I’m writing this with less than 12 hours until we arrive at the State
Pier, and prepare to disembark the T.S. Kennedy for the last time on Sea
Term 2009. Captain’s Inspection is finished, and all that remains is
packing personal gear, doing a final cleaning of the holds, and manning
the rails. A general feeling of excitement, relief, and accomplishment is
very noticeable throughout the ship.

Our current plan keeps us on track for arrival at the pier at 0743. We’ll
be transiting the canal twice on Sunday morning, once going Eastbound, and
once going Westbound. We pick up the pilot on the Buzzards Bay end of the
canal around 0400, head East through the canal to Cape Cod Bay, turn
around in the Bay, and then head West to the State Pier. I’ll be on watch
0000-0400 tonight, so I won’t be on the bridge during either canal
transit, but I may find a place to put the SPOT for the trip. Otherwise,
you can track us on www.marinetraffic.com either by searching for the
vessel name, or by monitoring the map in the canal area.

Based on our trackline on the ECDIS, we won’t have cell service much
tonight, so I wouldn’t expect to be able to talk on the phone with your
cadet until tomorrow morning. As a reminder: SeaWave accounts should be
cancelled after cruise is over to avoid paying the $5 monthly minimum fee..
This can easily be done either onboard the ship while we’re still
underway, or at home by going to http://my.seawave.net and logging in with
the username and password from the ship. If your cadet has been using
SeaWave this trip, I’d recommend checking with them to see if they
cancelled their account while on board.

On a personal, and somewhat bragging (at least I admit it) note, I am the
recipient of the Master’s Award for the second year in a row. My room
mate, 3/C Joseph Connor, is also a second year recipient, which is pretty
cool. Congratulations to Joe and all the other Master’s Award cadets.

I’m going to sign off for now (for the last time on cruise), and go pack.
I’ll do a final “summary of cruise” post once I get home and can add some
pictures and other extras. I’ve enjoyed maintaining the blog again this
year (however less frequent than last year the posts were), and hope that
you’ve found it informative and entertaining. See you all in a few short
hours!

For the past couple of days we’ve been in rough weather which has kept the
ship rolling and pitching almost constantly since Wednesday. This is the
first legitimately rough weather we’ve had on cruise, so it’s been
exciting.

The most interesting and hilarious part of rough seas aboard the Kennedy
is being in the mess deck. when we take big rolls, people and food go
flying in all directions – sliding across tables, crashing into each
other, falling over with full trays of food in hand, etc. Last night
there was a freshman who lost his balance right by the end of my table,
fell over the end of the table and started to slide down on his stomach,
dumping his cup of orange soda all over the table!

While I usually find rolling to be helpful when it comes to sleeping, this
is too much rolling to facilitate good sleep, and in fact nobody is
getting much sleep at all. Most people are woken up throughout the night
from rolling into the wall in their rack, or pushing up against the safety
strap on the outside.

I’m enjoying it, despite some of the inconveniences it causes. I find
that one of the strangest feelings associated with this weather is having
to make an effort to climb down a flight of stairs.

Everyone is looking past the rough weather at this point, and focusing on
finishing exams. Today is exam day, the final hurdle in completing
cruise. I have the practical portion of my final at 1400, about an hour
from now. Once I’m finished with that, I’m 100% done with all my cruise
requirements. I’m pretty excited for that, to say the least.

I’m going to sign off for now and go get ready for my practical final. I
have a few guest posters lined up, but they seem to be taking their time
writing their posts, so hopefully I’ll get those tonight or tomorrow.

This morning around 0900 we departed St. Thomas, turned north and started
heading back to Massachusetts. My division is on the Alternate rotation
today and tomorrow, though I’m not on the support bill today, which means
that I was able to watch us leave St. Thomas. I then indulged in a
morning nap, a first for me this cruise.

