Last year, Luke Hartley was at the head of the class teaching kids how to strike up a tune in Washington Middle School but move over Beethoven, this former Seattle music maestro has now set his sights on a different kind of wave – the ocean kind. Hartley is now taking on the high seas in what can be described as the ultimate shift from school bells to buoy bells, embarking on a daring voyage to sail around the globe solo, as first reported by KOMO News.

According to KOMO News, Hartley's fascination with sailing kicked off after stumbling upon a YouTube video - it showcased a boat fully kitted out for off-grid living and thus began his obsession with the sailing life, prompting him to sell his possessions, buy a boat and he's currently getting some wind in his sails in Mexico before he heads off to French Polynesia to start his global trot, which he expects might take up five years of oceanic odyssey.

Hartley's journey starkly contrasts his old gig: "My classroom last year didn't have any windows,” Hartley told KOMO News. “So, I was getting to school in the dark and leaving in the dark every day.” Swapping fluorescent lights for starlight, he's set to navigate by the sun and sleep under a shifting canopy of constellations – a classroom upgrade by any measure.

But let's not get swept away just yet – Hartley is relatively green when it comes to taming the briny deep, his sailing resume built on a foundation of hitchhiking on vessels across Mexico and a hefty dose of Googling, according to KATU. "I never grew up sailing," he explained, "That's really the only practical experience I got other than Google and YouTube," Hartley said, emphasizing his fresh sea legs.