Captain's Log for Sunday, 23 January 2000
|
As of 0800 EST, 1200 local time, and 1300 GMT, the Empire State was moored to the pier in Gibraltar: 36 degrees 08 minutes North Latitude, 005 degrees 21 minutes West Longitude. She was taking various services from the pier. The weather report; skies were clear, calm winds, air temp 55 degrees, water temp 58 degrees, barometric pressure 1024 millibars, steady. CAPTAIN'S LOG I should start by reminding the readers that Gibraltar was not planned as a liberty port. Liberty hours for Cadets have been restricted to "after work". In other words, they have been ashore from 1700 to 2100 for Freshmen and until 2400 for seniors. The lifeboat training has been very successful. As soon as we docked, we launched three rowing monomoys and one motor-whaleboat.
The boats are being used each day and moored to nearby floats for the night. Meanwhile our lifeboats to starboard have been busy with launching drills to allow the cadets to operate these boats. It has been a very busy two days. We had successfully completed about two-thirds of the mandatory lifeboat training in yesterday afternoon's beautiful conditions. We will mop up this morning, and sail this afternoon at approximately 1630 local time. Yesterday, the Student Government Association (SGA) inflated a "jousting ring" on the upper deck forward. Cadets not on watch, and those that must remain aboard for fire party details have been actively jousting away. The ring, common at outdoor parties and carnivals at home, measures about 20 by 20 feet. The batons have heavy foam rubber tips and the cadets in the ring go at it rather vociferously. The games not only release tensions, they are great entertainment for all hands. Last night ashore I was talking to an electrician from a Royal Navy supply ship here in Gibraltar. His vessel is also a merchant ship, and operates similarly to our Military Sealant Command system. The officer was questioning the number on board Empire State, our purpose, route etc. but his most enthusiastic question was about the jousting. He said they were watching with binoculars CDR Chris Melhuish, US Navy Liaison Officer to Gibraltar, was kind enough to organize a special tour of the military tunnels which are located beneath the rock and we visited them yesterday. This 35-mile long, underground complex was created prior to during World War Two as living and working spaces. General Eisenhower and his Staff planned Operation Torch (the allied invasion of North Africa) from this subterranean Headquarters. The military compound included ammunition magazines, hospitals, barracks, and administrative spaces. At its height, the tunnels housed nearly 16,000 soldiers as well. Today, most of the WWII era equipment has been removed and the tunnels are used for military commando training. They also hold water mains that distribute potable water to the territory. We've enjoyed our too brief stay in this British outpost on the Mediterranean Sea. The sense of history and uniqueness of the spot was amazing for us all. Now on to the cradle of Western Civilization; Athens.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||