Annaplois Man Lone American Sailor in the Barcelona World Race

Students videoconferencing  with Ryan Breymaier (Annapolis, Md.) while he is at sea. Photo courtesy of Awty International School.

     Barcelona, Spain -- Down the hall, in Room 310, the ninth-grade students taking Mr. Jurcic’s Computer Science course have been introduced to a new subject for exploration; open ocean sailing. Their classroom is in the Awty International School in Houston, Texas; their textbook is Ryan Breymaier (Annapolis, Md.), the lone American sailor in the Barcelona World Race.
     Breymaier, who is circumnavigating the globe for the first time, is currently on day 91 of the 25,000 nautical mile (46,300 km) journey, which includes 2,000 hours of non-stop competition across three vast oceans, two hemispheres, and around three famous Capes. Breymaier, with German co-skipper Boris Herrmann, is fighting his way back up to fourth place aboard Team Neutrogena as they race through the Atlantic Ocean to the finish in Barcelona, Spain.
     Awty School is the second largest international school in the United States, representing students from more than 50 countries. As a world-class international school, Awty aims to educate its students for success in global pursuits. This ninth-grade class has been following the race and communicating over email with Breymaier for the past two months. Just recently they engaged in a videoconference with him while he was at sea.
     “Other projects in class are mainly academic and about historical events,” said ninth-grader Milagro Rivera. “This was more current information, which was interesting and we could relate to it. Other kids at school think it’s pretty cool.”
     Most of the students studying Breymaier have never stepped foot on a boat before and find his story to be fascinating, not only because he is sailing around the world for the first time, but also because he didn’t start sailing until the age of 18, when he traded in his lacrosse stick at St. Mary’s College in Maryland for a dry suit and booties.
     “The first time I went sailing I was hooked and I have eaten, breathed, dreamed about and talked sailing ever since,” said Breymaier. “I think I was just lucky enough to find my ‘thing’ even if it was pretty late in life compared to lots of other professional sailors.”
     Teacher Marijan Jurcic found Breymaier’s story to be the perfect vehicle for getting students excited about global affairs. “The uniqueness of this project is how it makes the world seem so much smaller than it really is,” said Jurcic. “I’m amazed at how today’s technology enabled a group of ninth-grade students in a small classroom in Houston to communicate with this skipper on a small boat in the middle of an ocean on the other side of the world.”
     The students will continue following the Barcelona World Race until Breymaier crosses the finish line, which is expected on the tenth of April.
     “The main reason I am involved in the media aspect of the race I am doing now is to inspire people to try sailing,” said Breymaier. “I would like some young people to see what I am doing, put down the mouse, turn off the computer games and go give sailing a try.”

To View Breymaier’s life onboard
http://www.youtube.com/user/mediapronewport

How to Follow Team Neutrogena in the Barcelona World Race
http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/