Refit of STV Pathfinder is a square rigged sailing ship designed and built in 1963 expressly for this program. After 30 years of continuous service, the ship required intervention in nearly every area so was decommissioned in the autumn of 1993. The Board of Directors resolved that in addressing her return to service, the refitting would be pursued as an opportunity to transform the vessel into a more efficient tool for the delivery of our program.
Over the course of several months, the Planning Committee addressed each compartment and each piece of equipment in the vessel and measured it against the needs of our program. The goal was to create a document that would define how we needed to use STV Pathfinder. At each decision making crossroad, our choices were driven by program needs. This innovative approach resulted in a new look at every aspect of our activities, the vessel we needed and a stronger, more focused program.
Simultaneously the message of our commitment was relayed to our patrons. Over the course of 18 months the patrons, all benevolent individuals, became convinced of our strength of resolve to carry this project to full completion, and in the recommitment to the quality of program they originally helped create. A fund to pay for the refit was created that exceeded the total of the previous three years of general fund raising. This work resulted in new support as well as recommitted support from old friends.
