Places available for sail training

[Osseon]

  If you want, let me know your area or even country and I'll let you know where the closest one is.  Go have a real adventure!

 

 

 

Pray sir, could you tell me if there are any such ships in North East Florida?  I really would love to go sailing, but I'm not a big fan of the obsession people have for the Bermuda sloops in Florida.  I would just love to experience it for real instead of books and video games, but it seems any traditionally rigged ship are non existent (I guess because of the difficulty of use)

[Ryan21]

The beautiful and fast Baltimore clipper Lynx operates in Florida in the winter, her schedule will be here, send them an email, these companies usually welcome volunteer sailors.

 

http://www.privateerlynx.com/

 

She is an accurate replica privateer from the war of 1812.

 

There are many tall ships on the east coast of the US.  Kalmar Nyckel in Delaware, Schooner Virginia, Oliver Hazard Perry will be ready this year in Rhode island, Pride of Baltimore 2, Sultana.  Search up these names, it's well worth doing, it is with great pride that the sail training community keeps alive the skills of generations past.

[Osseon]

Oh my God she is beautiful.  Would a volunteer sailor be for a day or more?  I'm seriously considering doing this for my summer break.  

[Johny Reb]

Pray sir, could you tell me if there are any such ships in North East Florida?  I really would love to go sailing, but I'm not a big fan of the obsession people have for the Bermuda sloops in Florida.  I would just love to experience it for real instead of books and video games, but it seems any traditionally rigged ship are non existent (I guess because of the difficulty of use)

There is also an outfit in Key West that takes you out on a 50-60' schooner.

[Ryan21]

 

Alright, well, im sorry then.. maybe there is a big intrest for this kind of game..

Also, I live in sweden and have been on the gothenburg, althought not sailed it (lol?)

I've also been to portsmouth but that doesnt really matter..

 

Maybe i'll think its awesome when i get to test it 

 

Ahg! I would give my left arm to sail the Gotheborg!!

Osseon
These companies usually take volunteers for a couple weeks to a couple months, I spent 7.5 months full time volunteering on two of them last year.

[maturin]

Hmmn, I was under the impression that tallship outfits usually made their volunteers pay for the privilege, assuming they don't have the very rare skillset you can boast, Ryan.

I couldn't even get a stipend-paying job on the little schooners that do daysails out in the harbor unless I paid $40,000 for a semester at sea. I sort of feel like I've missed the boat on the whole traditional sail thing.

[Ryan21]

It depends on the company, I came to the US with only a few months experience on a Canadian schooner, which I paid for, I paid 1500 dollars per trip for two ten day trips in canada, and learnt almost nothing about seamanship, but because I had a little Tallship experience Lady Washington waived the 500 dollar trainee fee they usually charge to newbies, and I got to stay on with room and board for as long as I wanted, now that I have already been on Lady a significant amount of time I can go back anytime and get room and board for free. On Niagara I payed a one time fee of 450 dollars to be an experienced volunteer apprentice, and I could have stayed all season on that one time fee.

There are some school programs like class afloat in eastern canada that charge absolutely ludicrous fees of 20 to 40000 dollars to do your school curriculum at sea. But I think they are the exception rather than the rule. You basically have to go for it and commit yourself to it if you don't want to pay, I did a whole season last year before I was able to get my first paying job that I'm heading to on Saturday.

Sometimes Lady Washington is desperate and screaming for volunteers and they will take you with almost no Tallship experience but usually you have to pay the one time 500 dollar "trainee fee" and after that if you prove to be a good hand they will let you stay on as long as there is a bunk availible. Lady is by far the least expensive fee.

The standard trainee fee for about 10 days is usually 1500 bucks or so , that's what it is for Niagara, and the pacific swift. But if you can manage that, and then prove yourself you will usually be able to take the next step and volunteer, and then eventually get a paying spot. It's not an easy industry to get into but if you live in the United States, you have many options, so consider yourself lucky if that is the case, try them out!

Find a ship that doesn't do the whole highschool curriculum thing, they do charge way more than the other ships. Most of the vessels I am familiar with just travel around to different ports and give day sails, and hands on history education to kids, it's a lot of fun.

At the very least I encourage you all to just pay the 40 or 50 bucks and go on a day sail, you might love it!

 

You get out of these ships what you put into them, I came with the intention of learning as much as I could and thankfully my relatively small amount of experience payed off and I squeeked my way into a salary this year, although the vessel I'm on this year is not exactly what I would call traditional, it's more of a modern hybrid, which is a concession I had to make, had no other options.  Shes a Brigantine rig with a fiberglass hull, steel frames, extendable centerboard keel that goes from 6 to 12 feet draft, no reefing on the squares...  It was some old Canadian Navy Captains private vessel that he had built in his back yard, and then donated to this sail training company.

[Ryan21]

Here are a few good ones for anyone who is interested.

 

West Coast

 

Brig Lady Washington + Square topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain , http://historicalseaport.org/

 

Irving and Exy Johnson, two lovely brigantines in the channel islands, http://www.lamitopsail.org/

 

Large three masted topsail schooner Tole Mour, provides sail training and biology, http://www.cimi.org/tolemourschool.html

 

Large Gaff rig schooner Zodiac in Bellingham, mostly day sails, http://www.schoonerzodiac.com/programs.htm

 

Large Gaff rig schooner Adventuress in the Puget Sound, sail training and marine biology, http://www.soundexp.org/
 

(canada) topsail schooner pacific swift, and gaff schooner pacific grace, salts.ca, beware the sail training is not high level and they are a christian based program.

 

East Coast

 

Lynx, http://www.privateerlynx.com/

 

17th century Pinnace Kalmar Nyckel, http://www.kalmarnyckel.org/

 

topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore 2, http://www.pride2.org/

 

(Lake Erie) United States Brig Niagara, http://www.flagshipniagara.org/

 

Schooner Sultana, http://sultanaeducation.org/

 

Schooner Virginia, http://www.schoonervirginia.org/

 

Full Rigged Ship Oliver Hazard Perry, will be ready to sail this summer out of Rhode Island, http://www.ohpri.org/

 

(Canada) Bluenose 2, https://bluenose.novascotia.ca/

 

Schooner Roseway, http://www.worldoceanschool.org/

 

Schooner Manitou, http://www.tallshipsailing.com/

 

Schooner AJ Meerwald, http://bayshorecenter.org/a-j-meerwald/

 

 

 

These are just some off of the top of my head, there are more.

[Osseon]

I'm probably going to head down to Tampa Florida and pay the $45 for a day cruise on Lynx this May.  Honestly I have no experience with sail ships at all outside of Books, Movies, and Video games, so I figure I should see if I will even enjoy the experience before I invest any time or money I have into it.  I was telling my family about the possibility of volunteering aboard a ship next year for my summer break (so I have time to save for it.).

[Ryan21]

Go for it my friend, the day sail will give you a good idea of what to expect.  Generally they will let you help them set and take in sail if you ask (not going aloft) but hauling and easing lines.

[Marion van Ghent]

One thing to remember with a day sail is that it all depends on the wind

 

I lucked out when booking on the Lady Washington some years ago; at least when we started, cruising on Puget Sound, there was a good 20-22 knot breeze going. Lady loved it! ...but then an hour or so in, the wind died completely, so we had to slink back to dock under engines. But at least I got a taste of ideal conditions for a nimble little brig.