School Groups

Part of the Lannon’s mission is to help spread the word of Gloucester’s place in history, to tell the story of Gloucester’s fishermen, those who braved it all to fish on the big Essex-built Gloucester fishing schooners. We are available to take school groups sailing in the fall and spring of each year. When you are planning your field trips, think of the Lannon. We work with the Cape Ann Museum, Maritime Gloucester and the Essex Shipbuilding Museum to coordinate programs for students. A visit to any of these museums can be followed up with a sail on the Schooner Lannon to reinforce and expand upon our programs. Think of the Lannon as a floating classroom. There are numerous possibilities for programs involving math, science, history, language, etc. The Schooner is truly a way to make education come alive!

Hands on Learning

In the year 2000, we took all of Gloucester’s fifth grade classes for a sail on the Lannon. The students learned several sea chanteys and sang them while they hauled up the sails. They also learned about the navigation methods of a hundred years ago vs. today’s hi-tech methods. The students also learned about swordfishing, how the boat sails, as well as the names for many parts of the boat. Everyone got a chance to steer the boat and everyone enjoyed themselves. Several teachers told us that it was the best field trip they had been on. As a result of the positive reaction of the students and teachers, the Gloucester Superintendent of Schools decided to incorporate a trip on the Lannon into the fifth grade curriculum, so we’ve been taking each class of fifth graders for a sail ever since. We added units on fancy ropework and simple machines. We look forward to our time with the Gloucester fifth graders sailing each year.

Seeing Gloucester from the water gives students a whole new perspective of the city. The working waterfront, lighthouses, and castles are just some of the sights students will see on their sail. We can provide your class with a unique, safe and fun adventure that they will not soon forget. Yes, they will participate in hands-on learning. No, they won’t get seasick. Yes, they will have fun!

No food and drink will be provided for this sail.