The waters of the SouthCoast saw what "girl power" can truly do.

Over the course of four days, eleven women-identifying and non-binary individuals boarded the Ernestina-Morrissey captained by Tiffany Krihwan to learn, bond and grow. The trip is part of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy's sail and leadership training for cadets, K-12 STEM programming and community outreach efforts.

The trip called, "Women in STEAM: An Ernestina-Morrissey Experience." “STEAM” refers to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.

Dartmouth native and Assistant Professor of Humanities at Massachusetts Maritime Academy Morgan Banville said that the program aims to create an accessible opportunity.

"This program is fully free— the students just need to apply and then they get on board," Banville said.

The crew sailed to a variety of places across the SouthCoast including Stellwagen Bank, the Cape Cod Canal and Provincetown. Students aboard learned how to sail, water science and history while on the sea. 

"I felt incredibly proud to watch them because I really feel that throughout the entire journey they really embraced everything," she said.

With large sails, a rich history and coming in 156 feet long, the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey offered the students an opportunity to bond. 

"They really worked together," Banville said. "It's exactly what you need in sailing. You need to be collaborative."

Banville said that the students listened well to the crew and formed good teamwork early. Although, the group did struggle at first with the lack of showers.

"The captain actually allotted some time so that if they wanted to, they could take a shower on board," she said. "There's only so much fresh water that's available in the tanks."

Together, the crew sailed over 200 nautical miles and battled the heat wave that hit the East Coast. Banville said that her favorite part was seeing the how well the students connected with each other in such a short time period.

"Not many people get to sail on board a tall ship. This is something they're going to remember for a while and probably talk about forever— maybe it will be the basis of their careers," she said. "So, it was just really special to see them work together, to form those partnerships and really just laugh and have fun."