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!

I’m writing from the John F. Germany Public Library in Tampa with 2/C Balcunas, checking e-mail and other various Internet items.  It’s cold here today (54 degrees Fahrenheit) so it’s a good day to do indoor things.

Tampa has been a pretty mellow port for me so far.  Sunday my grandfather and partner came up from Fort Myers and we spent a few hours together, touring Tampa and going out to lunch, which was really great.  After that, I ended up catching up on sleep for the rest of the day.  Yesterday I had watch, so between watch shifts I hung out watching movies and sleeping.  Today is the first day that I’ve gone out and done stuff with other Maritimers, and tonight I’m planning on going to the MMA-USF rugby game.  A bunch of my friends are going to go too, so it should be a good time.

As you’ve probably already heard, SeaWave/Globe Wireless went down towards the end of last week, which is why I haven’t posted in a few days.  A technician is coming from Globe Wireless tomorrow morning to fix it, so we should be back on the air by the time we’re leaving Tampa.  I look forward to being able to post from sea again.

I’ve gotten a number of good suggestions that I’m going to act upon once we get underway (thank you to everyone who submitted those).  I’ve gotten quite a few requests for me to feature other cadets, which I plan to do starting on the trip from Tampa to San Juan, so keep an eye out.  Who knows, your cadet may be the one quoted on here!

I’m going to sign off for now and head back out into Tampa.  Hopefully next time I post I’ll be doing so from aboard the T.S. Kennedy.

As I’m writing this, we’re passing Cape Hatteras, and the ship is definitely pitching and rolling! We’re expecting 9-12 foot seas and winds steady at 35kts with gusts up to 45kts. I have watch 0000-0400/1200-1600 Wednesday and Thursday, so I’ll be on the helm as we move south of Hatteras tonight, which I’m pretty excited about. There have been a number of people getting sick, which is a bummer, but completely expected.. Fortunately I haven’t been one of them.
The weather started to get warmer throughout the day today. By this evening I was able to be out on deck with short sleeves comfortably, albeit for short periods of time. By tomorrow it should be warm enough to be out on deck nearly indefinitely in short sleeves. Hooray Gulf Stream!
We have a new system of checking on and off the ship this year, which should make accountability much more accurate and reliable, and the process of checking on and off much quicker. Every person on board has a wristband which resembles a Livestrong band, with a small lump where a small computer chip is placed. When put up against the scanner on the pier, it will instantly check the person on or off, and load their ID information on a screen where the watchstander is sitting. Hopefully it will make checking on and off much easier, especially when everyone wants to get off at once in the mornings. The wristbands were distributed this evening, and the IT rates and I will be installing it permanently over the next couple days.
All right, I’m done boring everyone with the details of the new system. Not much else of interest is going on right now, so I think I’ll sign off and go get a snack from the mess deck & post a new SPOT position update.

I thought I should make a quick info post with a few things I’ve thought of. First off, I will be using SPOT throughout the voyage to provide people back home with position updates in real-time. However, I do not have a place to put it on the ship that would allow it to be operational 24/7, so I’ll have to go out on deck and periodically allow it to update. I will make a point of doing this a few times a day, so even though there may not be updates for a few hours, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.
Second, if you’d like to contact me while we’re away, you can do so by using the form on the Contact page of this site. I’ve set it up to send me an e-mail to my SeaWave address from that form. That allows me to keep the conversation going with people at home, while still ensuring that attachments don’t accidentally come through. I welcome any comments or suggestions you have, so please send them my way!
Along those lines, please e-mail me suggestions instead of using Skribit during Sea Term. I know I’m always asking people to do the opposite, but I can’t check Skribit out at sea, so e-mailing suggestions to me is the only way to ensure I’ll get them.