What is Ocean Pi?

Open to aspiring ocean scientists of all ages, Ocean Pi offers the amazing opportunity to remotely conduct scientific investigations at sea. Ocean Pi utilizes Raspberry Pi computers that are connected to dozens of sensors installed aboard tall ships that voyage thousands of miles twice a year.

Developed by Thane Robinson in 2024 as part of the Planet School, Ocean Pi currently operates through Tabor Academy where Thane serves as captain of SSV Tabor Boy. Ocean Pi hardware is maintained by Tabor Academy students as part of their shipboard curriculum, blending oceanography, computer science, and community service through their management of a living, public-facing educational science project.

Participating Ships

SSV Tabor Boy

Part sail training vessel, part classroom, and part lab, the SSV Tabor Boy is a unique educational asset of Tabor Academy, the school by the sea. The Tabor Boy is a 115-foot, gaff-rigged, two-masted schooner that has been a part of the school since 1954. SSV stands for “Sailing School Vessel” and is the U.S. Coast Guard’s designation for the schooner. She is one of two Coast Guard inspected vessels in her class that operate in the northeastern United States. Tabor Boy is inspected and constructed as suitable for off-shore, open ocean passage making.

Tabor Boy is planning to voyage from Marion, MA to Florida and the Caribbean in fall 2026.

SV Wonder

Wonder is a steel-hull gaff-rigged replica design of an early 19th-century American coastal schooner that was built in 1988. Formerly Heritage of Miami, Wonder served for 30+ years as a vessel for the Boy Scout SeaBase program in the Florida Keys. Wonder was bought by Thane Robinson to serve as the Ocean Campus of the Planet School. When not hosting Planet School students, it offers sunset sails and charters through the Voyaging Institute, where 100% of profits support the school to help offset tuition.

Wonder is currently undergoing a major refit and will rejoin Ocean Pi when repairs are completed in 2027.