\u00a0For more than three decades, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute has used the power of sailing to do far more than introduce young people to life on the water. Through its youth education programs, tall ship experiences, summer camps, and Sea Scout opportunities, the organization has built a long-standing model centered on leadership, character development, teamwork, and hands-on learning for the next generation.<\/p>\n
Founded more than 30 years ago, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute, often known as LAMI, was created to offer educational adventures at sea for youth from under-resourced communities. Today, that mission remains at the core of its work. As outlined in its guiding purpose, LAMI \u201cserves to empower youth to discover their greater potential through extraordinary at-sea experiences aboard educational sailing vessels built to train and equip young people with 21st century leadership skills, and inspire maritime and STEM career paths.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the beginning, the goal was not simply to get students on the water, but to reshape how they learn. Founder Captain Jim Gladson addressed that perception directly in his essay It\u2019s More Than Just a Boat Ride, writing, \u201cAs a sail training teacher since 1972, I have often been asked to justify \u2018taking the kids sailing when they really ought to be in school.\u2019 It\u2019s easy to understand the concern\u2026 Sail training is as different from these impressions as Disneyland is from the ghetto.\u201d<\/p>\n
That philosophy continues to guide the institute\u2019s approach today, particularly through its award-winning TopSail Youth Program. Designed by Gladson, an LAUSD science teacher and sailor, the program blends active learning with real-world application, using the structure of a working tall ship to teach science, engineering, math, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.<\/p>\n
Rather than presenting those lessons in a traditional classroom setting, the program places students directly into the experience. Participants help set sails, learn navigation, examine marine life, and test water quality, all while working together aboard one of LAMI\u2019s vessels. The result is an immersive environment where STEM concepts become tangible and where students are asked to collaborate, think critically, and adapt under changing conditions.<\/p>\n
Gladson emphasized that one of the most powerful aspects of the experience is how it levels the playing field for students. \u201cTo begin with, nearly all of the kids come aboard equally na\u00efve,\u201d he wrote. \u201cVery few of them have had any prior sailing experience, and therefore their streetwise and or classroom pecking orders are not in effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once onboard, students are introduced to an environment where success depends on participation. \u201cThe kids come into an immediate environment that is composed of a completely integrated array of systems that must be operated hands on, with both mind and muscle engaged,\u201d Gladson explained. \u201cThe competition is with ignorance, ineptitude, and fear. By conquering these enemies sail training enables us to produce winners without the usual need to produce a matching set of losers.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hands-on structure is one reason the TopSail Youth and TopSail STEM programs have earned recognition from the education community, government leaders, and the maritime industry. The institute\u2019s approach has been praised not only for leadership development and experiential learning, but also for its ability to inspire youth to explore STEM fields and maritime trades as future career paths.<\/p>\n
According to Alice Taylor, Director of Sales and Marketing for LAMI, the programs are designed to meet students at every stage of development. \u201cFrom preschoolers to third graders obsessed with pirates and boats, we do deck tours with their class and parents,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cFourth and fifth grade classes come to bring the books they are reading to life, like Island of the Blue Dolphins and Two Years Before the Mast, while reinforcing what they are learning in history.\u201d<\/p>\n
As students get older, the focus shifts more heavily toward applied science and career pathways. \u201cMiddle school and high school field trips are all about STEM,\u201d Taylor added. \u201cOur ships are living examples of physics, engineering solutions, math used to chart the course, and even how modern technology changes the sailing experience on replica tall ships from the 1750s.\u201d<\/p>\n
That educational pathway increasingly extends beyond high school. Taylor noted that LAMI has developed connections with programs such as the USC Maritime Studies Program and Orange Coast College\u2019s Professional Mariner Program, while also helping guide students toward maritime academies and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Many students who participate in LAMI programs or Sea Scouts go on to pursue maritime careers, building on the foundation established during their time aboard.<\/p>\n
