OUR MISSION

Sailing Ships Maine delivers experiential learning programs at sea and creates life-changing opportunities for teens of all abilities and income levels to discover the ocean environment, expand leadership skills, and consider further maritime training.

Additionally, through public events, we support the marine economy, provide access to the ocean and traditional sailing ships, and preserve our maritime heritage.

Sailing Ships Maine is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which provides accredited experiential education for teenagers on board sailing ships.

We believe that the experience of sailing on board a tall ship as part of the crew changes teens' perspectives and helps them develop leadership and teamwork skills. Since our founding in 2015, we have sent more than 500 students to sea in partnership with 16 schools and youth groups.

“A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of inclusion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty… The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. … We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.”

Albert Einstein – 1954