Summer Employment

“My daughter thought the staff was excellent and well-trained.  They provided strong leadership, were calm, confident, organized and experienced.  She said her boat captain was perfect for the job.  He listened and cared.”
Ruth Robinson

Our Philosophy

Although much has changed since our beginning in 1979, the same values on which Sail Caribbean was founded continue to drive all of our programs today: respect for one another and the sea; belief in the great things young people can achieve; and simply doing things right. Our staff's commitment to these ideals is reflected in our mission statement: to inspire self-confidence, foster personal growth, and instill leadership skills in teenagers through the highest quality Caribbean adventures.

Our staff members are committed to our philosophy and our students through the fun times and the challenging times. Yes, you are in the Caribbean but you are not on vacation—it is a 'round-the-clock' job.  There is time off, but it might only be two days the entire summer. The students always come first.  Sail Caribbean is not the place to have a "what's in it for me" type of attitude even though there are many benefits both intrinsic and tangible. We encourage you to read through our brochure and review About us on this website so that you can see if Sail Caribbean is a good fit for you. 

Program Overview

There are two types of programs at Sail Caribbean:  Voyages and Ashore. Our traditional sailing based programs, or voyages, are Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot.  For the upcoming summer we have expanded our options to include our NEW service and marine biology programs ashore in Eleuthera and Carriacou.

Voyages

The sailing staff (Captains and Mates) live aboard the vessels with the students—much like a cabin in a traditional sleep-away camp.  Mates have a home boat but they rotate each day within the fleet (the fleet sizes range between 2-6 boats, or about 30-80 people) so that students can connect with more staff members.  This allows us to have an extremely tight knit group of instructors and students, providing a remarkable support system for everyone involved.  Our students and staff benefit from both a small group setting on their home boat as well as a large group setting when we have fleet wide events.  Students become a family with their crew but have the opportunity to branch out and meet other teens from all over the US and the World.

Our staff teach sailing lessons onboard the boats, lead boat meetings and group discussions, drive the ski boat, lead hikes, oversee the cooking, lead dance contests—all aspects of the program.  We are always on the go. Captains and Mates are lead by the Program Director and the Fleet Captain to ensure that standards are being met and that things are running smoothly.

Operations Staff and the Office Manager live on land at our base at Hodges Creek Marina in Tortola and work closely with each of our voyage program fleets and with our dive company, Sail Caribbean Divers. The office manager is the liaison between the NY Office and the Caribbean.  He or she coordinates the communication between the fleets, arrival and departure days, as well as setting up fleet events.  Operations staff help make the teen programs run smoothly by handling the behind the scenes logistics (ice runs, ski boat operation, dive tank refills, gear delivery, etc.).

Ashore

Ashore staff run all aspects of Sail Caribbean's two land based academic and community service programs:  Tropical Marine Science for Divers on Eleuthera in the Bahamas and Reef and Rainforest Conservation for Divers in Belize. This small group of instructors will combine with scientists and staff from The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute, and with scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Belize. Transportation is provided between programs. Instructors/Trip Leaders live with the students and supervise and instruct both programs' marine science, ecology, scuba, leadership curricula and activities.  All staff are closely connected to the logistics and execution of the program and are expected to be involved in the behind-the-scenes work, whether it's helping with food preparation or picking up students at the airport.  These programs also include hiking, sea-kayaking, camping, and cultural activities.  Sail Caribbean staff share a passion for adventure and have teaching experience in marine biology, ecology, scuba, outdoor adventure and community service activities.

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