Former Whalers, Now Mass Maritime Cadets, Set Sail For Caribbean

Eight former Nantucket High School students set sail Sunday from Buzzards Bay as Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets aboard the 540-foot training ship the TS Kennedy for what is known as Sea Term, a month-and-a-half-long voyage to the Caribbean Sea and back.

The former Whalers taking part in the journey include Camden Willett, Paige Albertson, Austin Starr, Marsh Hickman, James Culkins, Matthew McFarlane, Justin Zadroga and Zach Wallingford.

They will join hundreds of other cadets aboard the massive training ship as it makes its final voyage as part of Mass Maritime’s Sea Term, which includes stops in Barbados, Aruba, St. Thomas, and Florida. The cadets - who are majoring in marine engineering, marine transportation, and facilities engineering - will be studying weather forecasting, celestial navigation, ocean currents, rust removal, engine maintenance, sewerage treatment, firefighting, and seawater desalination, among other topics, during their time aboard the TS Kennedy. The vessel will also conduct anchoring drills off the coast of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

While the cadets aboard the TS Kennedy get to experience the voyage first-hand, thousands of K-12 students around the globe - including many on Nantucket - will get to take part in the journey virtually through Mass Maritime’s “Follow the Voyage” program.

Nantucket middle school teacher Jillian Fraker’s eighth grade students will be following the TS Kennedy and its cadets, reading their blog posts, and sharing in their experiences aboard the vessel. They will also be building a model of the TS Kennedy. Approximately 20,000 students from 33 states and three U.S. territories will be participating in the “Follow the Voyage” program.

Two of the Nantucket cadets - Albertson and Culkins - have already checked in with blog posts on the Mass Maritime web site that share their background.

The TS Kennedy returns to Buzzards Bay on Sunday, February 19th.