Apprenticeships

59º North is now taking apprentices!

Apprentice applications are open to all, with no pre-requisite age, gender or sailing ability — the main criteria is that you are pursuing a career in sailing and want to gain valuable sea-time with us, learning the ropes from our professional staff.

We will not take an apprentice on every passage. To be clear, this is an additional bunk onboard FALKEN, part of staff quarters, that would not otherwise be sold to paying crew. If you have the ability to join us on a passage as a paying customer, then this spot is not for you. At our discretion and with the approval of our skippers, we will match an apprentice with a select passage or passages.

We hope to welcome you onboard in the future. Until then... HOLD FAST!

Apprenticeship Applications are NOW CLOSED FOR 2025.

Applications for 2025 apprenticeships are CLOSED. Interviews and final selections will be made in October & November, 2024. Everyone who applies will be contacted once selection starts to inform you of your status. Hold Fast!

Check back during late summer 2025 for opportunties in 2026, and feel free to contact holdfast@59-north.com if you have questions in the meantime.

Apprenticeship Details

Developing folks interested in making a career on the sea has been a core belief of ours since Mia & I first started 59º North back in 2015. Over the years, several of our staff have begun careers with us and gone on to successful jobs in the sailing industry.

shoreside Mentorship

Apprentices who are selected for the program, in addition to sailing with us will have access to Andy, Mia & August as mentors throughout the year. We’ll be available for phone calls & email exchanges, to help network with other industry professionals, provide guidance on finding the right fit for a career at-sea, etc. In short, we encourage Apprentices to use us as resources as you develop your own career at-sea.

At-Sea

FALKEN has an extra bunk in the staff quarters and starting in 2023, we have offered apprenticeships to a select few people who qualify through our application process. The most important attribute in how we select apprentices is the serious desire to make a career at sea (and who are not just looking for a ‘free’ passage). Our paying crew generally are very supportive of the Apprenticeship program and welcome the extra person on passages.

Apprentice Expectations

The Oxford dictionary defines an apprentice as:

“A person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages.”

To that end, we do not pay our apprentices and they are expected to cover their own costs getting to and from the boat. Once onboard the boat, Apprentices expenses are covered, including all meals onboard, meals ashore when paying crew are present, etc. Shoreside expenses will be covered by the Apprentice.

There should also be an expectation from the Skipper & Mate that they are there to teach the Apprentice professional skills they can use in their career. In turn, the Apprentice should expect to assist in all aspects of running the boat and be an active participant, working under the direction of the Skipper.

Once onboard the boat, the apprentice takes a role alongside the professional staff — there is a clear distinction between the Apprentice and the rest of the paying crew; however, apprentices do not have any authority and should not consider themselves ‘above’ the crew.

Ultimately the Skipper is responsible for the Apprentice and will have some say in selecting them for a given passage/passages.

Apprentice-Specific Responsibilities

  • Reports directly to the Skipper.

  • Responsible for general cleanliness and tidiness of the boat in-port and at-sea.

  • Shares head-cleaning duties w/ the Skipper on alternating days or at Skippers discretion.

  • Shares meal-prep duties with the Mate and/or Skipper at Mate’s discretion.

  • Contribute to the media, at-sea blogs & YB messaging at the Skipper’s direction.

  • Expected to participate as a member of the crew with all lectures and briefings.

  • Assist in pre-departure briefings at Skipper’s discretion, depending on experience.

  • Assist with general routine maintenance between passages (winch servicing, rope work, etc.). Skipper should be prepared to instruct on some items, however Apprentice is expected to come with a base-level of knowledge and to learn things on their own.

  • Be ready to assist the Skipper & Mate with whatever chores arise at any point before, during and after the passage/between passages.

Expected Skills an Apprentice Should Have Prior to Joining

  • The following skills are expected of all apprentices prior to joining and they are informed of these expectations well in advance. These are all skills an Apprentice can learn on their own time prior to joining. Skipper should test knowledge of these skills early on.

