A group of young woman from Tauranga Girls' College hit the high seas in the Spirit of Adventure this month making lifelong friends and learning valuable on water lessons.

The group of Year 10 students participated in the five day journey on the topsail schooner, which is visiting Tauranga this week, where they won the top trophy beating the boys from Marlborough Boys' College and Westlake Boys.

A group of 10 Tauranga Girls' College students participated in the five day Spirit of Adventure journey.

Year 10 Dean Judith Sommerville says the experience is an incredible opportunity for students to learn valuable team building skills in a safe environment.

'They run a whole lot of challenges and we won the trophy which is cool.

'It was such a neat opportunity I was surprised that they can challenge the kids in such a safe environment.”

On the five day tour from Auckland up Matakana to Kawerau Island the girls faced a range of challenges from the physical – manning the sails, tying knots, blowing up inflatables and paddling to land – to the more intellectual and team building challenges.

'One night we had the AMP show, each student put their name to an event, without knowing what the event was.

'It may have been horse riding, which ended up being the limbo.”

All of the students on board were also put on night duty where they learnt to look out for dangers on the water at night.

The girls were part of a crew of 54 people, who all slept in triple bunks, in girls and boys quarters.

To be part of the adventure, each of the 10 students from the Tauranga college wrote an essay on why they wanted to participate in the journey. They then spent two terms selling raffle tickets to raise the $770 each needed to fund the trip.

Year 10 student Raijeli Warren, 14, says the experience was amazing.

'It was amazing getting to meet new people and learning new skills.”

For Raijeli, who is hoping to study marine biology at university, the Spirit of Adventure was a chance to learn some valuable water safety and sailing skills.

'I love the water, but my favourite part was meeting all the new people – we made heaps of new friends throughout New Zealand.”

Raijeli intends to take on the 10 day Spirit of Adventure challenge when she turns 15 next year.