News
Celebrate Graduation with IYRS Students on June 6
On Saturday, June 6, students from the Boatbuilding & Restoration and the Marine Systems programs will celebrate their graduation from IYRS at Launch Day. Graduation begins inside Restoration Hall at 10:30 am; immediately following, the crowd will migrate to the docks where students will showcase their work and launch the boats they spent the past year restoring. The fleet launching this year includes: the 12-foot Beetle Cats restored by first-year students; the 35-foot motor launch Corsair, originally launched in 1939 from the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. for yachtsman and financier J.P. Morgan; a Herreshoff 12 ½; and a replica of a 15-foot Whitehall rowing boat, the original having been built by Stephen Roberts in Manhattan sometime in the second half of the 19th century. The Museum of Yachting joins Launch Day festivities with a book sale, held inside Restoration Hall from 12 noon to 3 pm. The sale includes maritime books and magazines, many of which are duplicate titles from the Museum's extensive library collection.
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IYRS Christens Newly Restored 1831 Aquidneck Mill Building
IYRS celebrated a milestone in the school's history on May 14: the official opening of the restored 1831 Aquidneck mill building. The $7.5-million restoration transforms what was once an abandoned shell into a vital cornerstone of the Lower Thames Street neighborhood. The building now houses the school’s administrative offices, a maritime library, and a Visitor Center—along with lease space for ten companies that have brought businesses, jobs, and new economic activity to the Newport waterfront. A crowd of over 150 community leaders, local businesspeople, school supporters, and area residents gathered to mark the occasion. During the ceremonies, IYRS Chairman George Isdale recognized the contributions of IYRS trustees Joseph Dockery, who chaired the Mill's construction committee, and committee member David Elwell. Newport Collaborative Architects served as architects of the project and construction was managed by Farrar & Associates of Newport. Organizations that contributed funding to the Mill include the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, 1772 Foundation, Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust, U.S. Small Business Administration, Prince Charitable Trusts, Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, and The Champlin Foundations. Also in attendance for the ceremony was the family of the late William Combs, whose miniature model collection is on display in the new Visitor Center. The family marked the occasion by gifting a painting of the historic Coronet by maritime artist John Mecray to the school, in honor of their mother Edmee Schaefer Combs.
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William H. Combs Miniature Model Collection Now on View
Visit the new IYRS Visitor Center in the Aquidneck Mill building to view the William H. Combs Miniature Model Collection, including twenty exquisitely crafted ship models by two of the top marine model artists in this genre: Donald McNarry F.R.S.A. and Lloyd McCaffery. The collection was thoughtfully developed over a period of thirty years by the late William H. Combs, a West Point graduate, yachtsman, philanthropist, and Pennsylvania businessman with a life-long interest in sailing. Learn more about the collection by reading The William H. Combs Miniature Model Collection at IYRS, a superbly produced full-color, 65-page book with text and photography by noted ship model expert R. Michael Wall. Click here to read more.
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Crowd Gathers for Opening of New IYRS Marine Systems Facility
On March 28, the opening of the new IYRS Marine Systems Training Facility at Franklin Street Marine Corridor--a unique industrial/education complex in Bristol where students and the marine trades mix--drew a crowd of industry representatives, students, educators, and government officials. As noted by Andy Tyska, developer of the Franklin Street Corridor, “This is a unique place that is an incubator for marine businesses as well as flexible space for marine trades expansion…and includes an education component.” Clark Poston, program director at IYRS, welcomed all the guests but especially the people in the audience who were interested in training for marine industry jobs. “With IYRS’ move into the new 5,000 sq. ft. space, and plenty of room to expand within the building,” Poston noted, “the school anticipates big growth over the next several years. The new facility represents the culmination of an idea to bring the marine trades and related educational programs together--and both should benefit by the association.”
