Last month, the group of Year 10 pupils flew to Auckland with their teacher Kim Fairbrother and boarded the Spirit of New Zealand.
Also sharing the voyage, and competing for the trophy, were Manurewa College and Avondale College, both from Auckland, and Ruawai College, from Northland.
They applied for the opportunity by writing an essay about what they hoped to get out of the experience.
Parents also had to take part by writing how they thought their child might benefit, Miss Fairbrother said.
It was important each child brought something valuable back to the school from the skills they learned, she said.
They all spent five days competing against each other to win the most points from various activities.
The day started at 6.45am, when the generator switched on. Everyone donned their swim gear and hit the deck for exercises before getting in the water by 7am.
The formal part of the day followed breakfast, during which a weather report was read and a quote of the day, thought of the day and joke of the day were shared.
Once everything was ship-shape, it was activity time with three activities before lights out at 10pm.
"It's go, go, go all day, but that's what the kids are after," she said.
Events involved teamwork, problem-solving, debate, ship's handling and aquatic sports, in and on the water.
Knot tying, sand-castle building, raft races, tug-of-war and quizzes were just a few of the activities they took part in, Miss Fairbrother said.
Teams also went on shore for a day to complete a task which involved ingenuity, leadership, excitement and reward.
Independence, co-operation, team work, understanding and community spirit were the key qualities developed during the voyage.
"I think it's incredibly valuable. They are outside their comfort zone and they are learning without knowing they are learning," she said.
Over the five days, the ship sailed around the Hauraki Gulf, anchoring at Kawau Island, Man O'War Bay and just off Waiheke Island.
The Spirit Trophy now had pride of place in the South Otago High School trophy cabinet and the voyage of a lifetime was firmly imprinted in the pupils' memories.
