III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 668 

To commend the American Sail Training Association for its advancement 

of character building under sail and for its advancement of international 

goodwill. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Mr. KERRY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

To commend the American Sail Training Association for 

its advancement of character building under sail and 

for its advancement of international goodwill. 

Whereas the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) is 

an educational nonprofit corporation whose declared mission is ‘‘to encourage character building through sail 

training, promote sail training to the North American 

public and support education under sail’’; 

Whereas, since its founding in 1973, ASTA has promoted 

these goals through—(1) support of character building 

experiences aboard traditionally-rigged sail training vessels; (2) a program of scholarship funds supporting such 

experiences; (3) a long history of tall ship races, rallies, 

and maritime festivals dating back as far as 1976; (4) 


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•SRES 668 IS 

the Tall Ships Challenge series of races and maritime festivals which have been conducted each year since 2001, 

have reached an aggregate audience to date of some 

8,000,000 spectators, have had a cumulative economic 

impact of over $400,000,000 for over 30 host communities, and involve sail training vessels, trainees, and 

crews from all the coasts of the United States and 

around the world; (5) support of its membership of more 

than 200 sail training vessels, embracing barks, barques, 

barkentines, brigantines, brigs, schooners, sloops, and 

full-rigged ships, which carry the flags of the United 

States, Canada, and many other nations and have 

brought life changing adventures to thousands and thousands of young trainees; (6) a series of more than 30 annual sail training conferences to date, conducted in numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada 

and embracing the Safety Under Sail Forum and the 

Education Under Sail Forum; (7) extensive collaboration 

with the Coast Guard and with the premier sail training 

vessel of the United States, the square-rigged barque 

USCGC Eagle; (8) publication of ‘‘Sail Tall Ships’’, a 

periodic directory of sail training opportunities; and (9) 

supporting the enactment of the Sailing Schools Vessel 

Act of 1982, Public Law 97–322, on October 15, 1982; 

Whereas ASTA has ably represented the United States as its 

national sail training organization as a founding member 

of Sail Training International, the recognized international body for the promotion of sail training, which 

itself carries forward a series of international races 

amongst square-rigged and other traditionally-rigged vessels reaching back as far as the 1950s; and 


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•SRES 668 IS 

Whereas ASTA and Sail Training International are collaborating with port partners around the Atlantic Ocean to 

produce Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009, an international fleet of sail training vessels originating in Europe, voyaging to North America, and returning to Europe: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the American Sail Training As3 sociation for its advancement of character building 

4 experiences for youth at sea in traditionally-rigged 

5 sailing vessels and its advancement of the finest tra6 ditions of the sea; 

7 (2) commends the American Sail Training As8 sociation as the national sail training association of 

9 the United States, representing the sail training 

10 community of the United States in the international 

11 forum; and 

12 (3) encourages all citizens of the United States 

13 and of nations around the world to join in the cele14 bration of Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 and in 

15 the character building and educational experience 

16 that it represents for the youth of all nations. 

Æ 


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