Written in actual medical reports' "Description of accident as stated by patient"...submitted this morning to my office by Sick Bay - all four:
**In class, ship rolled, chair turned and shin hit another chair.
**Cleaning mess (deck), readjusting cooking utensils, slipped on flour and cake frosting on deck, struck counter, grabbed rack and fell on butt.
**Holding door for others, ship increased roll and caught fingers in door.
**In review class, large roll, chairs tipped, caught inner wrist on insulation rivet on bulkhead
These are honest to goodness descriptions. All are preventable, but understandable, since they occurred while the ship was working through near hurricane force winds and twenty-five foot seas due east of Cape Hatteras. The miracle is that there weren't forty reports of that nature.
Judging from myself, I would say the four reports are a fraction of the bumps and bruises we took yesterday. And I personally can attest to making a poor decision that resulted in a bump or two that was preventable. I tried to get off my feet for a half hour at noon time and the ship took a deep roll. One more item my office started to go into motion. Unthinking I slid out of the rack onto the waxed vinyl tiles - and immediately observed "You idiot, you still have socks on!" But once in motion, my body's inertia was sustained by about 18,000 tons moving through a twenty degree roll. So, I am thankful that we had so few reports and I guess should make a claim that the training cruise has made seamen out of the vast majority of the cadets aboard.
And not just the cadets - but the crew, also, did well. Many of our crew, food service, faculty and staff are not professional seafarers, and can be considered on the learning curve, too. The most impressive are our food service providers. About six are new to the heavy weather we experienced yesterday and they did great. We never missed a hot meal, still enjoyed cookies and coffee, and had ice cream just like any other day.
This morning the conditions are better, but not much. The severe weather came from a very strong cold from, not a storm center, just a frontal storm. It was nasty, but last night around 2200 the sky cleared, the barometer stopped dropping, and the wind began to veer to the west. As we had hove-to on a westerly heading and reduced speed, it was an opportunity to allow a 'relatively' restful sleep. But at 0600 we were forced to haul around more to the north and increase RPM. Is anyone mad about the continued roll and pitch? I may as well ask if they are sorry to be going home.
Exams today and I am sure my counterpart, 1/C Peter Beuth, will summarize later today about testing knowledge while chasing a pencil at the same time.
Arriving Safely...A Message from Admiral Gurnon, President
I suspect that the tales of rough weather rounding Hatteras may make many anxious. Let me reassure you that TS Kennedy is safe, the officers and crew are supremely competent, safety remains paramount and the cadets will likely brag for years afterward of their E-ticket, no tracks roller coaster ride from hell...although there may be some fourth class cadets who change their choice of major today. The next time they hear a weather man say that a bad storm passed "safely out to sea" they will certainly yell at their TV.
In an e-mail from the Captain (Captain Bushy)this morning, he admitted to a rough ride and we discussed options for arrival. Ordinarily the ship gets to Cape Cod Bay early the day before scheduled arrival in Buzzards Bay and takes advantage of the relatively calm waters to administer final exams and clean the ship for arrival (remember, this is no "cruise" but rather a mid-winter sea term semester). As you may have read in the Captain's Log, shifting weather patterns changed plans. As of today, they will arrive in Cape Cod Bay at 0545 on Sunday, 21 February - just in time to pick up the pilot for the Cape Cod Canal transit westbound (Sandwich/Sagamore bridge to Buzzards Bay/Railroad Bridge). If the weather further reduces their speed of advance, the Captain will stay in the lee of the land, close to the New England coast, travel up Buzzards Bay rather than go outside the crooked arm of the Cape and transit the Canal eastbound in the early morning hours on Sunday. The ship will then turn around in Cape Cod Bay and go back through the Canal westbound, arriving off the dock by 0730 to make the right turn into the slip.
We've been in this situation before and there is no need to be worried. Even though they are as anxious to get home as you are to see them, Captain Bushy does not suffer from "get-homeitis;" the disease that causes one to push the envelope of safety to arrive home on time. If the weather turns particularly nasty (much more so than is currently forecast) they will simply wait out the storms and arrive a day late. Such is the nature of winter in New England. In the meantime, follow the web site, everything we have will go up there, and repeat after me: "All will be well."
