PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Tuesday, June 6, 2023; North Coast Harbor: Argonaut Captain Sam Landgraf and 10^th grade Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School student Quinn Schumann aboard a barge towed by the Flotsam use their pikes to position a log so it can be hauled aboard by the Flotsam crane.

PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Tuesday, June 6, 2023; North Coast Harbor: High School students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Davis Aerospace & Maritime High School along with Argonaut employees work on the Port Authority’s Flotsam and Jetsam vessels removing debris from North Coast Harbor and the Cuyahoga River. Davis Aerospace & Maritime High School students and an alumnus work on the vessels. Ready to go out on the water are: (L-R) 12^th grade student Xavier Harshaw; 2021 Davis High School graduate, Captain Quinton Oliver; 10^th grade student Kayla Peterson; 10^th grade student Quinn Schumann; and 12^th Grade student William Whalen.

PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Tuesday, June 6, 2023; North Coast Harbor: 12^th Grade Davis student Xavier Harshaw uses the Flotsam’s crane to lower a tree stump into the debris pile on the barge while 10^th grader Quinn Schumann watches.

by Chuck Hoven

   High school students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School regularly spend three or four days a week aboard the Flotsam and Jetsam vessels in Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River cleaning up debris to make the river and lake safe for recreational and commercial vessels. The students working on the vessels have paid internships as part of their high school experience.

   How do students like the program? Tenth grade student Kayla Peterson, talking to a Plain Press reporter about being out on the river and the lake on a regular basis as part of her high school experience, said “I love it.” This was the sentiment of all the students visiting with members of the press at North Coast Harbor to demonstrate how they help to remove debris from North Coast Harbor and the Cuyahoga River.

   Students say they get a good feeling when other vessels passing them on the Cuyahoga River or in Lake Erie, thank them for the work they are doing. The vessels they are aboard, the Flotsam and Jetsam, were designed for the Port of Cleveland to help keep Cleveland’s navigational channels clean of debris. The Port of Cleveland contracts with Argonaut to captain the vessels and work with Davis Aerospace and Maritime high school students.

   Argonaut, a nonprofit corporation, founded by Drew Ferguson and Douglas McConnell, partnered with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to create the Davis Aeronautics and Maritime High School which opened in downtown Cleveland in 2017. Drew Ferguson says planning and fundraising for the “experiential education” school started about 10 years prior to its opening. Ferguson said he was working for MetroHealth’s Life Flight at the time and spoke to his friend Douglass McConnell about his vision for the school. McConnell joined with him and Cleveland Metropolitan School District staff in working to make the vision a reality. Students at the school gain experience in maritime and aerospace fields through paid internships while in high school. Davis is a year-round high school.

   McConnell says that this school year and summer about 20 students have worked on the Jetsam and Flotsam vessels. The vessels go out six days a week. McConnell says the students learn skills that will help them to gain employment in the maritime industry. He says even if students choose not to have careers in the maritime industry, they are learning about Cleveland’s freshwater resources, and opportunities for recreational and commercial activities. He sees the students growing to appreciate and take advantage of Cleveland’s freshwater resources.

   Jarad Magyar, Vice President of operations for the Cleveland Port Authority, says the Flotsam and Jetsam vessels removed about 300,000 pounds of debris from the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie this past year. He said the largest obstacle they removed was a 50- or 60-foot tree.

   Argonaut staff team with the student interns from Davis High School to staff the vessels. Reporters went aboard the vessels at North Coast Harbor to witness the crews of the two vessels at work on June 6^th.  Three argonaut employees — Lead Captain Aidan Hall, Captain Sam Landgraf and Captain Quinton Oliver (a 2021 Davis Aeronautics and Maritime High School graduate) — supervised four Davis High School students serving as crew that day. The students out on the vessels that day were two soon to graduate 12^th graders Xavier Harshaw and William Whalen and two tenth grade students Kayla Peterson and Quinn Schumann.

   The Flotsam and Jetsam vessels each tow a small barge behind them which has a large tarp on it on which they place debris. Each vessel has a small crane on it. One of the cranes is equipped with a pincher arm which can grab a log and lift it from the water. The crane on the other vessel has a basket attached which can be maneuvered to lift debris from the water. The students are equipped with long pikes that can stab the debris and bring it closer to the vessel. If the debris is too heavy to lift onto the barge with the pikes, the captains maneuver the vessel so the crane’s arm or basket and reach the debris. The students use their pikes to assist in getting the debris in position to get hauled onto the barge.

   Argonaut Chief Executive Officer Drew Ferguson says there is a big need for workers in the local maritime industry. He hopes that students from Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School will help to fill those jobs. Graduating senior Xavier Harshaw says he already has his captain’s license. He said he is interested in piloting vessels on the Great Lakes. Harshaw says he plans to start with being a captain on a small vessel, but his goal, he says, pointing to a large freighter in North Coast Harbor, is to be captain on one of those.