Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island

OHPRI operates Sailing School Vessel (SSV) Oliver Hazard Perry, the largest civilian Sailing School Vessel in the United States. The three-masted, full-rigged ship is the first ocean-going vessel built in the U.S. in over 100 years. Our mission is to provide innovative and empowering education-at-sea programs that promote personal and professional growth, particularly through our SIGNATURE GAP YEAR programs in the spring and fall semesters. In January 2019, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry will set sail into the Atlantic Ocean and travel through the Caribbean for eleven weeks. The program will center around themes of self-discovery, leadership, teambuilding, global citizenry, cultural comparison and reciprocity, and environmental advocacy and stewardship.

Education and character building objectives will be achieved through the methods of sail training, combined with various port stops throughout the Caribbean centered around intentional academic plans/goals. Academic themes will center around: climate change, environmental awareness/stewardship, maritime history, culture and literature, Caribbean history, culture and literature, impacts of tourism on culture and environment, postcolonial legacies, navigation (celestial, paper, and electronic), meteorology, watch standing (leadership and teambuilding) sail theory, engineering, marine science, cultural reciprocity and global awareness.