The educational programme was launched as organisers celebrated a huge opening weekend to the celebrations around the Artemis Transat - the opening event in the Plymouth Summer Festival.
"OC Events, the overall race organisers, have estimated that as many as 35,000 people have been through the race village over the Bank Holiday.
"The ambience has been great; even the French teams have been commenting about how good the culture is here in Plymouth."
The Year 7 and 8 pupils will learn about everything from the construction of yachts to the communication systems sailors use to satellite tracking and weather systems.
The schoolchildren will also visit Plymouth's RNLI lifeboat, the police diving team and the National Marine Aquarium.
The first group to visit was from Saltash.net Community School and about 30 other schools are set to follow in their footsteps in the four days in the lead-up to the start of the race on Sunday.
The groups - led by University of Plymouth students acting as 'university ambassadors' - will then be led to an 'Ocean Racing Exhibition' feature, designed to give an insight into life on an ocean racing yacht.
The interactive exhibition will look at the technology of the boat, the challenges facing the skipper and the ways in which the boat demonstrates the sustainable use of energy.
The groups will then visit various marine-sector businesses in other areas of the Barbican and Coxside.
It is believed to be the first time that a yachting race has been used to inspire such an ambitious education project.
OC Events boss Mark Turner said: "To move the race village site to Sutton Harbour has been a great move compared to four years ago, and you really feel that this event now sits at the heart of Plymouth.
"It's great to see all the race fleet here; the skippers and boats are well prepared and ready for the race ahead.
"Amongst this festival atmosphere it's easy to forget that the skippers will soon be facing the hostilities of the North Atlantic when they leave Plymouth on Sunday for the USA."
Conrad said: "This weekend has been the birth of something this city has needed for a very long time. It's surpassed my wildest expectations. Yesterday we had 2,000 people come on board the tall ship.
Event South West, the regional event company created by round-the- world sailor Conrad Humphreys, said that 35,000 people had been through the race village at Sutton Harbour over the generally sunny Bank holiday weekend.