Now that our next port of call is the State Pier in Buzzards Bay, everyone
is expressing the same sentiment: “Are we there yet?” along with
discussions about when people think it will start getting cold again, when
we will get cell service again, and the first thing they’re are going to
do when they get off the ship.

There are other signs that cruise is drawing to a close in day-to-day life
on board the ship. Ice cream is more regular in the cadet mess cooler as
the foodservice personnel try to use some of it up, which everyone is
enjoying (I’m not eating it though, as I have a superstition about ice
cream from the cadet mess cooler).

The current rotation is the second to last one of cruise. Wednesday will
start the very last rotation, for which I will be on maintenance. After
that, we have final exams, and then we’re done with cruise!

Unlike last year, we won’t be anchoring the day before transiting the Cape
Cod Canal en route to Mass Maritime. New regulations prohibit discharging
gray water in Cape Cod Bay, which we have to do prior to arriving at the
pier. As a result, we’ll have to stay outside Cape Cod Bay until we are
preparing to transit the canal. I’m not sure how good the cell coverage
will be for us that day, but I’m sure that we’ll have it enough that the
weather decks will be lined with people on the phone.

I’m going to sign off for now and head to bed, as I have laundry watch
0400-0800/1600-2000 tomorrow. I have a few guest posts lined up to post
this week, now that things are dying down a little around here. Keep an
eye out for those in the next few days.

Underway for St. Thomas; Re-Cap of the Past Week As I mentioned in my last post, my e-mail hasn’t been working for about a week, which is why I haven’t posted since we left Puerto Rico. As a result, I’m going to cover the events of the past week since leaving San Juan. We spent the better part of last Tuesday taking bunkers at the pier in San Juan harbor, which was a little frustrating since we were still tied up with the gangway out, but unable to get off the ship. We let go lines and got underway around 1500 and headed back out to sea. As soon as we got outside of the mouth of the harbor, the seas immediately started tossing us around, so we knew for sure we were back out in the ocean. Rotations resumed the normal routine on Tuesday, and my division started on Alternate. The Alternate rotation covers the support watch bill, for things such as scullery and mess deck, laundry, and Master at Arms. The latter has a number of nicknames, the most popular of which is “Birth Control” because their job is to sit outside the female hold and ensure that no males enter it. Anybody who’s not on the support bill for the Alternate rotation either does maintenance if they are a freshman, or assessments if they are upper class. In order to get sea time between San Juan and St. Thomas we headed west again, going around Haiti and then heading back east toward Puerto Rico. The seas were much rougher heading east, and the ship did a lot of rolling. Friday night was particularly rough, and there were a few occasions when we were woken up in the middle of the night by a large roll and the sound of loose objects in the hold flying off of lockers and hitting the bulkheads. I personally find it to be very good sleeping weather, as it rocks you to sleep, as well as making you even more tired by constantly counter-acting the motion of the ship as you walk around. Saturday afternoon we arrived in the harbor of Mayaguez, PR where we had anchored less than two weeks prior on our way to San Juan. We anchored again, and spent Sunday at Sea at anchor. Sunday at Sea was nice, though it rained sporadically throughout the day, putting a damper on the outdoor activities, particularly the tanning that usually occurs. It did, however, keep the temperature at a very comfortable level when we were outside. I had laundry watch 0800-1200/2000-0000 so I didn’t get the full Sunday at Sea experience. However, I did get the best watch shift since I got to enjoy normal sleep hours. We weighed anchor this morning around 0900 and have been doing anchoring drills in the harbor since that time. When we do anchor drills, we head just outside the harbor at slow sleep, make a hard turn back into the harbor, and make our approach to the anchorage point. Once we reach there, we drop anchor. Once all that is finished, we start over again, rotating the teams between operating ground tackle on the bow, and manning the bridge. I was on anchoring detail last time we were in Mayaguez, and I found it pretty cool to see the massive anchor being raised and lowered.. The anchor weighs 7 tons, and you don’t get a good sense of how large it is until it is out of the hawsepipe (the tube that the chain runs through in the bow) and headed for the water. Today is a milestone day for the sophomore deckies in Division 4. This is the last day of training we’ll have on cruise, as well as the day our voyage plans are due. My group put the finishing touches on our voyage plan this morning, and will be turning it in this afternoon. It’s a big relief to be done with it, and it means that we’ll be able to relax a lot more for the last portion of Sea Term. I have to finish up my last two assessments this afternoon, and then I’ll be completely done with training and qualification requirements for the duration of cruise. I can’t wait! Later today we’ll be heading back out to sea, on the final leg of our voyage to St. Thomas. We arrive in St. Thomas on Thursday morning, and will be there until the following Monday morning. After that it’s a 6 day shot back to Cape Cod Bay, and then back to the State Pier in Buzzards Bay! I’m going to sign off for now, and go grab some lunch, and go enjoy the tropical weather while we have it, since we won’t be down in this area too much longer.

