Good morning, Followers-
The TS Kennedy has arrived at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It has been six years since the TS Kennedy last docked here. That was my first year as Master of the vessel. The weather this weekend will be ideal for our Shipboard Open House tomorrow and our Helo Deck reception tomorrow evening.
Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale is a busy place. One cadet on the Bridge shared that Port Everglades is the busiest cruise port in the world. In addition to watching cruise ships come and go this weekend, our cadets will see a wide variety of general cargo ships and container ships loading and unloading. I enjoy seeing curious cadets looking up information about the ships that are docked nearby. This shows me that they are visualizing their future. I am also glad that cadets will witness this busy port, not only during the day, but at night as well. They’ll discover that the shipping industry operates 24-7, 365 days per year.
I received an email from a class asking if my father and grandfather were ship captains. No, my father had a successful career as a pharmacist. He was also a professor at the University Of Rhode Island. My father happens to be a big fan of the Follow The Voyage – Share The Experience Program. He has been known to call me when he notices an error or two in one of my logs.
Another email that I received asked me to predict the outcome of Super Bowl LVII. Although I will watch as much of the game as I can, I am not going to weigh in on who the winner will be. If the New England Patriots were participating, it would be a different story. The game will be shown in the Mess Deck. There are eight cadets aboard the TS Kennedy from Pennsylvania. I am guessing that they will be among the many cadets cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles. There is one cadet from Missouri aboard the ship. I assume that he will be leading the many cadets rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Have a great weekend! I will update you again on Monday.
Sincerely,
Captain Michael J. Campbell
Master, TS Kennedy
