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	Sat, Mar. 27, 2004 _ San Jose Mercury News

		Danielle Edwards, 10, leads a group of Sartorette Elementary School students in raising the sails on a catamaran Thursday as they leave the Santa Cruz harbor on an O'Neill Sea Odyssey adventure. The fifth-graders learned navigational skills and how to identify sea life in the ocean and under a microscope.
		SEA ODYSSEY PROGRAM EXCITES, EDUCATES KIDS By David L. Beck, Mercury News Photos, Judith Calson, Mercury News SpongeBob's two-antennae, one-eye adversary Plankton is actually a copopod? Who knew? Answer: The folks at O'Neill Sea Odyssey. And now, so do the children in Rob Becker's fifth-grade class at Sartorette Elementary School in San Jose's Cambrian district. They've not only seen Mr. Plankton in a live telecast from Sea Odyssey's microscope, they've trolled for him from the deck of a seagoing catamaran and even tasted him. (The consensus, naturally: "Salty.") The classmates also got their bottoms wet, saw a sea otter far off and a bottle-nose dolphin closer up, and tasted kelp (salty, but also slimy). They learned about compasses, navigation and triangulation — "It's really mathematics and trigonometry, but don't tell them that," says Sea Odyssey Director Dan Haifley — as they sailed Monterey Bay on Thursday aboard the good ship Team O'Neill. The Sartorette class was one of hundreds that have taken part in the free program, founded and partially funded by wetsuit magnate Jack O'Neill. Based at the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor, its goal is to give children who might not otherwise get a day on the water a chance to learn about what marine biology teacher Bruce Heyer called "the biggest environment on Earth." And, as Haifley put it, to "receive the message of environmental stewardship." In adult-speak, that sounds preachy. In practice, it translates into words the children can understand — snot balls and plankton, photosynthesis and poop. ("What happens when you take your pets for a walk?" said ecology instructor Chelsea Phillips. "They POOP!" she said. "Poop is a big problem in the ocean.")



		Becker's class is the seventh he's taken to the O'Neill program, which was founded in 1996 and is designed to mesh with the children's classroom experiences. "They're learning about Monterey Bay and navigation," Becker said. "They love scooping up the plankton." And under the microscope, "they get to see what's actually in the ocean — in a little bit of water." San Jose-area schools have been major participants in the program — nearly 25 percent of all the 4,600 students who will sail on the Team O'Neill this year will come from over the hill. The program targets low-income children, but even at Sartorette, whose Cambrian neighborhood is solidly middle class, Becker finds that "on average, I have about 10 kids" in each class he brings "that just haven't made it out into this area." What made Thursday's class special was the presence of Sea Odyssey student No. 25,000. That would be Stephanie Richardson, 10, the daughter of Ken and Karla Richardson of San Jose and older sister of Sam, 8. (Stephanie drew the lucky number on the basis of counts kept for the Coast Guard, Haifley said. Only Stephanie got a plaque, but all the children got navy-blue hats.) In a relatively brief shipboard ceremony, elected officials from Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley issued proclamations and O'Neill himself, now 81 and looking piratical in black eye patch and dark sunglasses, gave Stephanie the plaque and urged the children to take care of the ocean. Spring is the busy season for Sea Odyssey — two classes a day, about 150 a year, with roughly 30 children in each class. The numbers are limited by the size of the boat, a 65-foot white catamaran purchased by O'Neill about 20 years ago with a rated capacity of 51 people. The program begins onshore, at picnic tables under a blue plastic awning, with introductory talks and students dividing into groups — Pink Sharks, Tiger Sharks and Sting Rays. Navigation instructor Steve Spiliotopoulos gives them the word on their life jackets: Don't take `em off until you're back at the picnic tables. The catamaran leaves the harbor under motor power, the children sitting well forward on the net — where they get the full effect of a massive soaking swell at the harbor mouth. "Do they have a heater inside the boat?" said Stephanie Richardson, the honoree. "They better." The crew finds sweatshirts and jackets for the soggy students. Once clear of the jetty, a fifth-grade work gang raises the sail, anchored by Danielle Edwards, 10, at one end yelling heave! and Maria Dimulias, 10, at the other end gamely coiling the rope. Each group takes a turn at each class. In ecology, they learn how the kelp forest under the Sea Odyssey's keel creates vast amounts of oxygen. In navigation, they go below to check out the boat's electronic gear; back on deck, they take compass readings on the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel, the Wharf and the harbor lighthouse. In marine biology, they help gather plankton. Once more ashore, they look at the varieties of plankton — the word means "drifters" — under the microscope, triangulate their compass readings on a marine chart to show where the boat was, and help Phillips demonstrate how bad stuff from cars, farms, power plants and people runs down into the ocean when it rains. A loud "THANK YOU!" and it's back on the bus, where no doubt the words of Heyer, the marine biologist, were still ringing in their ears: "So next time you watch `SpongeBob,' you go, `Hey! We ate some of these guys.' "


	Elizabeth Lopez, 10, and other San Jose students learn how to use a compass during the O'Neill Sea Odyssey program Thursday.




	Shayna Northup, 11, stands tall behind the wheel of wetsuit magnate Jack O'Neill's catamaran in Montery Bay.

	O'NEILL SEA ODYSSEY BY THE NUMBERS 1996 - year it was created 1997 - year it was incorporated as a non-profit 25,000 - approximate number of students who've been through the program 150 - number of classes planned for the current school year 4th to 6th - school grades it serves $500,000 - annual budget $80,000 to $100,000 - amount of annual funding contributed by wetsuit inventor Jack O'Neill 0$ - cost to students and schools Source: O'Neill Sea Odyssey