When new Head of school David Fowler empowered the faculty to define programs, policies and structures in 1971, Mountain Classroom quickly evolved, demonstrating Proctor's new commitment to intense, small-group experiential learning. Programs in Spain and France soon followed. Twenty years passed before we established relations with the Harvey Gamage Foundation, and placed twenty students on a 130-foot schooner for educational adventure at sea. This year's Ocean Classroom group sailed from Rockland, Maine on Wednesday, passed through the Cape Cod Canal Friday morning, and put into Mystic (CT) Seaport Saturday at 11 AM.

The passage across the Gulf of Maine to Cape Cod Bay had been rough; all but five crew spent time chumming over the leeward rail, and several recalled "I wanted to die." All that seems forgotten at Mystic, as there's ship work to be done. Kyler and Bruce sweat the lines:

Ocean Classroom is a life-altering educational experience. Between Penobscot Bay and San Juan Harbor in Puerto Rico, these kids will live and work in conditions often extreme: wet, crowded, tired and beautiful. They will return to campus for the winter term more mature, more sensitive to others, more willing to take on challenges deemed too risky before.

Work done, it's time to "check out Mystic" which means "find toilets and showers."