News

Sea Education Association Students Return to International Waters with Blue Water Voyage to Tahiti

September 30, 2022
SSV Robert C. Seamans (file photo)
The SSV Robert C. Seamans, SEA’s state-of-the-art 134-foot brigantine

This fall, 19 Sea Education Association (SEA) students set sail from San Diego to Tahiti in SEA’s first voyage to international waters since the Covid pandemic confined travel to U.S. territorial waters in 2020.

The students are enrolled in one of two programs:  Oceans & Climate, and Ocean Exploration.  Oceans & Climate students develop their understanding of the ocean’s role in climate dynamics and contribute to baseline climate research in the Pacific. Ocean Exploration is a program designed for undergraduates and gap year students that combines insights from oceanography, the humanities, and the social sciences to deepen students’ understanding of the complex marine environment.

The students arrived at SEA’s Woods Hole campus on August 22nd to begin five weeks of preparatory coursework before beginning the sea component on September 28th in San Diego, CA, where they boarded the SSV Robert C. Seamans, SEA’s state-of-the-art 134-foot brigantine.

The ship will serve as the students’ home, classroom, and laboratory for more than six weeks as they sail across the Pacific to Tahiti, where the programs end on November 13th.

All students are full working members of the ship’s crew, sharing responsibilities for standing watch, processing oceanographic samples, navigating by the stars, and participating in round-the-clock operations. Perhaps most importantly, students learn to challenge themselves and cultivate new skills in leadership, teamwork, and field research.

  • Track the voyage on the SEA Currents blog through Nov. 13th.

  • Download photos and access more information about SEA through our online press kit.

About Sea Education Association (SEA)
Sea Education Association (SEA) is an internationally recognized leader in undergraduate, gap year, and high school ocean education. For 50 years and more than one million nautical miles sailed, SEA has educated students about the world’s oceans through its Boston University accredited study abroad program. SEA is based on Cape Cod in the oceanographic research community of Woods Hole, Massachusetts and has two research vessels: the SSV Corwith Cramer, operating in the Atlantic Ocean, and the SSV Robert C. Seamans, operating in the Pacific.

Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | [email protected] | www.sea.edu