Those experiences take place aboard some of the region\u2019s most recognizable educational vessels. LAMI\u2019s twin brigantines, Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, were launched in 2002 and later proclaimed the \u201cOfficial Tall Ships and Maritime Ambassadors of the City of Los Angeles.\u201d The organization\u2019s three-masted schooner American Pride, acquired in 2018, had previously been named the \u201cOfficial Tall Ship of the City of Long Beach.\u201d Together, the vessels serve as floating classrooms and highly visible symbols of maritime education in Southern California.<\/p>\n
The flexibility of LAMI\u2019s programming allows it to reach beyond traditional school groups and create access points for families and communities as well. Monthly \u201cExplore the Coast\/Explora la Costa\u201d sails invite participants aboard for bilingual, hands-on educational excursions that combine coastal exploration with marine science. Designed for families and children, these two-hour sails incorporate trained Spanish-speaking docents and interactive activities that make the harbor accessible and engaging for a broader audience.<\/p>\n
Expanding that access even further, LAMI is also a recipient of funding through California State Parks\u2019 Outdoor Equity Program. The initiative is focused on removing barriers that prevent underserved communities from experiencing the outdoors, and LAMI\u2019s involvement allows middle and high school students, along with their families, to participate in a series of day sails centered on maritime careers, port operations, and marine science. Each program builds toward a culminating three-day voyage, offering students a deeper and more immersive connection to the ocean environment.<\/p>\n
LAMI\u2019s role in career development has also grown in recent years. According to Captain Bruce Heyman, Career Technical Education is becoming an increasingly important part of the institute\u2019s offerings. \u201cWe are one of the easiest places to earn your sea time hours needed for merchant mariner credentials,\u201d Heyman said, noting that students can log experience through volunteer deckhand training and signed logbooks. He added that expanded opportunities now include exposure to boat building and restoration skills, further broadening pathways into maritime careers.<\/p>\n
The organization also adapted during the pandemic, launching its Virtual Voyage program to bring STEM education to students remotely. \u201cWe were able to create a large number of new classes we taught over Zoom,\u201d Heyman explained, adding that much of that material is now incorporated into in-person sails and classroom visits.<\/p>\n
Outside the classroom, the institute\u2019s youth development work continues through its Sea Scouts Ship 1992 program in San Pedro. Open to youth ages 14 to 21, the co-ed program gives participants regular opportunities to build leadership and maritime skills through weekly gatherings, sailing instruction, and hands-on activities that include kayaking, paddleboarding, and small-craft boating. In addition to sailing on the tall ships, participants gain experience aboard smaller sailboats, broadening their comfort level and confidence on the water.<\/p>\n
For many young participants, the Sea Scouts and youth crew program offers an important next step, providing repeated exposure to boating, greater familiarity with vessel handling, and the chance to form lasting friendships while building responsibility and independence.<\/p>\n
LAMI\u2019s impact becomes even more visible during the summer months, when its Tall Ship Island Adventure Sea Camp brings students directly into the maritime environment for extended experiences on the water. Running from June 15 through August 14, 2026, the program offers both day camp and overnight options tailored to different age groups.<\/p>\n
Younger participants, ages 6 to 10, can take part in the Explorer Day Camp, which introduces them to sailing and coastal exploration through structured daytime sessions in Long Beach and San Pedro, with optional overnight opportunities aboard a tall ship. For older campers, ages 10 to 17, the Adventurer and Voyager sleepaway camps provide five-day and 12-day immersive experiences that include living aboard, sailing to local destinations, learning vessel operations, and participating in team-based challenges.<\/p>\n
Across all camp formats, no prior sailing experience is required. Instead, campers are guided through the fundamentals, from setting and adjusting sails to maintaining course and participating in onboard activities. The result is a hands-on introduction to life at sea that combines education, independence, and adventure in a way that leaves a lasting impression.<\/p>\n
Throughout all of these offerings, the common thread is not simply sailing, but transformation. LAMI\u2019s programs are designed to help young people discover what they are capable of, whether that means learning to communicate more effectively, taking on leadership responsibilities, becoming more curious about science, or simply gaining confidence in unfamiliar environments.<\/p>\n
In a region so closely tied to working waterfronts, shipping, and maritime history, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute continues to provide a rare kind of education, one that places youth directly in the environment they are studying and asks them to take an active role in it. By combining adventure with purpose, the institute has made the harbor not just a backdrop, but a classroom, a proving ground, and for many young participants, the start of a lifelong connection to the water.<\/p>\n