When it comes to experiential education, the really good stuff usually happens outside the classroom.

So I hope you'll stick around.

Just getting to school today is going to be a bit of an adventurer.

[music playing] Welcome to "Windows to the Wild."

I'm Willem Lange.

For most people, young or old, the most important learning they'll ever experience is not in the classroom, but outside the classroom, which is what we're up to today.

We're parked in the harbor here at Vineyard Haven with about 30 lively sixth graders who are about to go to sea for a week in a moving, floating classroom.

Bye, Mom!

Bye, everybody.

We're at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts for today's story.

Vineyard Haven is a year-round working harbor on the North Shore of Martha's Vineyard.

The classroom we're taking you to is moored in the harbor not far from shore.

Even as she sits idle, waiting for enough wind to power her sails, the "Shenandoah" is impressive.

"Shenandoah--" the name "Shenandoah" came from-- I'm sure most people are familiar with the old folk song and sea shanty "Shenandoah."

And it translates to daughter of the stars.

"Shenandoah" is the only nonauxiliary square topsoil schooner in the world that we know of that is operating still and taking passengers out sailing on week-long trips without an engine.

It's a pretty amazing skill set.

Here are "Shenandoah's" measurements-- overall length, 152 feet.

Her sails spread 7,000 square feet.

She carries 9 crew members and 30 students.

This week we are full with 30 bunks.

So we actually have every single bunk is occupied by one of these kids.

Ian Ridgway is "Shenandoah's" newest captain.

He's also co-founder of the FUEL program.

FUEL is the Foundation for Underway Experiential Learning.

Our goal with FUEL is to help youth on their sort of journey to adulthood.

There's a lot of room for growth and development in young people.

And we feel that an adventure experience, where they're being guided in a novel environment on an adventure, is actually a really critical part of human development and is often missing from young people's lives.

Welcome board "Shenandoah."

It's great to have you all here.

One of the most important things we're going to go over right now is some quick safety tips.

And then you'll get to explore, OK?

We're trying to help young people thrive as adults because I believe that what this world needs more than anything is people that are equipped for working together and demonstrating empathy towards other humans.

That's critical for our future as humans.

We're going to use ladders.

Ladders are on a boat.

We're surrounded by water.

Water makes things slippery.

We want three points of contact, so one hand and two feet.

You always want to be facing the ladder when you go up and down.

One person at a time on the ladder.

What bunk are you in?

Nine.

Nine.

All right.

Up there straight ahead.

It's a pretty big job.

Casey Bloom is FUEL's other co-founder.

The program definitely is evolving and changing all the time.

One thing we're doing this year is a research study.

And our research study is on positive youth development.

So each student is involved in our curriculum all week, which really focuses on the core components of positive youth development.

And then we're measuring at the end of the week to see whether those outcomes were achieved.

Heave.

Heave and heave.

All right.

Perfect.

So that's something I'm really excited about.

We'll have data moving forward.

And we're partnering with University of New Hampshire to analyze that data and just know what exactly is going on, on board the boat, and what are the outcomes the students are achieving.

Sam, do you keep these in a bag-- in the same bag?

Katie's going to collect them all.

Casey's a University of New Hampshire graduate, who got her sea legs right here as a kid.

Yes, I grew up in Atlanta and came to Martha's Vineyard as a kid.

My mom's mom lived on Cape Cod.

So we would vacation on the Cape as kids.

And then she somehow found out about the summer camp programs on board the tall ships here.

And so I went on board the boat for a week as a kid and absolutely fell in love with it.

I loved being a kid on the boat.

I was a very active kid.

So for me, it was really meaningful and cool to be in a novel environment.

And I loved climbing in the rigging as a kid and jumping off the side of the boat and learning the names of all the sails.

And there's a talent show at the end of the week.

So there was just a lot of really cool rituals.

And I think it's because it was in such an unfamiliar environment that it was really cool.

The "Shenandoah" was built in 1964 by this man, Captain Bob Douglas.

These three requirements-- if you build a new boat.

She's got to be knock-down, drag-out beautiful if that's possible.

She's got to sail like a witch and steer like a dream.

Before Captain Bob took to the sea, he was an Air Force pilot.

A crash landing sent him home to Martha's Vineyard, where his idea to build a ship took root.

