Jennifer Labrecque

Spending all of her childhood summers on a small island off the coast of Maine, Jen gained a lifelong love of the ocean. Also, spending the winters living “off the grid” in the Maine woods she developed great respect as well as comfort with nature and wildlife. She attended Maine Maritime Academy, and graduated in 2005 with a B.A in Marine Science and another in Small Vessel Operations. While in college Jen devoted herself to sailing.

She spent six years working on traditional sailing ships along the coast of Maine, and in 2005 she received a 100-ton captain's license. Her first job after receiving the license was working as captain of the schooner Bagheera, a vintage Alden with a more than 80 year history of cruising the world's oceans, including the Galapagos. In the 1980s the Bagheera was fitted out for the passenger trade and now serves the Portland Schooner Company. 

She spent a summer researching Loggerhead sea turtles in North Carolina, also acting as a naturalist for the Bald Head Island Conservancy. While working on the sailing ships, Jen interpreted wildlife and history seen by the guests along the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia. In 2006 Jen began work with Lindblad Expeditions as a boatswain on the Sea Bird and Sea Lion, expanding her knowledge of the sea to include the waters of Alaska and Mexico.