Capt. Harry Bolton and his staff are hard at work planning for the 2009 training cruise to the West Coast of South America – and with a special extra. Much of the advance work involves coordination with a host of campus offices and external agencies….everything from food service (food ordering and staffing the shipboard food operations) to academic department heads (classroom scheduling and arranging logistics for shore-side activities and educational visits) to Coast Guard checks of operational and safety systems.
This year, the four-month itinerary will begin in a new way with a one-day training intensive of maneuvers and exercises on San Francisco Bay. The change will also afford an opportunity for campus faculty and staff to ride along that first day as observers. “We’re working closely with Bay maritime interests including area pilots, tug companies, and ports, Capt. Bolton explains. “Together, we’re arranging a day of exercises on the Bay that will include approaches to ports like Oakland and Richmond, maneuvering in confined channels, transferring of personnel between Golden Bear and workboats, and maneuvering in coordination with workboats such as our own Black Bear, which will accompany us throughout the first day in home waters. Collectively, these exercises will provide our cadets with excellent hands-on experiences in specialized vessel operations.”
Campus faculty and staff will be offered the chance to “ride along” that first day to watch colleagues and cadets in action. “We hope members of the campus family who have not had a chance to see the ship in full cruise operations mode, will get a better understanding of its role in all aspects of our educational and leadership programs. It’s also a chance for our deck and engine cadets to ‘hit the deck running’ from day one.”
Golden Bear will berth in San Francisco for an overnight stay, allowing visitors to disembark and return to Vallejo. The next morning, May 4, she will transit the Golden Gate headed for calls in Mexico, Panama, Ecuador and Chile. She’ll return to Los Angeles for changeover before repeating her Latin American itinerary a second time for Cruise 2 and return to Vallejo for the start of the fall semester on August 30th.