And when I got home from my Pacific tour, I put pencil to paper and came up with "Shenandoah."

I have the ability here to look on my handiwork-- I guess I can refer to her as that-- for 55 years.

And I still feel right here about "Shenandoah" first day I saw the plans of-- so ""Shenandoah," if anything, is better looking than she was 55 years at least.

If I'm doing quiet coyote, guys, I want to see you guys do quiet coyote as well, OK?

[kids chatter] No, we're not cleaning the decks.

So guys, gather up and let's see some quiet coyotes.

I got to explain a little bit about hauling on lines to you guys, OK?

"Shenandoah," with Captain Bob at the helm, has spent decades taking students out to sea.

The idea has been to create a classroom like no other.

And it is pretty heavy, too.

We treat them as if they are important.

And my bottom line when I tell my crew, I said, this is the requirement I put in.

I want every kid to walk off this boat Saturday morning having the best week they've ever had in their life.

Yeah, I remember him.

He was always very involved with the kids.

After every dinner time, he would get all the kids gathered in the main saloon and tell stories and impart wisdom and some of his lessons that he learned from his life at sea.

And I just remember all of those stories.

It really stuck out to me as a kid.

I first went sailing on "Shenandoah" when I was 11 years old.

That was extremely exciting, I think, for an 11-year-old to get the opportunity to step back in time into a complete time warp and on board a real sailing ship.

I mean, I was a big fan of Peter Pan and Captain Hook.

And every kid at that age, I think, at some point, goes through a piracy phase.

So to step on board "Shenandoah" was one of the most exciting moments.

It was like Disneyland, except it was real.

And, yeah, it was a life-changing trip for me.

Captain Bob continued teaching at sea until 2019.

That's when the "Shenandoah" took a much-needed break for repairs.

The price was significant.

And there was no guarantee she'd be back in the water as a classroom.

Casey and Ian had the desire and a plan to keep the ship's mission afloat.

They raised money for the repairs.

And that's when Captain Bob passed on the baton.

So "Shenandoah" was sitting on her mooring and without these major capital improvements was not going to be able to sail again.

So Captain Douglas and I and Casey, we put our heads together and came up with a plan, as well as Bob's sons, Jamie, Morgan, Rob, Brook, to donate the boat to our organization.

It's been a really awesome transition.

We raised almost $1 million to get "Shenandoah" sailing again and for FUEL to be able to start as an organization, with our program offerings.

And we're really excited for the future.

"Shenandoah" is-- the educational mission is going to continue.

And we couldn't be happier to be the stewards of that and make sure that this will continue for decades more-- another 50 years.

Looks great.

Nice job.

My life has been majorly modified.

I've been skipper on the boat for 55 summers.

After 55 years at her helm, Captain Bob turned the helm of the "Shenandoah" over to Ian.

Not many times you get operations that are win wins.

And this is definitely a win-win operation.

The boat is going to hang around here-- it definitely is a good way to describe it-- and carry on what she's been doing for the last 55 seasons.

All right.

So what we do is we put the rope inside of itself.

And we want to make sure there are no gaps.

Today, there are 30 students aboard.

All are sixth graders from the island.

It's going to look sick, though, all right?

Ready?

Yeah.

I used to work for Outward Bound, Hurricane Island in Maine.

And I taught there, starting with-- a guy named Tony [?

kentacos ?]

convinced me to work there.

[laughs] So I've done experiential education for a really long time.

I worked there for almost 25 years.

Becky Esposito brings her Outward Bound experience with her to the "Shenandoah."

She's a chaperone, and her son is with her.

I think one of the things I taught not only on the boats, but in climbing as well, is that you can look at there's an end to any experience.

And you just want to-- some kids might get on the boat going, oh, I'm just going to do this, and it's going to be over, and I'm going back to my life.

But what they realize when they're in it is that it's a beautiful experience.

And there's a learning and a journey that happens along the way that's valuable that's a metaphor for learning in life.

And they take it back to their communities.

They take it back to their school.

Hopefully they're going to be able to help some of their schoolmates or in their community just to understand what it is to work together.

All right, guys, let's pick up this line and pass back the slack.

We're going to do a couple of practice rounds.

Let's all step onto the inboard side of the line.

I think it can be tricky for kids and adults, really anyone, to live in close quarters with people that they don't know very well and try to cohabitate and get along.

