Geronimo tags sea turtles in cooperation with the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida. Most of the tagging is accomplished in feeding habitats in the Bahamas. Students receive instruction in systematics, physiology, and behavior, and then study human impact on the populations and ecology of sharks and turtles. While on board, students are also introduced to fisheries management and the complex relationships between resource utilization, management, and conservation in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the United States. Life at sea demands discipline and vigilance.
Seamanship incorporates intellectual, physical, and aesthetic skills.
Intensifying the lessons of community life, living in a small space teaches students to create their own privacy and to respect the inner lives of others. The Vessel Geronimo is a 69 foot cutter-rigged sloop designed by Ted Hood specifically for the school and built in 1998 by New England Boat Works. It is manned by licensed personnel and is certified to sail on all oceans. As a Sailing School Vessel, Geronimo is not required to meet the same safety standards required of a passenger vessel on a comparable route, because the students are active participants in the operation of the vessel. The Sailing School Vessel regulations require that each student is instructed in sail handling, emergency procedures, nautical terms, location and use of lifesaving and fire-fighting equipment, and the general layout of the vessel before it gets underway.