This is a three week working cruise on the schooner Westward, a sail training vessel operated by Ocean Classroom Foundation ^TM, which is one of the most respected educational organizations in the maritime industry. Learn the basics of sea travel—loading a boat, living aboard, sail handling, steering, anchoring, seamanship skills, and navigating using chart, compass, and GPS.

Course Area
Your course will begin at Outward Bound’s Sea Program base located on Wheeler’s Bay in St. George, ME, or the nearby port of Rockland where you set sail for Bermuda. Bermuda is an island that often gets grouped with Caribbean islands but it is actually located in the Western Atlantic Ocean about 600 nautical miles off the coast of North Carolina.  Bermuda is in fact, a group of about 8 large islands connected by causeways and bridges. The island is surrounded by fringing reefs and is composed of hilly interiors with its highest peak only rising 259 feet above sea level.  

Course Description
The voyage track takes you from the temperate waters of New England, through the warm, river-like current of the Gulf Stream, and finally to the clear subtropical waters of Bermuda.

Making landfall on the island you will explore its unique ecosystem and maritime history. You will snorkel on Bermuda’s coral reefs, visit the Bermuda Maritime Museum and the Royal Navy Dockyard, and experience Bermuda’s island culture. Finally, you will set sail to return to New England for a total voyage of 22 days. 

Everyone is crew, working to keep the ship running. You will learn the routines of sailing a ship 24 hours a day, learning about navigation, meteorology, astronomy and offshore marine ecology all the while becoming familiar with the life of a sailor. You will experience setting, trimming and furling the sails, steering, navigating and cleaning the boat on a daily basis. In addition, you will learn knots, splicing, and a variety of marlinespike seamanship skills. Underlying your entire experience will be your growing responsibility for sailing the ship, which will culminate in “Final Expedition” during which you and your shipmates will be responsible for running the ship.

About the Schooner
The Westward is a two-masted schooner built in 1961 and modeled after the North Sea pilot schooners. It has 6 sails, three jibs, two staysails, and a main.  It is 125 feet long and carries a crew of 10.  It can serve 24 “passengers” which on your course will mean up to 22 students and two instructors. It has bunks below deck and an impressive array of oceanographic sampling gear and navigational and safety equipment.  From 1971 to 1988 she sailed as a Research vessel and now meets the USCG specifications for Sailing School Vessels. Westward is well suited to long passages, and you will truly learn to sail the ship.