Maine Maritime Academy student Charles Orne of Auburn, will sail to the Arctic Circle this summer as part of an experimental learning opportunity aboard the college’s schooner Bowdoin.

Auburn student to sail to Arctic

CASTINE – Maine Maritime Academy student, Charles Orne, Auburn, will sail to the Arctic Circle this summer as part of an experimental learning opportunity aboard the college’s historic schooner, Bowdoin.

The trip will recall the schooner’s historic roots in Arctic exploration and research while providing a unique setting for traditional sail training. Orne and 12 other MMA students and recent graduates of the college will retrace the vessel’s historic roots while learning the fundamentals of ocean voyaging, including pre-voyage planning and provisioning, and hands-on sailing and navigation.

The 12-week course began on May 5 in port at the college, with the vessel tentatively scheduled to get underway on June 1 for the 60-day voyage.

Orne, a member of the Class of 2010, is a graduate of Edward Little High School, Auburn. He is majoring in small vessel operations at the college.

The public is encouraged to follow the adventures of the schooner Bowdoin and Orne throughout the voyage. Visit www.mma.edu and follow the highlighted hyperlink. The Web site will include a captain’s log and a hyperlink to the online vessel tracking site, iboat.