As kids growing up in La Conner, Grace Dalton and Tess Schornack often had fun exploring local beaches and hiking through nearby woodlands.
Fast forward to today and the longtime friends, now college students in their early 20s, are about to set sail on a 14-month education and research voyage around North and South America.
(Left) Grace Dalton is a marine biology student at the University of Victoria and will be the lead onboard scientist for the maritime trek. Photo by Nancy K. Crowell/La Conner Community News (Right) Tess Schornack is an environmental science major at Western Washington University and the project’s outreach coordinator. Photo courtesy Tess Schornack
Dalton, a marine biology student at the University of Victoria, will be the lead onboard scientist for the maritime trek. Schornack, an environmental science major at Western Washington University, is the project’s outreach coordinator.
They will serve on the five-member crew of One Ocean, a 48-foot sailboat that has been refitted in Anacortes to embark May 3 on a long-distance scientific expedition designed to increase public awareness about oceanic health.
Mark Shrader, who has twice circumnavigated the globe, will skipper One Ocean. Michael Beemer, a veteran mariner and director of the Skagit Valley College Marine Tech Center, has been tabbed as a crew scientist.
Grace Dalton’s mom, writer Jennifer Dalton, will be onboard as co-captain and project director.
“It’s an incredible opportunity, a dream come true.”
Grace Dalton
The much anticipated “Around the Americas” project partners with an array of entities, having been launched by Seattle’s Pacific Science Center and the Sailors for the Sea conservation group in Boston. The One Ocean is deemed an ideal vessel for the long journey.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Grace Dalton, who will oversee One Ocean’s research efforts, collect data, perform kelp mapping, identify humpback whales, and collaborate with participating education facilities and scientists.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” she stressed, “a dream come true.”
One that she and Schornack have diligently prepared for over the past three years.
“It’s super exciting,” added Schornack, who will connect with schools in North and South America to schedule One Ocean crew presentations.
Photo by Nancy K. Crowell/La Conner Community News
The crew plans to present the expedition at each of its more than 50 stops, sharing their research, experiences, and stories during talks conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Education outreach is a big part of the One Ocean Expedition mission, Schornack said. The team will develop a kindergarten through college curriculum allowing students to engage continuously with the Around the Americas venture.
Thanks to technology, Schornack said the public will be able to track One Ocean’s progress as it visits various ports, starting with Victoria, B.C., site of the International Seaweed Symposium. The Northwest Passage will be transited next and then One Ocean will sail to Brazil for a major climate change conference this November.
“People can keep up with where we’re at in real time,” said Schornack, who added that work is under way now to have the project’s website translated.
Among those who keep track of Grace Dalton’s and Schornack’s academic and career progress is their former La Conner Elementary teacher Keith Hunter.
“I had both of them in fifth grade,” Hunter said. “They were always very curious and inquisitive students.”
Grace Dalton, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, graduated from Burlington-Edison High School after residing more than a decade in Shelter Bay. She returned to La Conner to work at the Port of Skagit’s marina here from 2021-23.
“I have a lot of ties to La Conner,” she noted. “It’s one of those places where I fell in love with oceans. It was accessible to beaches and just such a great place to grow up.”
Schornack, too, was influenced by La Conner’s proximity to saltwater. A Kamiak High grad, she attended the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community preschool program, where she still remembers the stories and lessons shared there.
She also recalls spending time at Martha’s Beach and other favorite local shoreline spots.
“That, for me, was a big part of growing up,” Schornack said.
She and Grace Dalton have grown into their present roles by building upon their childhood experiences in La Conner with a steady diet of coursework and marine-related recreation. Both, for instance, have competed for their respective collegiate sailing teams.
Aboard One Ocean, of course, they will be members of the same team—one that soon will draw thousands of fans on two continents.
The Around the Americas expedition is made possible by individual donors, supporters, and sponsoring organizations.
Bill Reynolds: bill@laconnercommunitynews.org. Bill is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.