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International Yacht Restoration School was among 5 Institutions to Receive an ACCSCT School of Excellence Award
ACCSCT announced a new institutional award, the ACCSCT School of Excellence. These schools are singled out for demonstrating the highest-levels of student achievement among ACCSCT institutions. In order to be eligible for the School of Excellence award, a school must not only meet the criteria required to be a School of Distinction, but must also show that all of the school’s graduation rates and employment among all ACCSCT-accredited institutions. The School of Excellence award is the highest honor presented to ACCSCT schools. Click here to learn more about the ACCSCT.
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Rhode Island Marine Trades Day
The IYRS Marine Systems facility in Bristol (257 Franklin Street) will be part of Rhode Island Marine Trades Day on Saturday, October 25. More than 20 firms in the East Bay area will offer tours to introduce the boating industry to local and State officials, neighbors, business partners and associates, people interested in marine industry careers and training opportunities, and the general public. Follow the link above for a press release from the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association. For more information, click here.
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2008 Summer Gala Sponsored by Lexus Raises Record Sum
When over 500 guests filed through the doors of IYRS on July 12 for the Eleventh Annual Summer Gala sponsored by Lexus they found a fitting scene for revelry--an industrial building transformed with flickering lanterns, towering panels of black and citron fabric, and a classic Beetle Cat sailboat positioned center stage, complete with Hollywood-star lighting. But gala-goers gathered at IYRS for something deeper than a good time: they came to support "A New Launch" and the convergence of IYRS and the Museum of Yachting. After champagne and hors d'oeuvres, a sit-down dinner, live and silent auctions, and dancing, the event raised a record-breaking sum of $660,000. Co-chairs Joe Dockery and Carol O'Malley, title sponsor Lexus, platinum sponsors Castello delle Regine, Condé Nast Publications, Prestige Lexus of Ramsey (N.J.), and Sentient Jet Membership, dedicated volunteers, and a host of ardent supporters and additional sponsors together made the evening a grand success. For a press release on this year's gala, click here.
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A Milestone Chapter for IYRS and MoY
The 2007-2008 period has been a milestone chapter for both IYRS and the Museum of Yachting. In addition to "A New Launch" at the Annual Summer Gala and the celebration of the combined future of IYRS and the Museum, there have been other launches as well. The restoration of the Aquidneck mill began, and a new program in Marine Systems was established. Read about a year of exhilarating change in the President's Report, given by IYRS and MoY President Terry Nathan at the Annual Meeting held during gala weekend.
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IYRS Launch Day in the News
After graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 31, 2008 the large crowd that packed into Restoration Hall for the ceremony migrated to the school docks to watch students launch twelve classics restored at IYRS. First-year students launched nine Beetle Cats, and second-year projects included an 11-foot Bulldog sailboat, 1924 6-Meter Madcap, and a Manhasset Bay One Design. Rives Potts, general manager of Brewer Pilots Point Marina in Westbook, Connecticut, addressed the group of graduates, which included the first class to graduate from the school's new Marine Systems program. The annual rite drew the attention of New England media. Click here to read a Boston Globe report by education writer Peter Schworm, "Creating Art in Crafts." For a report with Rhode Island Public Radio education reporter Rhonda Miller that aired on WRNI, click here. Meet Program Director Clark Poston in a conversation with Newport This Week reporter Tom Shevlin.
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IYRS Hosts Press Conference with U.S. Senator Jack Reed
The restoration of IYRS's Aquidneck Mill Building will not be complete for some eight months, but state, community, and marine-industry leaders are already touting the impact this historic landmark will have on the marine trades and the Lower Thames Street neighborhood. On April 28, IYRS President Terry Nathan was joined by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Keith Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, at a press conference held inside the mill. Senator Reed announced federal funding of $500,000, secured by Senators Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to support the mill restoration and the revitalization of Newport's working waterfront. Said Reed of the mill: "We are taking something that is historic and transforming it to meet the challenges of a new generation." Click here for the complete story.
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The Convergence of IYRS and the Museum of Yachting
In May 2007, IYRS and the Museum of Yachting joined forces to coordinate their efforts. An interview with IYRS and MoY President Terry Nathan highlights this new chapter for the two instititutions. Read the interview.