Volunteer with SALTS

We love our volunteers, on-ship and on-shore! There are several ways to support SALTS through volunteering.


Volunteer Crew - Positions

Each year we are thrilled by the tremendous number of candidates who are passionate about contributing their time and energy to support the mission of SALTS during our sailing season. Our Captain's Committee selects a volunteer for the following positions to serve alongside our professional crew on our 5-day spring break and 10-day summer voyages. In the spring and fall, one or two general volunteers may be selected to help out with group trips.

  • Watch Leaders (1 male & 1 female): help the watch officer with all aspects of shipboard life including sail training, youth mentorship and  chaperoning trainees. Requires high school grad, 19 years or older preferred. Experience in Christian youth ministry is an asset.
  • Assistant Cook: helps the cook prepare meals and snacks for ~ 40 people each day and is involved in all aspects of shipboard life including sail training and youth mentorship. Must be 16 years or older.
  • Bosun’s Mate: helps with ship maintenance such as painting, varnishing, rope work and is involved in all aspects of shipboard life including sail training and youth mentorship (usually a former trainee with a SALTS intermediate certificate). Must be 16 years or older. Due to a change in our professional crew configuration, a bosun's mate is not assigned to every sailing.  
  

The Captain's Committee will review applications received and selections will be made based on our unique program needs and priorities for the year.  

It is a difficult task, to choose only a fraction of the qualified candidates, many of whom the crew have enjoyed sailing with in the past. We sincerely appreciate all those who have served alongside our crew over the years and regret that we will not be able to offer positions to many previous volunteers and trainees who we would love to welcome aboard again! 


SUBMIT YOUR 2025 application

If you are between the ages of 13-24 and want to be sure to sail with us next season, we strongly encourage you to submit a summer or spring break trainee trip request, so you will have a berth even if we don't have a volunteer position for you. If you then receive a volunteer position and would like to cancel your trainee trip request, your application fee will be refunded.

Shoreside Volunteers

We rely on the help of volunteers and appreciate them very much! There are many ways you can get involved.

Drop-in volunteer opportunities

Event Volunteer: SALTS participates in a handful of public events each year, such as boat shows, conferences, and festivals. Volunteers at these events help in ways like sharing information about SALTS, chatting with visitors about their own SALTS experience, and/or set-up and take-down. If you are interested in being contacted about future event volunteer opportunities as they arise, send us an email.

 
Application necessary

Donated Boat Assistant: Cleaning and maintaining our fleet of 10-20 donated boats. This helps us sell boats quickly and for a higher price. Proceeds support our tall ship programs. For more information, email our Boat Sales Manager or call 250-383-6811 (ext. 3). 

Workshop Assistant: Tasks, projects, and errands related to the organization, upkeep, and operation of the SALTS workshop and maintenance of our tall ships. For more information, send us an email.

Shoreside Bosun's Mate: Tasks, projects, and errands related to the maintenance of our Tall Ships when they are in port, which is generally weekdays from November through February and Friday afternoons from March through October. The majority of the work will involve paint and bright-work. Other work may include assisting the Shop Foreman with rigging, woodwork, plumbing, and electrical work. For more information, send us an email.

  


How to Volunteer for Shoreside Positions

  • Review the job descriptions  for these positions and decide which position(s) you wish to be involved in
  • For casual roles (tall ship cleaner, event volunteers) no application is necessary--just follow the instructions in the job description (the additional steps below will not apply)
  • For all other shoreside volunteer positions, submit the shoreside application form (or drop by to fill one out a our office). One of our volunteer supervisors will respond to you to discuss your application and suitability for the role(s).

Once accepted as a volunteer, arrange for an orientation with your supervisor. The supervisor will also provide ongoing coaching, performance feedback, and encouragement.

 

Shoreside Volunteer Application Form