A US naval training vessel is docked in St. John’s as it wraps up a 75-day journey that took them from the balmy Mediterranean and back to Portland, Maine—but some on board had to do a double-take as they walked the downtown.
The State of Maine is a former US Navy oceanographic survey vessel that was converted to a naval training ship operated by the Maine Maritime Academy.
Some 230 students, training to become merchant marine officers, and another 20 faculty and staff arrived in St. John’s Monday and will be staying in port until Thursday.
Captain Mark Winter says the students received a wonderful reception including a fascinating evening at the Crow’s Nest and a special visit to the National War Memorial.
Even more memorable for the students was an encounter with a film crew shooting for the series Reacher. It just so happened that the episode being shot is set in their home port of Portland, Maine.
“We all found it funny that there were all these cars that had Maine license plates, and there were American flags hanging out and all these light posts that said Portland…and we were like ‘we’re not in Portland, are we?'”
The ship departs for Boston tomorrow where it will stay for a day before heading back to Portland.
