A group of 20 Dellwood students returned to shore yesterday after taking part in the first Spirit of Bermuda student voyage of the school year.Over the course of five days on the iconic vessel, the students helmed, hauled, scrubbed and sailed their way to success, with stops at Nonsuch Island and Cooper’s Island.Yesterday afternoon, the students put their training to the test and sailed the Spirit back into the Great Sound from St George’s.Education and programmes manager LaKia Dill said that while the programme has for the last two years included an on-land component, this year they are returning to the popular original programme with all five days spent on the sloop.“The kids just loved it, being on the sea,” Ms Dill said. “They had to be out on the water for five days. It’s a real isolated experience, and it’s very empowering. It’s a unique experience.“It was wonderful going back to having the kids on board for the full-blown sail training experience.”As an endorsed part of the M3 experience, the “Sailing a Bermuda Sloop” curriculum incorporates STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education with navigation, seamanship, character education as well as Bermuda history, geography and ecology through experiential learning.This year all M3 students in the public school system — around 380 students between 13 and 14-years-old — will take part in the programme, accompanied by 54 teachers. Ms Dill said she hopes the programme becomes a “rite of passage” for Bermuda’s public school students.“The Spirit formula is powerful yet simple: we remove students from their comfort zones, empower them with real-­life problem solving, and keep their minds and bodies active,” Ms Dill said.“The professional crew perform magic each and every day aboard. My hope is that each student will have encountered his own potential for greatness during the voyage.”