Program Reviews

This was the absolute trip of a lifetime and if you get the opportunity to go I highly recommend it. It will challenge you in ways you would never expect but also help you grow as an individual. Everyday you engage in new things that you would never expect and you visit amazing places that you will probably never see again unless you travel in the Caribbean a lot. Each moment spent on the vessel, on land, in the water, etc is very valuable. The friends you will make on your magical journey become family forever. I definitely would go on another semester trip in a heartbeat if the opportunity arises again. From anchor watches to watch teams to trying to scuba dive it is all amazing. Push yourself to the best that you can be and you will go far.

I can’t thank Seamester and their staff enough for providing the best summer of my life. Countless jokes and amazing experiences with the other crew members are something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Everything was amazing , from small boat sailing, to scuba diving, to exploring every island! I also can’t thank Steve, Tom, Amy, and Alex for always keeping us on our feet every hour of every day ! Some of my favorite memories include drinking seamoss, scuba diving in Saba, exploring the boujiness of Saint Barths, meeting all my new crew members/friends in the airports as we all flew to S/Y Ocean Star, the squeeze every night after dinner, sunrise watches sailing from port to port, Tom for always having a smile on his face, and the steel drums in Antigua !

The circumstances leading to my time with Seamester will never be anything short of hilarious to me. I was bored out of my mind during the summer of 2017, hurtling rapidly towards a number of dead ends, not sure what to do with my life - as most second-year college students feel. One night I was laying awake with insomnia, and a thought popped into my mind: Sail across an ocean. Why? I later asked myself, since I was terrified of the ocean at the time. I have no explanation, but the question didn't scare me, in fact I instantly latched onto it, and the following day I applied to and set up an interview with Seamester.

Obviously I was accepted, since I'm writing this review. My Fall semester was a bit of a blur, and I'm sure everyone could tell you I did little but talk their ears off about the upcoming voyage all semester long. When I finally got to Cape Town in January of 2018, I could hardly believe it was real. I boarded Argo late in the evening because of flight delays, but that hardly mattered; I was there, I had my bunk, I could sit out on deck in the evening and listen to the harbor seals, and adventure was waiting around every corner. Of course, I had no idea while it was happening just how important to me this experience would be.

This voyage was many things. It was incredibly challenging, sometimes scary, always fascinating, and absolutely worth it in every possible way. Crossing an ocean by sail isn't easy, in close quarters, standing watch almost every night - you're part of the crew, not just a passenger. We crash-jibed two days out from Cape Town during my watch shift, around two in the morning, and our main boom snapped in half. This was of course terrifying at the time, but in hindsight it was a blessing in disguise - how else would we have freed the top of the charthouse for sunbathing at every opportunity, or jury-rigged our fisherman sail upside-down as a "fishermain" jib? I look back on that with particular fondness. I'll never forget, too, when we reached the Equator, hove-to, and swam between the hemispheres in 15,000 feet of water after joining King Neptune's Court. I could go on, and on, and on. There's a memory, many memories, from everywhere we went, even from the middle of the ocean, when we saw 18 shooting stars in four hours, including what I've long thought was an air-burst meteorite, far off our starboard beam. I will never forget this journey.

I'm graduating college soon, and have thankfully had plans in place for what follows for a while now. Due almost entirely to my experience with Seamester, I'm setting my own course for a career in the maritime industry, hoping to myself become a captain one day. This voyage was THE formative experience of my college career, and I look back on it almost every day with gratitude.

Seamester will challenge you in every way, from how you comport yourself on and off the boat, to your worldviews and sense of self. There's nothing like spending three months at sea, and I recommend it to everyone I talk about it with. It will change you for the better.

This trip was mind-blowingly awesome! I feel so lucky to have been able to take part in this experience and be a part of this crew. We had an incredible semester of adventure and laughs and learning and I know that the friends I made on this voyage will be friends for life (hi Colin!).
Living on board with 30 other students teaches lessons that can't be taught in a classroom about personal responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and how to be a tough cookie. The classes are perfectly fit to the program and lifestyle on board as we got a chance to put what we learned into practice right away, either in sailing and seamanship or oceanography and marine biology. This trip was an inspiration to me and has set the foundation for a lifetime of conservation and passion about our oceans! It's an incredible and rare experience and I wish it had never had to end.

