<p>This is his third-year (soph), 4 month stint at sea. Next year (Jr) they are gone for 8 months for a total of 300 days at sea to qualify for licensing. It is why Kings Point has a trimester system - they are really squeezing 4 years of classwork into 3 to schedule in the 300 mandatory sea days. Thus, the students are really squeezing a semester’s worth of classes into a trimester. It is impressive. Sea time is something everyone looks forward to and either loves or hates. In the first “at sea” period, they are on one ship; the second time they are rotated on 3 ships so they can have experience on a variety of types i.e. container ships, diesel, military sealift, etc. When they graduate, they have a year of practical experience, putting them ahead of Annapolis graduates…:)</p>