About Us

THE HIOBS STORY

Outward Bound established its first sea-based school on the coast of Maine in 1964. Started by Peter Willauer, the island-based school was set up on Hurricane Island, a remote island northeast of Portland, and served as the summer base camp for sailing, sea kayaking, and rock climbing programs.

The success of these early programs soon gave way to the addition of a mountain base in Newry, Maine—the starting point for backpacking, climbing, and canoeing programs that stretch into the Rangeley Lakes region—and programs that now extend from Maine to Florida and reach all the way to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS) serves middle school, high school, gap year, college students, adults, and veterans from our Armed Forces looking for wilderness adventure. What has kept HIOBS strong for years has been the passion and resolve that so many individuals and families have demonstrated time and time again.