About 45 teenagers will spend Friday at the Port of Everett waterfront touring docks, meeting working mariners and sailing a 113-year-old schooner as part of a first-time maritime career day.
The Aug. 7 event pairs members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County with professionals from the Puget Sound Pilots and the Seafarers International Union for a morning of port tours and career talks, the Lynnwood Times reported. After lunch, the group will board the 133-foot schooner Adventuress for an afternoon sail focused on navigation, teamwork and vessel operations.
Port Commission President Glen Bachman will greet the teens when they arrive. When the Port of Everett received an economic-development award in April 2025, Bachman called the port "a gateway — not just for commerce but for possibility."
The day is a collaboration among three organizations: the Port of Everett, the nonprofit Sound Experience and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. It falls under the clubs' Life & Workforce Readiness initiative, which introduces young people to local industries and career pathways.
Why maritime?
The numbers help explain the push. Port of Everett activities support more than 40,000 jobs in the surrounding community and generate $433 million in annual state and local tax revenue, according to port records. Statewide, the maritime industry employs over 62,000 workers at an average salary of $112,000, according to a 2022 study prepared for the Washington Maritime Federation.
Port of Everett Executive Director Lisa Lefeber said in October 2025, after the port launched its Maritime Vessel Operations high school program the previous month, that "with more than 60% of jobs in Snohomish County tied to trade — and with Washington state being the most trade-dependent state in the nation — it's crucial we prioritize the focus on maritime jobs awareness."
That high school program, a partnership with Maritime Institute and Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center that launched in September 2025, graduated its inaugural cohort of 10 students on June 10. Enrollment is expected to quadruple for the next school year, according to the Everett Herald.
A ship with history
The Adventuress is no ordinary field-trip vessel. Built in 1913 and designated a National Historic Landmark, the schooner is operated by Sound Experience, a Port Townsend-based nonprofit that has provided hands-on education aboard the ship since 1989.
More than 40,000 children and teens have sailed on its programs over 37 years.
Sound Experience already has roots in Everett. Its "Everett at Sea" program connects youth from the Casino Road neighborhood in South Everett with sailing experiences. Arlene Espinoza-Valenzuela, now 19 and a crew member aboard the Adventuress, first sailed through that program in 2023. She told the Seattle Times it was the first and only boat she had ever been on.
Executive Director Catherine Collins told the Seattle Times that demand for Sound Experience's youth programs exceeds the organization's financial capacity to serve all interested students.
Friday's career day has no announced follow-up date. The port has not said whether the event will recur.
