Eric Franklin had never been aboard a sailboat when he signed up for the Youth on Board program. He’ll spend four days as a crew member on a Tall Ship sailing from Victoria, B.C., to Tacoma.

“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what to expect,” the Mount Tahoma High School freshman said. “It looks like a lot of hard work. But I think it’ll be exciting.”

He experienced a little taste of what lies ahead Saturday morning.

Franklin and the 47 other participants in the program sailed around Puget Sound aboard the Odyssey, an 88½-foot yawl. The crew, most of whom are members of the Sea Scouts, led the Youth on Board participants in the tasks required to raise the sails and late gave tours of what lay below deck.

[More:]

The biggest surprise for many? The cramped sleeping quarters.

“I checked out the beds,” said Bryan Cargill, a student at Curtis Junior High in University Place. “And they look pretty cramped.”

Franklin nodded.

“Yeah, but I’d sleep in them,” he replied. “When you’re tired, you’re tired.”

Youth on Board is a project of Metro Parks Tacoma, Tall Ships Tacoma, Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound and the Sea Scouts. The 48 participants, all 14-17 years old, will leave Tacoma on June 29 for Vancouver Island.

They'll serve aboard three ships – the Zodiac, the Adventuress and the Mycia – and learn the basics of sailing. They arrive on July 3, the day Tall Ships Tacoma begins, and will volunteer during the festival.

The participants sailed aboard the Odyssey on Saturday to get a glimpse of what life aboard a ship felt like and to meet their future shipmates. They spent most of the three-hour trip chatting, admiring views of the coastlines and soaking up some rays. After the boat motored away from the dock, they helped raise the sails – which required a crash course from the Sea Scouts aboard before everyone pulled the line in unison.

They enrolled in the program for myriad reasons. Franklin said it seemed exciting and will look good on a college resume. Devon Kaapana, a 15-year-old who attends Life Christian School in Tacoma, said boating is a family activity. Monica Jadwin, a 16-year-old student at Lincoln High School, volunteered with dock handling at the 2005 Tall Ships festival but wants to get a feel for ship operations.

And many just want an exciting summer experience.

“I just thought it would be a fun opportunity,” Cargill said.

For the Sea Scouts who serve aboard the Odyssey, Saturday’s trip was a chance to help teach other youth who are interested in seafaring.

“I’m kind of teaching and still learning at the same time,” said 14-year-old Elisa Fu, a freshman at Sumner High School. “And then I get to be on the Adventuress (on its trip to Tacoma). How cool is that?”