Cal Poly Maritime cadets begin 65-day Pacific training voyage
Cadets aboard Training Ship Golden Bear (TSGB) prepare the ship for the 2025 Summer Sea Term. Photo by Joe Johnston/University Photographer/Cal Poly 3-25-25.
Training Ship Golden Bear departs for final sea terms
– More than 300 cadets from the Cal Poly Maritime Academy will depart May 8 for the academy’s annual Summer Sea Term, a 65-day Pacific training voyage aboard the Training Ship Golden Bear.
The voyage marks the first Summer Sea Term since the transition from California State University Maritime Academy to Cal Poly Maritime Academy, now part of Cal Poly.
The training cruise provides cadets with hands-on experience operating a working vessel while navigating maritime conditions at sea.
“Summer Sea Term is Learn by Doing in its purest form,” Rear Admiral Eric C. Jones, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), the academy superintendent, said. “Cadets take what they’ve learned and put it into practice at sea, gaining real responsibility and real experience that prepares them for the maritime workforce.”
The 500-foot Golden Bear will depart from Vallejo and travel across the Pacific with scheduled port calls in San Diego, Papeete, Tahiti, Suva, Fiji, and Honolulu before returning to California in July. The vessel’s first stop will be San Diego, home to about 18 cadets.
The academy said the Summer Sea Term helps cadets develop technical skills, leadership, accountability, and teamwork. Cadets also log required sea time and gain experience aligned with U.S. Coast Guard licensing standards.
Training Ship Golden Bear (TSGB) serves as the primary training platform on which cadets apply technological skills introduced in the classroom and leadership skills acquired from their work assignments and responsibilities with the Corps of Cadets. Photo by Joe Johnston/University Photographer/Cal Poly 3-25-25.
The voyage also marks one of the final training cruises for the Golden Bear, which has served the academy for 30 years. The ship is scheduled to transfer back to the U.S. Maritime Administration at the end of 2026.
The academy plans to replace the vessel with the Training Ship Golden State, a multi-mission vessel designed to expand training capacity ahead of the academy’s centennial in 2029.
The Summer Sea Term schedule includes:
- Vallejo departure: May 8
- San Diego: May 10-12
- Papeete, Tahiti: May 29-June 1
- Suva, Fiji: June 8-12
- Honolulu: June 20-22
- Los Angeles: July 3-4
- Vallejo return: July 6
The ship will depart from Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo at approximately 7 a.m. Media may view the departure from the Vallejo Ferry Terminal across the Mare Island Strait.
More information is available at Cal Poly Maritime Academy and Cal Poly.
