The Hosts
His story
Captain Justin Schaefer has been sailing since he was old enough to stand and that is no exaggeration. A Long Island native, he grew up sailing on the Great South Bay with his father, Chris, nearly every day there was wind. Justin always wanted to sail as a profession, but that dream wasn’t fully realized until his parents took him on a Kids & Family Cruise on the Schooner J. & E. Riggin when he was 12 years old. For Justin, the experience was life-altering and he was determined to return as one of the crew members he so admired. He would go on to sail as a guest, and as an apprentice for countless trips throughout the next 6 summers, a deckhand for 1 season, and finally, as the mate in 2015.
Her story
Captain & Chef Jocelyn Schmidt grew up in northeast Ohio in a large family and went to Hiram College with ambitions of becoming a history teacher or an archivist, but a study abroad on SSV Harvey Gamage in 2012 opened her eyes to a world of adventure available to educators unlike anything she had ever known. After that, she spent every summer sailing and teaching on a multitude of different schooners, combining her love of history and education with her love of adventure and the sea. Following her graduation in 2015, she moved to Rockland, Maine to begin work on the Schooner Victory Chimes, and within two days of her arrival she met the mate on the neighboring boat, Justin.
Our story
Jocelyn & Justin continued to work on a variety of windjammers in Maine over the next couple of years, falling more in love with the industry and with each other. In 2017, they got engaged and 2 months later, they got their captain’s licenses. These big changes brought about a revelation for the two of them.
Jocelyn says, “We looked around and realized that all of the windjammers in our area were driven by Captains who also owned the boats. If we wanted to drive a windjammer, we were going to have to purchase a boat and business of our own. The only boat we could see ourselves owning and operating was the boat Justin got his start on, the boat that was there when we met, the Schooner J. & E. Riggin. She was such a part of our story, it felt like fate that we would help to write the next chapter of hers.”
“In order to have the home and life of our dreams in Maine, we first had to leave the place we loved. I moved to Florida and Justin moved to New York and we started working on yachts. It was hard to be away from each other, but we were as frugal as possible, knowing that once we had reached our goal, we could go home together.”
A Home on Land
Justin says, “At the end of 2018 we got married. In the spring of 2019, we bought a house in Rockland, Maine which would become the base of operations not only for us, but also the future home of the J. & E. Riggin’s shop, gardens, and apiary. Jocelyn couldn’t get away to come see the house with me, so I went to look at it for the first time with her best friend and my own. I think she was worried that I would be so excited to see the barn I would forget to look at the house!”
Jocelyn says, “I trusted him. I knew we could make a home anywhere, and if he said this place was special, I believed him. It was a lot of work, but in 2020 we set up our apiary and started keeping bees, and in 2021 we started growing produce & herbs for use aboard. Our home on land is essential to the experience of dining aboard.”
A Home at Sea
Jocelyn says, “When the pandemic hit, a lot of businesses had to adapt in a hurry and there was a lot of uncertainty about the future of windjamming. We were optimistic because we were locked down, but at least we were locked down together. Without any opportunities to go sailing we could focus all of our attention on being ready to sail in 2021. We were confident that the community surrounding the J. & E. Riggin would carry the boat through the uncertain times and as soon as we could, we would see them all again. The boat has found a way to adapt to a changing world for nearly a century. We could adapt again.”
Justin says “We officially became the Riggin’s stewards in February of 2021, and it just felt right.
We have so many incredible years in front of us, continuing on her legacy. I feel so lucky to be able to do this as a family with the support of a wonderful and diverse community that surrounds this boat.”
