CASTINE, Maine — It was a great day on the water in Castine on Friday and not just because of the weather. Maine Maritime Academy’s training ship, State of Maine returned to her homeport after a 37-day training cruise.
Family and friends looked on as 260 of Maine Maritime Academy’s cadets, faculty, and staff brought the ship in to dock.
MMA crews departed Castine in April for the training voyage where students gain hands-on navigation and engineering experience in pursuit of their Coast Guard license.
One of the student’s dad, Brian Gebo is a Maine Maritime Academy Alum and said he did the very same trip with the school more than 30 years ago.
“31 years ago I was pulling in this morning and so here, being able to stay with some alumni friends here and be able to be here today to see my son finish his first one,” said Gebo. “That’s pretty cool. Yep.”
This year’s itinerary included brief stops in Boston, Massachusetts; Norfolk, Virginia; New York City, and a transit through the Bahamas and the northern Caribbean.
Patrick Whittam is a Maine Maritime Academy student who has been on the training cruise before and will go again in July.
“It’s a big deal for them to come in,” said Whittam. “This is a large part of our requirements here at the school. They’ve been at sea for over a month now and they must be really looking forward to getting off the ship and stretching their legs a bit.”
The students did not get to get off the ship though on Friday. MMA officials say they will need to stay aboard the vessel until Sunday in order to complete US Coast Guard licensing requirements.
MMA officials say the crew will spend the next few days cleaning and buttoning up the ship for the next trip.