JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT SAILING SHIPS MAINE
Sailing Ships Maine operates seasonal sail training programs on the coast of Maine. Crew are hired to work aboard our vessels Schooner Sara Jane and Sloop Brightside teaching our 1 week accredited programs (Monday morning thru Friday afternoon) and preparing our boats for the season.
VOLUNTEER AND PROFESSIONAL CREW OPPORTUNITIES
Sailing Ships Maine is committed to providing teens an experiential learning opportunity onboard a sailing ship to expand leadership skills, discover the ocean environment and learn all aspects of sail training that may lead them to consider further maritime training.
We seek volunteers and professional crew who are excited to teach and engage the minds of high-school aged students during their intense weeks together.
Opportunities below. Contact Sailing Ships Maine at info@sailingshipsmaine.org.
Professional Crew Benefits Include:
Travel stipend
Jones Act Insurance Coverage
Pay based on experience, licensure and position
Room and board
Financial assistance for licensure
In addition to the positions listed below, we offer internships and apprenticeships to support our educational mission.
Captain – Educator
Seasonal Position April 2, 2025 - October 15, 2025
Sailing Ships Maine, a 10 year old non-profit, creates life-enhancing opportunities for teens of all abilities and income levels to experience life on the ocean. We operate two of our own 6 passenger sail training vessels based on the Maine coast plus several smaller vessels, both sail and oar powered. We also send our students to sail on vessels operated by others who share our commitment to youth education at sea.
We seek a USCG licensed sail training captain experienced and passionate about youth education. When not sailing, the captain will work in yard on our vessels.
Our Flagship program: we take 6 students sailing for 5 days (4 nights) Monday morning thru Friday afternoon with two crew - captain plus deckhand-educator. We anchor at night. We teach an accredited program in Nautical Science - basic sail training. Students are required to learn to operate the vessel, keep it clean, follow crew’s guidance, cook meals themselves (with supervision) and work hard all week. Crew work hard to make this happen and everyone goes home proud but tired. Crew have most weekends off though there are some weeks where the program starts on a Sunday afternoon and ends on a Saturday morning. Crew sail the overnight program 3 out of 4 weeks each month. The 4th week is either maintenance or teaching in our middle school daysail program on 23’ keelboats. Crew will sail an average of 20 days per month during the sailing season (June through September).
Our sail training vessels:
-Schooner Sara Jane, a 42 foot wooden Murray Peterson Coaster III
-Sloop Brightside, a 36 foot Palmer Johnson fiberglass sloop (Franz Maas design)
Job Requirements:
-A current USCG license
-Experience teaching high school students
-Strong interest in sailing overnight with high school students
-Experience operating sailing vessels (both deck and engine)
-Experience maintaining sailing vessels
-Excellent communication skills
-Flexibility, good team player, a naturally positive attitude
Benefits:
Pay: $3,500 to $4,500 per month depending on experience
Room and board during sailing season
Crew housing on weekends and yard periods
Deckhand - Educator
Seasonal Position April 2, 2025 - October 15, 2025
Sailing Ships Maine, a 10 year old non-profit, creates life-enhancing opportunities for teens of all abilities and income levels to experience life on the ocean. We operate two of our own 6 passenger sail training vessels based on the Maine coast plus several smaller vessels, both sail and oar powered. We also send our students to sail on vessels operated by others who share our commitment to youth education at sea.
We prefer deckhand-educators experienced and passionate about youth education. When not sailing, the deckhand-educators will work in yard on our vessels. We seek candidates who are interested in getting their captain’s licenses and becoming future sail training captains.
Our Flagship program: we take 6 students sailing for 5 days (4 nights) Monday morning thru Friday afternoon with two crew - captain and deckhand-educator. We anchor at night. We teach an accredited program in Nautical Science - basic sail training. Students are required to learn to operate the vessel, keep it clean, follow crew’s guidance, cook meals themselves (with supervision) and work hard all week. Crew work hard to make this happen and everyone goes home proud but tired. Crew have most weekends off though there are some weeks where the program starts on a Sunday afternoon and ends on a Saturday morning. Crew sail the overnight program 3 out of 4 weeks each month. The 4th week is either maintenance or teaching in our middle school daysail programs on 23’ keelboats. Crew will sail an average of 20 days per month during the sailing season (June through September).
