Traveling with Texas A&M
The Commandant’s Staff at Maine Maritime Academy is looking forward to this summer’s joint sea term (SST25) with Texas A&M Maritime aboard their ship, the TS Kennedy. The Texas team has brought great energy and has been tremendously helpful in the preparation process—beginning with hosting our Cadet Master, Cadet Chief Engineer, Cadet Chief Mate, and Cadet First Assistant Engineer aboard the Kennedy over winter break to jump-start ship familiarization.
Maine Maritime cadets and faculty will travel to Texas on two chartered aircraft the morning of Monday, May 5, and board the Kennedy that afternoon. While the ship won’t be departing port until May 18, MMA students will begin lifeboat training, ship familiarization, cleaning duties, standing watch, and their classes aboard.
Settling into a routine will require strong leadership. Our upper-class 2/C midshipmen, along with the regimental wedge and ship rate student leaders, will take the lead in guiding our 4/C midshipmen—ensuring they learn how to operate and live safely aboard the vessel, both at sea and in port.
While we eagerly await delivery of our new training vessel, we’re very excited to tap into the Texan ‘can-do’ spirit and provide a reciprocally great cruise experience for them next year on our NSMV, the TS State of Maine.
Latest 2025 Summer TSSOM Cruise
- A Day in Belfast IrelandHello! Belfast Ireland is unique in that all of the second class Maine students came here our freshman cruise, and while I thought that would be a negative… I was so wrong! I thought I had exhausted things to do freshman year, and I was wrong again. I had heard about some people doing a […]
- Stronger Ties FormedCadets aboard the TS Kennedy spent the past 10 days underway, sailing between New York City and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Students enjoyed calm seas for most of the leg but were stuck under overcast skies, much to the chagrin of the upper-class deck cadets who are actively trying to complete their celestial navigation project. This […]
- Running Smooth in Belfast: A Cruise Check-In from the Cadet Chief EngineerI’m Jacob Nowalsky, the cruise Lead Engine Cadet from Maine, and Maine’s Cadet Chief Engineer. Things have been going pretty well onboard! After being in port in Galveston, everyone was excited to finally get to sea, and now that we’re wrapping up our 2nd leg and are here in Belfast, people are fully into the […]
- Switching to the Engine RoomOur second leg of our Summer Sea Term 2025 cruise has been really fun! During this leg to Belfast from New York, we saw a lot of whales, flying fish, and other marine life. We also recently just hit our halfway point, which means Maine Maritime cadets switched deck/engine focuses on cruise. From 5 May […]
- From Celestial Navigation to Food Grinding: Embracing Every RoleAs we’ve embarked on our journey aboard the Kennedy, it’s been a great experience watching everyone settle into shipboard life. As a junior, I’ve been focusing on celestial navigation, taking on senior-level watches, and experiencing significant personal growth as a leader. These experiences have helped unite the Maine and Texas communities on board. A few […]
- From Hesitation to Hands-On Learning: Life at Sea on the KennedyMy experiences on the Training Ship Kennedy have been phenomenal so far. I came onto the ship with adverse thoughts, with the ship being from the 1960s, and cruising with another maritime academy. However, the Kennedy proved me wrong! I have met a lot of new people with different experiences and shared different aspects that […]