Half Moon News
Replica Ship Half Moon Crew Earns ABYC
Certified Technician
FIRST TALL SHIP ENGINEER TO ACHIEVE ABYC Technician Status
Contact Half Moon: (518) 443-1609
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media release
Kipp Van Aken (credit Woody Woodworth/New
Netherland Museum):
Replica Ship Half Moon under sail (credit John Mangrum/New Netherland
Museum):
After completing an extraordinary year during New York’s Quadricentennial Celebration, the replica ship Half Moon and the New Netherland Museum have now achieved an important technical milestone. Half Moon crewmember Kipp Van Aken is the first known tall ship engineer to qualify as a Certified Marine Technician through the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC).
“As a small non-profit with a big
mission, we have to try harder – and are proud to be the first tall ship
organization to have their engineer qualify through the ABYC. Mr. Van Aken worked hard for this
distinction, and will strengthen our efforts to keep the Half Moon
operating safely and delivering our educational programs,” noted William T.
(Chip) Reynolds, Half Moon Captain and Director of the
Mr. Van Aken, of Dutch ancestry, is a member of the Holland Society and worked for The Netherlands Information Ministry in the 1960s. He is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Nuclear Program, and served on the USS Haddo, SSN604, a Permit Class fast attack submarine. Mr. Van Aken spent his professional career with Southern California Edison, where he trained as a start-up and control room operator, and advanced to be the top Quality Control Inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Following his retirement, he has served as the Chief Engineer for the Half Moon since 2005.
“The ABYC certifications course was comprehensive and thorough. The final exam was as rigorous as any I have taken,” noted Mr. Van Aken. He added that through the ABYC he feels “well equipped to evaluate compliance with marine industry safety standards.”
The ABYC is the pre-eminent standards setting entity for boatbuilding, maintenance and repair in the United States. In operation for more than fifty-six years, the ABYC offers rigorous training and technical marine workforce certification programs. Mr. Van Aken completed a week-long program that culminated in his qualification in Standards Certification, which addresses technical standards in all engineering areas of boat building, maintenance and repair.
ABYC’s Marine Technician Certification Program is a continuing education program based on ABYC’s marine industry safety standards. “We offer a comprehensive course of study and a challenging, internationally recognized certification test,” said Skip Burdon, ABYC’s President. “When someone like Mr. Van Aken achieves an ABYC certification, you can have confidence in their ability to apply ABYC standards, whether to a Tall Ship, the repair of a recreational boat or in the manufacture of a new boat or yacht. We have a growing number of ABYC qualified technicians in boatbuilding and repair businesses, but Mr. Van Aken is the first known in the Tall Ship field to achieve our certification – and we encourage more others to follow his lead,” Burdon concluded.
The New Netherland Museum, a
non-profit volunteer organization based in Albany, New York, operates the Half
Moon, a replica of the Dutch East India Company ship that Henry Hudson
sailed in 1609.
The flagship program of the Half Moon is its Voyage of Discovery, in which 7th grade students become the crew of the Half Moon for a week, standing watches, handling sail, steering, and completing an academic program in history, math and science. Other programs provide teacher training workshops, offer curriculum materials for use in classrooms, send educators into schools. In addition, the ship is open to dockside tours that are much like taking a time machine into the 17th century.
For further information about the New Netherland Museum and the replica ship Half Moon call 518.443.1609, send e-mail to info@halfmoon.mus.ny.us, or visit the website at www.halfmoon.mus.ny.us.
The American Boat and Yacht Council may be reached at 410.990.4460 or through their website at www.abycinc.org.
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