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

Wednesday 18 February

"Talent is an amalgam of high sensitivity; easy vulnerability; high sensory equipment (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting-intensely); a vivid imagination as well as a grip on reality; the desire to communicate one's own experience and sensations, to make one's self heard and seen."
-Uta Hagen, Actor

0100 ET/0600 GMT Position
Latitude 25-48.0 N Longitude 066-12.0 W
USTS Kennedy's updated track: Sailwx Track

Air Temperature 18.9 C
Sea Temperature 22.8 C
Sea State 3
Barometric Pressure 1018.5 mb and falling
Wind NW @ 19.0 kts
Visibility 5 miles.

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

Captain's Log 18 February 2009
by Captain Tom Bushy

Yesterday's scattered rain showers and edgy low pressure was replaced by a high pressure ridge, with accompanying wind. The wind picked up, the clouds disappeared, and we started getting hit right on the head with a pretty defined swell. All night long we have been pitching through about 20 degrees. I sure am glad my room is about in the middle of the ship where I feel the motion but not the elevator sensation that the folks that live way forward or aft feel.

So, we have pushed the RPM up a bit to keep up our planned speed of advance. We are watching a low in the Texas/Oklahoma area and anticipate that it will present itself to us on Friday morning. I would like to be in a position that permits me to adjust speed to minimize the uncomfortable ride - since the cadets will be taking final exams on that day. It may be tough to get a good grade when you are chasing your pencil the whole time. But, they have grown accustomed to the ship's motion. Just because it is a little more lively than the past month, it is still a skill that you grow into. Imagine walking down a passageway and being able to 'not' bounce off the bulkheads on either side. Well, most in this crew can now do that.

So, as we push along, the bow lookout has been removed to the bridge wing and the ship dips down and grabs a little green water to rinse the foc'sle. Countless photos will be snapped with each one as the day goes on...and the days wane to nothing this weekend.

A Rave Review For The 2009 Sea Term Talent Show
by Cadet 1/C Peter Beuth

Last night (Monday 16) we held the annual TS Kennedy Talent Show on the helo deck at 2000. There were numerous participants singing songs, playing the guitar, doing Captain Rozak impressions, all capped off with the "Best of Cruise 2009" slideshow. 1/C Johnathan (JT) Walsh took third place, showing off his incredibly fast fingers on his guitar, all the while adding percussion and other 'sounds' by tapping the guitar itself. 1/C Kyle Wilson took second place with a spot on impersonation of Captain Rozak and his trusty book from the 1929 pre-port briefing.

4/C Durbin and 4/C Costa grabbed top honors at the talent show with a humorous song and a few funny dance moves. Several other people took part and displayed their great talents. 4/C Donnell sang "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston like no one else could. 4/C Max Weinreb sang "Autumn Leaves," and even took the time to dress up for the part. 4/C Julie Shebroe, Peter Gels, and Jorid Pasek sang a medley of songs including "Santeria" by Sublime, "No One" by Alicia Keys, and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Roger the Barber, Cdr Fredrickson, Joe from Chartwells, 1/C Dan Beaulieu, and Dr. Bani Ghosh were the judges for this fine event.

The last act of the talent show was the slideshow which I have been diligently working on over the last week or so. Over 200 pictures were presented, set to music including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, 311, Bruce Springsteen, and Beck. The lights were turned out and everybody tuned in for a stirring retrospective of Cruise 2009. It brought on a case of nostalgia, looking back at our departure from Buzzards Bay in sub freezing temperatures. The differences between now and then are striking as well, with the pictures showing the cadets progress throughout sea term, not to mention the fact that most of us are fully tanned as well. After the talent show I had to enter a tie breaker round, and thanks to Lt. White, I was able to show the "Stix Magee" vs "The Phaminator" jousting match held during the most recent Sunday-at-Sea. To say we all laughed would be a huge understatement. All in all the talent show was a great time, filled with many laughs, and even a few tears perhaps because, for many of us St. Thomas was our last port, this was our last talent show, and this Sunday will be our last time walking down the gangway into the arms of those who await our arrival.

It was a great night and we wouldn't have it any other way. To top it all off, the three cadets who won the $175 in prize money in the talent show donated their winnings to the growing amount of contributions to the Christopher Blair Erickson Memorial Fund.

Ed. Note: Cadet Beuth reports that he has raised over $2,000 for the Memorial Fund through sales of his CD. Contact him at peter.beuth@maritime.edu for information. He'll be in touch with you sometime next week.

