South Africa to Caribbean

Aboard S/Y Argo

5,700 Nautical Miles via St. Helena, Brazil, Devil's Island

This voyage is a once in a lifetime opportunity to sail aboard S/Y Argo, our 112-foot schooner from Cape Town, South Africa to Antigua in the Caribbean via St. Helena, Brazil and Devil’s Island. The voyage offers a full compliment of academics allowing students to earn up to 12 college credits. Additionally, this voyage will prove to be an exciting travel adventure that emphasizes blue-water sailing skills development, SCUBA diving training and cultural exploration. Sail training certifications for this voyage are issued through International Yacht Training, as IYT offers the only global standard in professional yachting certifications. Students have the opportunity to progress up to the level of Master of Yachts 200 Ton based on past experience and aptitude.

Days
Credits
Students
Term
Availability
Tuition (USD)

Jan 15 - Apr 13, 2020

90
12 credits
24
Spring
Open
$28,370

Learn More About Financial Aid >

Life Aboard

Sails Up Anchors Down

Academic Classes

Certification Courses

PADI Scuba Certifications>
IYT Sailing Certifications>
Safety Certifications>
Skipper & Crew Training>

Activities

Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Educational & Cultural Tours
Hiking & Trekking
Service
Personal Time

The Voyage

Your Adventure Starts Here

Welcome Aboard!

With the sight of South Africa’s iconic Table mountain in the background – your plane touches down in Cape Town. Argo and her crew are located a mere 30 minutes away docked alongside the wharf outside the famous Table Bay hotel. Once aboard, Life on Argo begins with spending some time getting to know your surroundings, your peers and realizing exactly just what you can achieve over the course of the trip.

Even though the journey you are about to embark on totals about 5,500 nautical miles, you will quickly realize that as an official member of Argo’s crew, the opportunity to learn is boundless. From here on out each consecutive 24 hour adventure is unique. Your journey awaits…

Orientation in the Shadow of Table Mountain

8-10 days

Starting on day two we cast the lines off the dock and your journey begins. As with all of our voyages, the first week to ten days on the program will be a crash course into your drastically new environment. During this time you will learn what it’s like to live full time in close quarters with 31 other individuals. With the help and guidance of the 6 full-time staff, you’ll learn how to sleep, eat, clean up and sail on a 112 ft. schooner.

This time is also about exploring South Africa as much as possible before casting off and chasing the horizon. You’ll take advantage with a group safari, hike up the lion’s head, and tour the infamous Robben’s island political prison.

Scattered throughout this first week, you’ll also have your first lectures for each of the four college courses you’ll be taking over the next semester. Although the structure feels familiar while looking at your course syllabus, seeing upcoming midterms, finals and group projects, the setting couldn’t be any more different from a traditional campus.

Sample Trip Itinerary*

Area	Ports of Call
South Africa	Cape Town, Robben Island, Cape Point
Atlantic Islands	St. Helena
Brazil	Fernando de Noronhas , Fortaleza
French Guiana	Devil’s Island, Iles du Salut
Caribbean	Barbados, Bequia, Martinique, Dominica, Les Saints, Guadeloupe, Antigua
*Please note that all destinations are weather dependent and subject to change.

The Journey, Not the Destination.

Rite of Passage

Just when you’re beginning to grow accustomed to the sights and sounds of the Cape of Good Hope, it’s time to go forth and cross an ocean. With only a few isolated stops until the other side, the horizonless sea will become your new home and the sight of land will eventually seem unfamiliar. You’ll cross the equator, battle squalls, navigate the doldrums and make the tradewinds work for you as you learn to soak in passage life.

Throughout your 90-day voyage, the longest passage can be up to 15 days long with the average passage being 2-5 days long. You’ll be an integral part of a watch team sharing the responsibility of navigation, bow watch, engine checks, sail trim and steering the ship to its intended destination.

