Cadets hang a banner on Monday, July 29, 2024, after the U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear anchored in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The ship is on a layover before returning to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Family members wait to greet cadets disembarking the California State University Maritime Academy training ship Golden Bear on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. About 65 students from Southern California are enjoying a two-day leave before the ship returns to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear carrying 249 Cal State University Maritime Academy students anchors on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The ship is on a layover before returning to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer) (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Raegan Ballanza of Lake Elsinore mans the Engineering Operating Station alongside another student aboard the Golden Bear, a Cal Maritime training ship, on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The ship is on a layover before returning to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Capt. Samar Bannister stands in the bridge after guiding the Cal State University Maritime Academy training ship Golden Bear into San Pedro on Monday, July 29, 2024. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Cal Maritime University President Mike Dumont, left, Capt. Samar Bannister of the U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear, and Cal Maritime Commander of Cadets, Jimmy Moore, stand on the top deck after the ship arrived on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. 249 students are nearing the end of a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Deck cadet Morgan Uecker of Lawrence, Kansas, is one of 249 students to train on the U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear as it anchors in San Pedro on Monday, July 29, 2024.(Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Cal State University Maritime Academy student George Chira, Jr., left, of Moreno Valley, is greeted by his father, after the training ship Golden Bear anchored on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. About 65 cadets from Southern California disembarked for a two-day leave before the ship returns to Northern California during its two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Students from the California State University Maritime Academy training ship Golden Bear disembark on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. About 65 cadets from Southern California disembarked for a two-day leave before the ship returns to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Emilio Carver of Petaluma disembarks the Golden Bear, a Cal Maritime training ship, on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The ship is on a layover before returning to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Students from the California State University Maritime Academy training ship Golden Bear arrive on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. About 65 cadets from Southern California disembarked for a two-day leave before the ship returns to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Students from the California State University Maritime Academy training ship Golden Bear arrive on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. About 65 cadets from Southern California disembarked for a two-day leave before the ship returns to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Commandant of Cadets, Jimmy Moore, of Redondo Beach, arrived with 249 Cal State University Maritime Academy students aboard the U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear on Monday, July 29, 2024, in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The cadets are nearing the end of a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Cadets hang a banner on Monday, July 29, 2024, after the U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear anchored in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. The ship is on a layover before returning to Northern California following a two-month international training voyage. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
On its final leg of a two-month international training voyage, the student-operated U.S. training ship Golden Bear stopped at the Port of Los Angeles on Monday, July 29.
The vessel — part of the course work at the California State University Maritime Academy — arrived with 249 cadets on board. The students, aiming to earn a U.S. Coast Guard license via the at-sea experience, are responsible for operating the ship, including navigating and piloting it, repairing and overseeing the propulsion system, and maintaining the vessel in general.
The crew includes 65 cadets from the greater Los Angeles area. The crew also included 46 officers, faculty and staff.
LA is the final stop on the voyage, said Capt. Samar Bannister Schneider (she goes by Capt. Bannister), an alumni of the program. She graduated in 2000.
The trips provide valuable experience for the students, she said, and are required for Coast Guard licenses.
During the voyage that just ended, the ship logged some 12,500 nautical miles across the Pacific Rim, with port stops in Honolulu; Busan, South Korea; and Yokohama, Japan.
The cadets were on the ship’s annual training voyage, which is part of the specialized curriculum offered at Cal Maritime, established in 1929 and located on 92 acres of California State University waterfront property in Vallejo.
It is the only maritime academy granting degrees on the West Coast. Academic programs prepare students for maritime industry careers in the fields of engineering, oceanography, transportation, global logistics, marine sciences and international relations.
Specialized programs in marine transportation, marine engineering technology and mechanical engineering can lead to a Merchant Marine license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, in addition a bachelor’s degree.
The training cruise provides cadets who are pursuing a U.S. Coast Guard license with the sea experience they need to graduate and work aboard ships of any size worldwide.
Training cruises are led by the ship’s captain, Cal Maritime faculty, a chief engineer and a team of experienced licensed mariners.
When they graduate, students can find lucrative and diverse work as Merchant Mariners at sea, as well as use their knowledge shoreside.
Jobs are plentiful, Bannister said — and well paid. Many cadets work on board vessels for the first few years, earning enough money for a house downpayment, then transition to landslide occupations, including working for ports.
From tankers to container ships — and inland, operating ferries, harbor cruise boats and tugs — there is a variety of work offered, Bannister said.
Bannister grew up in Colorado but a cruise to the Caribbean convinced her that the sea was her calling.
“Everyone looked cold and pale,” she said of the homecoming after that trip.
On the voyages, she said, the students have opportunities to work throughout the ship, rotating on different shifts and stations. When they reach port, they go ashore armed with cultural and protocol lessons provided by their instructors before enjoying the cuisine and shopping in another culture.
The voyages at sea, Bannister said, take on students who often are unsure of themselves. When they return after two months, she said, they are brimming with a new confidence.
