It is almost becoming routine now. Get up, shuffle to the mess deck for breakfast with hundreds of other cadets. Eat off a steel tray and slurp thick coffee from a paper cup. Morning formation outside is a cruel wake-up call, but then it's off to work and everyone is soon warm enough as the nearly continuous loading of stores and gear continues.

Break for lunch. While it is nice to chat with friends about their holidays and plan for adventures in ports to come, the dining hall aboard TSES could not have worse ambiance. No portholes, fixed, long picnic-style tables, noise from the scullery and galley reverberating from the steel bulkheads make one want to eat and run.

Afternoon formation at 1300 and then more preparations for getting underway. Upperclass cadets are beginning to walk confidently, more sure that they will do well this trip. Freshmen finally are sure that they can get to where they want to go without having to look stupid and ask: "Which way is the bow?"

Today was the first of many "Fire and boat drills". Prior to sailing the Captain must demonstrate to the U.S. Coast Guard that the cadets and crew can properly respond to all possible emergencies. Everyone must know where to muster, how to lower lifeboats, and how to fight fires. There is a special team of trained cadets and staff that make up the fire party and they will respond in an actual emergency, but other teams are trained to lower the six lifeboats and liferafts. Today they started the "walkthroughs" of each drill. Friday they will perform their skills for the Coast Guard inspectors. Once underway, fire and boat drills are a weekly occurance- but a lot more enjoyable in the tropics than in the frigid Cape Cod Canal.

Tonight, locker and personnel inspections are on the docket for the underclass cadets, then evening meal and more ship tours to learn where everything is and how to get there.

The weather for tomorrow looks to be unseasonably warm. Maybe the long fire and boat drills won't hurt so much.