Since starting college I always wanted to participate in a Semester at Sea program. I found a lot after doing research, but Sea|mester stuck out to me. After browsing through the website I knew this was the program for me. Traveling down to Tortola I had no idea what to expect. I knew I liked boats, loved the Caribbean, and wanted an adventure. It took a little bit of time to get acquainted to living on a sail boat, but once I got into it, I felt I could do this for years. My crew mates were from all over the US and the world. They were an amazing group of people and I'm happy to call them my friends. The staff was incredible, super fun, friendly and supportive. My crew mates and I learned how to sail, scuba dive, and live life on the sea. We did fun activities on land like hiking, tours, horse back riding, and biking. Its always super fun to go exploring with friends through out an island you know nothing about. Each day would have an assigned "Skipper" who would write a log, these got super fun and creative. I saw the most stars in my life during night voyages, I can still picture in my mind how bright the night sky was in the middle the Caribbean. I was scared to scuba dive at first, but it is one of my favorite things to do now. Amy, Steph, Carolyn, and Ian were the best staff I could ask for. Incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone.

This trip was mind-blowingly awesome! I feel so lucky to have been able to take part in this experience and be a part of this crew. We had an incredible semester of adventure and laughs and learning and I know that the friends I made on this voyage will be friends for life (hi Colin!).
Living on board with 30 other students teaches lessons that can't be taught in a classroom about personal responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and how to be a tough cookie. The classes are perfectly fit to the program and lifestyle on board as we got a chance to put what we learned into practice right away, either in sailing and seamanship or oceanography and marine biology. This trip was an inspiration to me and has set the foundation for a lifetime of conservation and passion about our oceans! It's an incredible and rare experience and I wish it had never had to end.

This trip was life-changing and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure and deeper relationship with nature/the ocean. I learned lessons about leadership, teamwork and grit that simply cannot be taught at a school on land. Anyone would be lucky to be a member of Argo's crew on this voyage.
Some favorite memories include jumping off the bow and physically swimming across the equator, morning watches with the sunrise while on passage, and shenanigans below deck when everyone wasn't asleep. I will definitely be keeping in touch with the people who I shared Argo with for this voyage and my experience aboard has actually molded the courses that I chose to take in college. If you are interested in environmental science, this trip would be the highlight of your college science career.

It’s hard to describe this trip without a novel length review, so I’ll hit the highlights: The staff are amazing. They’re not afraid to challenge you, and I’m so glad that’s the case because I learned from every one of those intimidating experiences. I employ the lessons I learned daily, all thanks to a passionate staff willing to take 18 crazy sailors on a wild journey. The bond I formed with my crewmates during night watches and sunrise hikes and rough waters is something I will have for the rest of my life. And all of this happened while diving and learning how to sail in some of the most beautiful places in the world. If I had to choose again, I would choose this voyage in a hearbeat and if you have the opportunity to go, do it! Thanks to all the Ocean Star and Sea|Mester staff who made my trip amazing, I won’t forget it!

This experience changed my outlook on life and helped me find out who I really am, and I got to do it all at sea! I made lifelong friends who I keep in contact with everyday. The adventures we had were like nothing else. There is so much more to this world than just laying on beaches and suntanning and this trip showed me that. It showed me the back alleys that I didn't know existed. It showed me the lives of people I would never meet otherwise. I got to see how pottery was made FROM SCRATCH. I was shown to shops that many people didn't know were there, but sold great things. I tasted foods that I wouldn't dream of in a million years. It also showed me the messier sides of life. I learned how to do my laundry by hand. I learned how to clean a bathroom. I learned how to cook. I learned how to stay organized in a small space. These are valuable life skills that I will use until the day I die. This was the best three months of my life. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I applied for this trip because I love sailing and I wanted an abroad experience that would allow myself to see as many beautiful places as possible. What I did not realize is that my fellow crew members would become my second family. From the very first time we were underway to the last, everyone was always looking out for one another to ensure their safety and to make sure we all had the best experience possible. Learning outside of a typical classroom was one of the best aspects about this program, while underwater learning was absolutely incredible. For me, I didn't think I was going to love SCUBA diving as much as I did, and now I can go diving whenever I want. Sailing under the stars, through beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and rainstorms were all what made this adventure so much fun. Waking up in a new country with a sense of adventure and excitement almost every day is something I am truly going to miss. Letting go of the rest of society, only worrying about yourself and shipmates, and living on the little island of Argo is an unforgettable experience.