Coming Home: The Return of Mariner Scouts to the Tall Ships
Speakers
Captain Sarah Armour, Schooner Brillian, Mystic Seaport
Cassie Audette Ezzell, Director of Programs, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England
Nicolas Hardisty, Program Manager, Tall Ships America
In 1934, Girls Scouts officially launched the Mariner Scout program, designed for older Scouts interested in water-based activities and maritime skill development. While the program was officially discontinued in 1963, Scouts remained connected to the tall ships community, even crewing vessels at ASTA’s annual sail training races during the 1970s. Girls Scouts have relaunched the Mariner Scout troops, creating new programming possibilities for sail training organizations and new opportunities for young women to experience all that tall ship sailing has to offer. This session explores working with Mariner Scouts from 3 perspectives, each drawing from recent experiences with Mariner Scouts onboard tall ships: ship operator/captain- Captain Sarah Armour, Mystic Seaport/Brilliant; Girl/Mariner Scout administrator- Cassie Audette Ezzell, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England Director of Programs; partnerships/funding- Nicolas Hardisty, Tall Ships America.
Sarah Armour serves as the captain of Schooner Brilliant, the flagship sail training vessel of Mystic Seaport Museum. She sits on the board of directors for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, where she also sails as relief captain. Sarah has spent the last decade working in youth sail training, traditional sail, and experiential education. In addition to Brilliant and Clearwater, Sarah has sailed aboard SSV Geronimo, Pride of Baltimore II, Lady Maryland, and Schooner Rebecca. She has a degree in Earth Systems Science from Cornell University, where she focused on applied ecology, sustainable agriculture, and environmental education.
At the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England (GSSNE), Cassie is primarily responsible for Girl Scout programming, summer and troop camping, the mariners troop, and strategic planning for the Girl Scout experience. She started at GSSNE in May of 2019. She has prior experience in environmental and high adventure education as well as playing an active role in local marine education and conservation. Cassie has a master’s degree in Marine Affairs with a concentration in Environmental Education from the University of Rhode Island and an environmental education teaching certification through Cornell University. She loves traveling, the beach and sailing, cooking, and spending time with her family and dog at her vacation home in Maine.
Nicolas Hardisty joined Tall Ships America as Program Manager in 2019. His work in this position draws largely on his background in sailing and experiential education. He earned an MA in History from Rhode Island College, specializing in African American and Colonial Atlantic history. Prior to this position, Nic worked as an instructor of history at Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, and was the coordinator for RIC’s experiential education program at the Rhode Island State House. Nic’s family has been involved in tall ships and sail training for generations, and he is excited to offer his own contributions to the industry. He conducts historical research and analysis in his spare time and has presented articles on African American history, presidential assassinations, and identifying/managing vicarious trauma in historians at numerous conferences throughout the United States. He is a co-founder of the academic collective Global Empire & Resistance Scholarship, and serves on the executive council of the New England Regional World History Association.
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Tall Ships America Annual Conference 