The American Tall Ship Institute

The American Tall Ship Institute (ATSI) was founded as a non-profit in 2007 by Captain Stephen Taylor as a result of increasing demand for tall ship programs on the West Coast- particularly for youth. In over 20 years as a tall ship captain, Stephen was impressed by the effectiveness of the ship as a teaching tool, and as a method to connect youth to the environment and to teach teamwork and collaboration. After many months of work, Stephen secured a lease on the schooner Bill of Rights in November 2008

In June 2009 ATSI and the Bill of Rights moved to their permanent home in Oxnard, California at the Marine Emporium Landing in Channel Islands Harbor. This is a perfect spot to access the ocean and the Channel Islands National Park, the closest National Park to Los Angeles. Channel Islands Harbor is known as the "Gateway to the Channel Islands." Education programs began in August 2009.

ATSI has been very busy! We now have many active partnerships in the community and work with a variety of youth-many of them high risk. Some of our active community partners include: Ventura County School Districts and local schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, many local gang intervention programs, youth service non-profits, US Fish and Wildlife, native habitat restoration non-profits, and many others.

Our programs include curriculum based marine science, land and underwater archaeology, history, geology, and physics programs. We offer day programs as well as overnight programs aboard our tallship and camping on Santa cruise Island.

In 2010 we began our first boat building programs. We now teach a number of vocational training and boat building programs to a wide variety of ages!

The mission of the American Tall Ship Institute is to encourage positive youth and community development through environmentally aware, curriculum based, ocean centered programs.

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