Course List

BAYFRONT CENTER COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

LAKE ERIE SHIPWRECK SCIENCE
The Shipwreck Science Program introduces the concepts, hands-on practice, equipment and excitement of scientific underwater exploration to participants, including school students, Erie residents, and tourists. We will get underway with twenty participants on the US Coast Guard inspected motor vessel Canadian Sailor for a three-hour voyage of discovery and adventure.

After departing the dock near Dobbins Landing, participants learn about a variety of topics while en route to shipwrecks located off Presque Isle State Park. Maritime educators from BCMS and the professional boat crew present information designed to engage, educate, and captivate, covering subjects including:

- Presque Isle Bay and Peninsula History
- Gull Point Sand Succession
- Point Source Pollution
- Magnetic Compass
- Principles of Navigation
- GPS
- Chart Plotting
- Underwater Archeology
- Rules of the Road
- Light Houses (we pass three!)
- Local Shipbuilding
- Local Commercial Fishing
- Erie’s Industrial Waterfront

The Side Scan Sonar is deployed as we approach the wreck sites just off of Presque Isle State park, in about 27’ of water. Several passes are made over the wreck as participants watch the Side Scan Sonar screens and learn how to see and interpret the targets observed. The Canadian Sailor then anchors and the Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) is deployed. Participants see live video from the ROV operating on the lake bottom and are able to observe and identify objects detected previously by the Side Scan Sonar.

Classroom support materials, aligned with Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards and Anchors and differentiated for age groups and abilities are being created, to accompany the adventure. These will help prepare students for the excursion and maximize the cross curricular educational content.

For more information or to schedule a trip, contact Captain Rich Eisenberg. The cost is $55 per person with a fifteen person minimum. Call soon to inquire about the special discount rate for school/youth groups. We are booking school field trips through September 2010!

SAIL TRAINING
Students can learn to sail aboard one of BCMS’ many sailing vessels. Sail training programs build sailing and navigation skills while measurably improving teamwork and self confidence. Logical thinking, algebra and geometry are all vital in navigation and students will get a lesson in the physics of sailing while underway. Program lengths vary based upon student needs. BCMS is also a US Sailing Certified Keelboat Sailing School. Our 15 hour sailing course is designed to build sailing skills and prepare students to take the US Sailing Basic Keelboat Exam BCMS sailing instructors hold a US Coast Guard Masters License.

NAVIGATION SCIENCE
BCMS offers courses in beginning, intermediate and advanced chart plotting and navigation. Topics include:

Introduction to the Nautical Chart
Latitude and Longitude
Introduction to Plotting Tools
Speed, Time, Distance (its algebra, shhhhhh, don’t tell the kids)
Magnetic Compass; TVMDC - converting true directions to compass directions
Aids to Navigation; Buoys, Lights, etc.
Set and Drift; speed and direction of the Current
Course to Steer

bc(MS)² -- MARITIME SIMULATOR TRAINING
BCMS has a 3D Maritime Training Simulator. Students can learn to pilot a vessel while navigating with radar and GPS on state of the art electronic charts. Students can get underway in all kinds of weather and current conditions, day or night, on vessels including an 80’ ketch, a 180’ commercial fishing vessel a 900’ container ship and several others, without getting wet, cold or seasick! We can train in San Francisco waters, New York City Harbor, or the Lake Erie Quadrangle. This equipment will allow us to offer a USCG RADAR Endorsement Certification Course.

ERIE ADAPTIVE SAILING EXPERIENCE (EASE)
Disabled and able bodied persons alike can enjoy the thrill of piloting a small sailing vessel. Our Access Dinghies are designed to provide a stable and safe environment for everyone up to the paraplegic level to take full control of their own vessel and learn to sail!

BOAT SHOP PROJECTS
Over the past 10 years we have built 83 boats with 11,000 youth, predominantly from the Erie area but including all of Pennsylvania and parts of New York. Our projects range from 15 foot canoes to our 29 foot Erie Boat, the historic turn of the century fishing boat that helped make Erie the freshwater fishing capital of the world. Our boat building curriculum is aligned with Pennsylvania Department of Education standards incorporating math, algebra, fractions, geometry and technology skills into our lessons. Traditional academics are enhanced by a host of soft skills including teamwork, disagreeing without fighting, reasoning, critical thinking, effective communication and problem solving. Fees are project dependent; please contact the Bayfront Center for more information.

ENVIRONMENTAL REDISCOVERIES
Venture out onto beautiful Presque Isle Bay aboard BCMS’ sailing vessel Momentum or Taco the Town for a day of science and fun. Students are introduced to sailing as they make their way to a sampling site aboard a traditionally rigged sloop or racing catamaran. They will collect bottom samples with a dredge and record the area’s water quality with the onboard hydro-lab. Back on shore in the lab students examine their samples using microscopes, searching for the various macroinvertebrates that are the bio-indicators of the health of the eco-system. There is a nominal per-student fee.

SCHOOL GROUP FIELD TRIPS

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD MASTERS LICENSE COURSE

PENNSYLVANIA FISH AND BOAT COMMISSION BASIC BOATING COURSE

US SAILING KEELBOAT CERTIFICATION COURSE

WOODCARVING CLASSES

MARINE DIESEL ENGINE MAINTENANCE

If you feel that you or your group could benefit from any of our programs please do not hesitate to Contact Us