Ahoy!

Welcome to the first Beam Reach newsletter, or "Shipmate Update!" Roll out of your berth to lend a hand, witness the latest excitement, and hear yarns from the Beam Reach marine science and sustainability school.

In this issue:

1. Waypoints in 2005: A brief progress report
2. Endangered orcas and how we'll catalyze their recovery
3. All hands on deck: Help us spread the word and grow
4. Bonus: a stunning breach image

Waypoints in 2005: A brief progress report

Our greatest accomplishment to date was successfully completing the pilot program last fall with an amazing group of undergraduates and post-baccalaureates. The pioneering students (Brett, Celia, Courtney, Laura, Nicole, and Wilfredo) earned credit from the University of Washington (UW) and have gone on to graduate from college, transfer to better schools, consider graduate work, and continue studying marine mammals or acoustics. Don't miss their blogs, photos, videos, and final papers/presentations: http://beamreach.org/051/

The fall program was a huge effort and accolades are due. Board Chair Mike Dougherty steered us safely and strategically while Board Member Tory Davis enabled us to serve a wide range of students through a generous grant from the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation. Val Veirs taught intensely for three times longer than he's used to doing and Captain Todd Shuster provided a magnificent charter vessel, the Gato Verde (http://gatoverde.com).

Since the pilot, we are also proud to report:

1. hiring Tracy Smith, our amiable and talented Director of Sales and Marketing
2. recruitment of instructor Jason Wood, a specialist in elephant acoustics

Endangered orcas and how we'll catalyze their recovery

Just a month after the pilot program ended last October, our local killer whales -- the southern resident orcas -- were declared to be endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Thus, the stage was set in the Pacific Northwest for a complex management problem: recovering the orca population as well as the populations of endangered fish that the orcas eat.

Inspired by the collaborative efforts to articulate and address this problem at NOAA's Killer Whale Symposium last April, we launched a website -- http://orcasphere.net -- that we hope will become a forum for exchanging information and ideas related to recovery of the orcas and the rest of their marine ecosystem. We encourage you visit the site and comment on the blog entries we've recently published there about Beam Reach activities related to orca recovery:

A synopsis of an unusual orca ceremony witnessed and documented by our fall 2005 students. You can see the video and read the article at:

http://orcasphere.net/blog/2006/5/15/ceremony.html

An account of re-powering the Gato Verde to become the West Coast's only biodiesel-electric sailing charter vessel:

http://orcasphere.net/blog/2006/5/19/sailing_hybrid.html

All hands on deck: Help us spread the word and grow

Our fall 2006 program is filling quickly, but we have a few spaces left. We also are seeking students for the spring and fall programs in 2007. Please help us spread the word. Forward this update, contact tracy@beamreach.org for an announcement tailored to a particular audience, or apply yourself at:
http://www.beamreach.org/apply.html

Another way you can help is to make a charitable donation to our scholarship fund. To date we have provided financial assistance to all of our participants. To continue providing such support in 2007 when we plan to quadruple annual enrollment and begin accepting international students, we need to expand our scholarship fund substantially. If you are inspired and able to give, please contact scott@beamreach.org or donate directly at: http://beamreach.org/donate/

Bonus: A stunning breach photo

Val Veirs took this amazing photograph of a breaching orca last week. You can view a high-resolution version (and download it for your screen-saver!) at:
http://beamreach.org/img/whales/BreechByStewart-vvcr.jpg

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Past editions can be had at Shipmate Update archives.