Sail training vessel “Picton Castle” has been hosted by the Port of Marigot on several occasions. (CST photo)
MARIGOT--Non-profit organisation Caribbean Sail Training (CST) announced that the Bosun School of the sail training vessel (STV) Picton Castle in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada, is organising two courses for students interested in learning ship-rigging skills and sail-making on “tall ships” and traditional vessels.
The Bosun School is open to anyone who already has some sailing or boating experience and who wants to advance their skills. This is a hands-on, physical programme that requires students to be in good health and capable of participating fully. Students will be expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Applications are welcome from people of all nationalities and ages. Enrolment is limited. The regular price for the rigging Bosun School is $5,000 Canadian plus tax (total $5,750 CAD). The regular price for the sail-making Bosun School is $4,000 CAD plus tax (total $4,600 CAD).
The equivalent in US dollars, for the full amount including the tax, is about US $4,500 for the Rigging 2021 Bosun School and US $3,600 for the Sail-Making 2022 Bosun School.
A 15-per-cent discount on the price of both sessions is offered to members of CST and students of Maritime School of the West Indies (MSWI). The fee includes accommodations (during approximately six weeks for the rigging courses and approximately eight weeks for the sail-making courses), food, instruction, and all course materials.
Students can take a deep dive into rigging skills from October 5 to December 3. In the Bosun School session focused on rigging, students will learn how to conduct a rig inspection, identify what parts need to be repaired or replaced, and how to fix or make new parts.
They will also learn to repair and replace ratlines, send up topmasts and cross-yards without the use of a crane; work aloft safely; worm, parcel and serve; make fibre seizings; make wire seizings; make fibre splices; make wire splices; handle lines under strain; work with different types of wire; fabricate new wire and rope rigging; and more. They will also earn a certification in industrial rigging.
From February 14 to April 1, 2022, students can narrow in on sail-making skills. In the Bosun School session focused on sail-making, they will look at both new sail construction and sail repair.
Students will learn a variety of stitching techniques, both by hand and by machine, using a variety of materials, both natural and synthetic. They will learn sail repair, from quick-and-dirty to loft-quality, and when which is the right approach.
They will learn how to read diagrams and actually lay out new sails, and get hands-on practice with making grommets, roping, sewing tabling and corner patches, and the various knots, splices and seizings used in sail-making.
Both of these sessions of the Bosun School will be instructed by living legend Captain Daniel Moreland (Picton Castle is scheduled to set sail with Captain Daniel on his eighth world circumnavigation voyage in the spring). Along with Moreland will be several guest instructors who are subject-matter experts.
To apply, candidates should send their resume/curriculum vitae (CV) including their sailing experience and a cover letter that gives more information about them and why they want to join this particular session of Bosun School, by email to
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