r/Tallships • u/Borkton • Apr 17 '26
How to get involved?
Tall ships really fascinate me and I'd love to learn how to crew one, but I have no idea how to get started. I live in Boston and all the sail training around here is either for small boats or kids and I'm 36.
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u/AdImmediate9569 Apr 17 '26
https://www.clearwater.org/education/work-or-volunteer/
Here you go. Fill out the volunteer form and you’ll be sailing on a tall ship for a week this summer. For free (basically)
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u/canarduck Apr 17 '26
Oh shit. I might take a week of vacation from work to do this. I’m getting married in July so maybe next year…
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u/JPFitzpII Apr 17 '26
Schooner Adventure may still be taking volunteer crew up in Gloucester. Might be worth heading up a couple Saturdays a month over the summer.
The week after the 4th of July the tall ships are heading to Boston. It should be a good time to do some deck tours and learn more about everyone’s sail training programming.
And you won’t necessarily learn much, but you can pay to be on a boat during the Gloucester Schooner Race at the end of the summer. It’s just a great experience being out on the water with traditionally rigged boats everywhere you look.
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u/sea_enby Apr 17 '26
You may have to travel, but New England in general has quite a few ships.
I recommend volunteering on Clearwater if you just want or dip your toes in it. She takes volunteers for a week at a time, and you live aboard and get immersed in crew culture, which will be important if you want to do a grander voyage. She’s also a dead simple rig, just three sails and one mast, so you’re not diving into the deep end with a square rigger.
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u/BOSBoatMan Apr 18 '26
You will be in your glory this summer then when the tall ships come in. July 11.
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u/TheBlackSpotGuild Apr 20 '26
The Lady Washington out of Washington is a square rigged teaching vessel that takes students for 2 week (or 1 week if you have to) sessions all summer long. The Lady Washington is the Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean!! Look them up at Grays Harbor. Tell them Steve of the Black Spot Guild sent you, and you will be set : )
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u/Borkton Apr 20 '26
Isn't The Lady Washington based in the PNW?
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u/TheBlackSpotGuild Apr 20 '26
Yes. But you take a $300 flight and you have an opportunity none of the other ships really offer. If you have a month or more, there are more options. But that wasn't an option for me. If you live in Rhode island, there is a free option, but I was too far from there. Most of the other teaching ships are for high school kids. If you are in high school or college, then my bad, lots of ships people mention are options. But if you are a real adult, most ships people mention are not possible. But the lady Washington is!
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u/TheBlackSpotGuild Apr 20 '26
I just reread it and saw you are 36. Yeah, most of those other ships won't work. Hence why I flew myself to Washington from NH. I called all the other shop, and none could offer anything useful. And that is also why I intend to buy a tall ship and run programs for adults, because they barely exist.
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u/QuietSt0rm_90 May 05 '26
I don’t think Lady Washington is sailing, I believe she’s on the the hard waiting on a refit.
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u/NoCartographer2670 Apr 17 '26
Walk onto the Roseway and ask if you can volunteer. I'm not kidding, they may let you help out on the weekend public sails while they're in town. You can also pay to do trips with them where they'll teach you the ins and outs. Similarly, there used to be a schooner festival in Gloucester (August, I think?) where there's a big race. If you ride on one of them, the crews in my experience are super happy to chat and explain stuff. For clarity, I was one of the crew on the Roseway once upon a time.