Rappahannock Community College (RCC) is pleased to announce the availability of two watermen’s heritage tourism training classes during the fall of 2015.  These classes are specifically designed to teach working watermen how to share their personal connection with the Bay and its fisheries, history and culture with tourists and visitors to our rural tidewater Virginia communities.  These classes are made possible through the generous financial support of the Virginia Environmental Endowment in Richmond, VA.

Classroom instruction will include:  steps for establishing a heritage tourism business; marketing your tourism business; local resources you can draw on for business support at no/low cost; and a step-by-step guide to help you develop your own on-the-water heritage tour program.  Once participants complete the course, they are eligible for listing on the watermentours.com marketing website and can receive bookings directly from interested customers via the “build your tour” feature.

Captain David Rowe, a trained and certified heritage tour provider, demonstrates oyster tonging for visiting Longwood College professors.
Captain David Rowe, a trained and certified Virginia watermen’s heritage tour provider, demonstrates oyster tonging techniques for visiting Longwood College professors.

The first class offering will be on the peninsula at the Watermen’s Museum located at 309 Water Street in Yorktown, VA.   The classroom sessions will take place Monday-Thursday, October 12-15, 2015 (5-8 PM) and the on-the-water practical exercise will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2015 (9 AM-12 PM).   The second class offering will be hosted by the Eastern Shore Community College (ESCC) in partnership with RCC and will take place at the ESCC campus at 29300 Lankford Highway in Melfa, VA.  The classroom sessions will take place Monday-Thursday, December 7-10, 2015 (5-8 PM) and the on-the-water practical exercise will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015 (9 AM-12 PM).

The cost for the training is $25 per person.  Additional information, including the required application form, is available online at www.rappahanock.edu/workforce (for the peninsula class at Yorktown) and www.es.vccs.edu/workforce (for the eastern shore class at Melfa)

View full press release:  Press Release

View Peninsula (Yorktown, VA) Training Flyer & Application: Training Flyer  Application

View Eastern Shore (Melfa, VA) Training Flyer & Application: Training Flyer  Application