SEA Semester

SEA Semester is truly an exceptional program. You hear things like this all the time, but without question SEA Semester had a huge impact on my life. On my trip I sailed from Woods Hole, MA to St. Croix USVI, 2,903 nautical miles and it is an experience I will never forget as long as I live. The sense of accomplishment that comes from completing SEA Semester is amazing.

Participating in SEA Semester was by far the greatest opportunity I have had to get close to the one place that most people can only visit--the sea! At SEA Semester, I got to push myself out of my comfort zone, do something truly different, and have a real adventure. I only wish I could do it again!

SEA Semester was a spectacular opportunity for me to truly learn about every aspect of the ocean. I have always loved the water and SEA Semester allowed me to really delve into studying it. The classes, sailing, experience and fun exceeded all my expectations. I would recommend it to anyone!

SEA was a fantastic experience! I learned so much about everything from weather patterns, piloting, and sail trimming to songs of the sea, to water chemistry. Fantastic opportunity to escape the cold for all you kids in northern schools by sailing in warmer climes and great opportunity to see snow during the shore component in Woods Hole for those of you coming from southern schools. I even got to have some of the foreign country study abroad experience during shore leave in the Dominican Republic. I can't stress enough how awesome this experience was: Where else could you swim right up to a humpback whale and touch them...and then return to school so much wiser and tanned!

I can not say enough good things about SEA. Even though my program was a short High School version of their actual programs, it changed my life. I made life-long friends and discovered science can be even more fun than ever imagined. Having the chance to sail a unique tall ship and learn science is an experience in my life I treasure above all others. The teachers and sailors were great, helpful and invested, and the even the food was delicious! If you can, I highly can recommend doing an SEA semester! It made me realize I want to get into Marine Biology and sailing for my life.

Awesome! Just plain awesome. SEA was the highlight of college for me and I loved college. The crew was so much fun to learn from, many of whom I am still in touch with 15 year later! Right before I did the program I remember a friend’s brother, who did SEA, told us to stay awake as much as possible so you don't miss anything! Boy, was that guy right. I never wanted to sleep because who knows what you might miss- a crazy sail maneuver, whales and dolphins, the perfect night sky for star gazing, sea shanties on the quarter deck or a swim call in the gulf stream! It truly was a life changing experience.

SEA was the best experience of my life so far! I had never sailed before going to SEA and I learned everything so quickly with the help of the Captain and crew. I'll never forget the nights on bow watch with half the night sky above me and no lights for miles except the bio luminescence below. Learning how to use all of the state of the art lab equipment was such a treat and I learned so much about the ocean that I never knew. Not to mention swim calls with 4000 meters of ocean below and better food then you eat at home 6 times a day! SEA Semester is a fun, rigorous learning experience that I suggest anyone who is interested gives it a shot! It will change your life for the better!

SEA is an incredible organization with ocean going vessels traveling the hemispheres teaching students nautical science and oceanography. The inaugural program I participated in aboard SSV Westward in the North Atlantic was geared toward liberal arts and the history and culture of maritime people, as well as great literature of the sea. The sailing experience was invaluable and personal challenges abound. I have since completed other alumni programs aboard the SSV Seamans in the Pacific in 2002 and SSV Cramer in the Florida Straits in 2009.

My experience with the Sea Education Association was without question the most valuable semester of my college education. The true lessons were those of the importance teamwork as well as confidence in one's own individual abilities. It is a most unique experience that brings many unexpected and invaluable lessons. To be at sea out of sight of land for weeks at a time, at the mercy of the sea, on such an incredible 'campus' as was the Westward, it was at the same time, the most difficult and the most rewarding 6 weeks of my life.

There is not much in life that can compare with standing bow watch at 3am halfway between Puerto Vallarta and Nuku Hiva, steering a 134-foot boat through a squall, or climbing the rigging 1,500 miles from the nearest land mass. Each day of my program with SEA was an incredible adventure, and was the most rewarding experience I've ever had. I was pushed beyond my boundaries daily, and because of it am a more confident and assertive student and person. It not only taught me valuable research skills that I have applied to other academic programs, but it opened the door to a dynamic relationship with the Pacific Ocean. I cannot stress how worth it this program is- it will change who you are, and always for the better.

I'm so fortunate to have studied with the Sea Education Association. The shore component is a challenging and rewarding experience as you begin to live independently in the cool, isolated town of Woods Hole while at the same time learning to work as a member of a team. At sea, experienced mates and science instructors teach you how to problem solve while you work with your watch to sail in open oceans. Through picturesque sunrises on dawn watch to heavy squalls, you'll see and experience so much with SEA. If you're looking for adventure, academics, and personal growth all in one program, you won't regret choosing to sail with SEA.

Sea semester changed my life. I've never been as inspired to push for what I believe in and find what makes me happy. My cruise was from Hawaii down to the equator and then back again. Some of the most memorable moments include: basking in the equatorial sun on the quarterdeck, repairing sails on top of the lab, swimming across the equator in water three miles deep, touching a huge ray on Palmyra atoll.The program itself, the amazing instructors, and fellows students made this program incredibly powerful.

This is an amazing experience, one without equal. We sailed around the Caribbean and some of the few things that we saw and did - ship cruising thru bioluminescent seas, sailed by the stars, dolphins, sharks, worked with rigging, worked in the engine room and so much more. It stays with you once you step off the SSV Cramer. An adventure of a lifetime. One that you wish you could do again.

SEA Semester was by far the BEST thing I did in college. It taught me how to be more self-sufficient and creative. I love the teamwork aspect. It challenged me to go outside my comfort zone. I felt the greatest sense of accomplishment at the end of the semester. My confidence soared. I loved the adventure - eating fish eyeballs, climbing the mast, swimming in the middle of the ocean, experiencing squalls, serving as junior captain for a watch, cleaning the engine room... Every minute of SEA semester was incredible. I just wish that I could go back and do it again every year! I did two other study abroad programs while in college and SEA semester was by far the most interesting, fun, challenging and unique. There is no other time in your life when you will get the chance to do this. It is amazing!

SEA Semester was the single coolest thing I have ever done. I love sleeping, but I found myself staying awake 20 hours a day, just to see the ocean, rising moons, and the goofy creatures we pulled from the deep. The. Best. Period.

I allowed my college study abroad office to bully me out of doing SEA my junior year and went on a "more academically rigorous and appropriate" program in the TCI. Worst decision of my life. The BEST decision of my life was applying for SEA after I'd graduated. It was everything i'd wanted in my first study abroad and so much more. Where else can you learn actual science, get experience with a wide variety of lab equipment, and do it all on a sailing research vessel? That's not even including the incredible caliber of guest lecturers during the shore component, or becoming a shellback, or seeing more stars than you ever thought possible, even watching as you become a giant mobile perch for every brown booby for miles around and trying to make egg salad in a storm. If you have any doubts about the SEA semester, tell them to take a hike. Seasickness? You'll get over it. (Even if it takes your captain coming over after three days and telling you to just take the medication, already.) It's worth it. If you're worried about the science part, then one of the other SEA programs might fit better. But I can't see any way that you'd regret doing a SEA semester.