We Asked For IT...We Got It!
by Cadet 1/C Peter Beuth
After weeks of smooth sailing we finally have encountered the storm that many of us had hoped for. Freshmen were looking forward to getting into a good storm to see what it is like and to get the full experience of being at sea. Judging by the run on seasick pills outside the nurse's office, I don't think as many of them are still enjoying the storm. This morning the winds started to pick up out of the southwest and by mid-afternoon seas were a solid 15 to 18 feet. Right before nightfall we made a course change and were forced to close all weather decks, but not before we took three large walls of water over the stern and port side, completely drenching a number of cadets. Moments later, the call came to secure all weather decks until further notice. As I am sitting here writing this, we are experiencing winds in the 50 to 55 knot range with a few gusts of over 60 knots having been recorded. We are rolling heavily in 20 to 25 foot seas and every few minutes take a set of particularly violent rolls which have sent cadets, chairs, and anything unsecured flying back and forth across the rooms. Twice while writing this piece, I have tipped over backwards in my chair. Many stories abound about items going flying, cadets going flying, or a combination of the two. However, for all of the stories and the excitement we are all safe, and making quite a go of it. A life at sea is nothing short of exciting and a storm such as this one is very common particularly in the Winter North Atlantic. Shortly, the cold front is expected to pass by and the wind will shift to a more northwesterly direction at which point we will alter course back to the north and resume paddling our way home.
Tomorrow (Friday Feb 20) is exam day and we are all busy studying as much as possible given the current weather conditions. However, when sitting in a chair and having to grab hold of something every two minutes to avoid sliding across the room, it isn't exactly an environment conducive to studying. Regardless, we are all making do as best we can and will be ready to take our respective exams tomorrow. Wish us luck with our exams, and we all look forward to seeing everybody canal side on Sunday morning.
Reflections
by Cadet 1/C Peter Beuth
Over the course of the last month and a half I have had the distinct privilege of witnessing the progress of the freshmen and sophomore classes during Sea Term 2009. As I look at each and every one of them, I can't help but let my mind hark back to my own freshman and sophomore days. It seems only days ago that I was standing my first few deck and engine watches, going through my first firefighting classes, and learning how to navigate on a chart for the first time. Here I am today, only three days from completing my senior year sea term, two and a half months from taking my Coast Guard License examinations, and only four months from graduation. A quick look at the underclassmen and I can't help but realize how much I have learned, how much I have matured, and how much I now have to offer. Sure, the days of learning are not over, nor will they ever be. Yet my education at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy has successfully readied me for a life at sea as a merchant mariner. I feel that it is informative for everyone to know how I started out, where I have ended up, and everything that occurred in between.
Prior to July 2003, I was not aware that Massachusetts Maritime Academy existed. During that summer and fall, I received several pieces of mail from the Admissions Department and each one of them quickly found their way to the wastebasket since all I saw in the pictures were cadets in military style uniforms and a military career was not in my plans. As an independent minded and free spirited young man, I was not about to sign myself up for a very strict, regimented lifestyle. At least, I thought that was how it would be. Later in the fall, after receiving yet another piece of correspondence from the admissions office my father asked me, "Hey Pete, have you ever thought about checking out the Massachusetts Maritime Academy? Uncle Steve went to Kings Point in New York, and now he is the captain for the NC State (North Carolina State University) research ship." My reply was that I hadn't and, quite frankly, wasn't interested in the school. At my parents insistence, I went for a campus tour and subsequently changed my mind regarding the school. Having grown up in, on, and around the ocean, and having had my father working as a commercial fisherman out of Point Judith, Rhode Island, for most of my childhood, I realized that a life at sea just might be right for me. After applying in the late Fall, I soon received an acceptance letter and sent my letter of intent in December of 2003. As an incoming freshman, ending my summer early and packing for Orientation 2004 was not an easy task. I had worked on a charter boat all summer and was making good money. A full two weeks of intensive physical training and regimentation did not seem like a good way to spend the last two weeks of August. Suddenly it was Labor Day weekend - I was home and proud that I had completed the freshman orientation program. The first fall semester flew by and my GPA stood at a 3.3. Freshman sea term was fast approaching and I was extremely excited to be visiting Florida, French Martinique, Puerto Rico, and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Fast forward a few weeks and I am standing on the bridge, on the helm, steering the ship for the first time in 15 foot seas. Although I had already been planning on it, my decision was now final - I wanted to receive my Third Mate's license. Watching that year's cadet leadership was like being back in high school and looking up at the seniors and saying, "Whoa, I'm never going to get to the position where they are at right now." I was envious of the Cadet Officer of the Watch, confidently taking in the events on the bridge, working on safely navigating the ship along its voyage. Fast forward to 2009. I am standing on the bridge, in the exact same spot where the seniors who came before me stood. Only now, I am the Cadet Officer of the Watch, working on safely navigating the ship through the Mona Passage in the Caribbean on our way to Puerto Rico. In the time that passed between my first few deck watches as a freshmen to my last few watches aboard TS Kennedy as a senior deckie, a lot has changed. Yet, my passion for being at sea remains much as it was those few years ago.