Anchors Down – St. Helena

(2-4 Days)

Smack dab in the middle of the southern Atlantic Ocean, lies a tiny British territory with big mountains, big fauna, and big history. You’ll have the chance to stretch your legs walking in the exiled footsteps of Napoleon and maroon yourself deliberately through the many walking trails. As the halfway point of your trans-oceanic passage, you likely won’t hesitate to take a refreshing dip in St. Helena’s relatively chilly water. Be sure to bring a mask and snorkel as whale sharks and dolphins are frequent visitors to this lonely island.

>Next stop: Fernando de Norona

Fernando de Norona

(2-4 Days)

After not seeing land for 10+ days, you will assume that your eyes are playing tricks on you with the paradise that is Fernando de Noronha. Just off the coast of Brazil, the picturesque beaches and pristine landscapes of these remote islands are a sign of things to come and will let you know that you have truly arrived in the tropics. The crystal clear waters attract divers and snorkelers from all over the world and as a UNESCO world heritage site, this archipelago boasts one of the most intact ecosystems anywhere in the western hemisphere. This is where scuba becomes a big part of your life onboard and your crew will top it all off with a well deserved night out in the most civilization you’ve seen in a month!

>Next stop: French Guiana

Iles du Salut

(1-3 Days)

Many people have heard of Devil’s island but few would be able to stick a pin on a map. Once a notorious penal colony of imperial France, you’ll wonder why anyone would dread an extended stay in this sanctuary of waving palms and singing macaws. You’ll have a chance to explore French ruins and improve your diving skills right off the boat. An espresso and baguette to start your day on shore will serve as a reminder that you are making your way back to the real world and to take advantage of every moment you have left.

>Next stop: Barbados

Barbados

(1-3 Days)

Once you dock Argo at Port St. Charles, you’ll recognize the strangely familiar feeling of being stationary as it will be the first time you have been docked since leaving Cape Town. You won’t want to hang around to enjoy the feeling too long as the island of Barbados and its promise of adventure awaits! Here, beginning divers will become certified while advanced divers will enjoy some fun dives on the island’s many wrecks. Everybody enjoys some time on shore together with tours of cultural sites including colonial architecture, the Mount Gay rum distillery, and the Doyle sail loft.

>Next stop: Tobago Cays

Crossings

Just as you move the ship across the endless sea gradually with few indications that anything is changing at all – you won’t realize just how far you’ve come personally or how much you’ve actually learned during your time on Argo. Everything you’ve accomplished and all the ways you have changed aren’t always in the forefront of your mind. Sometimes it takes big landmarks or crossings for it all to come rushing back.

On this journey, you’ll hit a number of waypoints as you discover and develop your passions. Notably, you’ll make the transition from Pollywog to Shellback as you and your crew bring Argo across the equator from one hemisphere to another.

Seamester Study Abroad Gap Year Brochure

Anchors Down -Tobago Cays & Bequia

(1-3 Days)

When you’re standing on the deck of Argo looking out on the uninhabited Tobago Cays, it’s easy to think that it looks like something out of the Pirates of the Caribbean… And that’s because it is. Acquaint yourself with distinctly Caribbean wildlife through night snorkels over shallow reefs and learn first hand about the bold conservation efforts of Bequia’s turtle rehabilitation sanctuary.

>Next stop: St. Lucia

St. Lucia

(1-3 Days)

Upon arrival you’ll set anchor in Soufriere in the shadow of the Petit Piton, one of the most iconic spots in all of the Caribbean. During our time in St. Lucia, you’ll work with the local marine park, SMMA, to spearfish the invasive Lionfish, take a mineral bath at the Diamond Botanical Gardens and have a chance at a well-deserved night out in Marigot Bay.

>Next stop: Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe & Les Saintes

(1-3 Days)

This small archipelago is considered a region of France, so the minute you step off the boat you’ll find yourself fully immersed in an enclave of European culture. Hike to Fort Napoleon, enjoy an espresso after siesta, or take out a Hobie Cat with one of your shipmates to live the lifestyle unique to this small corner of the world.

