 In 1984 the United Nations, under the banner of "International Youth Year", invited schools and agencies worldwide to interpret the themes of "participation, development, and peace".Founder of West Island College, Terry Davies, interpreted those themes by taking a group of students and teachers on an extended field trip aboard the chartered sailing vessel Pogoria to visit other students in countries around the world.In 1992 the school commissioned the building of their own ship, the S/V "Concordia".