At 0800 this morning, the Patriot State was located at 39 degrees 58 minutes north latitude and 069 degrees 09 minutes west longitude, One hundred miles...one hundred miles...one hundred miles away from home. She was steering a course of 017 degrees true at a speed of 11 knots. The weather was partly cloudy and the air temp was 48 degrees. The water temp was 40 degrees. Depth of water beneath the keel was 400 fathoms.

Captains Log:

Let me begin with our schedule. As you can see by the position information, we are about 135 miles from home and we will arrive in Cape Cod Bay on Friday evening 20 February, slightly ahead of schedule. We will anchor in the Bay and remain there completing required training and preparing to enter port. We will transit the Cape Cod Canal and tie up on the tide, Sunday Morning 22 February 1998 at 0530. The O-dark-thirty arrival will give everyone an opportunity to have a leisurely breakfast and to enjoy the entire day. I am assured that the weather will be excellent. I heard someone say, there is no such thing as bad weather for entering port, just different kinds of good weather.

Last night, in a short eight hour period between 2000 to 0400, we moved from relatively mild weather to winter. We cleared the Gulf Stream and both the air and sea temperatures quickly dropped nearly 30 degrees. The relationship between sea temperature and weather is never more obvious.

We are enjoying a beautiful morning at sea; crisp cool air and not a cloud in the sky. We are 90 miles south, southeast of Nantucket and will enter the Nantucket Precautionary Zone at approximately 1030 Friday morning. The zone is actually a traffic separation scheme. It provides for vessel traffic management and additional safety at this very busy maritime juncture as ships from around the world enter and leave New York and Boston..

We will enjoy great sailing this afternoon as we "run up the backside" of the Cape. The traffic separation lanes which we must follow, conform to the deep water of Great South Channel. Fishing boats continuously criss cross the area as they transit to and from the rich fishing grounds of George's Bank. After sailing in foreign waters, it is always gratifying to see such accustomed sights and to read the charts without the aid of a translator. But, the real excitement comes from seeing the familiar names that describe and represent home.

We plan to anchor in Cape Cod Bay late this evening. I know that some are saying, why not come on home. Well, the Sea Term training plan is not complete. Arriving early will permit everyone to relax without the constant rocking and rolling and to be more comfortable while completing exams today and Saturday. With the ship at anchor or running in smoother home waters, we can all but guarantee two very comfortable days.

I must confess, the well being of many Cadets is beginning to concern me. Some are showing signs of the dreaded but all to common malady, "Channel Fever". The first symptoms usually appear three to five days out from home but may occur earlier if the Sea Term has been particularly long and arduous. The onset typically, is quite sudden and generally includes unexplained loss of appetite, anxiety, and intense insomnia. Those afflicted walk incessantly from deck, to deck, as if searching for Elmo. They are frequently observed to be in a trance like state, staring at the navigation table while babbling incoherently. A common utterance is, Rwetheryet, Rwetheryet, Rwetheryet. They often become wildly exuberant and describe even the most hated enemies from home in glowing terms. Those in the final stages of the disease have been know to shower three times a day, to pack and unpack everything in sight, and to linger on deck at the exact spot where the brow last sat. It is absolutely pitiful but, what can I do? To my knowledge, the disease has never been successfully treated at sea and the symptoms mysteriously vanish after entering port and before the afflicted can be transported.

All kidding aside, this is a great bunch of young people to sail with. While they must complete the exciting and navigationally challenging Canal transit, for all practical purposes Sea Term 98 is over. They performed remarkably well while exceeding every goal that we set for them. I am tremendously proud of them and you should be too.

This is my last entry in the Captain's Log for Sea Term 98; I want to sincerely thank you for following our exploits through out the cruise. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I encourage you to visit us at the Academy. From the Captain, the Crew, and all the Cadets; "Fair Winds and Following Seas", See you aboard TS Patriot State for Sea Term 99.