After freshman year (2005) Sea Term, I successfully passed all of my classes in the spring semester and fall semester sophomore year, including Coastal Navigation I and II, calculus, and applied math for deck officers. In what seemed to be no time flat, I was once again boarding the training ship in early January getting ready to depart on the second of my three sea terms on board the school's training ship. As a sophomore you begin to take on more responsibility and the freshmen look up to you for advice and guidance. It is here that your classes at school begin to have an affect, as you spend time working on navigation, helmsman skills, and record keeping. Sophomore year, Sea Term 2006, also presented the unique opportunity to cross the Central North Atlantic in the dead of winter on our way to Europe. As we passed the Azores and approached the Strait of Gibraltar we were struck by a storm bringing 20 to 25 foot seas and 50 knot winds. This was an experience that is common in the industry and we were able to experience firsthand on board our training ship. During the storm, we experienced the importance of attention to detail as far as making sure items were secured for sea as they should have been. Luckily, most everything had been properly stowed and the threat of loose items being thrown about was minimized. I returned from that sea term with a new respect for my future career and the knowledge we gleaned from those who had been there before us.
Upon returning from Sea Term 2006 my "independent minded self" began to pull some strings inside my head. I began to develop a severe distaste for the regiment back at school due to the existence of what I perceived as double standards and lack of efficient communication between the upper and lower class cadets. It has been said that the sophomore class is often the 'forgotten' class because the upper class cadets are focusing so intently on the freshmen and their own studies that they often neglect to give attention (leadership) to the sophomores. As a result of this recurring situation my focus on schoolwork became less, my grades suffered, and I simply wanted out for a time. Although I never failed any courses, my grades went from mostly B's with an occasional A to mostly C's with a B or two. To me this was not acceptable. I made the decision to take a one year leave of absence from school in order to work, travel, and have as much fun as possible in order to clear my head and prepare myself to do battle with the last two years I had looming at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Throughout my thought process leading up to my monumental decision to take a year off, there were two important points that I committed to in my decision. First of all, no matter what, I promised myself that I would return to Massachusetts Maritime that following year. Secondly, I would not sit idle for that year; instead I worked on a sport fishing boat all summer and fall, and moved out to Steamboat, Colorado, for the entire winter. After spending one hundred eleven days on the mountain skiing and boarding I called it a season on April 15 and headed home to Rhode Island. Not a week later I was on the move again, this time headed to Peru to meet up with a friend and do some surfing for two weeks straight. Upon returning home I went back to work on the charter boat and applied for readmission into the Marine Transportation program at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
After working for the rest of that summer, I returned to the Academy as a junior, an upper class cadet. I immediately realized the changes that come about as a result of being an upperclassman. Greater responsibility comes with upper class status, as does an increase in trust from the school's staff members. All of this is in preparation for the junior year commercial shipping sea term which all license major cadets, both deck and engine, participate in during the winter of their junior year.
