School at Sea 2016/17 : a parent's perspective

As well as for my own benefit simply by writing this short review,  I hope that what I express might be of support / help to parents of future "sassers". These personal views are of course entirely my own and they do not revisit the huge thanks we have already made to the wonderful SAS Admin and also sailing and teaching crew onboard the Regina Maris.

As parents of a sasser, we also go on a voyage of our own. For most of us, it's likely the first time we have been away from our child for so long, so my first comment is about Parent Preparation.

SAS takes preparation at all levels very seriously : for the kids themselves, both leaving, during and returning from the voyage, and also for the parents (& of course much more). But as I waved goodbye to India sailing off into the North Sea that October evening, my heart breaking and utterly bereft, I realised I was not as well prepared as I had thought. If it had been allowed, I would have flown to Tenerife just to spend 5 minutes with India.

Of course, as the weeks turned into months that changed  and the relative ease of WhatsApp chats and calls showed how we stayed in remarkably close contact throughout the voyage. I ended up really enjoying my  6 month parental "break" !

... but again, neither was I fully prepared for the challenges of reintegration following India's return. By the way, I'm not saying one could be prepared for these things : it can just be very useful to know one is facing a "known unknown".

Secondly, as I look back over the experience - I am writing this 2 weeks after India's return - I see The Voyage is Even More Amazing Than I Realised. It's obvious that going off as a mid-teenager on a tall ship for 6 months takes an unusual child to even want to participate, just as the itinerary is clearly fantastic.... but it's so much more than this. The "missing component" is the depth of coming together in a group full of love, support and care; working on a daily basis with and for each other. Learning what it truly means to be "Good on an Expedition". This was both completely obvious and so touching to see on the day of their return and since. It has given a meaning to the kids that I doubt as parents we immediately grasp.

My child has come back not just stronger & more independent than ever, but with a vastly expanded perspective and a knowledgeof what it means to come together as a group. This is something that many people will never fully experience in their lives & in my view is the single most wonderful & important element of the School at Sea voyage. However, it makes reintegration into "normal" life very challenging .

Thirdly, SAS is after all School at Sea. From the "Halfway Day" meeting onwards, I asked various parents informally how they felt their child was doing academically. Without exception, everyone expressed concern that their child was not keeping up. Whilst I understand that a few kids finished their syllabus early, it appears many did not. Our year also had the challenge of the head teacher onboard being replaced from Panama, precisely because the school reporting system was not running as it should : I hear things improved greatly after this. SAS Admin inevitably faces many challenges during a voyage of this nature and overall they did a very competent job.

India was unique in having less than zero support from her school : as far as they were concerned, she had fully left the school, not to return. It took a huge & persistent effort on my part to get permission for her return :  I believe I achieved "most pain-in-the-ass parent" status in the process...

So India departed with her school books in hand, with infrequent updates via WhatsApp from her Netherlands classmates!  She was initially confident of completing the entire syllabus early - in her blog posts she has alluded to how it is possible to easily accomplish 6 months course work in just 90 days of applied study. She is very critical of the current school system in this regard. However..... she had not completed the work agreed (with me) on arrival at Ijmuiden. Knowing she was well on schedule by departure from the Azores, I asked why this was. "I made a deliberate decision to put school work mostly aside so that I could fully experience & enjoy every second of the last 3 weeks". I had not been included in this decision-making process as I would not have agreed to it... and yet I find myself fully understanding and at ease with India's decision. As long as she catches up by the end ofthe spring holiday, it's fine with me.

So the main point of this third comment is this : maintaining school progress in line with those ashore back home is a HUGE challenge. SAS know this and do everything in their power to address it, but I think it is important to know in advance not to take anything for granted & be well prepared for remedial action as required.

Lastly, Reintegration back home. Again, very fully addressed by SAS Admin... but you can't really prepare for it. After the very emotional & loving goodbyes of the "Return Day", when we got home India just sat on the bed crying, saying that no-one could possibly understand what she'd been through (apart from other sassers), nor how she could possibly go back to mundane life as it had been before. Well, lots of space needed (otherwise it can get confrontational), combined with contact with sassers. Fortunately for India, her inner circle of school friends all love her... but they can see she has a closeness with sassers that is as yet unknown to them. India also found being back in class relatively easy and has worked out a holiday schedule to bring her up to date with her syllabus : I feel we are very lucky here. About 18 sassers came to her coming home party last weekend :  it was so touchingto see the way in which they all greeted and interacted with each other.  I do wonder about those sassers who are far away from their SAS brothers & sisters...

The SAS Class of 2016/17 is a truly wonderful group of kids, who have grown and matured in amazing ways on their incredible voyage. As a family, we are still - and likely will be for some months - absorbing and learning the changes this will make in our lives ahead.... not all entirely comfortable, perhaps, nor easy. India, like her mother and father before her, will be someone who travels the world, that is for sure.

I am so glad she made this trip.

Jeremy Lyell

2 May 2017