Ocean Classroom

Ocean Classroom Foundation is an educational organization that provides programs of sea education and adventure for the youth of America aboard the schooners Westward, Spirit of Massachusetts and Harvey Gamage. Ocean Classroom Foundation is a leader in experiential education, with award-winning programs sailing from the Canadian Maritimes to the Caribbean Sea. Programs vary from one-day, to one-week, to semester long adventures for middle school, high school and college students; custom programs for schools, youth and community organizations and continuing education for American history teachers.

What Is It About the Sailing Trip?

I have tried over the years to decipher exactly what it is about the Ocean Classroom experience that makes it so compelling for our students.  They write about the hilarity of the boat bathrooms, the exhaustion they feel on the night watches, the friendships cemented during the five days.

And then they write about their awe.  They talk about the utter blackness of the night, the magic of the whales, the vastness of the ocean.  They talk about how small and how powerful they feel at sea.  They talk about how they grow as leaders and team members.

Our students live amidst violence.  They are incredibly removed from the natural world.  They don’t know about it, and they have no interest in preserving it.  We work hard to break through this. Nothing so completely moves our students as the Sailing Trip.  It is a direct and powerful interaction with the natural world that has a huge impact on how they care for our planet.

Jen Daly, Dean of Students & Co-Founder