Unique Sailing Opportunity! Hands-on Schooner Crewing
Our crew-training and environmental mission is joined with excellent sailing and recreational opportunities among the most cherished marine environments on Planet Earth. Dove II is our beautiful and dependable carrier on 4 to 8 day educational sails, offshore passages and schooner races. We sail the Chesapeake Bay (MD and VA) and Penobscot Bay (ME) for crew training in summer, the Bahamas and farther south in winter, with offshore passages to those locales and Canadian maritime provinces. We participate in major schooner races every year.
Dove II, Dove II was drawn from the 1875 Eastport, Maine pilot schooner Dove by noted marine architect Ted Brewer and launched at Rockport, Maine in 1975. Her mission is to provide personal development opportunities through traditional shipboard sail-training and sailing experiences as we foster environmental stewardship and resource conservation in our marine world.
She has been featured in WoodenBoat magazine and is well known on the Maine Coast and Chesapeake Bay. Dove II sails the US East Coast, its bays and sounds, and beyond.
Dove II—A High Value, Low Cost Sailing Vacation!
If you have sailing experience, inquire about crewing with us. If you prefer a winter sail and frolic on Dove II in the balmy tropics, you can sign on with no sailing experience. If you are a gaff rig sailor, I invite you to anchor our crew on a passage or schooner race. Provisions and a captain (me) are always included, and also a First Mate on most excursions. Since Dove II is a working vessel, everyone participates in hoisting and trimming sails, turns at the helm, dropping anchor and the galley. (If you don’t fancy yourself at cooking, I know easy tasty recipes that will make you a hero!)
As part of our mission, Dove II participates each year in a limited number of maritime events where we can provide an engaging dock-side experience, an interactive water’s edge display, and we can carry event attendees in parades and short sails. If you are planning a special event, consider inviting Dove II to your port. I would be happy to work closely with you to develop an appearance agreement that will help make your event an exciting and unique waterfront celebration. The Schooner Dove II is owned by Captain Mike Taber and operated by him through Dove II LLC, a Colorado-registered limited liability corporation.