And we really want the kids in our program to thrive, not just exist but to really do well.

And I think what that takes is coming up with group norms and values that everybody can buy into and everybody can believe in.

So that's usually something we do on the first day of the trip, is we establish the group norms.

And then we just hold everybody accountable to those norms.

And we try to make sure that we're treating each other with respect, and we're caring for each other.

And being shipmates is really something we take seriously.

So you don't have to be best friends with everybody.

But you do have to be shipmates, and you have to care about each other's well-being and want the best for each other.

[bell clanging] By bringing them into a novel environment that's different than the routines they're used to at home, they quickly find that the habits they've built and their coping mechanisms that they use every day aren't effective out on the boat because, one, their parents aren't there, who probably helped reinforce a lot of the patterns that they've developed.

And, two, it's a totally different environment.

Everybody has to live together in a small space.

We all have to count on each other for things.

We all have to work together to get the boat sailing.

So they're forced pretty quickly to adapt.

And that's a good thing about kids.

They're so resilient.

How many people sleep in here?

Two.

Two, OK.

It's cramped, and there's going to be a lot of noise.

It's fine.

Any air conditioning in here?

I have a fan.

It's my fan.

What's in it that you enjoy?

So one of the main reasons is just kind of being on the boat and be able to go in the water.

And the cook was so good last time.

I think it's the same one.

You're the second person I've heard mentioned the cook.

Wow.

I hope the word gets back.

Yeah.

[laughs] We'll show you how to use them.

And this is how we fill up our water bottles.

Emmett is a return student.

Sailing isn't new to him.

But helping keep a boat this size moving is a very different experience.

I learned a lot about the ropes and where they lead and stuff.

The last time I went, Sam taught me how to tie monkey's fist.

Of course, I forgot, though.

Yeah.

I learned a lot more how to sail.

Because last time we had the little sail boats, and we just went out sailing.

And, yeah, all in all, just a great experience.

Yeah.

It's very important that we make sure that the landing area is clear before we jump.

I don't want to see anybody jumping too close to another person already in the water.

I learned-- oh, I forget what it's called.

It's, like-- OK. Clove hitch?

Half hitch?

Yes.

Square knot?

Uh-huh.

OK. Sheep bend?

That's it.

That's-- yes, the sheep bend.

[laughs] Good enough.

It's really a good one.

So you come out here just for the enjoyment of it.

Mm-hmm.

That's wonderful.

And it's pretty great to be on this big.

Yeah, what do you think of the crew?

Aw, they're great.

They know their business?

Mm-hmm.

[laughs] It's a completely unplugged experience.

So the kids don't have cell phones on board or any other electronics.

And I think that in itself is just such a huge relief.

So to unplug and just to be in the present moment, I think is a real gift.

When you guys get your cabins, you're going to get bunkmate.

And you need to talk to your bunkmate about privacy.

I'm talking to Katie.

Last name?

Ellis.

Ellis-- E-L-L-I-S, right?

Yep, as in the island.

OK. Got it.

And she's on the staff here.

What's your official position?

I think I'm a voyage guide is the official position.

A voyage guide?

Yep, that's what they're calling the deck hands now.

All right.

I want you to swap out.

I want Amos, you try.

Yeah.

So you've been here eight years now?

Yep, eight years as a camper.

This is my first year as a crew member.

Isn't that something?

You learned to sail in that time, obviously, and sail a big ship.

Yes.

This the only boat I've ever sailed on actually.

You guys are on the peak halyard.

Can I hear you say that?

Peak halyard.

Peak halyard, nice work.

When we say haul away together, we're going to all start hauling to the rhythm that me or Sam will set.

Hold that means two hands on the line and lean back against the line with as much weight as you can put against it, OK?

Heave, heave, heave, heave, heave.

Hold the throat.

Hold the throat.

Hold the throat.

Such an interesting place for me to be now as a crew member.

Everyone, two hands on the line, lean back.

Two hands on the line and lean against it.

Yeah, I remember coming here.

I started coming here when I was nine.

And so like it was kind of like a check-in for me like every year.

And when I was on, I was on with people up to 17.

And so every year I feel like I learned a little bit more about myself and the world.

Sounds a little cheesy, but I just think it was a really important week for me to come here and be away from my house and my friends and the normal pocket of life that I exist in and experience something different and so disconnected from everything but that experience.

