Shift your summer into overdrive with the journey of a lifetime. Your adventure begins in the British Virgin Islands where you'll discover why the Caribbean is a diver's and sailor's paradise. Dip beneath her aquamarine waters and meet marine life of every shape and shade.
Explore above her surface and find lush islands, ancient volcanoes and white sand beaches. Sail on her legendary blue-green waves and take in jade mountains against iridescent sunrises and sunsets. Each of the 25 islands within the Leeward Islands offers a distinct cultural and geographic backdrop, so you'll sail throughout the island chain--visiting Saba, St. Eustatius, Nevis, Antigua, St. Barts and the British Virgin Islands. Along the way, you'll also score 3 credit hours in basic seamanship, but who's counting?
*Please note: Tuition for the 20-day voyage does not include scuba diving. There are various options for those that want to either learn or build on their scuba skills. Please refer to the FAQ section below for more information on the optional scuba package.
The 20-day Sea|mester is a fast-paced voyage that offers the possibility of 3 academic credits for the Seamanship class taught aboard.
During the voyage, students have the opportunity to earn a number of different certifications, especially if they select the optional scuba diving package. Those selecting scuba diving can build toward a PADI Open Water or PADI Advanced Open Water certification. Alternatively, certified divers can just dive for fun. The fees for these options are shown below.
- Open Water Certification: $300
- Advanced Open Water Certification: $200
- Recreational Diving: $100
In sailing, students work towards the International Yacht Training (IYT) International Crew Certificate. All students will complete First Aid and CPR certification.
A maximum of 14 students and 4 staff will sail aboard for this voyage, split between both males and females.
This voyage is run aboard our 88-foot sail training schooner S/Y Ocean Star. She was originally launched in 1991 as a school ship for Ocean Navigator Magazine. Over the years, she sailed the waters between Canada and the Caribbean, enabling adult students to learn navigation and nautical skills. After an extensive refit in 1999, Ocean Star began a new life with Sea|mester, serving to train students and young adults on the waters she knows so well. For more information on Ocean Star, please visit Our Vessels page.
From the moment you arrive, you'll move aboard and live on board full-time. If you've never lived aboard a sailing vessel before you'll find that there are a lot of differences to living on land. What's the head? Where's the lazarette? How do you pump the bilge? Ocean Star has 4 dedicated sleeping areas so there's enough room for us all to sleep down below in our own bunk.
Four professional staff members live aboard full-time. There will be the Skipper, the First Mate and a Marine Biologist (who is typically a diving instructor) and a fourth staff member who could also be a scuba instructor, EMT, Marine Biologist or someone with other special skills. Take a look through our Meet the Team section for more information on the Sea|mester staff.
The short answer to this question is, GORGEOUS! Well, usually anyway! In the Caribbean, the trade winds blow a steady 8-14 knots and the average temperature is 80°F with 76% humidity and 79°F water temperature. What's great about the Caribbean weather is that there is always a breeze, so it feels very comfortable almost all the time. Yes, it does rain now and then, but it is more of a tropical shower, lasting only a few minutes, rather than a complete day of rain.
About every five days, we will be in locations from which students may call home. At some ports of call there may be AT&T direct dial phones. Each Caribbean island has a different communication system, so dialing procedures change at each destination
- Local Phone Cards: Students may purchase local phone cards at each island. While quite expensive, this is our recommended method for ensuring a long distance connection.
- Credit Card Calls: The most universal (yet most expensive) method of paying for a call is to use a valid credit card with operator assistance.
- International Calling Card: We suggest contacting the major phone card providers for their information on the latest rates and access numbers (which are different for each island). In our experience, only international (non-prepaid) calling cards such as AT&T and Sprint, will work and then only with the correct access numbers.
- Cellular Phones During the Voyage: students may travel with a cell phone, as this can be useful for communication during the travel days to and from the program. However, once with the program, cell phones may only be used at times we are ashore and have access to public pay phones. Students should note that very few carriers have service available in the Islands and if it is available, the cost of calling the US from a cell phone can be as high as $4.50 / minute.
We actively discourage students from using cellular phones aboard because the environment we strive to create aboard relies very heavily on each individual remaining focused on the group and our experience. Being tied to the modern world of "instant communications" can, in certain circumstances, be a hindrance to the personal and group processes aboard. We feel that there is ample opportunity to make calls during personal time ashore.
The easiest way is for students to place a quick call home to let Mom and Dad in on what's going on! Sometimes this doesn't happen though, so we instigated a trip update system in which, at the end of each day, the student skipper of the day writes a few remarks in the log. At various times (typically once every 3 or 4 days) this is typed up and posted on the Sea|mester website along with photos and the occasional podcast. This way, Mom and Dad can vicariously live aboard too!
Since mail can take up to three weeks to make it to the Caribbean, there will be no possibility of receiving mail during the voyage. Of course, with us being out on the water and in a different location every day, this adds a further dimension to the dilemma!
Our vessels do not have computers or Internet connectivity, so email contact will be very limited. Students will be able to receive and send limited e-mail while ashore visiting internet cafes. These are becoming more popular, so you may want to make sure you have an email set up through an account such as Gmail or Yahoo.
No special immunizations are required to visit any of these Caribbean Islands. We do ask that all students check that their Tetanus and Hepatitis B inoculations are up-to-date.
All students traveling to the Caribbean need to have a passport which is valid for a minimum of six months after the date of departure from the British Virgin Islands. Visitors from certain countries other than the US, UK and Canada may require visas. To confirm whether or not a visa is required, please call us or contact the Chief Immigration Officer, Government of the British Virgin Islands, the nearest British Consulate or the nearest BVI Tourist Board Office.
