At 1200 EST the T/S Empire State was enroute to Willemstad, Curacao and located at 37 degrees and 15 minutes North Latitude and 70 degrees 10 minutes West Longitude. She was steering course 197 degrees true at a speed of 15.5 knots. The skies were partly cloudy with winds out of the west-northwest at 10 knots. Barometric pressure was 1027 millibars of mercury. The air temperature was 51 degrees and seawater was 62 degrees. Seas were 3 to 6 feet.

CAPTAIN'S LOG:

Let me begin by thanking everyone for the wonderful turn out yesterday. Believe me, there is nothing more exhilarating than a boisterous home crowd cheering the team. The cheering section extended the length of the canal on both sides. The sight was heartwarming and the Cadets especially loved it.

Following your superb send off, we sailed quickly through Cape Cod Bay, passed by Race Point, shifted the rudder hard to starboard and sailed south of Cape Cod into the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean. As quickly as that, many of the Cadets appeared to have been at sea for their entire lives. I see this phenomenon every year but I continue to be amazed by it. These young people are remarkably resilient and infinitely adaptable. Their inspiring performances makes the trip what it is.

Thanks to them, Sea Term is off to a bang-up start. The seas are rolling gently on the starboard beam, the weather is warming, and all aboard are quickly adapting to the sea and the tough schedule. As expected, everyone was eager for well-deserved rest and the decks and passageways were eerily quite last evening as many went to roost at sunset. Those on watch were equally subdued and the night passed quietly and without incident.

However, this morning, many of the 4/C Cadets are learning the first of many hard lessons. Life out here means sharing nearly everything and they are experiencing first hand and for the first time what that requires. Shipboard life presents steep learning curves for young people accustomed to having one of everything at arms reach or someone more than willing to fetch it.

Tomorrow is the first official training day and Sunday at sea permits the luxury of a relatively quite time to prepare and settle in. I suspect that most will use it to maximum advantage.

We are well into the Gulf Stream now and the effects of this remarkable ocean river are amazing. The Sea Injection temperature has risen more than 25 degrees fahrenheit since our departure and the temperature rose more than 10 degrees when we rounded the Cape. The most dramatic and welcomed effect is the comfortble increase in air temperatures. People are beginning to talk about steel beach and sun tans. Imagine, in less than forty eight hours that will become reality as we sail into the Bahamas. Well folks, I think that I will take my own advice and spend some time settling in. Tomorrow will be busy and much warmer, I am sure... See you then.

QUESTIONS FOR MONDAY 15 JANUARY 2001

MATH:

Cadets loaded fresh (potable) water aboard T.S. Empire for the voyage. The ship's storage capacity is 959 Long Tons of potable water. By observing the change in ship's draft, the cadet engineers calculated that they pumped approximately 900 long tons of water aboard. If the cadets assumed the density of fresh water to be 8.30 pounds per gallon then how many gallons of water did they store? How many gallons do the storage tanks contain when full? Hint: a Long Ton = 2,240 pounds.

SCIENCE:

T.S. Empire State's departure time from Buzzards Bay was dictated by the periodic rise and fall of ocean waters, including those of open sea, gulfs, and bays. What is this action called and what causes it to happen?

GEOGRAPHY:

TS Empire State sailed through a great northeasterly flowing ocean current today. What is this ocean river of warm water called?

HISTORY:

Name the famous US warship that sank off Cape Hatteras on 31 December 1862.