On Monday, July 16, backpacks lined Tabor Academy's Hoyt Dock, each equipped for a roughly 40-mile trip across Buzzards Bay.

The fourth round of students in Tabor Academy's Orientation at Sea program were prepared to head out to sea for a five-day long voyage logging, learning, and socializing aboard the Tabor Boy, the school's century-old double-masted schooner.

Luke Hampton was one of 14 newly enrolled students involved in the  group. The 14-year-old student has traveled around the bay before, but before boarding he was still eager for what's to come.

"I'm just kind of excited about it in its entirety," he said.

Hampton and his peers will study the interaction between organisms and inter-tidal zones, how much salt is dissolved in the water, and how deep light can travel.

The Tabor Boy is manned by a student crew of ninth to eleventh graders with the exception of Tabor Boy Capt. James Giel.

Chip Connard, executive officer of the Tabor Boy and a senior at Tabor Academy, said the experience helps bring students closer together, especially when they're freshman.

"You get to know them really well and being able to go to Tabor [Academy] knowing somebody and knowing the type of environment you're in is really helpful," Connard said.

The program lasts through Aug. 3.