After the sailing season, maintenance work begins
Join us as a volunteer and live the experience.
¿Do you live in Mallorca?
If you live near our winter harbor and do not require accommodation, you will receive €15 per day for each volunteer workday completed (minimum of 10 days, not necessarily consecutive).
Requirements to be a volunteer
What do you get in return?
*The ship will most likely not sail during this period.*
RAFAEL VERDERA
A SCHOOL OF SEA AND LIFE
Come aboard the Rafael Verdera and be part of something bigger. Our volunteer program offers a unique experience where you'll learn to sail, take care of the oldest sailing ship flying the Spanish flag, and live with a crew that lives for the sea.
Rafael Verdera is not just a boat: it is a floating teacher.
Here, learning happens through doing, feeling, and living. From tying a sailor’s knot to understanding the rhythm of the wind and the language of the sea. Every task, no matter how small it may seem, is part of something greater. The sailing ship teaches with patience: how to work as a team, how to trust, how to respect the timing of nature. There are no formal classes, yet every day is a lesson—and you are an essential part of the crew.
Every plank sanded, every rope spliced, every sail hoisted becomes an act of love for the sea and for the history this vessel represents. This is not just about repairing or maintaining. It is about building with purpose, about giving something back to the ship for all that it gives us: shelter, learning, freedom. Here, hands do more than work—they connect, they dream, and they leave a mark.
There are no spectators here. Each day is a lesson in seamanship, sustainability, and shared life.
You will take part in maneuvers, maintenance, watches, and also in moments of stillness—when the only sound is the wind moving through the sails.
This is not just a volunteer experience: it is a life voyage, where you leave your mark and take away far more than you give.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prior experience and training?
No, you don’t need any prior experience or nautical training to participate in the volunteer program.
What’s important is your attitude: a willingness to learn, to live alongside others, and to get involved in life on board. The work is adapted to each person’s skill level and is always explained and supported. We don’t expect you to know how to do everything, but rather that you have an interest in understanding how a ship works and the daily operations that keep it running.
Those who arrive with experience can delve deeper; those who arrive without it can learn gradually and thoughtfully.
What does a typical day on board involve?
Volunteering primarily revolves around the ship’s maintenance. During this time of year, we spend most of our time in port, which usually coincides with dry dock, a crucial period for maintaining the hull.
The daily routine is clear. Order and cleanliness are essential, and work is organized around approximately six hours a day. It’s not an improvised schedule: there’s structure, consistency, and attention to detail, because that’s how a ship of this type is cared for.
Once the workday is over, everyone has complete freedom for their personal time, whether on board, in the common areas, or ashore. However, there are non-negotiable rules: if the evening stretches on at the pub, you might have to stay ashore. The ship operates on its own schedule, and it doesn’t wait.
All these guidelines are defined and coordinated by the captain, always taking into account the ship’s current situation, the team, and the overall atmosphere on board.
What work will be carried out in the shipyard?
We won’t lie to you: it’s one of the most laborious times of the year, requiring meticulous attention to detail.
There will be a lot of sanding and painting. It’s demanding and tiring, but it also offers something hard to find elsewhere: the chance to see how a ship from 1841 is built, recognize its structural elements, and learn its terminology.
As with all volunteer work, each person gets involved according to their experience and abilities, always under supervision and following a clear routine. Dry dock work demands consistency, care, and respect for the ship’s timeline, but it’s also one of the best opportunities to truly get to know it.
What does the volunteer program include?
The program includes onboard accommodation, constant supervision and guidance during work, hands-on learning related to maintenance and life on board, and active participation in the project, all within an organized and well-structured framework.
This is not a tourist program or a leisure experience. It is an opportunity to be part of the ship for a period of time, learn from the inside, and live with the team in a real and demanding environment.
The program includes:
- Bed linens
- Towels
- Daily supervision and guidance
- Hands-on onboard learning
- Active participation in the project
- Certificate of participation
Are only maintenance tasks performed?
The volunteer work focuses primarily on the maintenance and preparation of the boat for the season.
During this period, the boat is usually not sailing, as it undergoes maintenance, dry dock work, and general organization. This is a necessary and essential phase to ensure everything runs smoothly when it’s time to set sail.
Although the focus is on maintenance, the experience goes beyond simply “doing jobs”: volunteers take part in the daily life of the boat, the camaraderie of the team, and gain firsthand insight of how a vessel is prepared and cared for before the season.
Does volunteering include full board?
No. The volunteer program does not include full board.
Basic daily meals are shared on board, within the normal life of a ship, but this is not a full board arrangement or an organized service as such. Each person is responsible for their own food outside of this arrangement and for their personal expenses.
Optionally, there is the possibility of choosing a daily meal allowance for €12, designed as a simple, shared meal in keeping with life on board.
Volunteering is not intended as a room and board experience, but as genuine participation in the project and in life on board, with all that this entails.
THANK YOU FOR COMING THIS FAR
NOW IT'S TIME TO STEP ABOARD
rafael verdera
LIVE THE EXPERIENCE
Everything’s ready to set sail
rafael verdera
LIVE THE EXPERIENCE
Everything’s ready to set sail
