Meet Captain Becky and Nathan Sigwright of the Schooner LEWIS R. FRENCH
At the helm of the Schooner LEWIS R. FRENCH is Captain Becky Sigwright, who co-owns the windjammer with her husband Nathan. They’ve owned the vessel since 2022 but Captain Becky has been windjamming since 2011–and dreaming of being a sailor from an even earlier age.
“As a teenager, I read everything I could about traditional sailing, from Chapman’s Piloting and Small Boat Handling to Patrick O’Brian and C.S. Forester. Then when I was 15, a friend got a job on the Manitou in the Great Lakes, and I suddenly realized sailing tall ships was a real life option. I started applying to schooners in Maine using an old ASTA catalog, back when it was still called the American Sail Training Association, and found my way to the Schooner Mercantile in Camden.”
Becky worked her way up “through the hawsepipe,” learning seamanship, rigging, navigation, and the myriad skills needed to keep a wooden vessel alive. When she wasn’t working in the windjammer fleet she was working on yachts in the Caribbean. In 2016 she earned her Yachtmaster, issued by the Royal Yachting Association in Antigua. A year later, she was issued a USCG Captain’s License. She then captained the Schooners Mistress and Mercantile before being offered the opportunity to buy the LEWIS R. FRENCH.
Nathan, a Mainer through and through, brings a complementary set of skills. With a background in crafts and fabrication, Nathan fell in love with schooners through Becky’s passion. Before sailing he worked as a tinsmith, painter and welder at Bath Ironworks. He now sails on board on nearly every trip as galley-hand, deckhand and all-around host.
Becky and Nathan are honored to carry on the traditions of the LEWIS R. FRENCH. Life aboard celebrates that heritage in many ways. Setting sails and hauling up the anchor often includes chanteys sung with guests and often accompanied by their chef, OB, on the squeezebox. For those seeking more adventure, the French also offers active trips that include kayaking or hiking and Captain Becky hosts her popular “knit-along” cruises that combine craft and camaraderie under sail.
Category: Meet captains and crew