Back to the present, here I am, standing on the starboard side boat deck as we depart Charlotte Amelie, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. It is sobering moment. This is the last port I will visit as a member of the regiment of cadets here at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the next port I enter will be on board a ship of some sort, getting time on my Third Mate license. After 5 weeks at sea and a week and a half total in three different ports, I have gained much more valuable knowledge and insight into the industry which I am about to enter. I have stood three bridge watches as the Cadet Officer of the Watch, have worked alongside other senior deck cadets, and have worked with the underclass cadets to help them develop a solid foundation of knowledge for whichever major they may choose. The Cadet Officer of the Watch essentially runs the watch on the bridge, maneuvering the vessel as necessary for traffic, ensuring the vessel remains on course, and ensuring that she remains in a safe and seaworthy state for all those on board. I have also worked as the senior navigator, senior radar observer, and have worked as the Cadet Training Officer-of-the-Watch. wAs the Cadet Training Officer, I have responsibility for training the third and fourth class cadets on a variety marine transportation related topics. It has been a rewarding experience, witnessing the progress that they have demonstrated even simply by the hour and I hope that, when they are in my shoes, they will do the same just as our predessors done. My experiences have served me well and I now feel confident that, come graduation, I will be fully prepared to take my degree and my license and make my mark on the merchant marine community. I would not have felt this way if it were not for one key experience that is a critical component of both the deck and engine license majors. That is the junior year commercial shipping experience.
By shipping out for two months during the winter of my junior year, I was able to gain a vast amount of knowledge and experience that the time on TS Kennedy is simply not capable of providing. With over 500 cadets on board Kennedy you simply can't gain the experience necessary in the time allotted. Therer are too many cadets and too few resources. From January 1 until March 1, 2008, I was commercially shipping with Military Sealift Command on board two different vessels, the USNS Grasp and the USNS Yukon. Grasp was a rescue/salvage tug of unlimited tonnage based in Norfolk, Virginia, and Yukon was a 670 foot fleet oiler based out of San Diego, California.
On board USNS Grasp, I gained valuable experience in intra-coastal navigation as we took Grasp up the Delaware River to Penns Landing, Philadelphia. There we were supposed to pick up a post World War II submarine to be towed to Brownsville, Texas, to be scrapped. Unfortunately, last minute environmental constraints caused an indefinite delay in the endeavor. We returned to Norfolk a few days later. With no other imminent deployments, Grasp was to sit dockside for the next two months. Consequently, I was transferred on January 17th to San Diego where I met up with USNS Yukon. I found myself becoming fast friends with 8 other cadets on board, all of whom were from King's Point Merhant Marine Academy. Over the course of the next few weeks we would come in and out of port several times. Each arrival and departure presented me with a new opportunity to confront rules of the road situations and work on my bridge watch standing skills. The captain and mates on board were all extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to help cadets with their intense sea projects. Working on board Yukon was also gave me experience handling cargo, working on ensuring vessel stability, and inspecting the ship's safety systems - all a large part of a third mate's job.
Working on board Yukon was also extremely exciting as we were frequently taking part in underway replenishments in which we would have one or two naval vessels come alongside and transfer fuel or stores from our ship to theirs. During underway replenishments, the vessels that come alongside are often only one hundred fifty feet off one side or the other and are both steaming along at fifteen knots. During the height of our operations, we had an aircraft carrier one hundred fifty feet off our port side, a destroyer one hundred fifty feet off our starboard side, vertical replenishments by means of helicopter on our stern, and two other naval vessels a mile back waiting to come alongside and take on fuel. When two or more vessels are operating in close proximity to one another it always provides for an excellent ship handling lesson, and the captain of Yukon provided nothing less.
One other crucial component to the commercial shipping experience is that while on board you are treated the same as a licensed third mate is treated...even going so far as to have your own stateroom and eating with the ship's officers in the officer's mess deck.
It was the experience of finally being able to put two and a half years of classes and training to work in a practical environment that truly set the stage for my senior year sea term, the leadership role that it entailed, and my upcoming career in the merchant marine. A combination of great teachers, strict attention to detail, practical application in the field, and a positive mind frame have set the stage for a successful career upon graduating and receiving my Third Mate's license. For this I must give a heartfelt thanks to all of the professors, the cadet leadership of this year and years past, the COMCAD officers, TS Kennedy's officers, the captain and crew of both USNS Grasp and USNS Yukon for all of their roles in my professional development. Perhaps more than anybody, however, I must thank my parents, Joe and Shirley Beuth, for encouraging me to have high moral values, an independent mindset, teaching me attention to detail since I was a true youngie, and encouraging me to strive for what I want and what I believe in. For a young man with an open mind there can be no greater influence than his parents and, for that, I will forever remember what they have done for me. I look forward to seeing their faces on June 20th when I receive my degree in Marine Transportation from the prestigious Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
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
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