The R/V Cape Hatteras' first trip as part of Cape Fear Community College's marine technology program will give 16 CFCC students their first taste of ocean research.

The ship, acquired by the college early this year, left the riverfront dock at about 11 a.m. Monday to great fanfare. College officials waved to the ship's crew and to the students, who will spend four days about 70 miles offshore, learning how to handle the research equipment in a sometimes-tricky marine environment.

"This teaches them seamanship and how to work safely onboard with nets, trawls and plankton gear," said Jason Rogers, chair of the CFCC marine technology program. "They'll be taking biological samples and will also learn how to load the biological gear on and off the ship."

Rogers said that most of the students on the Cape Hatteras' maiden voyage are freshmen, and many have never been to sea. The two-year marine technology program has an almost 100 percent graduation rate and 94 percent of those graduates are either placed in jobs within the industry, or choose to continue their education, he added.

The cost for the R/V Cape Hatteras, which CFCC purchased from Duke University, was $900,000, less than the original $1.8 million asking price.

In March 2013, when the vessel arrived in Wilmington from Beaufort, N.C., CFCC president Ted Spring said, “The R/V Cape Hatteras is an ideal ship for our marine technology program. It’s an opportunity we simply couldn’t pass up. The proven capabilities of this vessel will ensure that the college can continue to provide the unique offshore training experience that consistently helps place graduates in jobs for the state's marine industry.”

Although many present at the send-off harbor fond feelings for the R/V Dan Moore, a smaller vessel that the Cape Hatteras replaces, the program needed a larger, better-equipped ship, said college spokesman David Hardin.

"We've been talking about a new ship since I got [to CFCC] in 1997," Hardin said. "To get to this moment has required a tremendous amount of work."

Helping the vessel cast off from its moorings was Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover County), who provided valuable advocacy for the program -- the only one of its kind in North Carolina -- when Gov. Pat McCrory's budget threatened to cut significant funding for it.

The threatened cuts were never made, and Rogers credits Davis and other members of the local delegation for preventing the loss of funding.

"This is a great day for the college and for the state," Davis said as he watched the research vessel move away from the dock with Capt. Steve Beuth at the helm. "This program is a real gold star for the college, and it's important not only for New Hanover County and southeastern North Carolina, but for the country. This is a nationally recognized program."