As of 0800 this morning the training ship Patriot State was located at 0 degrees 34 minutes south latitude and 84 degrees west longitude. She was on a course of 000 degrees true. Speed of 8 knots. Winds out of the east north east at 3 miles per hour. Slight seas. Air temperature 85 degrees - sea temperature 80 degrees. The skies are partly cloudy.

Captain's Log:

The Shellbacking Ceremony is over, and the reality of training is once again in evidence on board the ship. A full day of R & R, however, was just what the Captain needed to order. Some of our cadets and crew spent the day on 'steel beach' catching some of the strong equatorial rays available during the day, while others played ping pong, fusball, chess, and darts. The food service folks, as usual, provided a constant stream of great chow throughout the day.

There was clearly some disappointment that we had sailed out of the Super Bowl coverage area. That was mitigated, however, by our ability to catch the game via shortwave. The reception was shaky, at best ...but the excitement of the game clearly made up for it.

We are currently headed due north on our way to Costa Rica. We will arrive on Friday. Incidentally, we were able to bottle some valuable El Nino water ... and look forward to sharing it with friends of MMA.

In terms of our training, it proceeds without a hitch. Division III, after being asigned to maintenance duties since we sailed from Buzzards Bay, will have its first class room training day today. They will continue to rotate class room training and watch duties with Division II through the Bahamas. Much to the delight of the Division III cadets... Division I will pick up the cleaning, polishing, swabbing, etc.