NEW ORLEANS — Is it a pirate ship? No…it’s just a hands-on, tall ship maritime learning experience for 21 cadets and two teachers from the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy (NOMMA), a top-rated 8-12 charter school located in Federal City, on the west bank of Orleans Parish.
They are sailing aboard the schooner Harvey Gamage, a tall sailing ship they boarded in Mobile, Alabama for a one-week sailing experience that will end in Pensacola, Florida by Saturday. The students are split into three watches to safely operate the ship. They are pictured here in their “Gumby Suits”, full Immersion suits which are critical in various drills, such as when a ship is required to be abandoned and life-rafts deployed, known as floating bouncy houses by the crew.
NOMMA regularly offers students maritime training through both elective courses and a focused maritime program. Since 2018, students have regularly participated in these unique sailings to learn teamwork, basic navigation and safety procedures, watch keeping, sail handling, knot tying, water survival techniques and the amazing work ethic of being engaged on the high seas, said NOMMA Commandant Colonel Chris Schlafer (Rtd), USMC.
This is the first NOMMA Maritime class sailing experience since 2019.
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