Short Biography of Captain Degner

I began my sailing career as a teenager working on my father's commercial
fishing vessels. After I graduated from Marshfield High School in 1972 my
father and I purchased a 60-foot steel shrimp boat in Texas and sailed it
through the Panama Canal to Coos Bay, Oregon. This was the first of three
vessels that I owned and operated fishing for crab, shrimp, tuna, bottom fish
and pacific whiting off the Pacific northwest coast. In 1992 I sold my
commercial fishing business, took a marine safety instructor training course
and applied to the Coast Guard for my Merchant Mariner Credentials.

The next fourteen years of my life were spent sailing, learning and teaching.
  • I sailed as master, mate and able seaman on-board research and oil
    spill recovery vessels. The sea service gained from this experience was
    used to upgrade my Merchant Mariner Credentials to Able Seaman
    Unlimited, Master 500 tons Oceans and Mate 1600 tons Inland.
  • Learning about education is my passion in life. During these years I
    attended college courses and professional development seminars with a
    focus on learning curriculum design and delivery methods. From these
    college credits I earned Associate Degrees in General Studies and
    Liberal Arts, both with highest honors.
  • For me the application of learning is teaching. I taught USCG approved
    courses in navigation, seamanship and safety at two of Oregon's
    community colleges. In 1995 I was presented with the Faculty
    Excellence Award from Clatsop Community College and the NISOD
    Excellence Award from University of Texas at Auston, but my most
    treasured award is a "Master Teacher" evaluation from the VP of
    Instructional Services at Clatsop Community College in 2003.

By the summer of 2006 I was ready to start my own professional maritime
school. My wife and I purchased a house in northeast Portland, Oregon for
this purpose and I opened the doors to Columbia Pacific Maritime in
November with approved courses for Operator of Uninspected Passenger
Vessel and Celestial Navigation. Over the next several years I continued to
write and submit courses to the National Maritime Center for approval. Today
the school is a full service facility for Merchant Mariner Credential deck
endorsements for the operation of uninspected vessels and inspected
vessels of less than 200 gross registered tons.
Columbia Pacific Maritime LLC is a US Coast Guard approved school
operated by my wife, Pat, and myself out of the basement of our NE
Portland, Oregon home.

    It is the mission of Columbia Pacific Maritime to provide approved
    training courses for Merchant Mariner Credential deck endorsements in
    a small classroom environment with accessible scheduling options.

    Training professional mariners is not
    just a job to me, it is what do and it
    defines who I am and it is something I
    have been preparing for my entire life.

    Captain Dennis Degner
    Instructor & Director
    Columbia Pacific Maritime LLC
Columbia Pacific Maritime provides USCG approved courses for Merchant Mariner Credentials.
About the
School