It's billed as a voyage of discovery, but what these students discovered was that a semester at sea isn't always smooth sailing.

The semester is off to a rocky start for hundreds of college students in the Semester at Sea program.

We're not talking about their grades. We're talking about a 50-foot wave that crashed into a ship carrying some 700 students studying abroad.

They're safely anchored now, but as Nancy Yamada shows us, the huge wave created a big scare. Nancy Yamada's report

It's billed as a voyage of discovery, but what these students discovered was that a semester at sea isn't always smooth sailing.

"This is an adventure that nobody really signed up for", says Miami University of Ohio student Sarah Macharg.

The 590-foot ship, the explorer had some 700 college students on board when that monstrous wave hit early Wednesday morning, hundreds of miles off the coast of Alaska. Students along with their furniture were tossed around like toys as waves rocked the ship.

The images are hard to watch for Wendy Frankel and family. The Rockville woman's 21-year old son, Adam was on board. He's now among the kids who have a harrowing tale about the power of the heavy seas.

"I was sad, and as a mom, it hurt me to think that he was scared at a time that I wasn't there", says Frankel.

Adam just happened to call home while our cameras were rolling. He's now on dry land in Hawaii, along with some students who are nursing their injuries.

And though his semester at sea was bumpier than anyone ever expected, it appears Adam isn't ready to cut his voyage short.

With three of its four engines damaged, the ship is scheduled to remain in Hawaii for repairs for several days before heading to China.

Though Adam's eager to continue on his voyage, he says Hawaii's not so bad, it's warm, beautiful and get this, he's learning how to sky dive.

Click on video to see Nancy Yamada's report