Los Angeles Maritime Institute Youth Programs
Los Angeles Maritime Institute, 73 Berth, Suite 2, San Pedro, CA 90731
About
Los Angeles Maritime Institute Youth Programs include a Sleepaway Camp that runs for 5 or 12 days on a tall ship, an Explorer Day Camp in Long Beach, and a monthly bilingual, STEM-focused educational and exploration sail aboard one of the tall ships with hands-on science stations. The program also offers Explore the Coast, a two-hour round-trip excursion aboard one of the tall ships, and year-round TopSail Youth Program experiences aboard tall ships. No sailing experience is necessary to join the summer camp.
• Ages: 10–17 years old
• Schedule: Sleepaway Camp sessions of 5 or 12 days; Explorer Day Camp; monthly bilingual STEM-focused sails; Explore the Coast two-hour excursions
The Los Angeles Maritime Institute Youth Programs take place on the tall ships Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, which are 110-foot traditionally rigged wooden replicas of merchant ships from the Age of Exploration and the Age of Sail, and on the three-masted schooner American Pride, a 130-foot, three-masted schooner. Each brigantine, Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, has a capacity to hold 45 youth participants and educators, and American Pride has a capacity to hold 75 youth participants and educators. Explore the Coast/Explora la Costa is sponsored by Marathon Petroleum and includes activities that help the community learn about what the organization does while helping to improve environmental and coastal awareness.
The Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI) was founded more than 30 years ago, and in 1992 Captain Jim Gladson and a circle of advocates founded LAMI as a nonprofit organization. Over 30 years, more than 130,000 young people have directly benefited from participation in hands-on learning experiences through the TopSail Youth Program. The mission of LAMI is to empower youth to discover their greater potential through at-sea experiences aboard educational sailing vessels built to train and equip young people with 21st-century leadership skills and to inspire maritime and STEM career paths.
The leadership team includes Alice Taylor, Director of Sales and Marketing; Jemma Kennedy, Director of Education; Donna Dunn, Volunteer Coordinator/Crew Acquisition; Dahlia Southwick, Office Manager; and Jim Gladson, Founder of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. In 2017, LAMI received the Partners in Educational Excellence Award from the Association of California State Administrators. The twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson and their young crews were proclaimed the “Official Tall Ships and Maritime Ambassadors of the City of Los Angeles” by the Mayor and City Council of Los Angeles at their launch in 2002, and American Pride was named the “Official Tall Ship of the City of Long Beach” before being acquired by LAMI in 2018.
Last updated July 4, 2026.
• Ages: 10–17 years old
• Schedule: Sleepaway Camp sessions of 5 or 12 days; Explorer Day Camp; monthly bilingual STEM-focused sails; Explore the Coast two-hour excursions
The Los Angeles Maritime Institute Youth Programs take place on the tall ships Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, which are 110-foot traditionally rigged wooden replicas of merchant ships from the Age of Exploration and the Age of Sail, and on the three-masted schooner American Pride, a 130-foot, three-masted schooner. Each brigantine, Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, has a capacity to hold 45 youth participants and educators, and American Pride has a capacity to hold 75 youth participants and educators. Explore the Coast/Explora la Costa is sponsored by Marathon Petroleum and includes activities that help the community learn about what the organization does while helping to improve environmental and coastal awareness.
The Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI) was founded more than 30 years ago, and in 1992 Captain Jim Gladson and a circle of advocates founded LAMI as a nonprofit organization. Over 30 years, more than 130,000 young people have directly benefited from participation in hands-on learning experiences through the TopSail Youth Program. The mission of LAMI is to empower youth to discover their greater potential through at-sea experiences aboard educational sailing vessels built to train and equip young people with 21st-century leadership skills and to inspire maritime and STEM career paths.
The leadership team includes Alice Taylor, Director of Sales and Marketing; Jemma Kennedy, Director of Education; Donna Dunn, Volunteer Coordinator/Crew Acquisition; Dahlia Southwick, Office Manager; and Jim Gladson, Founder of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. In 2017, LAMI received the Partners in Educational Excellence Award from the Association of California State Administrators. The twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson and their young crews were proclaimed the “Official Tall Ships and Maritime Ambassadors of the City of Los Angeles” by the Mayor and City Council of Los Angeles at their launch in 2002, and American Pride was named the “Official Tall Ship of the City of Long Beach” before being acquired by LAMI in 2018.
Last updated July 4, 2026.
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