I’m back on the blog, after a brief hiatus due to a mix-up with SeaWave and my e-mail not working. It’s back to normal now, so I’ll be picking up where I left off. Also, I apologize if anyone e-mailed me and it bounced back due to my e-mail being down. If that’s the case, please resend it.
Tomorrow is Sunday at Sea, so I’ll be writing a nice, long post to catch up on what’s happened since we left San Juan when I last posted. We’re currently anchored in the harbor of Mayaguez, PR (it should show up on the SPOT), and will be here for the duration of Sunday at Sea tomorrow.
I need to go work on my voyage plan for now, so I’ll sign off. More to follow tomorrow!

Today was the last day in San Juan, PR for us.  I went on the catamaran and snorkeling exursion arranged by the school today, which was wicked fun.  It was a gorgeous day, with plenty of breeze and warm water.  This evening we have an early curfew since we’ll be sailing tomorrow.  Freshmen had to be back at 2100, sophomores at 2200, 1-bar seniors at 2300, and 2-bar & above at 2359.  A few friends and I went out to dinner tonight and then came back, making it an early night in preparation for getting underway again tomorrow.

The past few days have been a blast.  As I mentioned in my last post, I had watch the first day so I didn’t get off the ship.  The second day I went out with a few friends to an area called Isla Verde, and hung out at the beach all afternoon.  We went out in town that evening and had a good time going from place to place.

Tomorrow we leave, after taking on bunkers most of the day.  We’re scheduled to leave San Juan around 1500.  We arrive in St. Thomas on February 12, so we’ll be underway for 9 days between here and the Virgin Islands.  Hopefully my SeaWave account will be working properly again so that I can continue blogging during that leg of the voyage.

I don’t have any pictures to post right now, as I forgot to charge up my camera the entire time we were here (I know, stupid move, but it happens).  I’ll get some from my friends to post once we arrive in St. Thomas, and I’ll make sure I have plenty.  I may even try to throw in a few videos.

I’ve also been looking into adding a few interviews with other cadets on board, so keep an eye out for that.

I’m going to sign off for now, and head to bed to get ready for resuming normal activities tomorrow.  I’ll try to post again tomorrow, SeaWave willing.

We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico around 0830 this morning.  After a couple of hiccups with the electronic check on/off system, everyone granted liberty was off the ship and out into port.  The weather was perfect for a warm welcome into Puerto Rico.

We got lucky and had a last-minute berth re-assignment last night which put us at Pier 1 of the passenger terminal, right in the heart of the city!  It’s a much more convenient location, with plenty to do right around the gate, and many transportation options readily available.

My division had watch today, so I didn’t get to leave the ship.  However, I’ll be headed out tomorrow to experience Puerto Rico, especially the beaches!  I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do, but part of the day will definitely be spent doing nothing on the beach.  I can’t wait!

That’s all I have for now, I want to get some sleep so I’m ready to go tomorrow.  I’ll get some pictures and stories and post them over the next couple of days.

