Weekend excursion sailing San Francisco Bay and California coastline to benefit self-esteem program for high school girls

SAN FRANCISCO, August 5, 2005 -- Women with a hankering to sail a tall ship and promote a good cause are needed to participate in the Tall Ship Three-day Challenge on October 21 through 23.

Participants will meet the challenge of learning to sail a traditionally rigged ship on San Francisco Bay and along the neighboring coastline. The Challenge is a benefit for the Tall Ship Semester for Girls, an academic program at San Francisco State University that gives high school girls the opportunity to build confidence and self-esteem while learning to sail.

The Challenge is limited to 12 adult women who are each required to raise a minimum of $950 to enter. Pledges are tax-deductible and will provide scholarships for the Tall Ship Semester for Girls program. Participation in the Challenge is on a first-come, first-served basis.

No previous sailing experience is required. Instruction will take place aboard an 86-foot schooner, which will also serve as home for a weekend free of land-lubber trials and tribulations. The schooner, "Seaward," is a U.S. Coast Guard certified passenger vessel owned and operated by the Sausalito, Calif. based charter company Call of the Sea. Sailing instruction will be provided by the Seaward crew, Tall Ships Semester for Girls alums and instructors from the Tall Ship Education Academy.

The Challenge begins on San Francisco Bay at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20 and concludes 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23. Shipboard overnight accommodations and meals will be provided.

To find out more about the Challenge or to register online, visit www.tallshipsemester.org or call the Tall Ship Education Academy at (415) 405-3703.