Our responsibility is to preserve these places we are fortunate enough to visit.
“We have always loved adventure, and travel is a huge part of who Justin & I are both personally and professionally. We believe that we have a responsibility as travelers and as hosts to make sure our behaviors are ethical & sustainable. We are welcoming our guests into remote & pristine parts of our home.”
— Captain & Chef Jocelyn Schmidt
Our responsibility
In bringing you your one of a kind sailing adventure, we are committed to sustainable and environmentally responsible practices. You will notice many of these while aboard the Schooner J. & E. Riggin, but we practice this commitment every step of the way, even behind the scenes in preparation for your cruise and the season in general.
Windjamming is a vacation you can feel good about. In a time when travel is coming under increasing scrutiny in terms of carbon footprint and environmental impact, time away on the J. & E. Riggin is a sustainable choice. The very nature of the experience brings you into direct contact with the planet we are devoted to protecting: sea, sky, mountains, and wildlife. We invite you to be part of the environmental solution by choosing traditional sail.
Harnessing the power of the wind
When Captain Justin says “We go wherever the wind takes us!”, he means it. Our vessel has no inboard engine. The J. & E. Riggin is primarily wind powered, with only occasional assistance from our motorized yawl boat for maneuvering near docks, or in calm conditions. This means we can be on the water for three to six days and only use 5-10 gallons of diesel!
Sails are likewise raised by hand, without motorized assistance, employing teamwork, muscle, and enthusiasm. Our vessel does not have an engine-powered windlass to raise the anchor, and while hand-raising is hard work, many of our guests love the sense of history, teamwork, and accomplishment involved in cranking it up by hand. You may learn traditional seafaring commands and even a few shanties during these operations, too!
Even our cookstove is wood burning, allowing us to prepare your meals without the use of fossil fuels.
Investing in Our Community
The sustainability effort we are most proud of, however, is our investment in and collaboration with other small businesses in Maine. Your farm-to-table meals are prepared on a wood burning stove, fueled by renewable and locally-sourced cordwood. This is just one way that we support local enterprises. Sourcing itself is another. Almost all of the culinary ingredients aboard the J. & E. Riggin are sourced from local farms, fisherman, butchers, and other businesses & co-operatives. You will know by the exceptional freshness and flavor of Chef Jocelyn’s meals that the ingredients were sometimes picked or caught that very day. All of the craft beers served on our Sip & Sail Cruises are local & visits to small breweries are built into the experience. Many of the artists and craftspeople we work with are Maine residents & small business owners. There are many local businesses and groups that we partner with to reinvest your dollars in our community at every level from the products we use in our office to the subcontractors we hire, to soap beside the sink in your cabin. If you're lucky, you may even meet some of them on board as many of them are sailors, too! Want to learn more about the community surrounding the Riggin? Check out our local recommendations.
Environmental and Maritime Education
Part of sustainability is education & outreach and for many of our guests, windjamming is also an educational experience. Guests learn about wildlife and its habitats along the Maine coast. Sometimes, if the wind and weather allow, we might reach one of the Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge sites. It is not unusual to see harbor seals, ospreys, porpoises, and ocean sunfish while underway. More rarely, whales and puffins might also be spotted. Bring binoculars!
On our Kids & Family cruises, youth ages six and up are able to spot wildlife, cook on an antique wood burning stove in the galley, play beach games, swim, learn seafaring songs, and gain hands-on traditional sailing experience. Captain Jocelyn’s background in both education and history provides a strong foundation for planning these cruises.
Our Captains also offer experiential education through maritime apprenticeships each season. Through this program, apprentices gain new skills, confidence, a love for traditional sailing, and, in some cases, are inspired to pursue maritime careers. Captain Justin’s first experience on the J. & E. Riggin was as a young teenager on vacation.
School groups and youth programs interested in chartering the ship or partnering with us for island clean-ups are encouraged to check out our charter information page and reach out to us via our contact form or call our office for more information.
Leave No Trace
Our Captains and crew are devoted to leave-no-trace practices on all of the beautiful Maine islands and harbors we visit. Our special relationship with Warren Island State Park, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and the Maine Islands & Trails Association permits us access to many remote islands only accessible by small, shallow ships like ours. When we hold an island lobster bake, for example, we often leave the island even tidier than we found it. What little waste there is we pack out.
Minimizing Waste Aboard
Aboard the J. & E. Riggin you will see low and zero waste efforts. Meals are served on ceramic dishes with stainless utensils that are washed thoroughly and reused each time. You will choose your own ceramic coffee mug for continued use while on board. Some of our returning guests look for “their” mugs each year or bring mugs from home to leave aboard for their next visit! We do not use and throw away large amounts of paper and plastic.
Our Captains’ commitment to sustainability extends into the knowledge and practice of traditional skills themselves. Kitchen scraps are collected and then removed for composting after each cruise along with the majority of paper products we utilize. This is then composted at the Captain’s home, and used to grow produce & herbs in their garden for Chef Jocelyn to use, or wildflowers for her honeybees. What compost we cannot keep is given to a community compost service that sells to some of the farms & families in our community to sustain their efforts.
Cans & bottles are recycled through a bottle redemption center and proceeds are often donated to environmental or educational causes locally.
Certifications and Awards
Maine DEP Environmental Leadership Award in Hospitality
Leave No Trace Certification
