About Us

Wonder is the oceanographic research and teaching vessel of the Planet School.

The Planet School is a forthcoming two year high school based in Michigan. All proceeds from our charter sails fund the Planet School endowment and support our tuition-free education model.

The goal of the Planet School is to equip students with the academic, interpersonal, and leadership skills to think about, discuss, and take action on “planet-sized” problems. This happens through hands-on, experiential learning that is unparalleled in its investment in student agency and curiosity.

Wonder serves as one of three Planet School campuses and is the first campus students experience when they enroll. When we are not hosting student voyages, we open Wonder to the public for various types of charter sails. This enables more people to experience the magic of tall ship sailing and supports our tuition-free education business model.

About Wonder

Wonder is a steel-hull gaff-rigged schooner that was built in 1988. In that time, she has been named Heritage of Miami and was called Bloody Pirate when the Planet School acquired her in May 2024.

In homage to the Motown heritage of Detroit (we’re big Stevie Wonder fans) and to capture the feeling of learning and exploration that comes from being at sea, we settled on the name Wonder for this next chapter in this vessel’s storied career.

  • Wonder is a Coast Guard inspected vessel and is certified to carry 38 passengers during the day and 24 passengers overnight.

  • This refers to the shape of Wonder's main sail, which is not a triangle. Instead, it is a trapezoid with its upper edge held aloft by a rod (spar) called a gaff. In total, Wonder can fly 10 sails when under full canvas, though wind conditions rarely make this an ideal sail plan.

  • Twice a year we sail Wonder between its summer home in Detroit and its winter home in the Caribbean. Wonder has sturdy rigging that was completely rebuilt in 2023 and a powerful 215 hp Cummins diesel engine.

Our Programs

In addition to our student voyages, we run several types of programs aboard Wonder throughout the year.

Ocean Pi

An interactive and remote oceanographic research project that we are prototyping during our voyage to Detroit during June-July 2024 and fully launching Fall 2024. Run your code on Wonder and participate in our scientific research from anywhere in the world.

Haunted Ship

Coming in October 2024, this is an expansion of the Planet School’s successful haunted house project in 2022 when 10 high school students designed, built, and ran a pop-up haunted house business as a fundraiser. They managed to raise $22,000 in three nights of sold out haunts.

This time, we bring the haunting to the Wonder and transform it into a terrifying pirate ship.

Adult Voyages

When we describe our teen programs, we very often hear from adults “Wow! I wish I could do that.” Now you can. We are looking at doing a short weekend voyage to Mackinac Island as well as 6 day voyages as part of our journey south in November-December 2024.

Please email voyaging@planetschool.org for more information.