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visitor to the California Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) will see both similarities and differences between it and the country’s military academies. It is those differences which distinguish Cal Maritime in both curriculum and purpose from its military counterparts.
Located in Vallejo, California, about 30 miles north of San Francisco, the California Maritime Academy marked its 50th anniversary last September. It has a student enrollment of about 470, of whom about 20 are women.
Outwardly, one will see some evidence of a military environment: uniforms, short haircuts, and traditional forms of military courtesy. A morning formation is held to muster the student body, and there is a demerit system for infractions of discipline. Though it is an educational facility of the state of California, the school receives extensive financial assistance from the federal government—hence, the requirement for uniforms. It also explains the presence of a department of naval science. A small staff of regular Navy officers and enlisted men teaches naval orientation courses and provides counseling for those contemplating active duty upon graduation.
Cal Maritime is a four-year, fully accredited institution, the only one of its kind on the West Coast. Its midshipmen pursue a program of education and training designed to provide them with hands-on experience so they are ready to function as licensed merchant marine officers immediately upon graduation. Unlike Navy ships, merchant ships have such small crews that there is no time to qualify a junior officer “on the job” to become a dependable deck or engineering officer. As Rear Admiral Joseph P. Rizza, U. S. Maritime Service, Cal Maritime’s president since 1972, points out:
“Practical experience learned here is the one factor which makes our graduates so valuable to the people who hire thejn.
“A man or woman graduating from Cal Maritime and meeting all Coast Guard requirements would be expected to immediately take a bridge or engine room watch and the responsibility that goes with it. That can, and usually does occur the first day they are on board.”
Practical experience is gained not only in the academy’s classrooms, shops, and laboratories, but by long training voyages on board the 7,987-gross ton school ship Golden Bear. The ship typically spends 10-12 weeks each year on these voyages and embarks all except second classmen. Every midshipman is required to make three voyages to meet U. S. Coast Guard requirements for license.
Though the responsibility for the safe operation of any vessel on the high seas must rest with her licensed officers and ultimately with her captain, midshipmen on board the Golden Bear are, by design, thrust into roles of responsibility. Midshipmen operate the engineering plant, stand deck watches, navigate, take on stores and fuel, and perform all the myriad tasks necessary to steam the ship. Senior midshipmen assume the leadership roles, while junior midshipmen serve in the subordinate positions. The ** faculty on board, all of whom are licensed merchant marine officers (many having tickets either as masters or chief engineers), serve essentially as advisors. To the extent possible, midshipmen during any given watch at sea will be either performing or supervising ship's work and evolutions in consultation with a faculty deck or engineering officer on watch.
The ship has visited a wide variety of ports over the years, ranging from the United States to those in South America, the South Pacific, and the Far East. The Golden Bear’s 1979 voyage, for example, went through the Panama Canal to New Orleans and also took her to ports in Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. Rizza has hopes of steaming the Golden Bear to the People’s Republic of China someday, but with the rapidly escalating cost of bunker fuel, the voyage may be out of the question unless the federal government subsidizes the voyage.
First classmen returning from training voyages begin an intensive period of preparation for their license exams. This study period, combined with the months of practical experience on board the Golden Bear, virtually assures passing. The professional prospects of Cal Maritime graduates are excellent. While the blue-water U. S.-flag merchant marine fleet has sadly diminished in numbers during recent times, other areas of the maritime industry are almost begging for officers. Says Admiral Rizza:
“We have had more jobs available in the last three years than we have had graduates. The maritime industries of California absolutely depend on our graduates for their personnel requirements. . . . Our graduates start at about $21,000 a year and I don’t think any school can match that. I had a request for a block of 1,000 graduates to operate small craft for the offshore oil industry which we couldn’t possibly meet, and we have had other similar requests for large numbers of officers.”
Not a few graduates who are sailing on their tickets are earning $30,000 after taxes their first year at sea. Working conditions are excellent. Hours, pay (including overtime), living conditions, and terms of employment are all clearly defined and protected by maritime law and union contracts. Sortie shipping
Cal Maritime's president, Rear Admiral Joseph P. Rizza, emphasizes that it is the school's program, combining theoretical knowledge with practical training, which makes its graduates highly desirable to the maritime industry. Rizza spent 30 years as a naval officer before becoming president of the school in 1972.