Our vessels:
-Schooner Sara Jane, a 42 foot wooden Murray Peterson Coaster III
-Sloop Brightside, a 36 foot Palmer Johnson fiberglass sloop (Franz Maas design)
-Pearson Ensigns, 23 foot keelboat sail training vessels
Job Requirements:
-At least 60 USCG documented sea days (sign up at MM-SEAS and/or reach out to us if you need assistance meeting this requirement)
-Experience teaching high school students
-Strong interest in sailing overnight with high school students
-Experience operating sailing vessels (both deck and engine)
-Experience maintaining sailing vessels
-Excellent communication skills
-Flexibility, good team player, a naturally positive attitude
-TWIC card, ability to pass USCG drug tests, driver’s license
Benefits:
Pay: $1,500 to $2,500 per month depending on experience
Room and board during sailing season
Shore based crew housing
Head of School
One Year Americorps Stipended Position starting spring 2025
Sailing Ships Maine, a 10 year old non-profit, creates life-enhancing opportunities for teens of all abilities and income levels to experience life on the ocean. We operate several sail training vessels on the Maine coast and we send our students to sea on vessels operated by others who share our commitment to youth education at sea.
We seek an experienced educator, possibly retired, to create a brand new community college level program to recruit and train the next generation of sail training captains and mates. This is a full-time, one-year position to lead the effort to launch the new workforce development program.
The new program will recruit and train 12 passionate educators to become licensed captains. This will be a two year tuition-free program with the goal of helping students earn their entry level USCG Captain’s licenses and getting subsequent job placements in the sail training industry.
The ‘Head of School’ will be the person who develops the plan, manages the funding, recruits the first two classes of students and starts the program. The successful Head will then either continue for a second year or recruit their successor.
Benefits:
This is a federally stipended Americorps VISTA program position.
Pay: $27,000 for 1700 hours in 12 months
Housing and Travel stipend
Based in Portland, Maine; remote work by agreement
The goal of the program is to recruit and train captains and deckhands who can provide sail training opportunities for the future.
Graduates of this new school would have opportunities with many educational and sailing organizations.
If you are interested or know the right candidate, please reach out to info@sailingshipsmaine.org or click here to schedule a phone call.
About Sailing Ships Maine: we take middle and high school students to sea for 5 day (4 night) accredited programs taught by two crew, a USCG licensed captain and a deckhand-educator. Our accredited program in Nautical Science includes navigation, safety, engineering, seamanship and is an immersive learning experience for students. Students are required to learn to operate the vessel, keep it clean, follow crew’s guidance, cook meals themselves (with supervision) and work hard all week. Crew work hard to make this happen and everyone goes home proud but tired. Crew have most weekends off though there are some weeks where the program starts on a Sunday afternoon and ends on a Saturday morning – but that is the exception. Crew sail the overnight program 3 out of 4 weeks. The 4th week is either maintenance or teaching in our middle school daysail programs on 23’ Pearson Ensign sailboats. Crew will sail an average of 20 days per month during the sailing season (June through September).
Our vessels:
-Schooner Sara Jane, a 42 foot wooden Murray Peterson Coaster III
-Brightside, a 36 foot Palmer Johnson sloop
-Four Pearson Ensigns
-One 32’ fixed-seat rowing gig
-Misc. dinghies and support boats
Job Requirements for our Captains:
-A current USCG license
-Experience teaching high school students
-Experience managing sailing vessels including both operation and maintenance
-Ability to manage people, both deckhands and other captains
-Interest in sailing overnight with students
- vessel maintenance experience
-teaching experience
-shoreside organizational development experience
-Excellent communication skills