As of 0800 this morning the training ship Patriot State was located at 2 degrees 30 minutes north latitude - 79 degrees 50 minutes west longitude. She is steering a course of 250 degrees at a speed of 11.5 knots. She is located 70 nautical miles west north west of the Columbia - Ecuador border. The winds are out of the north east at 4 knots, the air temperature is 82. The skies are partly cloudy, and the sea temperature is 80 degrees.

Captain's Log:

A quick burst of heavy rain gave us some minimal relief from the pounding humidity that has traveled with us since we left Panama. While all on board are affected...our cadets in the engine room suffer the most...working with temperatures that reach 110 degrees. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, our cadets never complain and continue to perform their duties diligently.

By the way, it is not just the engineers who are hammered by the humidity. On deck the temperature can reach 100 degrees. As a result, all of our cadets are required to drink water every hour in order to remain hydrated.

Our Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Department cadets continue to conduct experiments under the direction of MSEP Chairman, Dr. Malcolm MacGregor. They have upper class cadets involved in some independent study programs aboard, as well, like - Marine and Industrial Safety. This is being taught by Professor Jim Hathaway, who is doing a terrific job.

The ship is now under the control of King Neptune. We arrived in his equatorial realm yesterday. His presence is palpable. The shellbacks, of course, have a sense of his power, however, our pollywogs are quite apprehensive....as well they should be!

After sunset this evening the ship will be visited by Davy Jones...King Neptune's first assistant. We expect that Mr. Jones, or Davy to the shellbacks on board, will deliver a message from his royal majesty, himself. In anticipation of his arrival we have positioned several additional pollywogs around the ship. They are to keep a keen eye out for any messengers sent from Davy Jones.

While we await our orders, cadets from Division II are busily preparing for their first cycle examination. This test includes - fundamental engineering skills, basic deck qualifications, and marine safety and environmental protection topics.

By the way, I spent some time asking cadets where they were from and was surprised at the wide geographic spread they represented. There are cadets from Ohio, Maryland, Providence, Boston, Panama, and Vietnam. This really adds a nice cross cultural element to our Sea Term.

Tomorrow I expect to have a full report concerning our marching orders from Davy Jones. Until then, we will continue our never ending vigil for our messenger from the deep!