Seamester: South Africa to Caribbean - 90 Days

We went all around Cape Town, SA, from Table Mountain to the Cape of Good Hope. We then sailed to St Helena in the middle of the Atlantic, saw Napolean's grave, and swam with whale sharks!!! It was insane!! I got to surf on some of the best/most beautiful beaches in the world in Fernando De Noronha, Brasil! We raced in a regatta too! Got last lol, but it was a blast! Jib squad best squad!! We went all throughout the Caribbean, at every island we went to I would go running to see the sites. The academics were really interesting and the professors just wanted to grow our passion for the oceans. I also completed the IYT Yachtmaster Theory portion, and my skipper Freddie, was an excellent teacher. For diving, I went from PADI Open Water to Rescue Diver!! It was a voyage of a lifetime and I loved every minute of it (most of the time :)). Every day was a great day and the people I met on board are some that I hope to keep in contact with for the rest of my life.

I had an amazing time!! While on my gap year, I wanted to experience something that was out of my comfort zone and Sea|mester provided that. The staff on my trip were absolutely phenomenal, I do not think we as a group of students would have had the experience we had without them! They were such a welcoming, supportive, and phenomenal group of individuals. As a whole this trip was such a valuable experience, I believe the most valuable aspect was the connection I made with everyone on Argo. I especially loved that every night we did something called "squeeze" at the end of each meal, which allowed me to reflect on the day. Squeeze gave me time to find the little joys in the day, even if it was a rainy one in the middle of the Atlantic. Everyone on my boat still talk on our group chat, and when I started college one of my shipmates came and visited me in NYC. I can not express how much I would recommend Sea|Mester!!

My time aboard the S/Y was an extremely rewarding experience and I think more people my age could benefit from this program. We had an incredible staff who were all super knowledgeable and passionate. They went above and beyond to help students learn and grow.
All the staff members truly had an incredible impact on me. I always trusted them and knew that they had our best interests in mind. They helped me through personal, academic, and medical issues with grace and care.
Our whole group, staff and students, worked really well together and I’m most thankful for the people I met. Program-wise, I think living on a boat and being an active crew member was the most impactful part. I wouldn’t feel half as accomplished if I didn’t spend hours in the pouring rain in the middle of the night or spend 3 days puking in a bucket. Being grimy and working hard gave me a purpose and I think that is most valuable. It was tough at times, but the accomplishment of getting to new places and being able to swim and explore with your best friends was incredibly worth it.
This trip changed me for the better and now I'm working on getting back on the Seamester boats as a staff member so that I can inspire college kids the way I was.

This voyage changed my life I met the most incredible people and had the adventure of a lifetime. I would recommend this voyage to anyone interested in growing as a person and making lifelong friendships. On this trip you will dive with incredible creatures like whale sharks and swim with penguins. You will sail thousands of miles and see stars like never before. This program challenges you both mentally and physically, it is not for the faint of heart it is for those who seek adventure fun challenge and a once in a lifetime experience.

This trip brings new experience and friendships that you just can't find anywhere else. I grew a lot as a person while I was learning tons of new things about sailing, diving, and science. The staff are wonderful and inspiring and ready to help with anything you could need. We went on crazy adventures like swimming with whale sharks and hiking to boiling lakes; and the time in between the adventures was filled with new knowledge and fun we made for ourselves (we threw a boat prom that involved trash bags full of popcorn and a potato someone's date). I recommend this experience to everyone I talk to, but it's especially great for people who want adventures that you can't find anywhere else.

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.

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.