Tideline School in Portland, Maine, runs a five-day sea kayaking journey on Casco Bay for its tenth-grade summer program: 23.8 miles in two-person kayaks from East End Beach in Portland to Little Chebeague Island and Jewell Island and back, with four nights camping on the two state-owned islands. ETI360 brought together the school's plan, the islands' published rules, and NOAA's tide and current predictions for these dates, measured each day's distance and time on the water from the route itself, timed every crossing to a window near slack water or on weak current, and set out the travel time by water and by road to the emergency department for each day; the school confirms with the outfitter which emergency department the group uses. Each document below is written for the person who uses it, and each opens in full.

Tideline School is a fictional school; its location is shown for illustrative purposes.

Trip
Casco Bay Sea Kayaking Journey, Monday, August 16 to Friday, August 20, 2027
Group
20 tenth-grade students and four chaperones in two pods, each pod ten students, two chaperones, and two of the outfitter's guides
Program
Grade 10 summer program in marine science and the outdoor education requirement, with the unit A Bay We Can Measure
On the water
23.8 miles (20.7 nautical miles) over five days in two-person sea kayaks, each crossing timed to a window of weak current
Nights
Camping on state-owned islands: Little Chebeague Island on Monday and Tuesday, Jewell Island on Wednesday and Thursday
Guides
Registered Maine Guides holding the Specialized Sea-Kayaking classification, with a support boat and its own operator
Travel
Coach from school to East End Beach on Monday morning, and home on Friday by way of dinner on Commercial Street
School
Tideline School, Portland, Maine, a fictional school

Decision by decision

Each decision the school makes about the trip, and the documents that support it. Every document is written for the person who uses it, and every one opens in full. Under each document, Look inside shows three of its pages as the school receives them; select a page to open the US Letter edition at that page.

ETI360 builds every document to two paper sizes. The US Letter edition (8.5 × 11 inches) is the standard in the United States; the A4 edition (210 × 297 mm) is the standard in most other countries.

Approving the trip

The record the office files, and the Trip Risk Working File for the school to review, complete, and approve.

First page of the School Trip Record

School

School Trip Record

The office copy: the trip in one place, the people who run it, the outfitter and the guides, the islands and their rules, emergency care, the cost, and what the research found and how the plan changed.

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Look inside
School Trip Record, page 2
The trip in one page: dates, program, group, the trip leader and the school contact at any hour, and the five days with their distance and where the group sleeps.
School Trip Record, page 4
Camping on state-owned islands: the sites on Little Chebeague and Jewell, and each island rule beside what the plan does about it, from first-come sites to no campfires.
School Trip Record, page 7
What the research found and how the plan changed: two islands in place of one, two camps of fourteen, no campfires, a route clear of the main ship channel, and a long Friday kept on purpose.
First page of the Trip Risk Working File

School

Trip Risk Working File

Hazards, controls, and emergency actions organized one section per activity group, from the coach and the beach to the crossings, the island camps, the shore study, and weather holds, with the live-assessment prompts for the trip leader and the guides. The school reviews it, completes it, amends it, and approves it.

US LetterA4

Look inside
Trip Risk Working File, page 2
How the file is used: the forms of risk documentation it supports, how the prepared ratings are written, and who makes the live assessment.
Trip Risk Working File, page 8
Cold water after a capsize and tidal current on the crossings: the controls in place, the prepared ratings before and with them, and the emergency actions, with a blank column for the school.
Trip Risk Working File, page 13
The checks on the day for paddling and crossings: conditions, group readiness, equipment, and supervision, with space for the school to record them.

Telling families

What the week asks, the cold water and the weather, camping on the islands, what to pack, and the permission and health form that comes back with the deposit.

First page of the Family Trip Brief

Families

Family Trip Brief

What the week is and what the paddling asks, the cold water and the weather, camping on the islands, what to pack and what it costs, how families hear from the school, and the permission and health form that returns with the deposit.

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Look inside
Family Trip Brief, page 3
The week on the water, how the trip handles cold water, and what happens when fog or wind changes the plan.
Family Trip Brief, page 5
What to pack for the water and for camp, what the outfitter supplies, and why families call the school, not the trip.
Family Trip Brief, page 7
The permission and health form, returned to the school office with the water-activity consent, the swim assessment, and the deposit.

Preparing the leader and chaperones

A Route Intelligence page for each paddling day, the crossing windows, the weather holds, the procedures, and the travel time by water and by road to the emergency department.

First page of the Trip Leader Card

Trip leader

Trip Leader Card

Pods, contacts, and standards on the water, the week in outline, a Route Intelligence page for each paddling day with its crossings and their windows, the weather holds and the radio plan, and the emergency plan.

