Hurricane Island was the island base for Outward Bound from 1964-2006, and this year marks their 50th anniversary as the Maine Outward Bound School. Although their base has since moved operations to Wheeler's Bay, both organizations collaborated to co-host part of the festivities on Hurricane Island in order to celebrate their history out here, and also celebrate the rebirth of the Hurricane Island as a new educational resource for Maine students and beyond.
Assembling on morning meeting rock
Boats sailed in and filled Hurricane Sound, and soon sounds from revelers filled Hurricane Island, as nearly 400 people returned to reminisce about the life-changing experiences that occurred in this space and shaped them as educators, sailors, and adventurers. Staff from the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership showed guests around our updated facilities, and explained how we are engaging students in our science, sustainability, and leadership initiatives while fostering a new learning community for students, teachers, and field scientists. You can read more about our summer programs here.
Current Outward Bound educators arrived to this event fresh off course, and shared stories and memories with old time educators, and the morning-meeting rock buzzed with excitement, joy, music, and readings. We all celebrated on the evening of August 23rd with a lobster cookout and live music, and the dancing only stopped because we couldn't convince the band to keep playing! Guests finally made their way back to the "tent city" that filled the south end of the island, and then awoke for a final morning meeting before filling boats and then ferries to return home.
We are so glad that we were able to share our space with Outward Bound, and give everyone an opportunity to convene and celebrate Hurricane Island. You can view photos of this event here.
