The Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building was not the only local recipient of funds from the state's Heritage Capital Grants programs.

The state's capital construction budget this year funded up to a dozen jobs for shipwrights and tradespeople to restore the deck of the Adventuress, a century-old National Historic Landmark tall ship maintained by the nonprofit Sound Experience.

The $394,000 state heritage grant the Adventuress received, combined with an additional $800,000 in private and federal funds, means the ship's full restoration can be completed with the final deck phase within a year. A prior state Heritage Grant supported the restoration of the ship's hull in 2012.

Such restorations are typically performed during the Adventuress' November-to-February off-season, but Sound Experience has already begun the pre-work of milling wood and making sure all the needed materials are ready, once the restoration can be done.

Catherine Collins, executive director of Sound Experience, said the grants “enable us to remember the state's history, and our heritage and our stories, at the same time that we support economic development by providing jobs in maritime trades.”

The schooner Adventuress is not a brick-and-mortar school, but it was recognized by no less than Gov. Jay Inslee as playing what he deemed a significant role in maritime education, when he boarded its decks for the first time June 7.

“We're partnering with groups like Port Townsend public schools, and the West Sound Technical Skills Center, to get kids out on the water, where they learn navigation, line handling, engines and electrical systems, knot-tying and other essential sailing skills,” Collins said. “They also learn valuable life skills, including how to steward a ship and a community, and how to live aboard in small spaces with other sailors. They have to keep each other safe on the vessel. They pull shifts at night. We teach them how to practice responsibility on the water.”

In the end, Collins said, when the students come off the ship, whether it's been three or six days, they tend to be “pretty inspired, and looking at the world a little differently.”

State Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, of the 24th Legislative District, helped lobby for these funds, and considers these grants common-sense investments.

“Meaningful jobs and careers are gold in rural counties like Jefferson, and other counties in our district, and it only makes sense to do everything we can to help those who provide those opportunities,” Van De Wege said. “That's been my top priority ever since I came to the Legislature, and it will be my top priority as long as I serve. These kinds of jobs mean the difference between a thriving community and a struggling community.”

Jennifer Kilmer, director of the Washington State Historical Society, noted that the Adventuress is also Puget Sound’s official environmental tall ship.

“The Society is excited to support these impressive heritage projects, that preserve our maritime trades,” Kilmer said. “These programs will serve thousands of residents on the Peninsula and beyond.”

Over the past 30 years, the Adventuress has helped 50,000 students experience Puget Sound firsthand, through a mix of day and overnight programs. Collins explained these restorations will ensure that mission will continue and that young people will learn that the water provides valuable career choices.

“The Adventuress will sail for generations to come, and take thousands of kids out every year,” Collins said.

Betsy Davis, executive director of the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, praised the synergy she saw between her school and the schooner.

“There are students who graduated from the boat school, where they've learned wooden boatbuilding and craftsmanship, and then worked in the boatyard on projects to restore the Adventuress,” Davis said. “There’s a wonderful, wonderful, emerging professional who went through the boat school, and worked in the industry, and is now a captain aboard the Adventuress.”

Allyson Brooks, the state's historic preservation officer, said the impacts extend well beyond the region and state.

“The Adventuress is a National Historic Landmark, meaning it's not just a part of Washington state history, but a part of our national maritime story,” Brooks said. “Any grant to help this significant historic schooner, and to educate children, helps maintain our United States maritime history for future generations.”