Refit team
Core team volunteer positions available
Not working over next winter? Having a gap year? Looking for experience working on boat maintenance?
As well as the usual volunteers who come to help with John Laing's refit for a weekend or a few days at a time, we always need at least a couple of long-term volunteers to join the core refit team: perhaps to do the whole refit from November to March - or at least to do a period of a few weeks or months rather than the odd day here and there that most volunteers can manage.
The 2007-8 refit is over, but we'll be looking for new people to work from November 2008 to March 2009, an opportunity which might be worth considering in advance if you are planning a gap year or a career break. We are happy to take enquiries now, well in advance for next year's refit.
Volunteers will receive food and accommodation, as well as experience in boat repairs and maintenance.
Ideally volunteers will be aged 18+ although we may consider applications from 17-year olds. No upper age limit.
Practical skills in any aspect of boat maintenance will be an advantage but not essential. What is vital is that core team volunteers should be hard-working, responsible and enthusiastic. The team will all be living together in a rented refit house and it is vital that volunteers are also prepared to take responsibility for a share of cooking and cleaning in the house.
Long-term core-team volunteers are a vital part of the refit effort as they provide continuity against the background of short-term volunteers coming and going. They have time to become familiar with a variety of refit tasks, becoming capable and competent enough to work with minimal supervision, allowing the professional staff to get on with other work.
Core refit volunteers often go on to become bosuns or watch leaders during the sailing season. If they were already members of sea staff, their refit experience can help them make progress and move on to more senior roles. Some past core team volunteers have moved on to paid work in the sailing industry at first mate or skipper level, where an understanding of maintenance issues is vital. Previous core team volunteers who have used our refit as a stepping stone to work in sailing have included Craig "Princess" Dickerson, who went on to do several seasons with us as staff bosun; Kerry "Special K" McMillan, now a first mate with Trinity Sailing; Kathryn "Gizmo" Francis, now mate of Blue Box, one of the fastest boats in the Solent; Julian "Dinghy Boy" Watkins, who also went on to become our staff bosun for a year; and Phoebe (also not her real name), who has just the summer working for Sail Caribbean, including skippering a 55-foot yacht. (Phoebe is also now a member of OYT South's Board of Trustees.) Paul Barber has a job in an outdoor activities centre in the Lake District; and Max Parsonson is joining the Royal Navy.
Anyone interested in joining the core team for 2007-8 should email us for more information.
