MariaW-
Let’s do some recap here and separate the fact from fiction.
With a handful of exceptions (public vessels, low capacity, etc), all of the passenger sailing vessels that operate in the United States are USCG inspected vessels. The vast majority, whether owned by a not for profit organization that runs educational programs aboard, or a for profit entity that takes tourists out to watch the sunset, or a combination of the two, are inspected as Subchapter T-Small Passenger Vessels.
By definition (again with some special USCG exceptions) these vessels are less than 100 Gross Registered Tons (Domestic tonnage). One of the reasons that this type of vessel definition exists is that the manning and safety requirements are less comprehensive than those for vessels above this threshold. Thousands of US vessels have been built to meet the magic number, hence the proliferation of large sail and motor vessels that are 99.9 GRT.
Typically, unless underway for more than 12 hours, they will only have a licensed master and a “Senior Deckhand” instead of a licensed mate who is designated as the second in command. When underway for more than 12 hour they will have an alternate crew aboard. When this type of vessel normally operates for more than 12 hours then there will be a licensed mate. The deckhands are not required to have any additional qualifications other than being enrolled in a random drug testing program. Many of these vessels do not operate out of a secure facility and therefore the non-licensed crew do not have TWIC cards.
Additionally, there are Sailing School Vessels, which by definition must be operated by a non-profit organization, be under 500GRT and are inspected under Subchapter R regulations which are similar but slightly different than those of Subchapter T,H, K, etc. A typical SSV under 100GRT might have a licensed Master, Mate and any number of deckhands. Those over 100GRT might have something like licensed Master, 2 licensed Mates, 2 AB’s and 1 OS.
The type of vessel inspection has more to do with the expected participation of the passenger/trainee aboard as related to safety operations as it does to what type of trip the vessel is embarking on although the two are often related. For example the [I]Clearwater[/I] is a Subchapter T vessel that takes students out on educational trips during the day and then often has an evening sail with ticketed passengers. The [I]Lettie G. Howard [/I]which is an SSV offered both Daysails and Overnights but as everyone was a trainee (it’s a technical definition, not an age issue), they were expected to participate in the operation of the vessel and were given safety training as part of the station bill. To make it more confusing, some vessels have dual certification.
In all cases, manning requirements are decided on by the OICMI (Officer In Charge, Marine Inspection) and are vessel specific. The [I]Niagara[/I], a square rigged SSV has vastly different requirements than [I]Clipper City [/I]which is a Subchapter T passenger schooner operating in New York City.
As to landing a position aboard these vessels, any document that you take the time to acquire demonstrates a professional commitment, especially at the lower level where it may not be required. While you might not need it, having it looks good on the resume.
Tall Ships America has its annual conference coming up and there is a grant available for people such as yourself who are interested in working aboard these vessels and have had some initial experience in traditional sail. Here is the link:
http://tallships.wordpress.com/crew-conference-program-2012/MariaW-
(Disclosure I am on the Board of the Organization)
Among the sessions that are being offered is one on career development, including just about every topic discussed in this thread. There will also be a job fair and many organizations are currently hiring.
I hope this helped sort out some of the confusion.
Fair Winds,
Jonathan
