Anne-Louise Dauphinee

Captain

Anne-Louise has over 15 years experience as an owner and operator of traditional wooden vessels – all Nova Scotia built – and has served as Captain of the Sorca since its purchase by Think Sail Inc. in 2011. Although her experience is rich in the coastal waters of Atlantic Canada and the US Eastern seaboard, she also spent half a year cruising the West Indies on board her schooner Peer’s Fancy, and she is no stranger to blue water passage-making having completed numerous voyages to / from Bermuda, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Newfoundland.

She grew up at the water’s edge on the stunning southwestern shore of Nova Scotia, and fell in love with boats and the sea at an early age. From those days of messing around in the wooden boats her father built, to now, as the accomplished captain of a 67′ schooner, she has never looked back but for finding fair winds and a following sea. When she’s not head down in the bilge with her Chief Mate, she enjoys kayaking, diving, winter camping and everything about the ocean.

Anne-Louise has participated in Tall Ships events since 2000 and as skipper of Sorca participated in Tall Ships 2012 – Dartmouth, Port Hawkesbury, and Pugwash; and, recently completed Miramichi Tall Ships 2013 – Miramichi, N.B.

Sue Morris

Chief Mate

Sue grew up sailing Lasers and keel boats in Southern Ontario. When she moved to Halifax in 2009, she made the leap from lake sailing to ocean passage-making by joining Sorca as part of the original Think Sail crew. As Sue says “the learning curve has been steep but thoroughly enjoyable – despite the odd humbling experience aboard!”.

Indeed the learning curve for Sue has been impressive. Over the past two years Sue has logged more than 2000 nautical miles, sailing Sorca along the coastlines of Nova Scotia, PEI, and New Brunswick. She has already visited four ports of call with Tall Ship Festivals and is eager to experience more. Sue has taken an active interest in learning as much as she can about maintaining and operating the vessel and is just as happy upside down in the bilge working on the marine diesel as she is at the nav station, or on the helm. In the winter months she obtained navigation certification through the NSYA and has begun her exams for her 60 Tonne Masters Limited certification.

Volunteers

Keeping Sorca’s good looks, and working the vessel, require a lot of hands and fortunately Sorca has a lot of hands to help out. We rely on volunteers for everything from painting, scraping, sanding, and varnishing to moving the vessel from one port to the next. Though these folks come to us with varying degrees of experience ranging from those who have never set foot on a boat, to seasoned offshore sailors, they all come with unflagging energy and enthusiasm and a keen sense of adventure. In return for their efforts, they get to feel the power of a schooner under full sail, the warmth of teak decks beneath their bare feet, and the thrill of living a bit of our Nova Scotia maritime heritage.