Chart Your Course
Helmut’s Marine Service’s initiative to build the next generation of marine trades professionals.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 @ Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito, CA
Connecting students to careers in the marine trades
We’ve spent decades on the water and in the shop, and lately we keep hearing the same thing from marine businesses all around us: we need more people. More technicians, more parts advisors, more service writers, riggers, apprentices, yard crew. These are skilled, hands-on, well-paying jobs, and the people doing them genuinely love the work. The problem is that not enough young people know these careers exist.
At the same time, a lot of students are asking a real question: what if college isn’t the right path for me? College works for some people — it doesn’t work for everyone. The trades have always been a strong answer to that. The marine industry especially. There are people in this industry who built remarkable careers without a four-year degree — master technicians, shop owners, service managers, captains and riggers who came up through apprenticeships and on-the-job training. They’re the backbone of every business on the waterfront, and they’re proof that this path is real.
Chart Your Course is how we help students find their path into the marine industry, and how we help the industry find them.
HOW Chart Your Course WORKS
Students enrolled in technical, trade, vocational, internship, or career-readiness programs get free admission on Saturday. At check-in, pick up your Chart Your Course Passport — it’s your guide for the day and your raffle entry.
From there, explore the show floor and visit each participating business. Talk with someone about what they do, what careers their company offers, and what getting started actually looks like. Each booth has a QR code — scan it after your conversation to confirm you stopped by. Complete your Passport and you’re entered into the student raffle.
- Get in free — show a valid student ID or proof of enrollment
- Pick up your Passport at check-in
- Explore the show and talk with participating businesses
- Scan each booth’s QR code after your conversation
- Complete your Passport and enter the raffle
To qualify, you just need to be currently enrolled in a technical or trade program, a vocational school or course, an internship or apprenticeship, or a career-readiness program. Bring your student ID or proof of enrollment and that’s all you need at the door.
What To Expect On The Day
No pressure, no sales pitch — just a day to explore and see what’s out there. Here’s what’s waiting for you:
– Free admission with proof of enrollment
– Passport at check-in
– Real conversations with marine businesses across the show floor
– A scavenger hunt that takes you everywhere worth going
– A raffle for students who complete their Passport
– A close-up look at an industry that might just become your next step
WHY THE MARINE INDUSTRY?
Because there’s genuinely nothing quite like it. You work with your hands, near the water, on real problems for real people. Marine technicians, parts professionals, riggers, shipwrights, service writers, yard crew — every role connects to something you can actually see and touch.
A lot of people in this industry built remarkable careers through apprenticeships and technical programs, without ever setting foot in a four-year college. Master technicians, shop owners, service managers, captains — they came up through hands-on training and they’re the backbone of every business on the waterfront. They’re proof this path works, and we want more students to know it exists.
A Note from Helmut’s Marine Service
We’re a family-owned Volvo Penta Power Center in San Rafael, California, and we’ve been part of this industry since 1988. Chart Your Course is our way of doing something about the gap we’ve been watching grow. We hope it gives students a real look at where they could go, and gives the industry a clearer picture of who’s coming next.
Join Us
Saturday, September 26, 2026 @ Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito, CA
