A boat parked in Collingwood’s harbour this weekend drew a crowd of onlookers, but that’s because it’s not everyday you get to walk the deck of a pirate ship.
There were no peg legs or parrots however, the crew was not pirates but teenagers learning teamwork and leadership through the adventure of sailing a tall ship on the Great Lakes.
The TS Playfair docked in Collingwood this weekend to offer deck tours and spread the word about the youth training vessel and the Brigs program.
All summer long the program offers youth the chance to board the Playfair for three- to 10-day long trips that include a hands-on lesson in sailing and the experience of life on the high seas (or rather the Great Lakes).
“It’s a chance to be in a difficult, but also fun and rewarding environment,” said Playfair Captain Christine Chesterman. “You have to get to know yourself, and work together no matter how difficult the situation because there’s nowhere else to go.”
TS Playfair is operated by Brigs (formerly Toronto Brigantine), which formed in 1962 as a charitable organization created to develop leadership, discipline and citizenship in a maritime environment. The vision for the sail training program was to build character through adventure.
Pathfinder was the organization’s first sail training vessel and Playfair joined the fleet in 1973.
Brigs originally operated out of Toronto and is now anchored in Hamilton.
Playfair is a brigantine (think pirate ship!) two-masted square-rigged sailing vessel with fore-and-aft rigged sails on the mainmast and square sails on the foremast. She’s 22 metres long (sparred) and she’s sailed by a complement of 28 people including one adult captain and first mate, with eight youth crew (three watch officers, one bosun, one cook, and three petty officers), and 18 trainees.
The historic character of the ship was intentional to build the character in the teens sailing it.
“It’s complicated in comparison to modern sailboats. It is intentionally inefficient and difficult to use because that’s what brings out teamwork,” explained Captain Chesterman. “On the other hand, it’s not as complicated as it looks. Someone with no experience … by the end of six or seven days on board is going to have a pretty good handle on what they’re doing on deck.”
In many cases, she said, trainees stick around and end up pursuing careers in one of many marine fields.
This is Chesterman’s first year as a captain, but she joined the program at 17 years old as a trainee and stuck with it ever since, ultimately pursuing post-secondary education in child and youth work.
“Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked,” she said.
Two of the crew members aboard the Playfair this weekend can attest to being hooked.
Connor Teskey and Alice Sedgwick have been part of the Playfair program for five and three years respectively.
Teskey was drawn to the summer experience because of his childhood sailing experience, and he’s eyeing a career in Marine Engineering when he graduates high school next year.
Sedgwick came aboard the Playfair with a friend, thinking it would be a good summer experience.
“The fact that you get to meet so many new people in such a unique environment makes it really endearing,” she said.
The challenge also brings its own reward. The crew is made up of youth between 13 and 18 years old. The only two adults on board are the captain and first mate, so the crew learns peer-to-peer leadership while living in tight quarters with 18 trainees for a total of 28 people aboard the Playfair.
“It’s chaotic to say the least,” laughed Sedgwick. “You’re put in stressful situations at times and it pushes you to your limits and others to theirs and then everybody interacts and you get to learn how you deal with it.”
Teskey said nobody is ever lonely aboard the Playfair.
“There’s unique people with different backgrounds in one central place, and you get to learn so much about yourself and other people,” he said. “Being put in a challenging environment, you get to experience how you deal with the pressure and overcome the things that set you back to just do what you have to do in the hardest and best of times … if you experience trouble, you experience it with your crew.”
The intense nature of life aboard a ship and the necessity for each crew member and trainee to literally play fair is what makes the lesson of the TS Playfair so effective, according to her captain.
“It’s really fun and interesting and engaging, and if you want someone to work really hard, you need to make it really interesting,” said Captain Chesterman. “Also, because it’s a boat, you’re isolated … so that really creates an opportunity for growth, but also the isolation means there’s nowhere else to go. So if, at the beginning, it’s too hard or you don’t get along with people straightaway, you can’t give up. It kind of takes the option away.”
While the tight quarters can lead to intense situations, Chesterman said it also means the youth have an opportunity to work through the conflict and emotions.
She’s seen firsthand the value of the program for youth, with shy individuals coming out of their shell and extroverted individuals finding a conduit for their extra energy.
“They leave with a lot more confidence in themselves and their own abilities, because everybody is equally clueless when they come on board, and by the end they’re able to do something quite difficult and quite impressive that not everybody can do,” she said.
To participate in the Brigs sail training program aboard the TS Playfair any youth between 13 and 18 years old can sign up online now for next summer’s voyages.
Brigs is a charitable organization and does accept donations toward the youth programs. You can find more information about supporting Brigs here.
