LA Maritime Institute Celebrates 30 Years

‘School is where the kids are’

The Los Angeles Maritime Institute was founded 30 years ago by Jim Gladson to take disadvantaged youth on the water to develop leadership skills and self-confidence. The first two tall ships were Exy and Irving Johnson, and they have now been complemented with American Pride and the Swift of Ipswich.

The ships take out 7,000 youth annually, with grants from the Port of Los Angeles, Marathon Refinery, California State Coastal Conservancy and others.

The celebration featured a host of local political figures and others to commemorate this anniversary and the opening of the building “G” warehouse where ship maintenance occurs and where youth learn how to build a sailing boat from scratch, or learn to sail. The gathering was led by John Bagakis, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce board chair.

Tanya Ortiz Franklin, representing Los Angeles Unified School District, told the crowd of 150, “We are so grateful for this partnership with LAMI, and their slogan rings true ‘School is where the kids are.’ We only realized it during the pandemic.” She presented a certificate of recognition from LAUSD.

Harbor Commissioner Lucia Moreno-Linares, in recognizing the official partnership for 30 years, commented “This program is a breath of fresh air. So many of our youth in Wilmington and across the county have so little knowledge of the marine world. Topsail expands the boundaries of the world they know. This overlaps with what they, especially at-risk youth, learn. 

“It is such a contribution to the LA waterfront … Scaling up the program and infusing STEM into your programs.  Topsail provides teens with a level of confidence in leadership for the first time and even the first time on the ocean. Time on the ocean for many of us who have that opportunity are the good things that are happening.”

A certificate of accomplishment from LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn was also delivered.

LAMI director Bruce Heyman threw out some numbers and then explained what they meant:

• There are 2.2 million students age 17 and younger in LA County
• 50% of the kids had never been to the waterfront
• 5% of the kids go out on the water with the program’s ships
• 92% of the kids are Black and Latinx
• 7,000 students went out on the program’s sails the last year before the pandemic
• 15,000 is the program’s five-year plan; to double the number of students it takes out on the tall ships

“The more we can do to educate our youth in leadership and self-confidence the better we shall be in the future,” Heyman noted. He went on to explain the history of building G. “It was built in 1948 then abandoned in 1995. The roof failed; it was a mess. The building was awarded us to use as a county resource, which is what it has become.”

Sareta Gladson, granddaughter of Jim Gladson, sent a video message, “Jim was a teacher who had conflicts with the school system because students were caught in a frustrating cycle, same as today. At-risk students think they have failed; but it is the system that has failed them. Jim saw the sails not as a reward for good behavior, but as a remedy because these students should not be destined to be mediocre. He may have hoisted the sails but so many people have been the wind in them. You all have pushed LAMI to new horizons.”

Rep. Nanette Barragán sent a message saying “It is so important we preserve our marine heritage.  This certificate of recognition of 30 years preserves that heritage and supports youth in the Topsail programs.”

Sen. Steven Bradford, representing the 35th senatorial district, addressed the crowd, recalling the “Importance of educating our youth about the marine environment. We celebrate the diversity of LAMI and recognize the dedication of this building and the monumental work of Jim Gladson.”

The Los Angeles Maritime Institute continues to seek volunteers for the maintenance and restoration of the ships, crew members and other volunteers to continue and expand the numerous programs, including bilingual ones, undertaken to run and preserve. 

Details: www.lamitopsail.org