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An internationally recognized expert on maritime training and education under sail, Captain Jonathan Kabak is the Chief Executive Officer of Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island and Master of the Ocean State’s Tall Ship, Oliver Hazard Perry.
“I like to tell people that I was born and grew up on an island on the mid-Atlantic coast only thirteen miles long and two miles wide, only I had to share Manhattan with about 1.5 million other people,” Jonathan chuckles. “Some of my earliest memories are my parents taking me down to the South Street Seaport Museum as a small child. I would crawl around the ships like the Peking and Ambrose, and especially the schooner Lettie G. Howard, a vessel that I would subsequently sail on first as a trainee following her centennial rebuild, and ultimately as Captain.”
“As a kid, I was always fascinated by tools and woodworking; taking things apart to see how they worked (maybe not so good at putting it all back together). My father found out about the Museum’s volunteer program and somehow convinced them to let me volunteer as a twelve-year-old. I had gone out for a daysail aboard the Museum’s 1885 schooner Pioneer as part of a camp trip, and when I learned I could volunteer aboard, my time in the boat shop came to a very abrupt conclusion. Pioneer was the first boat I ever sailed on. I found the ship, the people, and the waters of New York Harbor all captivating to my excited mind.”
“Between volunteering at the Seaport and working my way up the Sea Scout ranks to Quartermaster (Sea Scouting’s version of Eagle), I had the opportunity to learn skills from navigation to splicing, bottom painting to rig climbing. We kept our boat, a 27-foot Watkins Motorsailer named La Pearla, on a mooring at SUNY Maritime, and I somehow was able to get on every cruise we took my first summer in the Scouts. We sailed to exotic places like Bridgeport and Cold Spring Harbor! Perhaps not the same thing as Newport to Bermuda, but they were epic voyages to a young kid that never had sailed before.”
“For me, Sea Scouts was not just about boating and sailing, but also building friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds, all while developing leadership skills and having incredible experiences that shaped who I am today.”
“I’ve been fortunate to have had incredible mentors throughout my sailing career. If I had to pick a few, the short list would be:
My Sea Scout Skipper Dave Mosher saw the passion I had for sailing and the sea. I try to bring that same commitment to my students.”
“Diane Glennon and Betsy Garthwaite, my first captains on the Pioneer and Clearwater, respectively, both demonstrated that women belong in command at sea. That lesson took place so early in my career that I never had the opportunity to think otherwise. Bert Rogers, former Executive Director of Tall Ships America and a highly respected sailing ship Master, seems to have been a guardian angel of my career. He gave me opportunities to be a part of big things as a young captain, and I hope I do the same for others.”
“Bill Pinkney was not just an amazing ambassador for sailing, but also everyone’s greatest cheerleader. Chris Gasiorek, former Sailing Master at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, now Senior Vice President of Mystic Seaport Museum, helped me to understand the universal value of traditional seamanship across the entire maritime community. Ralf Steitz, the sailing world’s Yoda, is the best boss I’ve ever had, the finest of shipmates, and the man who continually inspires me to give back to sailing.”
“I spent nearly a decade associated with the United States Merchant Marine Academy or Kings Point in a variety of capacities. As the Director of Sail Training, I ran the schooner Summerwind and then a succession of other traditional vessels, creating opportunities for Midshipmen to plan and execute voyages, putting into practice those skills that they learned “up the hill” in class, while participating in Classics regattas, Tall Ship events, and serving as goodwill ambassadors for the Academy. Over time my role transitioned, and I spent more time as an instructor on the waterfront supporting the Academy’s mission on the academic side, coordinating SOLAS training, serving as Master of the Kings Pointer, mentoring the Student Waterfront Officers, etc.”
“Ultimately, I became the Director of Marine Operations for the USMMA Sailing Foundation. The Foundation operates a rotating fleet of some seventy donated vessels, that are used for training and education not just at the Academy, but in partnership with other maritime non-profit organizations across the country. On any given day I could be in a shipyard in Florida swapping out batteries, on the bridge of a luxury motor yacht doing a delivery, or taking a high performance raceboat off of a heavy lift ship. There was never a dull moment.”
A former Tall Ships America board member who served as chair of the Ship Operations and Safety Committee and Conference Planning Committee, Jonathan was an Adjunct Curriculum developer and instructor with the United States Maritime Resource Center. He’s a US Sailing Safety at Sea Moderator, Safety at Sea Committee member, co-chair of the Moderator Working Group, and a National Faculty member. “As the recent Newport Bermuda Race showcased, you always need to be prepared for bad things happening at sea,” he observes. “Safety at Sea courses help sailors become better risk managers and risk mitigators, while giving people the skills and techniques that might literally save their lives.”
This path led Jonathan to his current roles as OHPRI CEO, and Master of the 200-foot full rigged ship Oliver Hazard Perry. “Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island’s Mission is to provide innovative and empowering experiences at sea to promote personal and professional growth,” he says. “We do this through a wide range of programming that seeks to create opportunities where participants are “Empowered by the Sea™”. As an example, this manifests as workforce development programming for the maritime industry and marine trades for unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders, and STEM education and career awareness and readiness for middle and high school students.”
“Our largest initiative this year is an effort to get as many ninth graders in Rhode Island as possible out for a day on the Bay. Despite being the Ocean State, we find that most Rhode Islanders suffer from “Ocean Blindness” a term we use to highlight the lack of meaningful connectivity to the ocean that we believe is fundamental for residents of coastal communities to maintain. The first year of high school is such a pivotal time in a young person’s development, and we believe that it’s the ideal opportunity to showcase the vast opportunity, complex historical narrative and profound influence that the sea has upon all of us.”
“Additionally, we piloted a new program with Salve Regina University, and look forward to continued partnership with other organizations such as the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, Sailing Ships Maine, and OpSail Connecticut that will see the vessel voyaging coastal waters between New York and Maine.”
The most gratifying part of his job, Jonathan enthuses, is “the smiles on people’s faces when they are aboard the ship. Whether they are a high school student who discovered a family seafaring lineage through their internship aboard, or one of our volunteers helping out on their day off after finding a new career through our workforce development program, they always radiate such joy.”
For young people interested in maritime careers, Jonathan advises, “Roll up your sleeves and have at it! Opportunities abound, whether through formal training programs, apprenticeships, or volunteering. There is no better time to start a career at sea because there has not been a need as great since the Second World War. Best of all, many of these opportunities can be had free of charge. But be prepared to work hard, get dirty, and do things that others only dream of.”
“My wife Jennifer and I try and get our kids Olivia and Nathaniel out on the water as much as possible, but one of the downsides of running a 200-foot square rigger is that you need about fifty friends to take it sailing! We are incredibly fortunate to live on Aquidneck Island, and try and sail with friends or jump on one of the passenger boats in Newport Harbor when we can. It’s a challenge amid our kids’ baseball and softball schedules.”
“When people ask me what type of boat I like sailing on best, it’s always the one with my friends. Sailing is about sharing amazing experiences with wonderful people. Sometimes that’s a bullet in a race, sometimes it’s a breathtaking sunset in a remote anchorage, but to me it’s always about enjoying those moments together.” ■
