You can feel the tension. People talk quickly and hurry past knowing there is much more to do before sailing. Anxiety permeates the freshman berthing area. It is not a fear of the unknown that is hangs in the air, rather a wish to get on with the trip. To actually say your goodbyes, drop the lines binding the ship to the land and to get this big white training aid underway.
Usually this feeling is concentrated in the living spaces of the "Youngies", the newest class of cadets at the Academy. They are the ones who are embarking on their first semester at sea. Often this is their first time away from home , over the horizon and out of touch from family and loved ones for over 40 days and 40 nights. This trip, however, has everyone slightly on edge. It is the new ship. Even some of the old salts are slightly disoriented. They climb the ladder intending to go to the bridge when they turn a corner in the narrow passageway and find themselves facing a dead end. A puzzled look crosses their face as they pull up the schematic of the deck layout in their mind and try to figure out how they get from where they are to where they want to be. Upperclassmen who would normally strut about the decks and spaces confident in their ability to navigate the warrens of the ship's interior spaces are seen casting furtive glances in both directions as they reach an intersection of two passageways, looking for all the world like lost tourists in a strange land.
All of this will end as soon as they get underway. As soon as they get into the warm weather and away from the distractions of landlubbers. As soon as their life simplifies to "work", "eat", and "sleep". Then the 1999 Sea Term will begin and the awful, gnawing anxiety will end.
1507 Saturday,9 January....will it ever come?