Timing, trust and teamwork is what some say propelled a team of young Maine-based mariners onto the international podium in a seamanship contest in July.

Atlantic Challenge USA — a Belfast-based nonprofit that teaches traditional boatbuilding and seamanship in Penobscot Bay — brought one U.S. and one mixed international crew to the 2026 Atlantic Challenge International Contest of Seamanship in Roskilde, Denmark, last month.

The U.S. crew, composed mostly of Mainers, placed second among teams from France, the Basque Country, Great Britain, Ireland and host country Denmark in the seven-day biennial competition, said Arista Holden, executive director of Atlantic Challenge USA.

Ireland’s team claimed the Atlantic Challenge Trophy, according to results of the contest, which was held July 6-13. Atlantic Challenge USA’s mixed international crew — with mariners from the U.S., Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine and France — finished fifth overall.

During the competition, the 20-person teams, mostly comprised of teenagers, competed in sailing, docking, rowing, ropework, water rescue, slaloming and navigation aboard Bantry Bay gigs — 38-foot wooden boats modeled after those used by French naval officers in the late 18th century, according to Holden.

She said the Bantry Bay’s size and traditional rigging require crew members to work in unison, making teamwork and clear communication essential.

“The sea provides a setting where teamwork carries real consequences and young people learn by relying on one another,” she said.

Holden said she is proud of both Atlantic Challenge USA crews, noting that some participants had never stepped onto a Bantry Bay gig before this summer.

Holden said the organization offers oar and boatbuilding workshops, camping trips and expedition-based training to youth starting at age 15. She said it provides opportunities for personal growth and intercultural exchange through hands-on maritime experiences.

The organization hosted a 10-day training in Penobscot Bay last July in preparation for the 2026 contest, Holden said. Of the training’s attendees, 14 joined the U.S. team and four joined the international team that competed in Roskilde, she said.

She said their crews and a small coaching staff spent 12 days ahead of the competition training in Mesquer, France, where they lived with host families and practiced in gigs borrowed from Skol Ar Mor, a local boatbuilding school and Atlantic Challenge USA’s training partner.

She said this “train-as-you-go” philosophy is rooted in the vision of Maine boatbuilder Lance Lee, who co-launched the Atlantic Challenge with French maritime educator Bernard Cadoret in 1984, according to the organization.

During the competition last month, crews slept in classrooms at a local school and shared meals in communal tents, which Holden said is essential to embracing the contest’s spirit of international camaraderie.

Raya Luehman, the American crew’s 18-year-old coxswain from Camden, said the “L’Esprit” —an event in which participants of different nationalities sail together — stood out to her. She described a proud moment, looking across the water and seeing her teammates scattered across different gigs.

“It was so cool to see us all come together with our different skill sets,” Luehman said. “The gigs require you to become something bigger than yourself. You as a sailor become an extension of the sheets and oars — it’s a lovely feeling to experience that with people from all over the world.”

Luehman, who has been sailing with Atlantic Challenge USA since 2022, said the bonds forged on the water are uniquely powerful.

“It can be a lot of pressure that every move you make reflects on every teammate,” Luehman said. “All of your success and failure are shared. That responsibility is daunting, but also so cool when you realize these people have your back.”

This year’s contest marked the second since the event resumed after a six-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and global security issues in intended host country Russia, Holden said. Atlantic Challenge USA hosted the contest’s return in Belfast Harbor in 2024. The 2028 contest is scheduled to be held in Bantry, Ireland.