Meet the crew
part 2!
Alex Kelly, First Mate, Schooner J.& E. Riggin
This is Alex’s fifth season sailing. Fun fact: she was always determined to sail – when she was 15 she became a Girl Scout specifically so she could learn to sail. Her troop had two people in it and all they did was go to the sailing camp together.
She’s most looking forward to the Windjammer Rendezvous (Schooner Gam), the Race, and Wooden-Boat Sail-In – any event where the whole fleet gets together. “It’s a rare thing to have so many traditional tall ships gathered in one place, and it always feels very magical and exciting,”says Kelly.
Her favorite island is Calderwood. The trails around the island are really nice, especially the one leading to the field at the top of the hill. You get an almost 360 degree view of the surrounding islands, and I always take some time to go up there and bask in the sun.
Chef Jason Mathiason, Schooner Stephen Taber
Jason is back for his second full year of cooking aboard a windjammer, though you may have seen him filling in at times as well.
He went to Johnson and Wales culinary school and has been in kitchens for 20 years with a brief break to farm for a few years. He’s worked in restaurants in Charleston, SC, Connecticut and Maine, where he currently lives.
He makes a mean homemade sourdough English Muffin and a wicked good fish chowdah.
Courtney King, First Mate, Schooner American Eagle
Courtney is back on American Eagle for her second season as chief mate. She’s no stranger to windjamming – she grew up in Camden (her parents are Jen and Barry of Schooner Mary Day!) and has worked on Mary Day, Heritage and Lewis R. French.
Courtney just graduated from Maine Maritime Academy with a degree in oceanography and small vessel operations. She hopes to travel the world on sailing vessels.
Chef O.B., Schooner Lewis R. French
O.B. has been working on windjammers for nearly ten years. He worked as First-mate/everything-guy aboard Grace Bailey and Mercantile before coming to the French last year.
Born and raised in Nebraska, his desire to go to sea arose when he first watch Muppet Treasure Island as a 6 year old. After high school he shipped out in the U.S. Navy where he served four years as a logistics specialist. In 2010 his ship came to Camden, Maine, for the Camden Windjammer Festival and that’s when O.B. first saw the Windjammers. He set out to work aboard one and thus came to Camden in 2014.
This is his second year cooking aboard the Lewis R. French. He has a passion for exploring historical cookbooks such as New England based American Frugal Housewife and enjoys cooking in a similar setting on the French’s wood cookstove.
Categories: Behind the Scenes, Cruises, Fleet, Maine Windjammers, MishMash: fun facts, trivia and recommendations
