The ship has the honorary designation of being New Jersey’s Official Tall Ship. We travel to various ports around the state of NJ – along the Delaware River / Bay to the West and along the
Atlantic Coast to the East. This summer’s shipboard camps will be available from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, somewhere on Barnegat Bay (exact port location to be determined), Atlantic City and Cape May, NJ.

Our camp philosophy is an extension of our organizational mission which is: “To motivate people to care for the history, the culture and the environment of the Bayshore Region through education, preservation and example.” Our camps are designed to create a unique on-the-water experience where campers learn how to sail and, simultaneously, learn about the surrounding environment. As we play in and learn about the environment, we all develop a greater appreciation for it. The more we appreciate something, the more motivated we become to care for it. So part of the philosophy behind the camps is to instill a greater sense of environmental stewardship on the part of everyone involved. Our shipboard programs are heavy on the learning. Another important philosophy that we
harbor is the belief that the best way to learn is to do so while having fun. Our hands-on activities are designed with that in mind.

What makes us unique from other camp opportunities is the fact that the experience takes place on an 86-year-old oyster schooner, teaches participants how to sail a traditionally-rigged tall ship and exposes them to the wonders of the surrounding environment. I do not believe this kind of opportunity exists anywhere else.

Our camps all start out the same way. Stepping aboard the ship is like stepping back in time – back to the 1920’s when oystering was a big business on the Delaware Bay. After a brief
introduction and orientation to the ship, everyone has their hands on the manila lines. At the command of the Master, we start hauling up the heavy canvas sails to the beat of a sea shanty. As the wind fills the sails, we are underway without the sound of an engine but rather the sound of the wind in the rigging.
From there, we split our activities between learning about the sailing and learning about the surrounding environment. Campers take turns at the helm and bow watch, plot our course on the navigation chart, utilize the simple machines onboard, and learn about the theory of sailing. They
also trawl for plankton and other marine life to see first-hand what is living in the water. They might dissect an oyster to learn about this keystone species. We take water samples to assess the health of the water. We discuss ways our daily lives impact this quality and options for minimizing our impact.
Week-long camps allow us to delve more deeply into all of these topics, have more hands-on opportunities to hone our sailing skills and for campers to become truly integrated into the crew of the ship participating in all aspects of shipboard life – daily chores, meal preparation & clean-up, sleeping in the crew bunks, raising the anchor, night watches, and learning some of the arts of a sailor (e.g. fancy knots). The additional time onboard also results in a greater appreciation and understanding of the surrounding environment and our impact on it.

We offer two types of camps Sailor For A Day Camp (for ages 10 – 16) runs from 9 am to 4 pm for a single day. We can accommodate up to 25 campers in this program. Cost is $70 per camper. Campers bring their lunch onboard with them. Camp originates from and ends at the same port of call. Maritime Camp (for ages 13 – 17) is 5 days / 4 nights starting at 9 am on Day 1 and ending at 4 pm on Day 5. We can accommodate up to 12 campers in this program. The cost for this camp is $750 per camper which includes all meals. Camp may originate from one port of call and end in another. Check our schedule for details.

We have a minimum of 8 professionally-trained crew onboard for our summer camps. We have space for only 25 campers on our day-long camps and just 12 for our overnight camps. That means a ratio of crew to campers of 1:3 for day camps and 1:1.5 for our overnight camps. Our crew is a blend of individuals with long sailing careers, education backgrounds, and/or environmental / marine biology educations.

As mentioned before, our camps are one-of-a-kind – a truly unique experience. This uniqueness creates a level playing field for all who come aboard. We also place great emphasis on building a tight-knit community where everyone is given an equal opportunity to learn and grow in their area of interest. This is easily accomplished on a ship with a relatively small number of campers. The outcome is a new level of self-confidence for each and every one of our campers.

Camp enrollment for 2014 is now open and will remain open until camps are filled. Bookings are taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

1) Our parent organization, the Bayshore Center at Bivalve, is a non-profit organization which also provides educational opportunities in our home port of Bivalve, NJ. 2) The Schooner AJ Meerwald is a U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessel, was given the honorary designation of NJ’s Official Tall Ship in 1998 and was the recipient of the 2005 Tall Ships America Sea Education Program of the Year Award. Given all of that, we are probably still NJ’s best-kept secret. 3) We have camp-like opportunities for adults and family units. Ask us about joining us for a day or two transit between our ports of call.

Parents can call with questions whenever it is convenient for them. We’re accustomed to taking calls during and outside of normal business hours. Our ship operates 7 days a week. Parents can book a reservation directly online from our website or call for assistance.