School on the water drops anchor in Long Beach - The California Maritime Academy's 500-foot ship, the Golden Bear, docked in the Port of Long Beach

School on the water drops anchor in Long Beach
By Andrew Shortall, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/02/2009 05:03:28 PM PDT

Cadets aboard the Cal Maritime's Floating Classroom, the Golden Bear, load food and supplies Thursday morning in preparation for their next cruise. (Brittany Murray/Staff Photographer)

LONG BEACH - The Queen Mary is going to have company in Long Beach over the weekend. The California Maritime Academy's 500-foot ship, the Golden Bear, docked in the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday and is here until Monday.

The Golden Bear is no ordinary ship - it's a training ground for future sailors. Aboard the vessel cadets learn the skills vital to a career as a professional mariner.

"It is a place where you take everything you learned in the classroom and practice it at sea," said Harry Bolton, captain of the Golden Bear. "This is where we cut the wheat from the chaff."

During the school year, the Golden Bear is kept at California Maritime's campus in Vallejo. On campus, it serves as a classroom, training facility, laboratory and residence hall for cadets.

In the summer, the Golden Bear serves a different function. Each summer the ship sets out for two, two-month cruises covering approximately 25,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean.

During these cruises, the ship is run by cadets under the supervision of officers from the school's faculty and industry experts.

The Golden Bear just returned from carrying more than 200 California Maritime cadets, faculty and staff as they completed a two-month training voyage.

Starting Monday, a crew of over 280 cadets from both the California and Texas Maritime Academy will take control of the ship. The crew will head to Catalina Island, where senior cadets will be able to maneuver
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the ship before heading to South America, with stops in Chile, Ecuador, Panama and Mexico.

The California Maritime Academy boasted a 100 percent employment rate for 12 consecutive years - until last year when the economy faltered. During those 12 years, cadets averaged 3.5 job offers with an average starting salary of $70,000, Bolton said.

This success is largely due to the skills and characteristics cadets develop aboard the Golden Bear, he said.

Michael Hess, a senior cadet from California Maritime Academy, is on his final cruise before graduating and hopes to have similar success. He said his time aboard the Golden Bear has been a confidence builder, letting him know he can do everything he learned in the classroom.

"Being in a simulator is one thing, but coming out here and actually getting to work on and run a vessel is a big step in a career," Hess said.

Cristino Molina, a senior cadet from Cal Maritime , is also beginning his second and final cruise aboard the Golden Bear. He said he came into the academy with no knowledge of what it took to work on a ship.

"This has been an opportunity to constantly learn," Molina said. "It solidifies the skills I need to be a professional mariner."


Captain Harry Bolton runs the Cal Maritime's Floating Classroom, the Golden Bear. (Brittany Murray/Staff Photographer)