YOUR HOSTS

A man with wavy hair and a beard wearing sunglasses and a black shirt sitting on a boat, holding a wooden railing, with ship rigging and the ocean in the background.

  • Captain Joshua Jacques fell in love with the ocean at a young age. Spending his summers sailing the coast of New England and his winters surfing the cold waters of Maine he knew he wanted to make a life for himself at sea.

    Jacques began his professional sailing career with the Maine Windjammer fleet up in Rockland Maine spending his summers sailing Penobscot Bay and winters aboard the Tall Ship Lynx transiting the east coast. Jacques and his wife went on to purchase the 1886 Schooner Isaac H. Evans, rescuing the historic vessel and breathing new life and programming into her. Now he looks forward to sharing the beauty of Tree of Life and New England waters with the community.

A woman with long curly blonde hair, sunglasses, and a tan quilted jacket standing on a wooden boat deck with one hand on a ship's wheel, with a background of a wooden cabin, blue sky, and clouds.

  • Jessica was born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island, hailing from a long line of sea faring folk. After spending a decade living out of her backpack in far off corners of the world, Jessica got back to her roots and made a career for herself on board schooners. After sailing the east coast of the US, Australia, Tasmania, and the Bass Straights, Jess is thrilled to be back in her home waters of New England. Since becoming a mother she spends more time on land, but can also be found on board chasing she and Captain Josh’s toddler around deck.

Group of five people on a boat, smiling and posing for a photo, with ocean and clear sky in the background, some wearing sunglasses, and two wearing matching green shirts.

  • The crew aboard the Tree of Life quickly becomes a family—living, working, and sailing together through the heart of the summer season. Each crew member is a hard-working, skilled mariner, dedicated not only to the craft of traditional sailing but to creating an experience guests will remember for a lifetime. Though they take their responsibilities as professional sailors seriously, they carry an even deeper pride in sharing the magic of New England with their guests on board.

A man wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a white T-shirt standing on a wooden deck with a ship's steering wheel in hand, with wooden ship elements in the background.

OWNERS

  • Captain Paul Morse is the owner of the Tree of Life. Paul has been sailing traditional schooners and Tall Ships for over forty years, since the age of 17. In his early twenties, Captain Morse successfully navigated across the Atlantic Ocean twice only using traditional instruments: a sextant; an accurate timepiece; and tables of the sun and planets. He has been employed as the boatswain and first mate aboard the 140-foot topsail schooner Bill of Rights. He has also worked on commercial fishing vessels, supply boats, tugboats and crew boats supporting the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Captain Morse has owned two previous schooners. 'Tree of Life' is the final vessel he plans to sail, as she possesses all the qualities one could wish for in a well-found ship. Captain Morse holds a USCG (United States Coast Guard) license for sail and auxiliary vessels of up to 100 tons and holds a BA in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

A man and woman standing close together on a boat, smiling, with ropes and sailing equipment visible around them.

  • Alison Morse grew up in the Hudson River Valley in New York State. She has a B.A. in Social Ecology from Ithaca College and an M.S. in Education from Fordham University. The conservation of nature was instilled in her at a young age. For the past twenty-five years Alison has taught elementary special education. For many of those years, she’s enjoyed sailing aboard Tree of Life with her Captain husband, Paul Morse. Like many people Alison has an innate desire to connect with nature in a deeper way beyond what the everyday experience allows. “I can still become giddy like a child when we set sail for a few days journey”, says Alison. This is due in part to Narragansett Bay’s majestic shoreline from the big green lawns of Hammersmith Farm and Castle Hill that roll down to the bay to Beavertail’s Lighthouse in Jamestown. Beauty like this never gets old. Alison also enjoys a lighter sail up the bay to Bristol, Rhode Island where she and her Captain husband can visit the Herreshoff Museum, walk on the East Bay Bike Path or dine at one of Bristol’s waterfront restaurants. Sunrise Smoothies, healthy meals and calming salutation sunsets are some of the centering moments that Alison is always appreciative of when aboard Tree. Sailing in southern New England offers one kind of sailing experience depending, of course, the direction the wind blows while Penobscot Bay in Maine delivers a different adventure with its rockier shoreline and lighthouses, its quintessential coastal towns like Camden and Belfast and thoroughfares like Deer Isle and Fox Island. Alison is always reminded of how grateful she is to be unplugged and anchored in secluded areas with seals, dolphins, and puffins taking part in nature’s oceanic theater when sailing on Tree. This level of solitude can’t happen just anywhere. She is appreciative of the restorative power that can come when being buoyant in sacred places.