Fulfilling Careers in the Sail Training Sector: Charting a Course for Professionals and Volunteers – it’s not About the Boat!

Sail training has emerged from the work and leisure sailing traditions as a particular sector focused on ‘training through the sea’, or personal and social development.

This paper is focused on those drawn to work in this sector as either volunteer or paid workers. It explores the socio historical context from which sail training emerged to account for the character and diversity of the contemporary sector, the variety of routes into the sector and the particular challenges associated with it including the dangers of burnout and drop out.

Subsequently we consider the various careers or development trajectories implicated in working in the sector including occupational, serious leisure, sailing, life-course and community working. A small scale empirical study is presented to provide accounts from workers in the sector to support this socio-historical analysis. Finally, some consideration is given to the kinds of support needed by the sector.