Marie Ostrand didn’t grow up sailing. She always loved the water but the sport wasn’t in her family, so she didn’t have an easy way in.
So the Connecticut native was shocked and delighted when she earned a spot on The Maiden after only two years of full-time sailing. The Maiden is run by an all-woman crew that comes from all over the world, some hailing from the United States, Papua New Guinea, and Antigua.
The history-making racing yacht sailed into Saint John on August 3 and is hosting events throughout its ten-day stopover, including public viewings of the yacht and a film screening at the Waterfront Container Village. The crew members will be there to share their experiences on The Maiden and how they started their sailing journey.
RELATED: History-Making, All-Women Racing Yacht Comes To Saint John To Mentor Young Girls
Ostrand had previously raced with someone who had friends that were involved in The Maiden Factor. One of those friends posted a job listing looking for crew members to embark on the racing yacht.
“I was familiar with the project … so when she sent me the job application, I was like, ‘Oh I’m never going to get that … those women are far beyond my potential,’” Ostrand told Huddle on August 4.
During her high school years, she remembers being interested in finding a way to get involved in sailing, but through all the research she did, she never found a way in as she did not have the experience or the funds to pay for lessons.
After graduating, she picked up and moved to Kona, Hawaii, where she worked as a deckhand and snorkel guide. This was her introduction to the marine industry and her realization she wanted to continue getting sea time and stay within the industry.
When the pandemic sent everyone around the world home, Ostrand moved back to the East Coast, specifically Newport, Rhode Island, as the area is known for sailing.
“I just walked on the docks and handed out my resume and just asked people to take me sailing … and did odd jobs and just really anything to sail as much as possible and learn as much as I could,” said Ostrand.
That is what Ostrand has been up to the last two years and what brought her onto The Maiden’s world tour crew. Before the vessel sailed into Saint John it came from Connecticut, her first time sailing in her home state.
The Maiden Factor
The Maiden ocean racing yacht made history as the first all-female crewed yacht to compete in The Whitbread Round-the-World Race in 1989.
Since then, the vessel has been modified. As Ostrand explained, when competing in an ocean race, the inside of a boat has to be stripped so there is no extra weight.
“It’s a lot more luxurious inside [now], … it’s going to be a lot more comfortable and designed a lot more for cruising, especially since it’s kind of our home for three years,” said Ostrand.
Today, the boat and the foundation behind the name is raising awareness and money for women’s education, focusing on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) programs.
Ostrand said the focus is on supporting girls studying STEAM because this can lead to a higher quality of life.
The Maiden usually has six full-time crew members, who rotates sometimes as the skippers change out. Although, the boat has a capacity for nine crew.
Image: Jessica Saulnier/Huddle
With the extra space on the boat, the crew will bring others on for shorter legs of the tour.
“We just try to give an opportunity for more people to rotate through the program,” said Ostrand. “It also allows for us to have a core group and then bring people on just for those specific offshore legs.”
The boat sails with eight members offshore but when they arrived in New Brunswick, they had nine on board. It was Ostrand’s first time being on The Maiden while it was completely full.
When they are offshore, a typical day would be four hours on, four hours off. During this watch schedule, there are four crew members on deck and four underneath sleeping in their bunks.
When the boat has the spinnaker up, or is experiencing higher winds or heavier seas, they need four crew members on deck. Although, when it is calmer and have passed through heavy weather, they give the women extra rest time.
When the crew members are needed on deck, they spend their time keeping an eye out for nearby vessels, trimming the sails, helming, cooking meals, logging, and other boat maintenance duties.
Ostrand said they rotate all positions, but also all have core positions they are comfortable with in case of an emergency.
As for the crew’s duration of time on the boat, Ostrand said most members of the crew plan to stay for the duration of the three-year world tour and most of them signed up for a year-long contract and will re-evaluate when the year is over.
The world tour set sail in Dubai in January and will be sailing for three years, with Saint John being the only Canadian stopover.
The Maiden docked in Saint John on August 3 and will be in the city hosting events until its departure for Martha’s Vineyard on August 13.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
Follow
