Texas A&M University at Galveston students sail the Gulf of Mexico to prepare for lucrative maritime careers.     

(Galveston, TX – May 16) – Captains, officers and students of the Texas Maritime Academy, part of Texas A&M University at Galveston, recently departed for the first of two training cruises in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. The academy is one of only six state maritime academies in the nation that prepares students for practical experience in seamanship, navigation, and engineering operations. Each summer, the captain and crew of the General Rudder, train 50 cadets who are university students and Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members.

Captain Scott Putty, master of the General Rudder, along with Captain Augusta Roth will sail to Corpus Christi, Port Arthur, Port Everglades, Fla., and Mobile, Ala. as part of the university’s training requirements. Captain Putty is a 1978 graduate of the academy and assumed command of the General Rudder in the fall of 2012. Captain Roth graduated from the academy in 1996.

Friends, family and others will be able to follow the ship’s journey through the Texas Maritime Academy Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Maritime-Academy-Parents-Association/122633727795351. Others may track the  ship by accessing the following link: https://www.tamug.edu/waterfrontops/GeneralRudderSST2013.html

Cadets sailing aboard the General Rudder may seek the officer licensing options in marine transportation and marine engineering. This training, part of three summers at sea requirements, prepares students as merchant marine officers for a host of sea- and land-based lucrative careers.

With the departure of the General Rudder from Galveston, the academy’s summer training cruise began on May 15 (Wednesday) and arrived in its first port of call, Corpus Christi, on the same day.

The ship will depart from Corpus Christi on May 17 (Friday) and will arrive in Port Arthur on May 21 (Tuesday). She will leave Port Arthur on May 23 (Thursday) and return to Galveston on May 28 (Tuesday).

On May 31, the General Rudder will depart from Galveston and arrive in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on June 7 (Friday). From there, the ship will set sail on June 10 (Monday) and arrive in Mobile, Ala. on June 17 (Monday).

The training vessel then sets sail on June 19 (Wednesday). It’s slated to complete its journey, arriving in Galveston on July 3 (Wednesday).

The schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances. For more information about the cruise, contact Colonel Richard Mallahan, Deputy Superintendent of the Texas Maritime Academy at (409) 740-4922 or go to https://www.tamug.edu/corps/index.html or contact Cathy Cashio-Bertrand, media relations contact at (409) 740-4830.