Rock-a-bye Kennedy
by Cadet 1/C Peter Beuth

This morning started out beautifully with sunny skies, small seas and a light to moderate northerly breeze. However, this afternoon it has begun to deteriorate quickly. We now have 10 foot seas with a strong northwesterly wind blowing right in our face. It is still quite warm and a few cadets were gathering the last of the warm rays that were on offer as tomorrow will surely bring stark changes in the weather that we have become so used to. The forecast for the next few days sounds interesting. As this storm pulls away to the east-northeast, another storm is forecast to move off the east coast and intercept us with 30 to 40 knot south to southwest winds on February 19th as we press our way towards home. After such a smooth trip down the coast and through all of the Caribbean it is about time that we hit some bigger seas and give the freshmen a taste of what being at sea can really be like.

Since today was still warm and sunny, many of the freshmen cadets were put to work needle gunning, chipping paint, wire wheeling, and painting in preparation for our arrival in Buzzards Bay on Sunday. For those that were in training, they continued their rotations through classes in each of the majors. By now about 95% of the freshmen have had all of their classes, with just a few left to attend their last section or two over the next few days. We are all busy preparing for our final exams which will take place on Friday, Feb 19th. Seniors are busy at work studying for their final exams in both the deck and engine departments and a few senior deck cadets are still trying to hammer out the rest of their celestial navigation projects before the bad weather sets in. Saturday the 20th will involve a lot of cleaning, packing, and preparations for arrival in Buzzards Bay.

**TOMORROW** - Look for a humorous article involving the end of sea term...that's all I can say for now.

Getting Wet in Port
by Cadet 3/C Matt Connolly

Diving on Sea Term gives everyone that is in the Scuba Club, and anyone else that is a certified diver, a unique experience to leave the cold murky waters of New England and dive in warm, crystal-clear water. You immediately notice the difference from diving in sixty degree water with ten feet of visibility, to diving in eighty degree water with fifty feet of visibility.

This cruise was no different than any other year. We had the opportunity to go diving in three different ports with three completely different experiences. We went from diving and snorkeling with Manatees in Florida to diving on wrecks in beautiful St. Thomas with diving in Puerto Rico in between. Our latest dive in St. Thomas was probably the best one of cruise. We had two different dives set up for St. Thomas. One was the regular dive, designed for Open Water certified divers, and the other one for those who hold an Advanced certification. Our open water dive consisted of a two tank dive. The first spot being a reef that sat at 35 to 55 feet of water. We saw a lot of colorful coral and fish here. The second spot was a wreck dive onto two sunken Navy barges that sat in about thirty feet of water. We had the pleasure of being able to swim through certain parts the wrecks and enjoy it with many tropical fish including two puffer fish and a pretty big barracuda. The advanced dive was also a two tank dive and dove on another reef and the wreck Miss Opportunity. The dive on the reef brought the divers down about 35 feet and the wreck to about 95 feet. The divers got to experience an awesome dive while seeing many tropical fish and even had the privilege of seeing two nurse sharks.

What are THOSE photos?
Shipboard Life May Not Be For The Squeamish!
Brain Surgery 101

TS Kennedy has a medical staff that includes a physician, a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse, and several crew members and/or cadets that are qualified EMT's. There is a well equipped, modern Sick Bay ready to support the most complex medical procedures. An inventory of emergency prescription medications is maintained and a stock of over-the-counter products may be judiciously distributed. With the exception of cruise ships, however, commercial ships cannot afford or provide accommodations of this extent. How are medical emergencies handled by ships at sea?

In most cases of extreme emergency, evacuation of the injured crew member is the first choice. This may be accomplished by returning to port, by a helo extraction, or by transferring the member to a better equipped ship. Sometimes, however, evacuation is not possible and treatment must be handled on the ship. Not too long ago, untrained crew members may have performed medical procedures by following radioed instructions. With the advent of STCW (Standards for Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping), crews are better prepared than ever to handle medical emergencies.

At Massachusetts Maritime Academy, every freshman cadet is required to become certified in Basic First Aid and CPR. The training is reinforced throughout their enrollment. As First Class cadets, they complete Advanced Shipboard Medicine and STCW certification as Medical Care Provider. Topics include everything from Advanced First Aid/CPR to administration of medications; inserting an IV to suturing; setting a fracture to immobilization of the victim; and treatment of burns to treatment for hypo- and hyper-thermia. Some cadets even coomplete EMT instruction through elective offerings in Continuing Education. While exhaustive, it ain't brain surgery...

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...

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