Adventures on the High Seas

If you’ve ever read Treasure Island or watched a Pirates of the Caribbean movie and longed to feel the deck of a tall ship dancing beneath your feet, headed for destinations unknown, this idea may not be as farfetched as you think.

More than 100 traditional sailing vessels—from small coastal schooners to the large three-masted ships of the line—still ply the world’s waters, inviting adventurers to climb aboard to try their hand at becoming a master of the wind and waves, something sailors have been doing for more than 5,000 years.

Whether you are a person with hemophilia, or not, there are three main ways you can experience life aboard a period sailing ship, either serving as a paid passenger who works right alongside the regular crew, as a member of a full-time crew aboard a smaller vessel, or going to sea as a student, earning your stripes while gaining college credit at the same time.

A working vacation

One of the best ways to experience life aboard ship is to book a trip as a working passenger. This allows you to get a true sailing experience, from taking a turn at the helm to reefing the sails up top—just as long as you don’t have a fear of heights.

A trip can last anywhere from a day to a month or more, depending on the ship and itinerary. For example, the Jubilee Sailing Trust offers cruises aboard the Tenacious or Lord Nelson that range from a pleasant day at sea to a month-long journey from Bermuda to Southampton, England. These ships are specially designed to allow people of all abilities to experience the thrill of crewing a traditional sailing ship. Sailors are matched according to their physical abilities and no experience is required to go sailing.

For a more intimate adventure, you can book passage on Silhouette Cruises’ one-week voyages, which are based out of the Seychelles islands. Two of their ships, the Sea Shell and the Sea Pearl, are traditional Dutch schooners that require the sails to be raised by hand, just as they were at the turn of the 18th century. Passengers are invited to join right in on the various duties aboard ship.

Becoming part of the crew

If salt runs deep in your veins, you may want to consider becoming part of a regular crew. Many vessels offer a volunteer program where you can join the crew for several weeks at a time. Your role aboard ship may include running the lines, standing watch or giving tours when the ship is in port. This offers a good introduction to life at sea and you’ll quickly find out if a sailor’s life is for you.

If it is to your liking, then you’ll want to get on with a permanent crew. The actual process depends on your country’s requirements and regulations, but one of the best ways to get started is to hang around the docks where a ship is berthed. Better yet, find one that may be in the yard undergoing maintenance.

“Volunteering in the yard, doing some of the less glamorous work required to keep a vessel seaworthy is a great way to get in good with the captain,” says Captain Finbar Gittelman, owner and skipper of the Schooner WOLF, a 74-foot gaff-rigged schooner hailing out of Key West, Florida. “When the ship is ready for sea, you’ll have already earned the respect of the captain and showed what you’re capable of. We get lots of offers to crew with us, but rarely does someone want to pay their dues, yet those who do are the ones we ask to join us on an international voyage. I’d rather have a young man who knows nothing about sailing but has a positive, can-do attitude than a guy who thinks he knows everything about sailing. They rarely fit in with the crew.”

If you’re lucky enough to be taken aboard as a mate, be sure that you show your willingness to learn. Sailing a historic ship can be a very different experience from going on a weekend sail with friends aboard a modern sailboat. These ships have a significant amount of rigging you need to learn and every ship (and captain) has its own personality and set of rules.

Getting an education of a lifetime at sea

If you’re in school, you have another option available when it comes to sailing the ocean blue. You can enroll in field programs in marine and environmental studies. For example, you can apply for admission with an organization like SEA, which offers students a 12-week semester—six weeks ashore, the other six aboard one of their 41-meter vessels plying the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Pacific.

You’ll not only learn about important ecological and maritime policies and perform research in biology, physics, geology, and chemistry, but you’ll eventually be handed the command of the ship, sailing her on the high seas as captain. Best of all, the credits are usually transferable. The website has all the information a student needs to make a decision about a semester at sea.

Things to know before going to sea

Captain Gittelman says going to sea is not without risk, though having hemophilia shouldn’t pose any unusual problems. Most new deck hands should wear gloves to protect their hands from injury in the beginning and comfortable shoes with good traction. Rope burns are not uncommon with beginners, since keeping the sails properly trimmed can require a lot of time “learning the ropes.”

Letting go of a rope when you’re sheeting in (pulling on a taught line) can also be extremely dangerous as the line whipping in the wind can come back and hit you if you’re not keeping an eye on it.

For most sailors the biggest risk is falling overboard, either because they accidentally tripped over a line or were inadvertently hit by the boom as the sail shifted from port to starboard during a course change. That, says Gittelman, happens to even the best sailor from time to time.