>Next stop: Dominica

Dominica

Port of Call (1-3 Days Each)

Although this island is close to its neighbors, the culture of Dominica might as well come from a different side of the planet. Nicknamed the Nature Isle of the Caribbean, Dominica is often considered one of our students’ favorite islands of the voyage. With the help of our good friends, local Dominicans Pancho and Sea Cat, you’ll hike through the rainforest to the world’s largest boiling lake, all while refreshing yourself in one of its dozens of natural hot springs.

>Next stop: Antigua

Antigua

Port of Call (1-3 Days Each)

Directly after visiting two very French islands, you’ll arrive at the very British Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua. As one of the world’s only fully restored Victorian era dockyards, it provides an amazing backdrop to your time spent in Antigua. In your last port as a crewmember, you’ll enjoy a steel drum and reggae concert at Shirley Heights, walk the historic ramparts of English Harbor and dive the crystal blue waters while anchored outside of Green Island.

>Next stop: Real Life

Academics Aboard

12 USF Credits

Throughout the voyage, it’s easy to forget that this is college even though academics are an integral part of the experience. Our instructors schedule 3 or 4 lectures, discussions, or labs per class each week and each course includes quizzes, research projects, midterms, and finals.

Learning in an environment that combines academics with experience allows you to truly interact with your education. It brings academics to life, adding relevance and practical application to the material. Learning has never been this fun.

Exploring the Underwater Realm

10-15 Dives

As Argo sails north towards the warm waters of the Caribbean, scuba diving will not only become a more frequent experience but a more exhilarating one as well. Over the course of the 90-day voyage, you’ll become an experienced diver, completing between 10 and 15 dives yet the novelty of breathing underwater will not disappear. Whether working towards a new certification in 15 feet of water, chasing down invasive lionfish, or exploring a wreck at 100 ft. – you’ll gain a lifetime worth of stories from places few people get to see.

If you’re new to diving, you’ll earn the PADI Open Water Dive Certification as well as the Advanced Open Water Dive Certification. Depending on time, conditions and student interest, many groups also earn the PADI Rescue Diver certification. If you’re already an experienced diver, you can work all the way up to the professional Divemaster certification. If you feel that scuba diving is a passion, this is definitely the voyage to consider.

First Step to Becoming a Captain!

Academics

For those who have the prior requisite experience, a passion for sailing, and hope to work in the maritime industry, all our 80 & 90-day voyages aboard S/Y Argo offer the Professional Skipper and Crew Training course (PSCT).

Typically only 3 to 4 students will choose to take this course. Students are offered the opportunity to work towards their Master of Yachts 200 Ton Offshore License by completing the theory portion, which means passing a series of in-depth examinations covering subjects such as Meteorology, Navigation, Tides & Currents, and Collision Regulations.

Time to Say Goodbye

The best way to explain what it means to say goodbye to your shipmates is to use the words of one of our past staff members themselves…

“It is our last day together on Argo and everyone has grown so much in the last three months. Learning how to connect with the ocean, losing your security blankets, immersing yourself with 25 random people, and surrendering to this social experiment called Argo has been life-changing. Everyone has gained so much knowledge, self-awareness, and self-love. Most of what we have gained is intangible, so when you see your kid for the first time in three months just listen to them and watch them. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised by the person you are meeting again.”

Rachel B.English Harbour, Antigua

Day 87

By Davis. R

The Argo Experience: An 87 day Compilation

Today was the last day of program before we start our final boat appreciation tomorrow. Everyone took some time this…

Day 78

By Ian. H

Hot Spring Waterfall

I want to start off this blog post by expressing how amazing today was, the beauty of Dominica blew my…

Day 77

By Robert. Z

Boiling Lake

6:45 wake-up this morning quickly rolled into a grab-and-go breakfast, and before you knew it lunches were packed, dinghies hit…

Day 75

By Caroline. P

Appreciating Argo

Our passage from St. Lucia to Dominica completed our night passages aboard Argo. It was our first and last student-lead…

Day 74

By Lindsay. M