Index
Our Mission
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Preserving Maritime Heritage. Connecting Generations. Exploring the Atlantic.
The mission of American Saudade, Inc. (ASI) is to preserve, study, and share the maritime heritage of Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities through education, historical research, cultural exploration, community engagement, and responsible seamanship.
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ASI was founded on the belief that maritime history is not limited to ships, voyages, and ports. It is also the history of families, immigration, work, sacrifice, survival, cultural exchange, and the enduring relationships between island communities and their diasporas.
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The Atlantic Ocean has connected Portugal, the Azores, Madeira, Cabo Verde, New England, and communities worldwide for generations. ASI works to preserve the stories created through those connections and make them accessible to today’s audiences and future generations.
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Learn more about who we are.
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Preserving Our Heritage
One of ASI’s central responsibilities is helping preserve the photographs, documents, oral histories, family memories, maritime traditions, and personal experiences that might otherwise be lost.
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History does not exist only in museums and official archives. It also survives in family albums, sea stories, immigration documents, letters, logbooks, tools, vessels, and the memories passed from one generation to another.
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Through our Maritime Heritage initiatives, Family Albums, and developing E-Library, ASI is creating a place where these materials can be preserved, organized, interpreted, and shared for educational purposes.
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Our goal is not simply to collect the past. It is to connect individual and family experiences to the larger history of the Atlantic world.
Educating Future Generations
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Education is at the heart of our mission.
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ASI develops educational narratives, lectures, interviews, videos, virtual programs, historical series, and community discussions that make maritime and cultural history understandable and relevant.
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Our Education programs are intended to serve students, families, educators, veterans, mariners, researchers, museums, cultural institutions, and members of the Portuguese and Cape Verdean diaspora.
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Through 360 Deep™, ASI encourages people to look beyond simple explanations and examine history from multiple perspectives. These include politics, economics, geography, culture, religion, technology, the environment, maritime and military strategy, and human motivation.
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The purpose of 360 Deep is not to tell people what to think. Its purpose is to help people develop the knowledge and discipline necessary to think more deeply, evaluate evidence, recognize complexity, and continue asking why.
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Exploring Our Atlantic Connections
ASI brings history to life through the S/V American Saudade, a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 37 sailing vessel undergoing an extensive refit.
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The vessel is being prepared to become a floating classroom, research and documentation platform, and living symbol of the connection between New England and the Atlantic islands.
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The planned Great Circle Heritage Voyage will retrace historic Atlantic routes from Newport, Rhode Island, to the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, and ultimately back across the Atlantic.
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This voyage is not a recreational cruise. It is an educational and cultural mission intended to document maritime history, visit communities and institutions, build relationships, collect stories, and share the continuing importance of the Atlantic heritage that connects us.
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Advancing Safety and Responsible Seamanship
Preserving maritime heritage also requires respect for the sea and a serious commitment to safety.
SubSafe to SailSafe™ applies disciplined, systems-based safety principles to the refit and operation of the S/V American Saudade. Inspired by the safety culture of the United States Navy’s SUBSAFE program, it emphasizes inspection, documentation, material traceability, testing, training, configuration control, operational readiness, and continuous improvement.
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Through this program, ASI seeks to demonstrate that maritime safety is more than equipment aboard a vessel. It is a culture of responsibility that must guide planning, construction, maintenance, training, decision-making, and operations at sea.
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Building Community and Partnerships
ASI’s mission cannot be accomplished by one person or one organization. It depends upon collaboration among families, educators, mariners, veterans, historians, students, museums, cultural organizations, businesses, and community leaders.
Our Partnerships help expand the knowledge, experience, and institutional relationships behind our work.
Our Volunteer program provides opportunities for people to contribute their time, professional skills, historical knowledge, maritime experience, and community connections.
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ASI’s Gift Program and other developing initiatives are intended to encourage cultural exchange, educational participation, and meaningful connections among communities.
Visitors can follow our Current Projects, explore our Video Production, and learn how to Support the Mission.
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Our Commitment
American Saudade, Inc. is committed to preserving the past while building a meaningful future.
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We will continue to recover stories, document maritime traditions, develop educational resources, strengthen relationships across the Atlantic, and create opportunities for people to help preserve their heritage.
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Our mission is guided by a simple but demanding principle:
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ACTA NON VERBA — Deeds, Not Words.
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We invite you to explore, learn, contribute, and become part of the voyage.
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