Guide to Tall Ship Sail Training Programs
American Sail Training Association
sailtraining.org
ASTA provides general information on sail training, a list of member vessels, and details of sail training conferences, events and meetings held throughout the year.
East Coast
Erie Maritime Museum (Erie, PA)
flagshipniagara.org
Offers two-week sail training programs aboard the Flagship Niagara, as well as five-hour daysails for ages 12 and up. Students can also receive credit for courses designed by the faculty of partner institutions.
Liberty Fleet (Boston, MA)
libertyfleet.com
Students can board the schooner Liberty for three-hour educational sails on the Liberty Classroom program.
Living Classrooms Foundation (Baltimore, MD)
livingclassrooms.org
Offers one-day to ten-day sails for students 4th grade and up. They also have programs for college students and adults. Special focus on at-risk youth.
Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT)
mysticseaport.org
Students from 10-15 can sign up for six-day beginner and intermediate summer camp programs aboard the Joseph Conrad. Youths and adults aged 15 and up can choose from overnight sails ranging from two to 10 days.
Portland Schooner Co. (Portland, ME)
portlandschooner.com
Programs for students of all ages (elementary school and up) include two-hour sails, overnight sails or several day sails aboard Bagheera and Wendameen
SoundWaters (Stamford, CT)
soundwaters.org
Dedicated to preserving Long Island Sound, SoundWaters offers day sails and overnight sail training progams for sailors ages seven and up.
Sultana Projects, Inc. (Chestertown, MD)
sultanaprojects.org
Sultana Projects offers tall ship daysails on the Chesapeake Bay for school groups, college students and adults, as well as several four-day summer sail training voyages for children aged 11-14.
The Black Dog Tall Ships (Vineyard Haven, MA)
theblackdogtallships.com
All ages can go sailing for the day on the schooners Alabama, Chantey, and Shenandoah (captained by Black Dog owner Robert S. Douglas since 1964). Also available: Kid’s Cruise, a week-long youth summer program.
West Coast/South
Call of the Sea (Sausalito, CA)
callofthesea.org/home.php
Offers three-hour educational sails of San Francisco Bay (grades 4-12), and five-day summer programs for teenagers
Children’s Maritime Foundation (Yorba Linda, CA)
americanpride.org
Students can choose from sail training programs of one to five days, focusing on either history or science. The foundation also offers a five-day Catalina Island summer camp program aboard tall ship American Pride.
Guided Discoveries (Long Beach, CA)
guideddiscoveries.org
Offers several programs for children eight and up, including one-, two- and three-week “camps and seven, 13- and 20-day tall ship training programs for youths ages 10 to 16.
Los Angeles Marine Institute (San Pedro, CA)
lamitopsail.org
The TopSail Youth Program consists of three to five one-day sails, followed by a multi-day trip. TopSail graduates can join the museum’s youth crew. Primary focus on underprivileged youth.
Privateer Lynx (Newport Beach, CA)
privateerlynx.com
The Lynx Educational Foundation offers day-long “adventure sails” for kids and adults, along with occasional 16 to 18-day voyages between the West Coast and Hawaii (for students aged 15 to 18 years).
San Diego Maritime Museum (San Diego, CA)
sdmaritime.org
Home to the world’s oldest active sailing ship, Star of India, the museum offers day and overnight sails for children and adults on several other vessels.
Sailing Heritage Society (Seattle, WA)
sailingheritage.org
Individuals 18 and up participate in sail training trips to the San Juan Islands, Alaska and Canada. When at home port, the Mallory Todd hosts sail training for disabled and hospitalized children.
Schooner Zodiac (Bellingham, WA)
schoonerzodiac.com
The Zodiac, which has the largest working mainsail on the West Coast,offers youth and adult sail training on both day and overnight sails.
Sound Experience (Port Townsend, WA)
soundexp.org
Offers five-day trips to the San Juan islands for teens (grades 7-12) and adults. Schools and youth groups can also sail in Puget Sound for one to seven days. Sound Experience has special programs for at-risk youth.
Texas Seaport Museum/Galveston Historical Foundation (Galveston, TX)
galvestonhistory.org/1877_Tall_Ship_ELISSA.asp
Children and adults can sail on the 1877 Elissa, one of the oldest operating tall ships, and the official tall ship of Texas. The museum runs one-day excursions, and a six-month, biweekly youth sail training program culminating in a daysail.
Midwest
Inland Seas Education Association (Sutton’s Bay, MI)
schoolship.org
Offers multiple “schoolship” programs, including day and overnight sails on the Great Lakes, with a focus on the ecology and history of the lakes
Michigan Maritime Museum (South Haven, MI)
michiganmaritimemuseum.org
Friend’s Good Will, a historically accurate replica of Oliver Wendell Perry’s famed sloop, takes elementary, middle and high school students on day sails. Volunteer crew can sail overnight.
Tall Ship Adventures of Chicago, Inc. (Chicago, IL)
tallshipadventuresofchicago.com
Offers 1 -2 hour “educational sailing adventures” on Lake Michigan, as well as private sail training lessons for children and adults
International
Barque Picton Castle(Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada)
picton-castle.com
The barque Picton Castle sails in locales from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast to the Caribbean. The program is famous for its circumnavigations—the fifth is currently en route. Trainees must be 18+.
Ocean Classroom Foundation (Boothbay Harbor, ME)
oceanclassroom.org
Offers numerous programs for youths from middle school up, including college and high school semesters at sea in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
School of Ocean Sailing (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; summer sails out of Portland, ME)
sailingschool.com
Offers several week-long sailing programs on celestial navigation, ocean sailing or advance navigation in the Caribbean (winter) and Maine (summer). Students under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Sea Education Association (SEA) (Wood’s Hole, MA)
sea.edu
Offers several twelve-week SEA semester programs for high school and college students. Students spend six weeks on land, then six weeks on the Atlantic, Caribbean or Pacific. SEA students earn credit from dozens of affiliate universities.
