Contact: Skip Burdon at ABYC

(410) 990-4460, x25

sburdon@abycinc.org

Contact: Caryn Vinson at The Boat School

(207) 853-2518

vinsonc@husson.edu

Westlawn Institute Moves to Eastport, Maine!

Design School and Boatbuilding School Move Closer

 

January 25, 2010, Annapolis, MD and Eastport, ME:  The Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and The Boat School are pleased to announce that Westlawn Institute has moved its office to a new location in The Boat School, on Deep Cove Road, in Eastport, Maine. The new Westlawn Institute address is:

 

Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology

16 Deep Cove Rd.

Eastport, ME  04631

Tel: 207-853-6600

Fax: 207-853-6605

Email: info@westlawn.edu

Web: www.westlawn.edu

 

Westlawn Institute is looking forward to exciting new opportunities created by this move, including working closely with The Boat School, which specializes in teaching boatbuilding, and which is the oldest school of boatbuilding in the United States. The Boat School is an affiliate of Husson University.

 

An amazing number of connections made this move to Eastport, Maine almost inevitable:

 

Westlawn’s parent company is The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC). ABYC created the Marine League of Schools to improve marine education, and The Boat School has just become a member of The Marine League of Schools. ABYC is also a training partner in Maine’s North Star Alliance. The director of the boat school, Bob Turcotte, is a Westlawn Institute alumnus. And, The Boat School is the only school, other than Westlawn, to use the Yacht Design Institute (YDI) curriculum as part of its program. The Maine-based YDI was created by Westlawn alumnus Ted Brewer and Maine resident Bob Wallstrom, to teach boat design via distance learning. Westlawn Institute acquired YDI in 2007 both to support YDI alumni and to further enhance Westlawn’s curriculum. Westlawn Institute’s move onto The Boat School campus brings this all full circle. (Click Here to read more about YDI and Westlawn Institute.)

 

 

Faculty and staff in The Boat School front office. From left to right: Brian Moore, Boat School instructor, Caryn Vinson, Boat School office manager, Bob Turcotte, Boat School director, Dave Gerr, Westlawn director, Brian Duffy, Boat School instructor, Pete Hilyard, Boat School Instructor.

 

Even a bit of history links Westlawn and ABYC with Eastport, Maine. ABYC is located in the Eastport section of Annapolis, Maryland. According to Eastport, Maine city manager George “Bud” Finch:

 

“Eastport, Maryland was named by Charles J. Murphy, (c.1839-1898) and after his home town and place of birth, Eastport, Maine.  Charles served in the U.S. Navy for 40 years and retired as a Boatswain. Murphy is credited with building "Murphy's Row," a row of attached brick houses off First Street, supposedly used to house glass factory workers. (Although old timers in Eastport remember the workers boarding in other houses and paying with glass.) Murphy's Row is now Jeremy's Way.

 

One of the principal incorporators of the Annapolis Glass Company was Charles J. Murphy who formed the company to make china, glass, and pottery. It was located in the block between Severn Avenue and the water between present Second and Third streets.  The Annapolis Glass Works later became the Severn Glass Company operating until 1902.”

 

Westlawn director, Dave Gerr, giving a seminar at The Boat School

 

Dave Gerr, director of Westlawn Institute, commented that, “All the connections between Westlawn, The Boat School and Eastport, Maine are remarkable. We’re looking forward to working in The Boat School buildings and to developing future programs with Husson University and The Boat School. These connections will further enhance the learning process and offer even better service to the boating industry.”

 

Boat School director, Bob Turcotte, said, “Bringing Westlawn Institute into The Boat School campus in Eastport, Maine and working closely together will further strengthen our curriculum and our training capabilities. We’re enthusiastic about welcoming Westlawn Institute to our campus.”

 

Maintaining the Mystic Seaport Connection

“The incredible resources and the extraordinary staff at Mystic Seaport (Westlawn’s former location) are simply too valuable to loose,” noted Westlawn Institute director Dave Gerr. “Though our Mystic school office is closed we are maintaining the ABYC/Westlawn Research Center at Mystic Seaport. This will continue Westlawn and ABYC’s close affiliation with the Seaport, which is absolutely invaluable to Westlawn Institute and to ABYC.”

 

 

Founded in 1930, the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology is the only nationally accredited distance-learning school of small-craft design in the United States. As the not-for-profit educational affiliate of the American Boat and Yacht Council, the mission of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology is threefold:

■ To provide our students with the skills and knowledge required to build a rewarding career in the profession of yacht and small-craft naval architecture.

■ To support continued growth of the recreational and small-craft marine community through the development of well-trained, safety-oriented, boat designers developing better products for the benefit of the boating public.

■ To provide continuing education to marine-industry professionals.

To learn more about Westlawn, please call (207) 853-6600 or visit the Westlawn website at: www.westlawn.edu.