Tall ship Niagara to be college classroom

For three weeks this summer, 20 college students will live, study and work on the sailing ship U.S. Brig Niagara, a replica of a historic, two-masted warship, as it plies a course across the Great Lakes. It's part of an innovative course being introduced by the University of Pittsburgh.

Based in Erie and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Niagara is the official tall ship of Pennsylvania.

Built in 1988, the two-masted, square-rigged vessel measures 110 feet long at the waterline by 32 feet wide. It is the third reincarnation of the historic warship, which Oliver Hazard Perry used to lead American forces against the British in the Battle of Lake Erie on Sept. 10, 1813.

During this naval engagement that effectively ended British control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812, the 28-year-old commodore issued two commands that have resonated through history. During battle, he urged on his sailors under the banner of "Don't give up the ship." Later, in his dispatch to Gen. William Henry Harrison reporting the results of the battle, Perry wrote, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

From July 12 to Aug. 1, students taking History 0606 will examine the development of maritime power in the Great Lakes during the 18th and 19th centuries, focusing on the role wooden sailing ships played. They'll participate in two-hour lectures for 21 consecutive days, on topics ranging from early European exploration and colonization in the Great Lakes region, which led to a clash of empires bent on using the waterways as links in their global trading networks, to the strategic importance the lakes played in the defense and development of the young American Republic.

The class will visit maritime museums and historic sites along the way. Ports of call could range anywhere from Montreal to Chicago, and include stops at Erie and Presque Isle, Pa.; Sandusky, Ohio; Oswego, N.Y.; Detroit, Mackinac Island and Traverse City, Mich.; Whitefish Bay, Wis.; and Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston and Niagara, Ontario.

Students also will get hands-on training on a historic warship, learning the arts of a tall-ship sailor and the interrelationships of humans and the inland seas.

Each student must stand two four-hour watches. One watch will include structured lessons from the Niagara's professional crew in the blue water sailor's art: knots, line handling, working aloft, navigation, maintenance and the like. The other will be spent performing practical tasks, from climbing the masts and raising the sails to sanitary duties.

The Niagara is primarily a wind- and muscle-powered ship. Although it has auxiliary propulsion engines and modern navigation equipment, it offers no warm water, showers or privacy. Crew and students sleep in hammocks on the ship's Berth Deck, which is only 5 feet high.

The course is being organized and conducted by Dr. Timothy Walker, an adjunct history professor at Pitt and professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Dr. Walker participated in several Semesters at Sea before Pitt terminated its association with the program.

"I enjoyed teaching at sea," Dr. Walker said, "but I was looking for something of shorter duration where students actually learned to operate the ship." Dr. Walker has already conducted several educational summer programs on several Atlantic schooners.

The course is open to Pitt undergrads, as well as those of other universities; course credits may be transferable. High school seniors may also apply. The $2,892 fee covers tuition and shipboard expenses, including meals and hammock. Students will have to provide their own transportation to and from Erie.

Anyone interested in participating should contact Pitt's History Department at 412-648-7451 or www.pitt.edu/~pitthist/.