The past for 17-year-old Brandon Flemming is a long line of seamen, from fishermen to mussel-men; the future entails piloting vessels through Bermuda's shipping channels to a safe harbour.

This summer the Bermuda Christian Academy student will be moving one step closer to that future when he embarks on a five-month-long Bridge Watchman's Course at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Along with Vernon Harrison and one other Bermudian, Brandon will undertake studies which aim "to provide an awareness of the hazards, knowledge, skills, and standards of safe working procedures that will enable a new sea-person to prepare for and pursue a career in the Merchant Marine leading to certification as Bridge Watchman."

Following three months in the classroom, the young men will spend two months at sea; the ships on which they will be serving have yet to be determined, as the details are still being worked out.

Excited about the opportunities awaiting him, Brandon believes: "I am creating a kind of wealth far more precious and valuable than money – knowledge." The course is a continuation of the path towards his dream. "The certification at the end of this course," he noted, "will assist with further piloting courses to be taken in the future."

Day release opportunities and summer employment have already set him on that path, though he admits he was probably born with "a passion to be on the water."

The day-release programme with the Department of Marine and Ports has allowed him over the past two and a half years to progress from deck hand on Bermuda's ferries to graduate of the Coastal Navigation Class run by Willard Raynor, learning, among other things, how to operate the buoy system.

In addition to summer work experience with Marine and Ports, Vernon Harrison's maritime experience has included two voyages on Spirit of Bermuda. In 2008 the CedarBridge Academy student sailed on the sloop to the Turks and Caicos, Nassau, Bahamas and West Palm Beach, Florida, while in 2009 he accepted the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge, sailing from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts. This young seafarer, whose dream is to become a marine pilot and have international experience, sees the five-month course as a stepping-stone for future aspirations.

According to its website, The Marine Training Centre at Holland College "has been providing Transport Canada-approved training for more than three decades. The centre has earned an international reputation for its exceptional quality of instruction, excellent facilities and convenient location …The centre offers a Kongsberg Polaris (Full Mission) DNV Class 'A' ship's bridge simulator with a 280-degree field of vision plus three DNV Class B ship's bridge simulators."

The Bridge Watchman Training Course will cover such things as basic helm orders, steering by compass and marks ashore, the recognition of the appearance of lights, shapes and sound signals from other vessels and their meanings and general seaman ship including recognising and naming different types of vessels, handling ropes and chains, anchoring and taking soundings.

"We are all excited to have this opportunity," declared Brandon, who, in his own words is "a young man making my dream a reality."