If you’re wondering how this is any different from other summer camps, here’s what sail training is all about:

• Low-Tech: We don’t use cell phones at all for the duration of the week. We have no TVs and no tablets. The only TikTok is our ship’s clock.

• Real Responsibility: Students are rotated through every aspect of life aboard, whether that be steering the boat or cleaning the toilets.

• Communication: Running a sailboat requires good, clear communication. We repeat back tasks to ensure understanding and pass along important information quickly.

• Punctuality: A ship’s schedule affects everyone. If you’re late, it impacts the rest of the crew, including your peers.

• Being Outdoors: A week of fresh air, natural light, and almost zero noise pollution.

• Curiosity: Students are encouraged to ask questions and, whenever possible, explore the “what ifs” aboard. Wanna look at the engine? Use a sextant to navigate? Steer the ship in the opposite direction? We love curiosity!

• Learning: Our onboard electives are a unique addition to sail training: they give students an immediate commonality and provide a focus for the week. Our brains work a little differently outside a traditional classroom, and we focus on making learning fun.

• Life Skills: Cooking, cleaning, communicating, understanding, observing… Students tend to grow in all of these ways throughout the week, and hopefully beyond.

• Resource Management: Life aboard means we don’t have limitless water, food, power, clothes, etc. We discuss these resources throughout the week, learn how to not be wasteful while we’re aboard, and talk about how we can take some new habits back ashore.