Join me aboard this tall ship for Writers@Sea

The SSV (Sailing School Vessel) Oliver Hazard Perry

I have awesome news to share today. South Florida’s Orange Island Arts Foundation has put together Writers@Sea and they’ve invited me to lead a workshop called Navigate the Waters of Story Structure.  I’m going to be working with 10 writers who will be workshopping their fiction with me and learning to sail aboard the 200-foot tall ship the Oliver Hazard Perry. The website describes the trip like this:

“Writers @ Sea offers a unique opportunity to develop your craft in a tropical paradise February 28 – March 6, 2016, traveling the waters of South Florida. Participants enjoy a voyage along Florida’s southeast coast aboard the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry the first teaching vessel of its kind. You will partake in hands-on sailing and navigational responsibilities under the direction of captain and crew. Ample time for reflection and writing is built into the schedule. The voyage begins in Fort Lauderdale and stops in Key West, The Dry Tortugas National Park, and Miami before returning to the starting point. Participants will have time to explore each location.”

The Oliver Hazard Perry is a steel hulled tall ship that was built in Rhode Island to operate as a non-profit sailing school vessel. She accommodates 49 people overnight, including 17 professional crew. Schools, foundations and universities can charter the vessel for educational purposes. There are some amazing pictures of the building of the boat on their website. I like these statistics: she has 7 miles of rope, 160 belaying pins, 20 sails, 14,000 sq. ft. of sail.

The tuition for this workshop includes seven nights aboard the ship, all meals, thirteen hours within a workshop class of 10 participants; room and board; 15 hours of sail instruction; reading; crafts; a gala; 17 hours of teamwork activities; and more than 90 hours of personal time for writing and engaging with the Florida landscape, which includes 24 hours of sightseeing while at port.  These are the early bird rates:

Early Bird registration ends 11/30/15

$2,000 if you sign up with a friend and sleep in a multi-person room (must book within 48 hours of each other)

$2,150 if you sign up alone to sleep in multi-person room

$2,350 if you sign up with a friend and sleep in a double room (must book within 48 hours of each other)

$2,500 if you sign up alone to be randomly placed in a double room

The folks at Orange Island Arts Foundation made this beautiful video with poet Campbell McGrath.

It’s going to be an amazing week. Come join me!

Fair winds!

Christine