Williwaw has been creating unique adventures for young adults since 1999. Our expeditions are designed to provide a safe and meaningful wilderness experience that balance challenging adventure and exploration with fun. We spend time developing outdoor skills, but also focus on the group experience and personal growth.

Expeditions are carefully planned to assure safety and quality, progressively challenge and allow for success. By stepping up to challenges, students develop confidence, self-reliance and a sense of personal responsibility.

Wilderness travel, paddling and sailing are the core components to our expeditions, and students leave with a solid foundation of skills so that they can pursue and become competent in these activities in the future.

With the guidance of their instructors, students accept more responsibility as the expedition progresses and take ownership of their trip. Whether serving as leader of the day, navigator, or planning and cooking meals, students are directly involved with the daily operations and success of the expedition.

Living and working with a group is an important skill that is naturally developed in the wilderness or at sea. Students learn the importance of relying on each other and the responsibility of being a part of a group. A key part to maintaining a positive group experience is our evening meeting, where we gather to discuss our successes and achievements, address any problems, and talk about our plan for the next day.

Our skilled and dedicated instructors are perhaps the most important element to our success. They genuinely enjoy working with young people and are committed to the safety and success of each expedition.

Each trip travels with a male and a female instructor. They are competent leaders, mentors, friends and teachers - skilled at what they do but they also know how to have fun. All have wilderness first aid training and are certified trip leaders by the state of Maine. While not leading trips, they are graduate students, teachers, outdoor educators and sailors.

Click here or on the link below to learn more about Williwaw Instructors.

Mike Dawson, the Owner & Director, began Williwaw as a way to share his passion for wilderness travel and sailing with young people. Because we only run a few trips each summer, he is able to is to participate in almost every trip - whether he is teaching sailing or paddling skills, or just being a part of the group for a day or two in the backcountry.

Mike has worked in the outdoor education field since 1994, as a professional sailor, park ranger, naturalist and backcountry guide. During the school year, he sails as Captain aboard the Sailing School Vessel Geronimo and is a faculty member at St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island. For many years, Mike sailed as the Marine Science teacher & Program Director for a high school semester-at-sea program. He is a licensed Captain, a Registered Maine Recreation & Sea Kayak Guide and has E.M.T. and Backcountry Search and Rescue training.