Monday 21 January 2002

At 1200, EST the Training Ship Empire State was located at 24 degrees and 58 minutes North Latitude and 082 degrees 30 minutes West Longitude, anchored 25 nautical miles east of the Dry Tortugas, Florida. The weather was again excellent; clear, wind from the east at 10 knots, air temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit, barometric pressure was 1019 millibars, seas were from the south east at 1 to 2 feet, sea injection temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Depth of water beneath the keel was 15 fathoms.

CAPTAIN'S LOG

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Albert Einstein

In years past, we would be able to anchor the Training ship quite close to the Dry Tortugas, but due to the new Marine Sanctuary and Protection Law, no large vessel (over 164 ft) may enter, transit or anchor- in order to protect the delicate coral reefs. The MSEP students aboard are well aware of this law, and the important ecological contribution of coral reefs to the ecosystem of our coastlines. This trip we will explain the economic value of reefs and coastlines and tourists and fishing to the cadets who have choosen our newest major: International Maritime Business. Interesting, n'est pas?

The weather in this part of the world, the Straits of Florida, is generally superb. The Straits are a stretch of water bound by the Florida Keys to the north and by Cuba and the Bahamas to the south and southeast. The Florida current, the initial part of the Gulf Stream, flows eastward out of the Gulf of Mexico and directly beneath us. It transports water at the rate of 30 Sverdrups(Sv). (A Sverdrup is equal to 1 million cubic meters of water per second, or 264,172,052 gallons per second)

The warm water and strong sunshine make outdoor activities a must and we took full advantage yesterday with our first, fantail Bar-B-Que, Sunday at Sea event. The tenor is purposefully relaxed each Sunday we are underway, as we unwind and recharge. The cadets need the break and the social aspects of the day enrich relationships that these young men and women will cherish for many years to come. (Most don't know that yet).

The Student Government Association (SGA) plans Sea Term activities beginning early in the fall semester. They include ping-pong, chess, cribbage, and the ever popular jousting. The heavily padded jousting suits are a show by themselves but when one adds little perches upon which the combatants must balance and exaggerated pugil sticks as the weapon of choice, the entertainment value skyrockets. Wagering on these games would never happen. Three on three basketball is always a big hit but only rarely will one team dominate. Team compositions are ever changing as the needs of the ship and watch stations come first.

Others choose to bury themselves in the bunk for an extended equalizer and that is ok too. However, most who choose to snooze do so somewhere on steel beach where they baste themselves with sweet smelling sunscreen and turn periodically, until done. Several aboard are devotees of the shooting sports and the SGA brings boxes of clay targets, ammunition, and several nice shotguns. Some of our Staff Officers are very well qualified to coach, particularly Captain Brad Lima (MMA '74).

They provide safety instruction and oversight so that anyone with the inclination can participate in the Fantail Skeet Tourney.

The party atmosphere is amplified by music of all sorts - and I do mean amplified. The sheer numbers of CD's that cadet's carry aboard and the variety of them never ceases to amaze. We carry a nice amplifier and two very large speakers so that the music of choice reverberates at several decibels above the threshold of pain - for miles around. People on the beaches of Key West are probably wondering what the Cubans are up to. All of the cadets seemed to enjoy the day and if happiness is measured by the tonnage of food consumed, then the day was a booming success. Where do they put it all?

That caloric energy will be required today because it is back to business as usual, with one small twist. Empire State will remain anchored while we conduct training and assessment of lifeboat operations for all the 3/C aboard. This mandatory skill cannot be adequately practiced or demonstrated in the classroom and the weather at home can be prohibitively brutal, so here we are. Up and down the boats go and off to sea. Deck cadets do the launching and recovering, engine cadets do the steering and engine system operation. Some of the cadets operate small craft exceptionally well and once they see the drill performed, they excel at it. For others, well the drawing board comes equipped with reams of paper. The process also cultivates confidence within the 4/C who improve a great deal from our, watch one - assist one - do one, approach to education. In every case, confidence grows in ways that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.

Well folks, I'm confident; we will conclude business this afternoon, weigh anchor, hit the track, and establish the at sea routine. That experience will be new for us given the move and stop tempo that we have employed thus far.

See you tomorrow from somewhere deeper south and farther west.

CADET'S COMMENT By 1/C Katelyn Ladden and Caryn Arnold

Well last Saturday night was an adventure for some of us. The Patriot's game was being played in 2 hold, down in the lounges, and in two smart senior engineer's main deck room. (They used the ship as a big antenna). As I sat in 2 hold and more people came in to watch the game, it got hotter, louder, and pretty much jam-packed. Some cadets came in with their own fold-up chairs, others "borrowed" a chair from somewhere and still others were making their own- using crates, boxes, broken chairs (make-shifting some kind of use out of them), barrels, just about anything you could sit on was being used. I have never sat in such close quarters with so many guys during a football game. They were getting brutal towards each other! If anyone stood up in front, you would immediately hear a yell: "Down in front!". Other times you could hear someone yell: "What are you...for the other team?". I decided to leave after the 1st quarter. I couldn't take all the testosterone. As another female cadet and I left, we didn't want to take our chairs out because we were afraid that someone would probably yell at us for getting in their way. There were a few freshmen behind us, sitting on buckets, so when we got up we said they could take our seats as long as they brought them back to our room. They looked at us, dumbfounded, and said: "Are you serious? Thank you so much, these buckets are killing us!" As the game went on you could hear yells and screams and then in that last quarter I thought the ship was going to crack with all the noise that was coming out of 2 hold. Since my room is right next to 2 hold, surrounded by all the stomping & cheering, our room actually began to shake. They sure sounding pretty happy and I knew that the Patriots must have won. Today, after talking to 1/c Kate Wall, she said: "Oh, you should have stayed because with all the emotional reactions you really felt like you were at the game. It was really cool!"

Today is a Sunday at sea. Many cadets are sleeping in but later on in the day there are some activities that will take place. These include jousting in 2 hold, skeet shooting off the stern, tournaments (such as cribbage, foosball, Ping-Pong, chess, checkers, and 3 on 3 basketball) and a cook-out. Also cadets will be out sunning themselves and throwing buckets over the side to catch water to cool themselves off. Today seems to be a day packed with fun and relaxation. This is the day every cadet waits for on cruise because it is a nice break from maintenance and classes.

QUESTIONS FOR TUESDAY 22 JANUARY

MATH: Cadet Leon took a test and answered 18 of 25 questions correctly. What percent did he answer correctly?

SCIENCE: Areas of positive and negative electric charges build up in storm clouds. What is the sudden discharge of electricity between clouds or a cloud and the ground called?

GEOGRAPHY: Some people say that Florida's greatest natural resource is its climate. Because Florida juts southward 450 miles from the Georgia border, two climate regions affect Florida. Can you identify the two climates?

HISTORY: After Florida became part of this country, many people wanted to settle there. The Indians were encouraged to leave their homes and relocate to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Some went, some refused to go and fled into the swamps. In 1835, the U.S. Army attempted to enforce the Treaty of Payne's Landing and remove the Indians from the area. The Indians resisted. What is the tribal name of the Indians who resisted relocation? One of the Indian leaders was tricked into a meeting with U. S. troops when he was led to believe they wanted to talk peace. He was captured, imprisoned, and died as a prisoner. Who was he?