Welcome to The QUARTERDECK

Deep dives on the art of seam'nship with a community of like-minded sailors & dreamers.

The Quarterdeck is an online community of like-minded sailors & dreamers passionate about exploring the art of seam'nship. Through the members-only Fo'c'sle Forum, live 'Off Watch' sessions with the 59º North professional sailors and a growing multimedia educational resource library, The Quarterdeck aims to not only make you a better sailor, but also to connect you with other sailors like you who share the same passions for the sea.

SEA·M'N·SHIP /ˈsēmənˌSHip/: “The skill in, and knowledge of the work of navigating, maintaining, and operating a vessel.”

Seam'nship shouldn't be exclusive  so, for those who can't afford the subscription price, we offer a scholarship as well as a mentorship program. Email us at apprenticeships@59-north.com to apply, with the subject line: 'Quarterdeck Scholarship'. 

True seamanship must be both learned and earned. And preferably in that order.

The armchair sailors out there can become excellent prognosticators on preparation, decision making and leadership with their feet propped up in front of the fireplace, but they’ll never know what it takes on the high seas unless they cast off the lines. Likewise, even the greenest landlubber can have a successful voyage by dumb luck. 

True seamanship, then, is the art of combining both knowledge and practice. Only then can a sailor expect to have the kind of repeatable success on the ocean that elevates sailing to — in our view — the philosophical, even spiritual realm.

Where 59º North’s offshore passages fulfill the earned half of this equation, we aim to fulfill the learned part here on The Quarterdeck.

Founded by 59º North Sailing's professional sailing staff, The Quarterdeck's mission is to connect like-minded sailors & dreamers who are passionate about seam'nship and want to learn and explore the art in an engaging, inclusive, inspirational and educational setting. We'll share knowledge we've earned over tens of thousands of miles on the high seas, critically examining our own experiences & decision-making, and use the collective knowledge of the membership to make all of us better sailors.

Welcome aboard & HOLD FAST!

Seam'nship learned.

The QUARTERDECK is designed to be an evolving community of like-minded sailors, based around the following fundamentals:

The Fo'c'sle Forum: The backbone of The Quarterdeck where members can interact directly with one another and the 59º North professional sailing staff. With 500+ members and counting, you're sure to find people just like you who want to learn and talk seam'nship and dream of the next horizon. Share ideas, stories, crewing opportunities, in-person events and more.

SEAMANSHIP SCENARIOS: August & Andy go back in time and re-live some of their most harrowing moments at sea. We ask members what they'd have done in the same situation, then after a period of debate, we debrief it, LIVE on video, to see what we learned, and if we did the right thing.

LIVE 'Off-Watch' Q&A Sessions: Monthly we'll host LIVE, interactive video sessions exploring a variety of topics from sail trim to MOB procedures. Most LIVE sessions are prompted by members' own ideas, so let us know what you want to discuss! All LIVE sessions are recorded and archived on the Quarterdeck for members-only to watch on-demand.

THE SKIPPER'S BRIEFING: Monthly member newsletter highlighting the best of recent member posts & discussions from the Quarterdeck, plus "Plundered Loot"- articles, podcasts & resources we find around the Internet that we share with you. 

Resource Library:  with downloadable PDFs & customizable .docs of our SOPs, checklists, logbooks, celestial worksheets & more. The same documents we use aboard our own boats.

Exclusive Access: connect directly online & in-person with the QUARTERDECK ADMIRALTY - 59º North's skippers Andy & August, mates Mia & Emma and professional sailing crew, plus monthly 'Ask Me Anything' sessions with famous & accomplished sailors you'll know from the ON THE WIND Podcast interviews.

Seamanship Database: access to view AND contribute to our growing database of books, boats & ideas, with weekly posts distilling the knowledge gleaned from all sorts of different areas and how we can apply that knowledge to sailing & seamanship.

Dibs on Offshore Passages: Quarterdeck members get first chance to view & sign-on to sail the offshore sailing passages BEFORE they're publicly published.

Online & In-Real-Life Community: bringing passionate, dedicated sailors like YOU together. 

All in the pursuit of chasing horizons in safety & style.

We think long & hard about how we create best practices on our boats before ever casting off the lines, then we put those all that book knowledge to the test in real-world environments. We're out there living the sailor's life and we want to share what we've learned with you - and learn from you at the same time.

Sailing, particularly the offshore variety, is an endlessly challenging way of life, both an art and a science, tied to history like no other form of transportation. By joining the QUARTERDECK, you'll learn how we have distilled years of apprenticeship & book learning into practice, what we learned along the way, what went right and wrong, and how you can apply that to your own sailing goals.

But most importantly, you as a member, will be able to contribute your own skills and experiences, knowledge learned in books we may have not read, experience gained through situations we've never seen. We'll continually evolve this platform based on your feedback - what questions you ask, what stories you share, what advice you give.

Rooted in history & tradition.

In the square-rigger days, the 'Quarterdeck' served as the place where a captain ran his ship. The quarterdeck was traditionally the place where the captain walked when on deck, usually on the windward side. The navigator also used it when taking his celestial sights when fixing the vessel's position. On most ships, it was customary that only officers could use the quarterdeck, others being allowed there only when assigned for specific duties - however, on the 59º North QUARTERDECK, everyone is welcome. it's the place where we run our virtual ship, and we want to share with you just how we do it.