Today was uneventful and routine. I had maintenance again, so I continued work on some of the IT projects I have going on right now. This evening my group worked some more on our voyage plan, which is coming along nicely. Other than that, not much happened.
The only notable event on board today was that we got ice cream in the mess deck. Though it might sound a little goofy to be news, ice cream is a big deal on cruise. With approximately 500 cadets on board, ice cream disappears faster than you can say “liberty” so it is rationed. When it does occasionally show up, the news spreads faster than you can walk from the bow to the stern. Last year it became somewhat of a superstitious double-edged sword though, as it seemed that ice cream was provided for a couple of days leading up to bad news. We’ll see if that happens again this year
We’re currently rounding the western end of Cuba, getting ready to head east and thread the needle between Cuba and the Cayman Islands. The weather keeps getting warmer, and it feels awesome!
That’s all I have for now. Tomorrow the rotation starts over and we go back to training. I’ll post about what we do in classes tomorrow.

We got underway this morning around 0800 and headed back out to sea. I was on mooring stations on the stern, and we were definitely feeling the effects of the cold front that came through Tampa at that hour this morning! I had a hat, coat and gloves on and was still cold out on deck. It was pretty cool to watch the tug help maneuver us out of the harbor, since I hadn’t seen it help us coming in on account of finishing up the last few touches on our electronic wristband system for checking on and off the ship with less than an hour until needing it. Everything went very smoothly this morning, and by 0900 we were leaving Tampa to our stern.
I spent the entire morning below decks working, since my division is on maintenance rotation today and tomorrow. However, when I came back topside after lunch, I barely needed a sweatshirt, let alone a coat. We’ve finally reached warm weather, and it should only get warmer from here! Everyone seems excited about that fact, and about arriving in Puerto Rico in a week. However, there’s a lot to be done in the next 7 days. We’ll run through a couple of rotations, including watch for my division. I’m also pretty sure that we’ll have our midterm before arriving in Puerto Rico. We have our work cut out for us, but the reward will be worth it.
In a few days we’ll also have our first Sunday at Sea of the cruise. Sunday at Sea is the name for the activities that take place any Sunday that we’re underway. Lunch and dinner are barbecue on the helo deck, with music and more. Everyone has the day off, with the exception of those on the watch bill for the day, but between their watch shifts they can enjoy the festivities too. Many people take the opportunity to sleep in, and then get in a few hours of tanning in the afternoon. It’s basically getting liberty on the ship while we’re underway. I’m certainly looking forward to it!
I’m going to sign off for now and get some sleep. I’ve got a busy day of maintenance and working on my voyage plan project tomorrow, so I want to be well rested to be able to keep up. More to come tomorrow.
REMINDER: I’ll continue to update the SPOT a few times a day, so take a look at our progress towards San Juan!

Our visit to Tampa is officially over. Liberty expired tonight at 2200 for sophomores, and 2100 for freshmen. It’s been chilly for Florida the past couple of days, with daytime temperatures in the 50’s, and last night the temperature was forecasted to get down to 29 degrees!
We’ll be casting off at 0800 tomorrow morning, heading back out to sea. I’m assigned to mooring stations on the stern, which is the first mooring stations I’ve had so far on cruise. Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow.
SeaWave/Globe Wireless is working again, which you may have guessed by nature of the fact that I’m even able to make this post. This morning a technician from Globe Wireless came to the ship, as well as the IT manager from MARAD for the Gulf region. We got two new servers, with updated software, as well as a lot of good information on how the systems actually work in order for us to be able to fix them ourselves in the future (hopefully). With all of that in place, we should be able to keep e-mail running for the rest of cruise, so everyone cross your fingers! Regardless, you should be able to e-mail with your cadet again,
We have our sailing muster at 0700 tomorrow morning, so I’m going to sign off for now so I can get some sleep for tomorrow. I’ll post again tomorrow night. Puerto Rico, here we come!