Anne Kuh and Victoria Astley take a break from working on the deck of the Kalmar Nyckel, a replica of a 1638 ship. The tall ship has a pool of 250 volunteers, ages 14 to 85, who volunteer for a day to a week at sea. Photo courtesy of Anne Kuh

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They douse the sails and throw the lines. They operate the whipstaff and capstan, mastering terms like yardarms and spars. That’s part of the fun and challenge of volunteering on a tall ship — and volunteers over 50 are the heart of many tall ships’ operations.

Four tall ships docked on the Alexandria waterfront this summer for Sails on the Potomac, wowing landlubbers. And an international fleet of tall ships anchored in Baltimore in June for the Sail250 tour.

Rigged with sails on masts, most tall ships are replicas of those that sailed the seas before the 20th century, powered by the wind and human brawn.

“There’s nothing better than being on a boat and having the feeling of the ocean underneath you — and the sound. It’s a great thing,” said Anne Kuh, a local grandmother who volunteers on the Kalmar Nyckel, a 140-foot, square-rigged ship with eight sails that docked in Alexandria this summer.

Today’s tall ships have modern technology, like computerized navigation systems, instant worldwide communication and refrigeration, but their basic functions are the same as they always have been.

“If a sailor from the 1700s came on board, he would know what to do, like how to use mechanical advantage to move a 3,200-pound wooden rudder,” said Sharon Dounce, captain of the Kalmar Nyckel, a replica of the earliest Swedish ship to arrive in America in 1638.

Retirement project

Reston retiree Erich Smythe says he’d rather be on the water than on a golf course.

“Volunteering on tall ships is my staybusy-in-retirement project,” said Smythe, who managed science and technology national security programs during his working career.

For the last three years, Smythe volunteered on Alexandria’s tall ship, the Providence, a replica of a sloop in the American colonies’ Revolutionary War campaigns, commanded by John Paul Jones. Before that he helped on a schooner called the Alexandria.

Sadly, on June 25, the Tall Ship Providence Foundation announced that due to budget shortfalls, the Providence would suspend operations. Smythe got a twoday notice is now pursuing volunteer gigs on another ship. In hopes of reopening the ship, the foundation is exploring a merger with the U.S. Maritime Museum proposed for the Alexandria waterfront, according to a statement released in June.

On the Providence, Smythe was a deck hand, handling dock lines and sails. “It’s fun as all get out,” he said.

He also was a volunteer docent, giving deck tours of the ship when docked in its home port of Alexandria. He told sea stories, explained how the ship worked and answered questions like “Why is the toilet called a head? How long is the ship? Where does the crew sleep?” (His answer to the last query: “Down below deck, where it’s crowded and smelly.”)

Looking back on his volunteer sailing career, Smythe recalls one scary moment on the Potomac River when he woke up from a nap because the ship was taking on water near the Maryland-Virginia Route 301 bridge. At first, the crew wondered, “Do we sink on the Maryland or Virginia side?” Smythe quipped. Fortunately, they kept the ship afloat, using gas pumps and then hand pumps.

In the off season, Smythe, a boat owner who describes himself as “handy with tools,” helped with maintenance, like taking care of gun parts, sanding, painting and doing repairs.

Off-ramp to retirement

When on watch on the Kalmar Nyckel, Silver Spring software engineer Connie Li has to be very aware of the ship’s “best side, not where the wind is blowing hard. I don’t want to get blown off,” she said. Li also keeps an eye out for other vessels, especially on the busy Chesapeake Bay. She takes turns with other crew members at the helm, watching for approaching ships or obstacles.

For the last four years Li has been one of 20 volunteers on the ship, which docks in Wilmington, Delaware. She volunteers for one- to two-week legs of voyages, from Wilmington to Norfolk, Virginia, for example, or from Wilmington to Provincetown, Massachusetts. She also pitches in on day-long or weekend sails. Li, the mother of two grown children, is looking forward to spending even more time aboard the ship when she stops working.

“Sailing is the off-ramp to my retirement in a few years,” she said.

The work can be demanding. Before they sail, the crew cleans the ship, readies the sails and check the ropes, which are called lines in sailor lingo. Each of the four decks has a chief, and crew members are assigned to a chief. Together they handle the sails, a task which requires people on both sides of the sail. Releasing a sail takes two to eight people for big sails, and when they cast off, they must release lines in a sequence according to the chief’s commands.

When they return to dock, they haul four docking lines to hold the boat in place. Since these lines are heavy, it can take three people working on one station, Li explained. To refresh her skills, she practices knot tying every year. She also helps manage guests, passengers and children’s games, like scavenger hunts on the ship. “I have a lot of respect for the craft,” she said. “I am drawn to the community where everyone shares their expertise. A lot can go wrong, but you’re always learning something.”

Lifelong learning

Kuh also appreciates the people she’s met during her four years sailing on the Kalmar Nyckel up and down the East Coast. She too helps with the dock lines, sets sails (puts them up) and douses sails (takes them down). Everything requires teamwork, she emphasized. The ship’s captain calls down commands and relies on volunteers on the main deck to be at the helm.

The captains are very “safety aware,” she noted. “As a volunteer, you put your life in their hands, but I’ve never had a doubt. The captains are very good at their jobs,” Kuh said.

An accountant, Kuh grew up in Washington, D.C., and has two grown children and a grandchild. She finds time to join day sails 30 to 40 times a year from Wilmington. This year she is also sailing on two voyages, from Boston to Long Island, New York, and from Mystic, Connecticut, to Wilmington, Delaware, the latter trip taking a week.

In the winter, she works in the wooden ship’s shop, doing maintenance tasks like sanding and varnishing. Kuh puts in the volunteer hours because her colleagues are a fun bunch, she said, and sailing is a good way to get outdoors and be physically active. Another perk: spotting whales and dolphins feels like “a great adventure,” she said.

While sailors on today’s tall ships don’t have to rely on sextants, compasses and the stars above, nor sleep in hammocks amid rats and rotting waste, they’re as invigorated by the sea as sailors of the past.

“You learn new things every time you sail,” Kuh said. “It is a time of lifelong learning.”