PUT SAILING ON YOUR RÉSUMÉ
TOM BURDEN
Spaulding Marine Center will soon be hosting "Boatworks 101," an apprenticeship program that aims to train young people in a range of marine trades.
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SPAULDING MARINE CENTER
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Freda B. "We had 12 people working for or the serious sailor, a maritime us in 2019. We have four left. We haven't career can represent the intersection had regular shifts in over a year. People of hobby, passion and calling. More are doing what it takes to stay in the inthan "simply messing about in boats," dustry. So yeah, 2020 sucked." mariners have carved niches in everyWith what we're now confident to call thing from deckhanding to captaining, a light at the end of minor boat work to the tunnel, sailors master carpentry, "Even though we're a very should be returning and retail work to to their jobs — eveninter national losmall segment of the tually. Exactly how gistics. Even jourindustry, the industry values long it will take for nalists can find a people who have worked on the aforementioned way to write about industries to recovboats and sailors. charter boats." er is unclear, but The ef fects of there's little doubt the pandemic on the that careers in the maritime trades will maritime sector have been as varied and continue to proliferate. diverse as the industry itself. Sailing is Academia has also seen a pandemicbooming, according to everyone. Boat related slump in demand, though the sales are through the roof, mechanics California Maritime Academy in Vallejo and riggers are booked solid, surveyhas managed to safely continue onors are surveying, and boatyards are campus learning. As students with humming. Conversely, the cruise ship in'traditional' degrees graduate with stagdustry has seen a "devastating impact," gering debt and uncertain job prospects, with the loss of over 250,000 American maritime careers might look more and jobs, and some $32 billion in economic more attractive. What's more, the United activity. Ferry ridership has dwindled. States is facing what Forbes called an Although international shipping saw an "unprecedented skilled-labor shortage," initial pandemic-induced slump, which a sentiment that's been echoed by boathad a lasting ripple effect on ports, truckyards for the past several years. The ing and other cogs in the supply chain, lack of skilled labor is inextricably tied shipping is recovering — even booming. to infrastructure as a whole. As part The charter-boat industry — which of the American Rescue Plan — also we'd normally be highlighting in the April known as the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 issue of Latitude — has had an especially stimulus package — the Biden adminisrough year. "The small passenger-vessel tration hopes to expand apprenticeship fleets across the country have been hit as initiatives for trade unions. A new pilot hard as bars and restaurants," said Paul program at Spaulding Marine Center in Dines, the captain and co-owner of the Sausalito, which aims to train people in 80-ft gaff-rigged topsail coastal schooner
a wide variety of marine trades, might be eligible for funds. As the crew of the Freda B plans to get back to work soon, the boat will continue to serve as a training platform for mariners. "Even though we're a very small segment of the industry, the industry values people who have worked on charter boats, because they possess a breadth of skills and experience," Dines told us. We first met Paul in April 2017. It was Opening Day, and Freda B was among the dozens of boats parading down the Cityfront. We relaxed our (not-so-stringent) journalistic ethics and enjoyed the amazing food, ice-cold beverages, and all-around hospitality on offer by Freda B's crew, and we got to know the tall, lanky, affable Dines a little. "My first job was on a fishing boat; I was a third mate. I worked my way up to second mate, navigator, and finally took my captain's papers when I was 30," Paul said. He grew up on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and would eventually apprentice under such notable Bay Area sailors as Commodore Tompkins, Billy Martinelli and Al Lutz. "In that era, there were a lot of race series and offshore racing up and down the coast. I