Oh.

Hold the peak.

Hold the peak.

Lean back, everybody.

What do you like best about being on there?

I think it's really nice to be-- I just think that the boat is such a peaceful place.

And I think that being disconnected, especially without-- a lot of the times I don't get service, so my phone is dead.

And I think that especially in today, it's super important to not be connected that way.

Because I think that when you let go of connecting to people through your phone, you can really form something meaningful with the people around you.

Are we ready on the throat?

Yeah!

All right!

Are we ready on the peak?

Yeah!

Heave, heave, heave, heave, heave, heave, heave, heave.

Hold the throat.

Hold the throat.

What do you like least about being on here?

Oh, that's a good one.

I miss my house.

I miss being warm and watching a movie and cuddling with my cat and not hitting my head every time I wake up.

I miss that.

I miss that a lot.

I think I might be getting a permanent dent up here.

It's definitely a possibility.

On the peak, you guys ready?

This is the real thing.

On the peak, up behind.

That was pretty good.

What's your job on the boat?

A galley boy, yeah, galley boy.

What's-- Doing dishes and-- yeah, that's pretty much what I do.

So the cooking all happens on this old coal stove.

We've got to keep it going all day.

We have night watches.

Part of the duties is keeping the stove going.

And then we have the sink here.

And these are just pump [inaudible].. [water running] Gabriel Andrews is a college student.

He studies photography.

Some of what Gabriel's filmed is used in this story.

[inaudible] down here!

Woo-hoo!

[splash] My interest?

I used to work for this place called [inaudible] Expeditions.

And I did some sailing trips with them.

And they said, FUEL's an awesome program, and you should check it out.

And so I checked it out and thought it was incredible.

And FUEL is trying to do amazing things.

And, yeah, I'm be excited about what FUEL's trying to do.

Yeah.

What do the kids get out of this, the students who are on board?

Yeah.

I think that the benefits are so widespread and vast.

But I think one of the most important things that kids get out of it is just an incredible memory and knowing that they are capable and that they can do things, because they do a lot of stuff that kind of gets them outside their comfort zone and into the zone of learning.

Like, you kind of have to step outside your comfort zone in order to start learning on the boat.

And it's a novel environment.

And they're all working together and learning new things and stepping outside of their comfort zones, inherently, by stepping on this boat that they've never been on before away from home.

So it's pretty special and just a memory that they'll have for their entire lives.

[music playing] Captain Bob walks away from the helm with plenty of memories, too.

He shares one about a student who at end of his time on board said goodbye with gratitude.

When he left the boat, he gave me a big body hug.

And the tears were coursing down his cheeks.

And quote-- it's absolute quote.

I still remember, he says, this was the best week I ever had in my whole life.

And it's hard to describe why is that so special.

It's not so much the-- I don't think-- the experience of sailing.

You can get into anything that's got seals and go sailing.

The vessel has a lifestyle of its own.

At her age, "Shenandoah" is nearing the end of her life's voyage.

Casey and Ian plan to keep the FUEL program moving forward with the ship's successor.

"Shenandoah" is 57 years old.

She won't be active and serviceable forever.

But with this new opportunity, FUEL running the boat and the program, we hope to be able to get enough people interested in supporting our mission to build a new ship and continue this program for many more decades to come.

I hope he's proud of us.

We are just so grateful to have his legacy in our hands.

And we take it really seriously.

And we're just excited to be able to continue offering these programs to youth.

[music playing] Well, we have come, once again, to that part of the show I like the least, the time we have to say goodbye.

The "Shenandoah" is now just a blot on the distant horizon.

We're back on land.

And it's time to go home.

We had a wonderful day, and I hope you'll join us again for "Windows to the Wild."

[music playing] Support for the production of "Windows to the Wild" is provided by the Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust, the Fuller Foundation, the Gilbert Verney Foundation, Bailey Charitable Foundation, the McInich Foundation, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Way, hey, and up she rises.

I don't think-- I think that's a whale at the sails.

[laughter] When you got to work for sales?

Work for sales?

I don't know.

[inaudible] a sickening sight.

(SINGING) How I wish I was in [inaudible] now.

[inaudible] the sails and ranks and the cook in the [?

skuppers ?]

with the staggers and drags.

[laughs] Great song.

[music playing]