Sister Ships in Southern Seas
By Kathryn Haenn '14 (Cadet PR Officer)
They say that time changes all things, and this past Memorial Day,
students from Maine Maritime Academy realized just how true that is
when their training ship, the State of Maine, met up with California
Maritime Academy's training ship, the Golden Bear, in the Caribbean Sea.
The air was thick with anticipation as word passed that the
training equipment appropriate to opposite sides of the country.
Golden Bear was in sight off the starboard bow. Everyone that
These differences were what the midshipmen crowded on the
could get away from assigned tasks lined the rails, cameras and
rails looked for as the two ships got closer and closer. We could
binoculars in hand. It's always fun to see a new ship, but this one
see, for instance, that where we have a helo deck, they have two
was really special.
extra lifeboats and an extra crane behind the aft house. They
The event was momentous not only because no two academy
wear shorts with their khakis (Heaven forbid!). Nevertheless,
training ships have taken the time to rendezvous at sea before,
except for the paint jobs and the giant golden bear on their
but also because the State of Maine and the Golden Bear are
stack, we were basically in the same boat.
sister ships. Despite being sisters (originally built from the same
The most exciting part of the encounter, however, was the
design), the two ships have become increasingly different over
exchange. When the two ships were close enough, the Golden Bear
the years as the schools have customized them with various
22 MARINER / FALL 2012

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