US LetterA4

Look inside
Trip Leader Card, page 10
Monday's bail-out and boat access, what the guides watch, the radio plan, light and tide, and the travel time by water and by road to the emergency department.
Trip Leader Card, page 18
Friday's Route Intelligence page: distance, time on the water at the group's pace, tide, and sunset, with the route from Jewell Island past Andrews Beach to East End Beach and its crossings numbered in order.
Trip Leader Card, page 22
The weather holds: what happens in fog, under a small craft advisory, or with thunder, when a crossing cannot run, and how the pods and the support boat keep in touch by radio.
First page of the Chaperone Briefing and Pocket Card

Chaperones

Chaperone Briefing and Pocket Card

For the chaperones, who keep the same pod of students all week: the pod and the shape of a paddling day, what to do when something happens, the calls in order, and a pocket card to carry in a life jacket.

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Look inside
Chaperone Briefing and Pocket Card, page 2
Each chaperone's pod and place on the water, and the shape of a paddling day from the count before launch to lights out at camp.
Chaperone Briefing and Pocket Card, page 3
What to do after a capsize, for a student who is cold, in fog or wind, and for a student who cannot go on, then the calls in order.
Chaperone Briefing and Pocket Card, page 4
The pocket card: the call order and the numbers, the emergency department, the islands for each night, and the signs that mean off the water at once.

Timing each paddling day

How much light each day has, what the tide and current do on each crossing, and how long the group is exposed on open water.

First page of the Daylight, Tide and Exposure Report

Trip leader

Daylight, Tide and Exposure Report

How much light each paddling day has, what the tide and current do on each crossing, and how long the group is exposed on open water, from NOAA's predictions for these dates. On this trip fog, wind, and the current windows, not the light, set the limits.

US LetterA4

Look inside
Daylight, Tide and Exposure Report, page 2
Sun times for each day and the margin after the group is off the water: the smallest is Friday's, 4.6 hours before sunset.
Daylight, Tide and Exposure Report, page 5
Every crossing with its length, its window, and the strongest current predicted inside it; none is above 0.8 knots.
Daylight, Tide and Exposure Report, page 6
Exposure by day: time afloat, minutes on open crossings, and the longest crossing, with Friday the most exposed, and the water a student would be in after a capsize, a mean of 63.5°F for these dates.

Connecting the trip to learning

The unit A Bay We Can Measure: the water and weather measured every day, two shore transects, and the report students write when they are home.

First page of the Educational Journey

Teachers

Educational Journey

The unit A Bay We Can Measure, what each paddling day teaches, a page for each day with its route, map, and tide, the two shore transects, the daily journal, and the report students write after the trip.

US LetterA4

Look inside
Educational Journey, page 2
What the week teaches: questions on the warming Gulf of Maine, life on the shore, who uses the bay, and the islands' Second World War history.
Educational Journey, page 8
Wednesday's day page: distance, time on the water, tide, and sunset, the route from Little Chebeague to Jewell Island, and Jewell as a wartime fort.
Educational Journey, page 14
The field studies: the same transect on Tuesday's sheltered flats and Thursday's open rock, safety on the shore as the tide turns, and the journal.
First page of the Student Journey Guide

Students

Student Journey Guide

The guide students carry all week in a dry bag: the week and the rules on the water, camp, cold and sun, a page for each day with its map, crossings, and stops, the questions for the journal, and a trip card to cut out and carry.

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Look inside
Student Journey Guide, page 2
Your week: the five days in a student's words, where you paddle and sleep, and the rules on the water, from a zipped life jacket to a paddle raised straight up.
Student Journey Guide, page 4
Camp, cold, and sun, and the trip card to cut out and keep in a life jacket pocket.
Student Journey Guide, page 13
Friday in the guide: the numbers for the longest day, the map home from Jewell Island, and each crossing with its length and time.

Improving next year's trip

What students, parents, the chaperones, and the outfitter said, set out for the school's review.

First page of the Post-Trip Feedback Report

After the trip

Post-Trip Feedback Report

Four questions asked of students, parents, the chaperones, and the outfitter two weeks after the trip, how the answers are read, and the parts of this plan most likely to come up, named in advance.

US LetterA4

Look inside
Post-Trip Feedback Report, page 2
The four questions, asked once, two weeks after the group is home, in each group's own words.
Post-Trip Feedback Report, page 4
What the report looks like, with example figures because the trip has not yet run: labeled distributions for each question, students beside parents.
Post-Trip Feedback Report, page 6
The open question for every group, and the parts of this plan most likely to come up: Monday morning, a weather hold, and Friday's 8.6 miles.

Who decides

The school and any provider it works with retain responsibility for decisions, supervision, live assessments, and final approval.

The Trip Risk Working File is written for the school to review, complete, and approve. Its ratings are a starting point, its review lines are for the school’s own controls, and the trip leader makes the live assessment on the day.

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Tideline School is a fictional school; its location is shown for illustrative purposes.