SVC Marine Tech Center preps sailboat for major voyage

A 48-foot sailboat at the Skagit Valley College Marine Technology Center in Anacortes is making a world of difference for SVC students.

Soon it will make a difference in the world as well.

The One Ocean, on display at an open house last Friday, will embark with a five-member crew next spring on a 14-month voyage around North and South America to spread awareness about oceanic health through education and the collaboration of crucial scientific research.

"It's like a Jacques Cousteau floating science research boat," La Conner resident Allan Olson, a friend of Mark Shrader, skipper of the One Ocean on its Around the Americas trek, told the Weekly News on Monday. "Mark is a guy who's got a ton of experience. He's a guy you want with you when you're out on the deep blue sea."

Shrader has twice completed circumnavigations. In 2009-2010, Shrader sailed the route One Ocean will follow next year, collecting key scientific data throughout.

That venture was chronicled in "One Island, One Ocean: Around the Americas Aboard Ocean Watch" by Herb McCormick. Olson has a copy on his home bookshelf.

Shrader will be joined in May on the five-berth ketch by co-captain and Project Director Jennifer Dalton, SVC Marine Technology Department Chair Mike Beemer and two student interns.

The Around the Americas project partners with an array of maritime and educational entities. It was launched by Seattle's Pacific Science Center and Boston's Sailors for the Sea conservation group.

The One Ocean crew will present the expedition and its educational mission at each stop along the 2025-2026 passage, sharing their research, experiences and stories at over 50 ports of call. Talks will be in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The first port will be Victoria, B.C., to attend the International Seaweed Symposium. The Northwest Passage will be transited next and then on to a major climate change conference in Brazil in November 2025.

One Ocean is deemed an ideal vessel for the upcoming journey. It has also proved its worth while on dry land at the SVC Marine Tech campus.

"It's a great learning platform for the students," Ann Avary, director of the Northwest Center of Excellence for Marine Manufacturing and Technology, stressed during Friday's open house.

SVC's Marine Tech students are trained to do boat refits and learn how to repair engines and install, repair and troubleshoot modern boat and electrical systems, among other essential skills.

Education outreach is a big part of the Around the Americas vision. The One Ocean team will develop a curriculum for Skagit Valley school districts, including La Conner, and at every port.

The curriculum allows kindergarten through college students to connect with and engage in the Around the Americas Project. In addition, the public can reference the expedition and research through social media outlets.

Olson met the One Ocean's captain during COVID-19. Olson said Shrader, who is a contractor and fabricator, has a large barn and invited folks to meet there during the pandemic – while seated six feet apart and wearing masks – to enjoy some socializing during a time when people were otherwise isolated at home.

Dubbed "Whiskey Night," Olson said the gatherings continue to draw up to a couple dozen attendees whose ages range from the 30s to the 80s.

"It's a wonderful group," said Olson, "and that's how I met Mark."

Now thousands more on two continents will meet Shrader and his crew in the months ahead.