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April 15, 2005
Susan “Charlie” Arms Director of Sailing Cal Maritime
707-654-1257
Cal Maritime Sponsors US
Sailing’s Safety At Sea Seminar Inaugural recreational
boating safety seminar and open house lead up to U.S. Coast Guard’s
Safe Boating Week
VALLEJO, Calif., April 15, 2005 — The California Maritime
Academy (Cal Maritime), a campus of The California State University,
will kick off National Safe Boating Week with a weekend of
activities that will include an Open House on Saturday, May 21, and
a US Sailing Safety at Sea Seminar on Sunday, May 22.
Safety at Sea
On May 22, Cal Maritime will hold its inaugural US Sailing Safety
at Sea Seminar, a certified safety program for offshore sailors that
is required for many races and recommended for anyone who wants to
learn about safety relating to offshore sailing. The seminar, which
will be held on the Cal Maritime campus, is organized by US Sailing,
developed by Cruising World, and sponsored by West Marine, Zodiac
North America, and Oregon Scientific. The seminar will provide
novice and experienced mariners with the most authoritative daylong
seminar on safe seamanship, heavy-weather tactics, and boat
preparation. Participants will also see safety-equipment demos,
learn crew overboard recovery techniques, and have the opportunity
to pose questions to a panel of expert blue water sailors. A
certificate of completion will be issued at the conclusion of the
seminar. “We wanted to give participants the opportunity to
experience training in the same setting that we train professional
mariners,” said Susan ”Charlie” Arms, director of sailing at Cal
Maritime. “Since it’s the beginning of the boating season and
leading up to the North American Safe Boating Week, it seemed the
ideal time to open our campus. That’s what this program is all
about.”
Arms added that moderator Chuck Hawley, director of technical
information for West Marine, will lead a team of speakers in the
Safety at Sea Seminar. John Jourdame, veteran Whitebread racer, and
Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and Pacific Cup winner Liz Baylis will
join Hawley on the panel.
Open House
On Saturday, May 21 Cal Maritime will host an Open House and
boaters from the Bay Area are invited to attend. During the Open
House, which will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., the campus’
full mission bridge simulator will be available to allow
participants the opportunity to take the helm of a large merchant
vessel entering San Francisco Bay.
“By putting the mariner in that position, we hope to raise
awareness of how difficult it is for large vessels to see and avoid
recreational boaters, racers, and windsurfers,” said Dr. Phil Arms,
Director of Simulation at Cal Maritime.
The Open House will also provide an opportunity for participants
to get in and out of a life raft as well as right a capsized raft in
the Cal Maritime pool. Lifeguards and Cal Maritime staff will be on
site to aide the average person through a situation they hope will
never happen in real life. In addition, Cal Maritime’s state-of-the
art crisis management simulator will be on display to show how an
oil spill would affect the bay.
Throughout the day on May 21, a free shuttle service will operate
between Cal Maritime and the Vallejo Yacht Club, who will also be
hosting an open house. Tickets for both the Safety at Sea Seminar
and the Open House are $125.00, which includes all event activities,
the seminar, a box lunch on Sunday, and shuttles to and from Vallejo
Yacht Club. The price for only the May 22 Safety at Sea Seminar is
$75.00. Members of US Sailing will receive a 10% discount. Those
interested in receiving more information or purchasing tickets
contact Charlie Arms at 707-654-1257.
About Cal Maritime Cal Maritime, a campus of The
California State University, is one of only seven degree-granting
maritime academies in the United States, and the only one on the
West Coast. Tucked away in San Pablo Bay’s Morrow Cove in Vallejo,
Calif., Cal Maritime offers students four-year degrees in business
administration, facilities engineering technology, global studies
and maritime affairs, marine engineering technology, marine
transportation, and mechanical engineering. A program of
intellectual learning, applied technology, leadership development,
and global awareness prepares graduates for positions of significant
responsibility in the areas of international business and logistics,
maritime policy, engineering, technology, or in the maritime and
transportation industries. For more information about Cal Maritime,
visit www.csum.edu. |
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