SYDNEY MINES, N.S. — Lloyd Francis has camped overnight in the Sahara Desert, searched for caimans in the Amazon rainforest and climbed a volcano in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean — all while teaching high school.
The 30-year-old Sydney Mines native spent the past year and a half onboard the tall ship Gulden Leeuw, which Lunenberg-based private school Class Float operates as an ocean-going classroom for students ages 15-20.
“I’ve been to four continents and 28 different countries in the past year and a half. It was a really cool experience,” said Francis, who taught political science, global history and global geography, and also helped with the psychology and microeconomics classes Class Afloat offers through Acadia University in Wolfville.
It was also a learning experience for Francis, who got to know his way around the 70-metre, three-mast vessel.
“I have absolutely no background in sailing whatsoever, so it was great because I actually learned that as well,” said Francis, who taught in Nunavut for five years before joining Class Afloat in 2018.
“I’m not required to learn that on the ship because that’s the students’ domain, but obviously when you have down time and things like that, the students love when you actually go on deck, learn how to handle the sails. You go on the bridge and learn the navigation equipment and things like that. I spent time learning that as well. I don’t think I know as much as the students do at this point, but I think I can get myself around the ship if I have to right now.”
Since the Gulden Leeuw isn’t your typical classroom, it makes sense that the schedule for teachers and students is also unusual.
Francis said the day begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., followed by morning announcements and daily cleaning duties for everyone onboard until 9 a.m. Then the school day begins.
“Every day that we’re at sea is a teaching day, so there’s no traditional weekends. So, on Saturday or Sunday, if you’re at sea, if the ship is moving, you’re teaching. The students are in class. And then when we get to a port, the port is kind of like the weekend. We have three days in port — for a day and a half students do organized activities and then the other day and a half is free time to explore and kind of do your own thing.”
Francis said the ship is usually at sea for about a week but some voyages can be as long as 18 days.
Some of his favourite memories were travelling through the Sahara Desert on camelback in Morocco, spending New Year’s Eve looking for caimans (an alligator-like, South American reptile) in Suriname, and making the 2,351-metre trek up Mount Pico in the Azores.
“That was the most physically demanding thing that I’ve ever done in my life. They said it was a hike but it was more like a vertical climb — sometimes you’re on your hands and knees climbing. But then when you get to the top and you can look out and see the amazing view — you can see the other islands, and you’re way up above the clouds — it was just absolutely amazing.”
Another highlight was helping out at a small village near Samana in the Dominican Republic.
“We were able to paint houses. During a two-day period my three students and I and the guy we were staying with, I think we painted six houses. That was really cool to do that and help out. It was a nice service project,” he said.
Unfortunately, Francis isn’t heading back out to sea when the Dutch-based Gulden Leeuw sets sail for its next semester later this month. He returned home early to help take care of his mother and is currently working as a substitute teacher for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education.
“It’s great working in Cape Breton and I want to work in Cape Breton — that’s the goal eventually — but I really like how my career started and I definitely am not afraid to take on the opportunities that come my way,” he said. “The funny thing is it was literally my first day of substituting and I was telling the students at Malcolm Munroe (Middle School) about my experiences, about the tall ship and being up north, and one of the kids said, ‘You’re the coolest substitute ever.’ It made me feel great. It was nice to hear.”
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