Crewin', Volunteerin', Sailin'...

[Captian Wolfy Wench]

I'm in Southern California and I am so jealous of a friend of mine who's tall ship sailing right now. I was wondering if anyone knew how I can get aboard a tall ship for a week or two? Where I can go? I know about the LA Maritime Institute, but I wondered if they'd let me aboard one of their "youth" programs.

Perhaps this is a question better suited for the Tall Ships festival next month. :) Oh well, any help is appreciated.

Captain Wolfy Wench

[dasNdanger]

A place ya might wanna start is at the ASTA (American Sail Training Association) website: http://www.tallships.sailtraining.org

They have a great little directory that lists most of the sailing ships available in North America for sail training...some as volunteer crew like what I do on the A. J. Meerwald, some as regualr crew...some as paying passengers for day or overnight sails. Non-members can purchase it, I believe, and it's worth having if you are interested in learning to sail.

One thing to keep in mind, too...many are schooners, and some folks prefer the square-riggers. But pirates and smugglers often favored the smaller, coast-hugging schooners for carrying out their dastardly deeds. So don't be quick to scoff at the smaller fore-and-aft rigged ships out there, you can just as easily imagine a pirate crew working one of them as you can see 'em on a hulking square-rigger...

Sail-training ships in California:

Dana Point

Pilgrim (schooner)

Spirit of Dana Port (schooner)

Long Beach

American Pride (schooner, three-masted)

Tole Mour (top-sail schooner, three-masted)

Los Angeles

Bill of Rights (gaff-topsail schooner)

Exy Johnson (brigantine)

Irving Johnson (brigantine)

Peter Puget ( a WEE standing lug )

Swift of Ipswich (topsail schooner)

Newport Beach

Argus (topsail ketch - Boy Scout Training vessel that recently rescued diver left behind by dive boat - this ship is not available to general public for sailing, as far as I know.)

Richmond

Nehemiah (ketch)

San Diego

Californian (topsail schooner)

Star of India (barque)

San Francisco

Alma (schooner)

Bagheera (staysail schooner)

Balclutha (full-rigged ship)

C. A. Thayer (schooner, three-masted)

Corsair (a WEE ketch )

Viking (a WEE cutter )

Sausalito

Clipper Patricia (topsail schooner)

Dariabar (schooner)

Gas Light (SF scow schooner)

Hawaiian Chieftain (square topsail ketch)

There - it's a place to start. Not all of these take volunteers, or have day sails available to the public. Most ships, however, even when they don't have public sails, still need crew. It may be worth checking some out (the ones that I said are 'WEE' are very small boats, and not what you are looking for. However, some of the schooners are massive, and well worth checking to see what sort of programs they offer...)

Hope it helps...

das

[piratelassie]

aye that sailtrainin' book is a good place ter start. real good. Also, I knows of some schools (like me old high school) wot have sailtrainin' as an optional part o' there curriculum. But they're mostly on the east coast, where I be

[Captian Wolfy Wench]

A place ya might wanna start is at the ASTA (American Sail Training Association) website: http://www.tallships.sailtraining.org

Thanks very much, Das. I will make sure to check out the site you gave me. I really do want to volunteer somewhere on a ship, and it's great that there are so many in Southern California, and more specifically, my area. I'll take further looks. Thanks again!

Captain Wolfy Wench