0 lines are even considering letting wives go to sea n w'th their husbands.
g With such attractive pay and working conditions,
a lt: is little wonder that few graduates opt for active 'Jnty in the Navy. Under the Maritime Administra- r don’s General Order 87, all merchant marine mid-
1 shipmen are required to apply for a commission in the Naval Reserve. In practice, few Cal Maritime
t grads find their way into the active Navy, although j aIl incur a military obligation. Of the five options
1 bailable to satisfy it, only one requires active duty
t for more than 30 days per year, while a second pro-
t vides a commission as ensign in the Coast Guard.
. The academy has long recognized that many of its
| graduates do not desire to remain at sea the rest of rheir lives. There are many jobs ashore in the Maritime industry which require their type of educational background. Within the deck curriculum there is a dual emphasis on the management aspects °h the maritime industry so that when such a job is available—in a shipping line’s home office for example—the Cal Maritime grad is qualified to compete for it. Similarly, aspiring engineers receive an education much like that given to mechanical engineer majors in other colleges. They are qualified n°t only as ships’ engineers, but can also function as engineering technologists in many diverse industries, ^fany have completed additional education to become fully qualified mechanical engineers.
“Students here at Cal Maritime are not Phi Beta Kappa types that will go on to postgraduate work, Admiral Rizza explains. “They are bright young kids who come here with good goals, are highly Motivated and can relate what they learn in class and *n the labs directly to their profession. They are all good at working with their hands. This school gives them an opportunity to make a good career and be a success in life. I don’t think there is any other college >n California that can provide young people with the opportunity that we can.’’
The validity of Admiral Rizza’s views is demonstated by the steadily increasing number of applicants to Cal Maritime. More than 600 a year are
vying for the approximately 100 seats open each year. Academic standards for admittance have been tightened, and entrance exams are now required. The quality of campus facilities is being steadily improved. More than $8 million of new construction has been completed or funded within the last few years, including welding and radar simulation labs, a 500-seat auditorium, residence and dining halls.
The U. S. Maritime Administration has predicted a severe shortage of shipboard officers within the U. S. merchant marine by the mid-1980s. The average age of such officers is now estimated to be in the mid-50s. As more and more of these officers retire from service, those younger officers now sailing are virtually assured of promotion. A master of a U. S.- flag vessel earns between $50,000 and $60,000 annually, with those in command of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, making even more. It is ironic that in a time when the United States must depend in large measure on foreign bottoms to transport its goods and commodities abroad, there is a dearth of qualified officers for the berths available.
If and when the blue water U. S. merchant marine fleet improves its unhealthy—if not moribund— position in world shipping, schools such as the California Maritime Academy will be an important factor in providing adequate numbers of qualified merchant marine officers.
Mr. Powers is editor of publications for the Port of San Diego. This is his 15th major illustrated 1 » ftd lm article in the Proceedings. Previous pictorials have W jB addressed a wide variety of subjects, including —ajtMTA the Republic of China Navy, the F-14 Tomcat -* JRp!I flle U. S. Coast Guard Academy, and
/ i/,5 MKcti historical pieces from Japan and the Philippines. He is an honors graduate in journalism of San Diego State University and has done graduate work in photojournalism at Syracuse University. Mr. Powers retired from naval service in 1974 as a senior chief petty officer. He served as a working photojournalist in many duty stations including North Africa, Vietnam, the Philippines, the Naval War College, and in Washington, D.C. His other publication credits include most newspapers subscribing to either Associated Press or United Press International, Newsweek, Parade, and many specialized publications.
It’s not a military school; the slouching postures and the hair styles make that quickly evident. But the Navy is there even so, in the form of a small NROTC unit and some federal financial assistance. Because of the munificent starting salaries available in the civilian maritime industry, not many Cal Maritime students opt for active duty with the Navy upon graduation. As part of the practical experience at the academy, students get a good deal of underway training, including conning experience in smallcraft and serving in the crews of pulling boats.
The faces of California Maritime Academy include those of many students, both men and women. Women, whether studying to be deck or engineering officers, assume the same responsibilities as their male counterparts. About a dozen women have been graduated so far, and all have found jobs at sea. Above, leaning on the engine order telegraph of the Golden Bear, is Captain William D. Craig, the ship’s master. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Maritime Academy, Craig has commanded a number of ships, including three destroyers and several commercial vessels.
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H hen it comes to training students to operate merchant ships at sea, Cal Maritime has a fine vehicle in the training ship Golden Bear. She is the former USS Crescent City (AP-40/APA-21), a Navy transport during World War 11. The ship’s cruises take the prospective deck officers and engineers to a good many locations, acclimating them to the sea and providing experience in the many situations, both routine and emergency, which are part of shipboard life.