'Captain, you are now a high school graduate' Coast Guard certified: Three Stony Brook School undergraduates licensed to take the helm on the high seas
By Susan Perretti
June 18, 2008 | 04:05 PM Young men — and women — at the Stony Brook School are still answering the call of the sea. Stony Brook, a college preparatory boarding and day school with a rich maritime history, recently celebrated another milestone. Three of its students received their captains' licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard — as undergraduates. Seniors Vincent Cassata and James McEachern and junior Michael Devine not only earned the title of captain by meeting all of the USCG's stringent requirements, but they passed the licensing exam with flying colors. In a class that included cadets from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Naval academies, Devine, from Stony Brook, and McEachern, from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., scored 100 percent and Cassata, of Brightwaters, scored 96. "I'm real proud of them," said Headmaster Robert Gustafson, a strong supporter of the sailing and marine science programs. "It's been exciting for the whole community." Gustafson was happy to comply when asked to address Cassata and McEachern as captain when called to receive their diplomas at Stony Brook's May 24 commencement. The three new captains took the Coast Guard oath of office, swearing "to uphold the federal code of regulations and to obey the legal orders of their commanding officers," on May 21 in Boston, accompanied by their teacher and mentor, Captain George Linzee. Devine and Cassata, both 17, earned Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels licenses, which allow them to "command" a vessel that holds up to six passengers. McEachern, 18, received a Limited Master License. All are now qualified to take passengers for hire on the high seas. The three students got involved in SBS's maritime offerings, including keelboat and dinghy sail teams and marine and environmental science and a diverse summer camp, as seventh- or eighth-graders. The summer programs are open to all young people in the community, with or without sailing experience. Among his many roles, Devine drives the safety motorboat for the varsity dinghy team and at SBS high school sailing regattas at its on-the-water classroom at Port Jefferson Harbor. In addition, he operates the school's 22-foot marine science lab boat. Like Cassata and McEachern and many Stony Brook students and alumni, Devine will be returning to work for Linzee, the school's director of marine and environmental programs, this July in the summer marine programs. Devine came to SBS via its summer camp, where he met Linzee and tried sailing. Devine enjoyed the programs so much he enrolled as a ninth-grader and joined the school dinghy team. "When the person whom I was sailing with dropped out," Devine recalled, "I became the manager and got into driving the boat and dropping the marks." Last year, he "had the urge to sail again," and after speaking with Linzee, signed up for the keelboat team. Operating a vessel for the school counts toward a mariner's "sea time," which he or she must garner to be considered for a USCG license. Cassata will be operating one of the SBS keelboats as a junior captain this summer, joined — because it is his first year — by Captain Alison Edelson of East Setauket. Edelson, 20, began sailing at age seven in the Beachcombers summer camp group. Although she didn't attend Stony Brook School, Edelson has participated in the summer programs for the past 13 years — initially as a camper and later as a staffer. Now the Beachcombers' head instructor, Edelson also pilots a launch in Port Jefferson Harbor. "This has become her summer career and she's now thinking of going into teaching," Linzee said. Fifteen SBS students, alumni and summer campers have become captains since the sailing program began in 1990. The summer before his freshman year, Cassata signed up for Sound Learning, SBS's summer program, and "fell in love with sailing." He joined the varsity keelboat team that fall. "I can picture myself sailing for the rest of my life," he said. During his junior and senior years, Cassata was team captain of the Sea Wind, the school's first vessel. The sailboat was donated by a 1944 alumnus in memory of Pierson "P.C." Curtis, a faculty member who unofficially ushered in Stony Brook's maritime program in the 1930s. Curtis promoted the study and understanding of the sea by inviting students to join him on his sailboat, the first Sea Wind. Other SBS instructors, including Linzee, carried on the tradition. Over the years, more boats were donated. The fleet now includes 19 sailing dinghies and seven 25- to 28-foot keelboats. Linzee, 34 years at Stony Brook, grew up as a self-described "harbor rat" in Port Jefferson. He has a long family history of "being around boats and learning the responsibilities," he said, and is committed to passing along to his students all that he has learned. On the trip to Boston, Linzee took the new captains to the Bunker Hill Memorial, where hangs a portrait of Captain John Linzee, George's great-great-great-grandfather, a British sea captain who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. "My mission here at the Stony Brook School is to put young people on the sea so that they can learn more about it themselves and the Creator who made it all," Linzee said. "We also have a lot of fun." To learn more about SBS learning opportunities, contact Admissions at 751-1800 or visit stonybrookschool.org.