Avast, ye mateys. Ready for a 10-day “crash” course in classroom seamanship that is directed toward a pair of captain’s masters bars? That was the exhausting aim for 15 students recently at the highly successful San Diego Maritime Institute near Shelter Island. To graduate, these aspiring ship captains had to endure eight hours of classwork each day, an added three hours nightly of homework and 20 hours of study at home on the weekends. “The Maritime Institute is fully college-accredited to offer a degree in associates of applied science degrees in marine transportation and offers over 40 U.S. Coast Guard-approved licensed courses,” said the institute’s president and CEO, Capt. H. G. “Rags” Laragione. Laragione said the institute is a complete source for the recreational, professional, military and law enforcement professions. The curriculum covers everything from basic maritime rules of the road to upper tonnage licenses. The institute has sent to sea more than 15,000 new captains nationwide, said Laragione. “It’s for a basic masters license all the way down to the six packs, those little boats that run in the harbor,” Laragione said. “The educational courses have been designed to meet the needs of large yachts, small charters, recreational and sport fishing boats.” He said the minimum class is for a masters license but there are longer sessions for those seeking a third mate’s license to qualify for larger 500- to 1,600-ton vessels. There are seven full-time and three part-time instructors, with another 10 in reserve. Most of the instructors are retired Navy or Coast Guard captains. “We need the discipline for drills that includes all methods for damage control, like flooding or firefighting,” said Laragione, who is a retired Navy captain. “You must learn every part of a ship.” The institute has expanded its range in 35 years of operation with private school branches in Bellingham and Whidby Island (Wash.) and San Rafael. Courses also are offered online. Laragione was in the inaugural class in 1976. He retired from the Navy in 1991. The school itself was founded by Chief Boatswain Frank Gaines. In retirement, Laragione and his wife went on a five-year cruise to Central America and the Caribbean in their 33-foot sloop. When they returned, they bought the school, he said. Over the years, San Diegans have come to appreciate the Maritime Institute’s support of the waterfront community as a part of the history of the San Diego sportfishing fleet and the generous support of waterfront charities like Make-a-Wish, Challenged America, VA Sports Clinic and the Sea Scouts. “Our students come from the recreational, commercial, law enforcement and even the military boating communities,” Laragione said. “The most rewarding thing for us is to see how a captain’s license can change the lives of our students and open up all kinds of new opportunities for them,” Laragione said. The institute is located at 1310 Rosecrans St., Suite G. For information, call (619) 225-1783, or visit www.mar-itimeinstitute.com.
