The Outdoor Program to set sail for the San Juan Islands

A Willamette student sailing on the seas. Art by Addie Martin.

The Outdoor Program (ODP) has led many trips this semester, but the organization’s spring break trip has been the trip to get campus talking. The trip will take students on a sailboat called the Schooner Zodiac around the San Juan Islands, which lie along the Washington-Canada border. 

According to the Schooner Zodiac website, students on the trip will learn many skills about sailing and how to manage the 160-foot sailing vessel. They will learn how to furl and unfurl the sails, steer the ship and navigate from paper charts as well as more modern technology like depth sounders and radar. 

The first part of the excursion, though, will be a drive to Larrabee State Park in Washington, where students will spend the first night of the trip camping on March 22. From there, students will board the Zodiac and begin their stay on the boat for three days and two nights, as laid out by Kira Grimes (’26), the ODP coordinator. 

Grimes noted that this trip is the most expensive of the semester. Students are paying $325 for the excursion, but Grimes added that “the student cost without ASWU funding would’ve been about $490 to $500.” Financial aid was also available for students going on this trip in the form of Intercultural Exchange and Inclusion (IEI) funding. 

The total cost of the trip with Schooner Zodiac is $8,250, which covers the trip itself, food and paying the employees of the Zodiac. The gas for the van rides to and from Larrabee State Park falls a little shy of $1,500. 

“Those fees are being split across ASWU funding that’s provided, IEI funding and the money that students are paying to go,” Grimes said. 

Due to the trip’s high price tag, ODP saw it as important to maximize the number of people on the trip to ensure the cost for each student was as low as possible. As such, ODP began advertising the trip early in the semester, and, according to Grimes, the trip filled up a month ago, well before spring break was within sight.

Last year, for spring break, ODP took students backpacking near San Francisco, and this year ODP wanted to do something a little closer. 

“We talked about doing a multiday rafting trip, multiday kayaking trip, something along those lines,” said Grimes. They debated until they landed on the Schooner Zodiac after researching many companies and finding this one that had everyone on the board excited. The idea was settled on for reasons that include wanting a trip that is closer to home base and trying to manage the unexpected weather of spring. 

The Zodiac will provide food for all the meals and snacks aboard the ship, and they have options for all dietary restrictions.

The Zodiac itself has 24 bunks for guests, and with this trip, all 24 will be full. Among these are 21 students, one IEI representative and two ODP leaders.

“I just hope that everybody has a good time, and it’s one of those experiences that everyone can feel like they have lifelong memories,” Grimes said.