Aspiring boat captain Blake Burgess has loved being out on the ocean for as long as he can remember.His father, Wayne, and grandfather, Stanley, were both avid seamen and he learned to sail himself at the age of five.Three years ago while he was a sophomore at Christchurch School, a boarding school in Virginia, he decided to turn his passion into a career.The 18-year-old recently completed an intense six-week training programme and was sworn in as a member of the Maine Maritime Academy Regiment of Midshipmen.Maine Maritime Academy, founded in 1941, enrols more than 900 students from 35 US States and several foreign countries. The college awards associate, bachelor and masters of science degrees in 15 fields of study.Mr Burgess has had to wake at 5am to take part in military drills, aquatic training and to familiarise himself with the 500ft training ship TS State of Maine.He said serving in the student-run regiment would make him eligible for a US Merchant Marine licence as a third mate on any tonnage of vessel following his graduation in 2015.He could also be called up for the US Navy if they need additional servicemen on one of their 4,000 vessels.“It’s a lot of work and I wasn’t expecting it to be this much work, but it’s also a lot of fun here,” he said. “The school, they have so much trust in the students, and let us take out their boats.”He recently had the chance to take out a $500,000 sail boat and said: “It was nice to be able to see someone have that much trust in you to take care of their stuff.”Mr Burgess is majoring in marine transportation operations and plans to eventually become a ship captain.He said there were a lot of opportunities to travel in this field. Just last year, students went to Latvia, Denmark and Germany.He is planning to embark on a journey through the Carolinas, Texas, Curacao and Bermuda next year.“You get leadership opportunities. It’s all structured so if you get a position where you have leadership over someone else you have take on those responsibilities because people are relying on you.“You have to set an example for other people and you are held accountable.”He credits his parents for encouraging him to do better in life. “I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. I would probably still be in Bermuda doing nothing.“Another thing that encouraged me is just hearing people tell me I wouldn’t make it if I do this or do that. It’s also a good push to show them I am going somewhere.”