Ropes of sea-worthy careers

A band of suburban teens was transformed last week into a group of excited would-be mariners.

By the end of a day spent tying knots, touring boats and learning about ocean-based career opportunities, many of the students from area high schools were ready to explore signing up with the Coast Guard.

Students came to Orange Coast College’s Sailing Center from schools like Back Bay High School in Newport Beach, and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s Transition Program.

Other students at the college’s Professional Mariner Program Pathway Career Day came from South Orange County and Santa Ana.

“A lot of these kids haven’t even been to the beach to know what a yacht looks like,” said Kathy Johnson, who helped put the day together.

Inside the center’s elegant nautical library, a Coast Guard representative told students about the many facets of his branch of the military, including patrols and inspections, rescues and assisting wildlife.

“The most interesting part was learning all the jobs the Coast Guard offers,” said Eddy Ramirez, 17. “I didn’t know they were so involved. I didn’t know they flew, too.”

“I didn’t know they save lives,” said Debra Martinez, 17. “When you think of the military, you don’t really think of stuff like that.”

“It’s not only shoot-and-kill,” concurred Giovanni Mendez, 17. “They said they’re the cops of the ocean.”

Brandon Ludgate, 17, said he goes out sailing every chance he gets, but didn’t know anything about tossing ropes.

“I thought it was cool to see how everything works,” he said.

The students toured two ships and learned how to handle ropes. The day concluded after lunch with a marlinspike competition in which students tossed ropes from dock to dock on the bay, in hopes of wining a private tour on a Coast Guard cutter.

“This is for everyone who doubted me,” Giovanni punned, as he threw his rope across the water.

Giovanni and Brandon ended up winning the tour.

Teacher Chris McNally taught students about the vast range of careers possible in his industry.

“Whatever career they’ve thought of before, they can probably do that job on a ship,” he said. He showed a video and described various shipboard tasks like firefighting, cooking and live entertainment.

In the OCC maritime program’s first year, students gutted and renovated boats, steered a tugboat to bring a 980-foot ship into Long Beach Harbor, practiced rescues and learned firefighting from the Newport Beach Fire Department.

Admission into the program is open to anyone attending OCC, McNally said. Classes include navigation, engine maintenance and electives like foreign languages and swimming.

The Career Pathway Day series is put on by the Newport Beach-based Vital Link nonprofit.

Other career exploration days have included trips to construction yards and the John Wayne Airport tarmac, and a mock surgery that leaves students either nauseated or enraptured.

“The whole idea is to get students out of their environment and into the workplace,” Johnson said. “A lot of these kids are very tactile. In a lot of cases, they will see or hear something about a career that they didn’t even know existed.”