At 0800 this morning Patriot State was steering various courses and speeds while conducting extensive training exercises. She was at 23 degrees 55 minutes north latitude and 075 degrees 45 minutes west longitude, in the general vicinity of Lee Stocking Island in the Northern Bahamas. The air temperature was 80 degrees and the sea water temperature was 81 degrees. The winds are out of the east at 5 knots, the seas are out of the north at 10 feet. It is partly cloudy with excellent visibility.

Captain's Log:

When we arrived at Lee Stocking Island at 0600 11 February 1998, our main concern was the weather. While a cold front passed through on Monday, there remained some residual gravitational wave action...or swells. Last night, as we made our turn into Exeuma Sound, we experienced northerly seas with swells of 10 to 15 feet. That made for a period of uncomfortable pitching and rolling. Thankfully, a gentle easterly breeze greeted us at first light this morning and the swell flattened noticeably once in the lee and in the relative protection of the sound.

Upon entering, we reduced speed to "slow ahead" and carefully approached a narrow band of water just off Lee Stocking. We fixed our position and waited for the local Pilot to direct us to the most favorable anchorage. We did not have long to wait. The Pilot boat arrived and took position over an ideal spot of sandy bottom. However, the winds increased and stubbornly pushed us off the mark, forcing us to abort the attempt. We then turned north and into the wind for a second approach. This time the bottom came rushing up to a depth of only 65 feet! Not only was this totally unacceptable, it was unnerving. We moved a short distance and tried again. This time, we dropped the port anchor in 100 feet of water.

As the ship swung round, it became immediately apparent that the anchor would not hold. The forces of wind and current acting on Patriot State, coupled with an unacceptably hard bottom did us in. We were almost instantly pushed into water hundreds of feet deep where no anchor would reach the bottom.

We had a chartered launch standing by to transport cadets and crew ashore but given the potential safety problems associated with embarking while underway, I chose to cancel the visit. The decision was disappointing but Lee Stocking will be there another day and so will we.

Now our sights are set on Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Believe me when I tell you that the cadets are looking forward to this port stay. But, first things first. Until our arrival at this fun and sun college capital, we will be conducting intensive training exercises; navigation, piloting, and engineering drills. By the time we hit the beach in Lauderdale, we'll need a little R and R!