BY TANIA VALDEMORO
tvaldemoro@MiamiHerald.com
If you could sail around the world and share those experiences with others, how would you do it?
 2/6/09--Allen Stewart, 24, Trevor Dreyfus, 26, prepare to hoist the mizzenmast after the Eye of the World docked at the main dock at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Coconut Grove. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD |
 12/6/09--Eye of the World pulls into the main dock at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Coconut Grove. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD |
 2/6/09--Adam Domanski, 26, talks to John Meehan after the Eye of the World docked at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Coconut Grove. CHRIS CUTRO / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD |
Three twentysomethings -- Alan Stewart, 24; Adam Domanski, 26; and Trevor Dreyfus, 26 -- have the answer. It begins with a BlackBerry, a website and a blog, a satellite phone and a HAM radio. (And Twitter.)
Currently moored in Coconut Grove, the trio set sail on a 40-foot 1966 Rhodes Reliant sailboat named the William T. Piquette from Hampton, Va. They plan to travel through the Caribbean, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. Eventually they will end up back at their starting point -- in Virginia.
That's 80 cities in 60 countries in two-and-a-half years.
And they will use their website, Eye of the World (www.eyeotw.org) to blog about their travels, create 50-minute documentary films and hold video conferences with middle school students and their teachers in Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina.
``Before we left, we visited many classes. The students know us,'' said Domanski, of Raleigh, N.C. ``The students have a personal connection with us.''
Supporting the entire effort is Eye of the World, a Virginia-based nonprofit that is raising money to fund the trip. The crew spent the past 18 months retrofitting the boat.
The voyage began Nov. 2 from Hampton, Va. The three have stopped at Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Jacksonville and Cape Canaveral.
Since Thanksgiving, the crew has been in Coconut Grove, where they are making final preparations to leave the United States.
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club offered them free mooring after the family of the boat's deceased owner -- William T. Piquette -- told the club that they needed a place to stay, said Nick Mansbach, the club's sailing director.
During their time here, the crew has blogged about a mystery creature they found in Name that Animal! There's a photo of an animal with short legs with claws, a long tail and vertical spines on its back.
They've brought sailors and other groups aboard the boat that is outfitted with solar panels, a wind generator, a wind vane, a 48-horsepower diesel engine and a water maker, which converts saltwater into fresh water.
``Coconut Grove is a cool area,'' said Dreyfus, of St. Louis. ``People are really friendly.''
The captain of the boat -- Stewart of Chapel Hill, N.C. -- says the crew will head out in the next few days. A fourth crew member will join them later this month.
Aboard the boat, the trio will rotate three jobs: a watch shift, an on-call shift and a cook shift.
All of the men have sailed competitively.
Domanski and Dreyfus sailed for the College of William and Mary. Domanski and Stewart sailed at North Carolina State University.
What's new and different from their prior sailing trips are the duration of the voyage, the places they'll visit and the educational programs they'll cover.
For example, there will be seven interactive class projects. Name that Animal! is one of those projects. The teacher and students will have to do some research to figure out what kind of animals the sailors see.
Then, there is Basket of Goods, an economics lesson where students have to figure out how much it costs to buy a Big Mac, a Coke and a haircut in several countries.
The crew will also engage students through a Spotlight series that covers topics such as ecology. One lesson they've given since being in Miami is about protecting the manatees.
The long-term goal of Eye of the World is to have multiple boats and many travelers, according to Domanski.
Said Stewart: ``We could do a lot more if people knew about our programs.''
The Miami Herald