  • Basic knots (bowline, clove hitch, figure 8).

  • Winch servicing (use this Lewmar video for reference).

  • Some meal-prep skills, at least the ability to follow a recipe.

  • Basic ship’s & navigational terms and phonetic alphabet.

  • How to plot on a paper chart and use plotting tools.

Former Apprentices

  • Emma Garschagen (USA)

    “I was an apprentice aboard ISBJØRN in 2019 on a passage from Newport to Annapolis. Freshly graduated from college, I wanted to see what a career in sailing might look like. The short trip on ISBJØRN was massively impactful. I helped the skipper (Matt Rutherford) get the boat ready and learned some tricks of provisioning from the mate (Liz Karamavros). While sailing, I helped the crew with navigation and helming, and learned about safety and decision making from our seasoned skipper.

    I loved sailing through the night and felt invigorated navigating through traffic on Delaware Bay. This apprenticeship launched me into the first mate position on ICEBEAR, a Swan 59 that 59º North owned at the time. My job as mate expanded to include other roles at 59º North, and I learned to run their social media, host the podcast, work with sponsors, update the website, and so much more.

    I sailed 20,000 miles and counting as a mate with 59º North, from a transatlantic to an expedition in Svalbard. My 2019 apprenticeship led to more experiences and personal growth than I could have ever imagined.

    Now, I live in Portland, Maine and am starting a coastal sail training business, Sail Seabird.”

  • Ben Soofer (USA)

    “I started my first role with 59º North as a 'PR and Media Guru' during my junior year of university. As 59º North's first apprentice, Andy and Mia empowered me to take on projects I felt passionate about. Highlights for me included digital work, working with sponsors, helping out at live events, and living aboard the Swan 48' ISBJORN! I sponged up a ton of sailing and vessel management knowledge as an apprentice aboard, diving deep into boat systems, crew management, weather, navigation, and more.

    More than anything, I learned about leadership and what it means to be a professional. Andy, Mia, August, Emma, and others all served as role models for my own growth as a sailor, leader, and human being. This education continues today when I join 59º North Passages as a relief First Mate. The second we stop learning, we stop living. 59º North always demands 110%, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

    59º North, specifically Andy, set me up and supported me through years of personal experimentation in the professional sailing world. Since my apprenticeship, I have sailed over 30,000 ocean miles and have worked professionally aboard a diverse set of vessels, from 22' Open Drascombe Longboats to 116' Steel Schooners.

    I plan to continue assisting 59º North as a Relief First Mate and hope to break into offshore racing soon! I recently acquired my USCG 100-Ton Master Unlimited and set up my own coastal and offshore sail-coaching business called Go Squallys.”

  • Ella Hebron (UK)

    I was an apprentice on the North Atlantic crossing from Las Palmas to Antigua in April 2023. Chris Kosboch was skipper, and Mia was the first mate. During the passage I helped to coach crew and develop their sailing skills such as helming and trimming the sails to improve the balance and performance of the boat.

    To the uninitiated helming might see like a basic skill, similar to steering a car. It isn’t. Helming is complex. It is most challenging when sailing downwind. It takes time to learn to feel how the boat moves as rolling waves lift the stern, every wave has to be caught at just the right time to avoid broaching or crash gybing.

    We had quite a calm passage to Antigua, spending a while in the doldrums sharing stories and watching dolphins frolicking.

    Where am I now?…Who knows at the point you read this I might be somewhere in the Tasman sea, Coral sea, South China Sea or the North Pacific. I am currently the AQP (first mate) on team Ha Long Bay in the Clipper Round the World Race. The race started in September 2023 and finishes in July 2024.

    My apprenticeship with 59º North was instrumental in my sailing development. Chris (skipper) is a Clipper Race alumni and was able to share his experiences with my on our passage and I was also able to learn from Mia’s sailing and interpersonal skills. The day we arrived in Antigua, I received the call from the Clipper Race office offering me my current role and in the blink of an eye, I was on a plane, winging my way to Clipper HQ in Portsmouth.