Sailing

The sailing portion begins at Big Pine Key, where students will spend time learning to sail and row a 30-foot open sailboat through the waterways and bays of the southernmost part of the continental United States. These warm, shallow waters provide an exciting sailing area and some of the best training ground for developing advanced sailing skills. The Gulf Coast, Everglades and backcountry of Florida Bay offer challenging navigation and the opportunity to explore mangrove keys, tidal flats and coral patch reefs as well as make coastal passages. The turquoise waters, warm temperatures and prevailing easterly winds provide exceptional sailing, both day and night.

Our 30-foot sailing boats are expedition vessels built with both simplicity and open water expeditions in mind. They are open boats without cabins or engines. Students live closely together using only wind and oars as propulsion. As students rotate responsibilities throughout the expedition, they learn the art and science of sailing, navigating, rowing and living aboard a small open boat. At night, students sleep on deck under a tarp, taking turns at anchor watch under brilliant night skies or sleep on shore at campsites. The boats are equipped with all the required US Coast Guard safety equipment (radios, lights, etc.).

The crew refines and enhances their expedition skills, living aboard and working together to move the boats from anchorage to anchorage. Students have many opportunities to explore the infinite facets of wilderness leadership which they will take with them to the Boundary Waters for the second phase of the program.

Dog Sledding & Cross Country Skiing

Students start this section with a three to four-day cross-country skiing immersion expedition designed to teach basic skiing and winter camping skills. Students learn how to stay warm in extreme cold conditions while skiing between five and 15 miles a day from campsite to campsite. Each evening, students learn and refine their winter camping skills including: how to construct tarp shelters, choose, harvest and process dry firewood, cook meals over a fire, and employ Leave No Trace wilderness ethics. 

Following the immersion expedition, students return to the basecamp and make preparations for a longer dogsledding and skiing expedition. The group works together to build a dogsled, pack food and learn about dog care and mushing. When the group departs from basecamp again about a week later, they bring everything they need to remain in the wilderness for the remaining roughly 20 days of the course. During this main expedition, the group splits into two smaller groups to travel each day. Half the group travels on cross-country skis and is responsible for breaking trail, navigating, scouting for hazards and checking for safe ice conditions. The other half of the group follows on dogsleds, transporting most of the equipment, and food.

Mushing is not a passenger sport and, depending on the snow conditions, often requires mushers to push the sled or run and walk along with the dogs. If the skiing group encounters particularly rough terrain or steep hills, they wait for the mushers to arrive and assist in maneuvering the heavy dogsleds. Upon reaching camp each evening, everyone helps to take care of the dogs, set up camp and process firewood for cooking and warmth. Students learn how to: handle a team of sled dogs, cross-country ski long distances with a backpack, camp comfortably in sub-zero temperatures, navigate frozen lakes, rivers and ridges with a map and compass and read ice conditions.

Winter Living and Camp Set Up

With plenty of training, students find that they can live comfortably in cold temperatures. Students learn how to regulate their body temperature with layers of clothing, exercise and diet. Setting up a snug winter camp takes time, energy and teamwork. Scouting for a sheltered bay with good firewood in the late afternoon, the group quickly learns that the night comes quickly in the great white North. 

Constructing a shelter to ward off the chilling winds before cooking a warm, hearty dinner over an outdoor fire rounds out the day. Reflective evening conversations with fellow travelers amongst the solitude of the wintry North Woods ground this extraordinary adventure. Students often enjoy clear evening stargazing before drifting off into a well-deserved sleep.

Personal Challenge Event

Extended expeditions typically end each phase with a Personal Challenge Event (PCE). The PCE is a non-competitive individual final physical challenge that allows students to set their own goals and work toward them. Time and weather permitting, students will finish the Florida section of the course with a physical challenge likely involving sea and land elements. The Minnesota portion of their course will likely end with a ski event and a final celebration at basecamp with an authentic wood-fired sauna and a “polar plunge” in the river.

Course Area

Florida Keys

The Florida Keys, home to numerous birds and abundant marine life, is rich with the confluence of water flowing out of the Everglades into inner Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The waterways are shallow and intricate, providing an exciting cruising area for Outward Bound’s nimble, shallow-draft sailboats. Winding channels through the backcountry offer challenging and exciting navigation and the opportunity to explore mangrove keys, grassy tidal flats and coral patch reefs. The Atlantic side offers open water sailing and, in calm weather, excellent snorkeling at the outer reefs. Course routes are based on course type, local conditions, logistics and weather patterns. Whether on the Atlantic or Gulf side, students will have lots of opportunities to learn the skills it takes to sail and travel in traditional sailboats, live in community with teammates, be challenged and reap the rewards. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Seminole, Matecumbe, Cuchiyaga and Guarungumbe nations.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota

Over 10,000 years ago, continental-sized glaciers scraped their way across much of Ontario and northern Minnesota leaving deep ruts, ravines and holes in their tracks. Eventually as the glaciers melted, these ravines filled with water, creating a seemingly endless interconnected web of lakes and rivers. In the winter, the BWCAW transforms into an even more severe and remote wilderness. Winter enthusiasts travel over frozen lakes and rivers by dogsled, cross-country ski and snowshoe. Although it is more difficult than other seasons, winter in the Boundary Waters is mesmerizing, peaceful, and exhilarating. It is a place of spectacular extremes, trackless snow, bracing cold air, glowing warm embers, and powerful silence. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) nations.