NEWPORT – During his first semester at Maine Maritime Academy, last fall, Andrew Weaver II more than once thought to himself that the course instruction he was receiving sounded familiar.
And even some of his Maine Maritime professors weren’t total strangers.
A 2023 graduate of North Kingstown High School and a marine transportation and operations major at Maine Maritime, Weaver arrived at the Castine, Maine, school with an educational head start thanks to his participation in the PerryCorps program at the Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island nonprofit organization in Newport.
Weaver participated in PerryCorps during his senior year at North Kingstown High School, generally on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 4 or 5 p.m.
What is PerryCorps and the Oliver Hazard Perry?
PerryCorps specifically targets high school (and incoming high school) students and teaches them about the maritime industry, marine trades and defense sectors for Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, and enlightens them to the associated career opportunities. They also learn about operating an old-school tall ship.
The OHPRI main campus is Rhode Island’s official flagship, the Oliver Hazard Perry, docked at Fort Adams. According to OHPRI website, the three-masted ship, launched in 2015, is the largest civilian sailing school vessel in the United States and the first ocean-going, full-rigged ship built in the U.S. in more than a century.
Rhode Islander Oliver Hazard Perry, the OHPRI site explains, was the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.
A few facts on the Oliver Hazard Perry: The two-engine turn-screw vessel carries 49 at sea, 14 heads (toilets), 12 showers, washer/dryer, reverse osmosis water maker and 49 bunks. As a sailing school vessel, she carries no passengers; all aboard her are considered crew and are required to fully participate in the operation of the vessel.
On one level, the Oliver Hazard Perry is early 19th century. It’s also very 21st century with its technology and onboard classroom teaching.
Weaver had a love of sailing before his PerryCorps experience. He had worked as a summer deckhand. PerryCorps took things to a new level.
“I wanted to get some more hands-on experience, and a teacher told me about this,” he said. “It was worth it because I got more experience. A lot of the stuff I was taught over here (Maine Maritime) in the the first semester. And it’s still (happening). I’m definitely glad I did it. I recommend it to anyone who might be interested in the maritime world.”
Weaver said that during his PerryCorps time, he heard and met field experts who would soon after be his college professors.
How to join PerryCorps
There’s no tuition for PerryCorps, no fees for students to pay. They just have to get to Fort Adams. And be ready to learn. And work. And to be part of a team. Weaver’s one regret is that a prior commitment prevented him from actually sailing on the Oliver Hazard Perry during its warm-weather adventures on Narraganset Bay, the Sakonnet River, and beyond to Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.
“There’s nothing to lose,” Weaver said. “It got me some very good connections. One hundred percent worth my time – the blood, sweat and tears. I have a friend who did it. She knew nothing about boats. She enjoyed it.”
Opening up maritime career pathways
“We’re trying to show people career pathways,” said Holly Buresh, OHPRI’s educational program manager. “The Ocean State has so many opportunities.”
PerryCorps, she emphasized, teaches ocean literacy, and the hands-on work involved with operating the tall ship teaches team building, the need to put differences aside to get the jobs done.
High school credits can be earned, she said, and the organization has strong university ties. The education here can help in the obtaining of a captain’s license. There are satellite sites, including the United States Maritime Resource Center’s facilities in Middletown. USMRC has simulators. Courses are Coast Guard approved.
‘Maritime has better-than-average salaries’
Jonathan Kabak is OHPRI CEO and captain of the ship. Growing up in Manhattan, he got tall ship experience at the South Street Seaport. He has vast and varied maritime experience beyond tall ships. According to his OHPRI online biography, Kabak “has sailed in command of vessels ranging from landmark tall ships to high performance racing sailboats, maritime academy training vessels to luxury motor yachts.”
Kabak has a passion to educate young and old about the blue economy. To Rhode Islanders, it’s right there and yet, he said, too few have any clue about the career opportunities. “Rhode Island,” he said, “suffers from ocean blackout.”
He noted that 92 percent of the world’s goods are transported by ship but that “99 percent of the world’s people have no idea about it.”
He said his organization is “incredibly proud” of the PerryCorps, which was named 2022 “Sea Training Program of the Year” by Tall Ships of America.
While high school students is a vital focus for PerryCorps, it is also open to adults looking for a second, third, or fourth careers.
“There are great careers to be had,” Kabak said. “Maritime has better-than-average salaries.”
Anyone interested in joining the Perry Corps or just learning more should contact Buresh at hollyb@ohpri.org. They may also visit ohpri.org.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Newport tall ship is classroom for students interested in maritime work
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