Sea Term 2009: Captain's Blog

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February 2009 S M T W Th F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Jan 2009

Tuesday 03 February

"The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls."
-John Muir

Remember This?

0830 ET/1330 GMT Position
Latitude Longitude
USTS Kennedy's updated track: Sailwx Track

Air Temperature C
Sea Temperature C
Sea State
Barometric Pressure mb and steady
Wind @ kts
Partly cloudy. Visibility miles.

Division I Maintenance
Division II Training
Division III Watch
Division IV Alternate

Captain's Log 3 February 2009
by Captain Tom Bushy

I must admit, the port visit to San Juan has really been nice. So nice in fact, that I have been very delinquent in writing a log. There is a rationale however; almost every cadet and crew member I see is packing a cell phone, keeping family and friends aware of their whereabouts and activities. This reality does not help those folks that download the Sea Term web site for details of the voyage, and do not have a loved one aboard.

The Captain's Log was tested in 1997 and put into a real, organized presentation back in 1998. The Commandant of Cadets - Rick Gurnon (now the President) and I would coordinate messages coming off the ship for the classroom participants, as well the fledgling web site. It was fun, and very interactive. Now it has grown to having Captain Hansen helping from shore to coordinate the "Follow the Voyage" experience with questions and logs - log from me, and a cadet and, this year, a staff member. We have cadets and staff officers go to schools before the ship sails and after it returns. Often classroom groups visit the campus before we sail, too. The whole program is light years ahead of what it was eleven years ago. Except, it would appear, that I am dogging it! I'll try to step it up a little.

San Juan was so good this voyage primarily because of our mooring location at Pier 1, right in front of Plaza de la Darsena. All day long the vendors are offering their wares and all evening the plaza comes alive with hundreds of people enjoying music or drinks while looking out at the harbor. During the weekend there were many local folk there at night but last night, like almost every weekday night, a cruise ship arrived for the evening and night life of Old San Juan. Besides the city life, cadets and crew could occupy themselves for hours walking around the old town, with the buttresses of Morro Castle - the 520 year old fort that once protected San Juan from the rest of the world, viewing San Juan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Within walking distance the crew could visit first class hotels - their restaurants and casinos open for business and beach and pool access for minimal service fees. Hop on a city bus, pay 50 cents and one can travel deep into the Condado region where more hotels and beaches await, or stay aboard longer and you arrive in Isla Verde - almost to the international airport. Out there the cadets and crew could find large beaches open to the public, with kiosks for food and beverages. Night life, too, had a more cosmopolitan and city flavor out there.

But nothing compares to Old San Juan. The excitement of the crowds in the narrow streets, the packed sidewalk cafes, the plazas full of people and all the shops open for business - right out of the movie "Captain Ron" (which was filmed right here, too.) I believe it has been the best visit to San Juan we have ever had.

A Look Back at Four Days in Puerto Rico
by Cadet 1/C Peter Beuth

What was your favorite thing you did while on liberty in Puerto Rico?
1/C Pigott - Touring the El Morro castle and walking in Old San Juan.
4/C Barba - hanging out and enjoying a few drinks with friends, bar hopping in Old San Juan.
4/C Cheng - going to the beaches in El Condado and enjoying a rum and coke.
1/C Allard - Beaches and cold drinks.
1/C Fraser - Snorkeling, dancing at the discotheque.
4/C Blair - The Catamaran tour, it was like you see in postcards.
4/C Hackett - Beaches at Isla Verde.
4/C Griffith - Scuba diving at Sand Slide and Spurs, two reefs of the coast of Puerto Rico.
3/C Donaghey - going to the Human Body Museum.
4/C Lotti and 4/C Donnell - Diving with the scuba club.
4/C Sullo - Horseback riding tour in the foothills of the El Yunque rainforest.
3/C Barria - Surfing in Rincon and Aguadilla at spots called Maria's and Bridges.
1/C Burns - Touring the Bacardi Factory.

Have you eaten any good food or gone to any good restaurants in Puerto Rico?
4/C Donnell, 4/C O'brien K., 4/C Lotti, and 4/C Stewart - We ate at a very unique place called El Asador, our waiter was crazy.
1/C Amber Michel - I ate at Toro Saloa, the Tapas were very good.
3/C Barria - White Tuna Sashimi in El Condado.

As you can tell, many cadets engaged in various activities while on liberty in San Juan, and a great time was had by all. Disciplinary problems were surprisingly scarce, much to the delight of the ship's officers and cadet leadership. Today we are bunkering, taking on fuel in preparation for our next nine days of training at sea, and our steam back home after our upcoming stay in St. Thomas. Although we have yet to set sail, today, Tuesday February 3, is a training day. We are all back to work, either engaged in maintenance, watchstanding, or training depending upon what division you are in. The sailing board is set for 1500, so we expect to get underway at or about that time,headed for sea, eventual destination Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas, USVI.

Here is the fourth, and last, installment of articles written by cadets on Co-op with the International Maritime Business program.

Getting Down to Business
by Cadet 2/C Brendan Strei, Junior Class President

When I got off the plane in Houston, I expected my internship with the American Bureau of Shipping to be much like any stereotypical internship. I had never had the opportunity to participate in any sort of work-term before this, so I had imagined that the rest of my winter would be spent behind a copier, or perhaps filing documents in a dusty archive. While I realized that I could still gain valuable experience by absorbing what I saw, it was safe to say that I was not really looking forward to work.

Fortunately, the movers and shakers at ABS did not intend to allow their first International Maritime Business (IMBU) student to hide in some cubicle. I was quickly informed of the plan that had been constructed for the test subject...me...of a new program for Maritime Business Majors. I sat down for a meeting with the Director of ABS's human resources department and he told me that I would spend a week with each of the administrative departments that make up the backbone of the classifications organization. I began the internship in the human resources department, where I spoke to all of the key members, and learned the intricacies and difficulties of dealing with thousands of workers across the globe. I then spent my second week in the legal department, where I had opportunities in which to review and edit documents pertaining to contracts and agreements. The third week was spent in the finance department, where I was able to see the evolution of accounting and financial matters from dusty old ledgers to state of the art computer programs.

The classes I have taken at MMA have applied directly to almost every part of my work and ABS, and I know that the classes I will take in the next year and a half will be just as useful. I have a good feeling that what I will learn here at ABS will be useful in the future, and it has definitely helped me to apply what I have learned in the classroom to real life. Next week I will be out on ships, conducting surveys, which is about as far away from a cubicle as you can be.

Follow the Voyage
Here are today's questions:
History: What form of government exists in the U.S. Virgin Islands? In the British Virgin Islands?
Math: What is the difference between an isosceles triangle and an equilateral triangle?
Science: When is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere? Why does it occur on this day?
Geography: Name the states within the United States that start with the letter M. Which is the largest? Which is the smallest?

LINKS:
Official MMA Photography

Christiaan Conover Blog Page
Buzzards Bay Weather
MMA Parents Association

Departure Photos
Cape Cod Times Online Departure Photos
217 Photos of TS Kennedy's Arrival in Tampa

Should you have an emergency and need to contact someone at MMA regarding your cadet or a crew member, please contact Commander Stephen Kelleher:
Commander Stephen Kelleher
508-830-6485 (daytime)
508-364-6217 (Evenings/Weekends)
seaterm@maritime.edu

If Commander Kelleher is not available, you may contact me at any time:
Captain Allen Hansen
508-269-0925
ahansen@maritime.edu

Parting Shots...