-engine maintenance, electrical, plumbing; a spring commissioning course in April; sessions on metalworking, woodworking, and marine applications; and, new for 2009, a summer boatbuilding series where professional boat builders help students assemble a small wooden boat, with kits and instruction provided by Chesapeake Light Craft. Courses are held at IYRS's Newport campus, at the IYRS Systems facility in Bristol, and at the Museum of Yachting at Fort Adams State Park. Pre-registration is required. For a complete listing of courses, visit www.iyrs.org. For further information, contact John Freer (jfreer@iyrs.org / 401-848-5777, ext. 203).
April 7 / IYRS Lecture: "The Beetle Boat Shop: Maintaining the Tradition of Wooden Boat Building in a Modern World" / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport) / 7:30 pm
Each year, IYRS first-year students restore a fleet of 12-foot Beetle Cats® and launch them on graduation day. Join Bill Womack of The Beetle Boat Shop of Wareham, Massachusetts—the sole builder of the Beetle Cat—to learn about this classic cat boat and how his boat shop maintains the tradition of wooden boat building in a modern world. The event is part of IYRS's spring Dinner-and-a-Lecture series, Close to Home: The Waters, Boats, and History Surrounding IYRS. Newport's Café Zelda coordinates a special IYRS menu on lecture nights (for reservations, call 401-849-4002). Lectures at IYRS Restoration Hall at 7:30 pm are free for IYRS and Museum of Yachting members, $7 for nonmembers. For more information: www.iyrs.org
April 21 / IYRS Lecture: "Newport’s Waterfront History Over the Centuries" / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport) / 7:30 pm
Come to IYRS on the evening of April 21 to join Pieter Roos of the Newport Restoration Foundation and learn about Newport's waterfront history. The event is part of IYRS's spring Dinner-and-a-Lecture series, Close to Home: The Waters, Boats, and History Surrounding IYRS. Newport's Café Zelda coordinates a special IYRS menu on lecture nights (for reservations, call 401-849-4002). Lectures at IYRS Restoration Hall at 7:30 pm are free for IYRS and Museum of Yachting members, $7 for nonmembers. For more information: www.iyrs.org
May 5 / IYRS Lecture: "Restoration of the 1885 Schooner Yacht Coronet: Returning a Grand Yacht to the Water" / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport) / 7:30 pm
Jeff Rutherford, of Coronet Restoration Partners, talks about the process of restoring the rare 133-foot Coronet in an evening lecture. The historic schooner yacht launched in 1885 is now being restored on the IYRS campus by a team of shipwrights. In summer 2009, the Museum of Yachting will coordinate an exhibit on Coronet—a yacht with the luxury of a fine home, but one that was meant to travel to faraway shores. The lecture is part of IYRS's spring Dinner-and-a-Lecture series, Close to Home: The Waters, Boats, and History Surrounding IYRS. Newport's Café Zelda coordinates a special IYRS menu on lecture nights (for reservations, call 401-849-4002). Lectures at IYRS Restoration Hall at 7:30 pm are free for IYRS and Museum of Yachting members, $7 for nonmembers. For more information: www.iyrs.org
May 16 – October 13, 2009 / Museum of Yachting Summer Exhibits (Fort Adams State Park, RI)
- "Imagination in Scale: The Practical Art of Ship and Yacht Models"
There is something captivating about the toy-like quality of ship and yacht models that captures the imagination of children and adults alike, but models also serve as functional tools for yacht designers and builders. The museum's display captures the beauty, artistry, functionality, and painstaking detail of model making. The exhibit is coupled with the first public exhibition of the William H. Combs Miniature Model Collection, which will be housed in the newly restored Aquidneck Mill Building at the International Yacht Restoration School (449 Thames Street). Combs, a yachtsman and businessman, built an extraordinary collection of models during his lifetime—each of which can easily stand alone as a fascinating work of art.
- "The America’s Cup – The Newport Years"
The rich history of the America's Cup has been closely linked with Newport, ever since the race first came to this waterfront city in 1930. The Cup's Newport years mark a period of innovation in this legendary event, and the exhibit follows the technical developments of the boats sailed in the competition—from the majestic J/Class sloops to 12-Meters. The exhibit also pays tribute to the colorful personalities who came to Newport to battle for the coveted prize—from Harold “Mike” Vanderbilt and Sir Thomas Lipton, to Ted Turner and Dennis Conner.
- "Coronet: The Long Life and Revival of an Historic American Schooner Yacht"
The museum's new exhibit on the 133-foot schooner yacht Coronet coincides with the restoration of this rare vessel at the International Yacht Restoration School. Since her launching in 1885, Coronet has intrigued people with her majesty, mystery, and physical presence, and the yacht is remarkable for a number of reasons—most notably the fact that she still exists. The schooner yacht's contemporaries have all vanished, but Coronet has survived as a link to a Golden Age in yachting. From viewing photography and artifacts from Coronet's opulent interior, museum-goers will get a rare glimpse of life aboard a late Victorian–era yacht and learn about Coronet's colorful owners and her sometimes-controversial adventures at sea. After seeing the exhibition, visitors can be ferried across Newport Harbor to see the yacht and watch shipwrights restore the hull.
The Museum of Yachting is open daily during the summer, closed on Tuesdays. Admission is: $5 for adults; $4 for seniors; students and children (under 18) are free. In summer, a water taxi ferries visitors between IYRS and the museum grounds. For more information, visit www.moy.org or call 401-847-1018.
June 6, 2009 / Launch Day / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport)
On Launch Day, IYRS graduates students from its two full-time programs—in wooden boat building and restoration, and in marine systems. The day is marked by a unique rite: IYRS students launch and sail the boats they restored over the term to see how their workmanship fares under sail. The event has become a waterfront happening for the Newport community, drawing a crowd of onlookers to the school docks each year. Boats launching this year include a fleet of 12-foot Beetle Cat® sailboats and a Herreshoff 12 ½ dinghy. For more details on Launch Day, visit www.iyrs.org.
July 11, 2009 / Annual Summer Gala / IYRS Newport Campus (449 Thames Street, Newport)
On most days of the year, IYRS Restoration Hall is a place of industry, where shipwrights-in-training transform neglected watercraft into vessels ready to set sail again. But on Saturday, July 11, Restoration Hall will be the site of a transformation of a different kind when the school converts this workspace into an elegant setting for the Twelfth Annual IYRS Summer Gala. The annual event is a highlight of the Newport summer calendar and draws an international crowd of classic yachting enthusiasts. For more information, visit www.iyrs.org or call 401-848-5777.
September 4-6, 2009 / 30th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta, sponsored by Panerai, presented by Best Life
The 30th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta, hosted by the Museum of Yachting, will again turn the waters off Newport into a panorama of graceful classic yachts. Sponsors Panerai and Best Life help bring this classic event to the museum's home at Fort Adams State Park from September 4-6. The event includes two days of racing and a Classic Yacht Parade and will draw a fleet that ranges from modern classics to vintage yachts and traditional one-designs. In 2009, owners of Huckins yachts will hold a Newport Rendezvous in conjunction with the regatta, enhancing both the event and the ever-popular parade of classic yachts. For more information, visit www.moy.org or call 401-847-1018.
For more information, media should contact:
Susan Daly (401-848-5777, ext 220 / sdaly@iyrs.org)
Cynthia Goss (203-453-2731 / media@iyrs.org)