Alex Agnew - President

Agnew is a co-founder and current Executive Director of Sailing Ships Maine. He served as chair of Tall Ships Portland 2015, a tall ships festival with public participation of more than 60,000 people in Portland, Maine. He served two terms on the board of directors of the American Sail Training Association, now Tall Ships America and two terms on the board of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island. He is interested in Sailing Ships Maine as a vehicle for introducing students and educators to the transformative effects of outdoor experiential learning at sea.

Richard Olson - Secretary

Richard is one of our founding board members and our legal counselor. Richard was born in Biddeford and grew up in Portland. After graduating from New York University, he joined the United States Navy and spent four years at sea as both a deck and engineering officer. Richard continued his service as a Naval reservist while he attended Harvard Law School...

Willy Ritch

Willy was born and grew up in a tiny potato farming town in northern Maine a long way from the ocean.  While attending Bowdoin College (much closer to the ocean) he began messing around in boats.  Willy eventually went to sea with his young family, taking two multi-year sailing trips—to the Caribbean, Central America and across the Atlantic to Europe...

Chris Nolan

Christopher D. Nolan is a Coast Guard veteran and former commanding officer of two cutters, with over 8 years of military sea service in Maine, Alaska, California, and Connecticut.  In his civilian maritime career, he has also served as captain of SSV Corwith Cramer, SSV Robert C. Seamans, and SV Star of India.  Chris also cruised a 34 foot sailing boat extensively in the Caribbean while on sabbatical from the Coast Guard with his wife Kellee.  Chris owns and operates Practical Navigator Training, an online maritime training provider designed to help mariners obtain their merchant credential.  He is the co-author of the latest edition of “Eagle Seamanship: A Manual for Square Rigger Sailing” as well as several navigation references, and holds a master’s degree from Oregon State University (Fisheries and Wildlife) and a Bachelor’s degree from the US Coast Guard Academy (Marine Science).  Chris is based in Washington, DC., and also enjoys cycling and running with his dog, Keeper.    

Jonathan Radtke

Jonathan has spent his adult life living and working in Maine. He came to Maine for college and now lives on Portland's East End with his wife and two daughters. The most important events in Jon's life have always started with the question, "why not?" Especially when it involves stepping away from "normal" life. Hop a freighter from New York to Cape Town - why not? Drive a duck boat from Georgia to Maine - why not?...

Dr. Chris Wellins -

Chief Medical Officer

Chris began serving as the Chief Medical Officer and shoreside medical support for Sailing Ships Maine in 2021 and helped Sailing Ships Maine & Schooner Harvey Gamage navigate the shoals of the pandemic.