(from Ship's Librarian, Michael Russell)
It was a long day of drills for the TS EMPIRE STATE VI with the Coast Guard inspectors closely monitoring its officers and crew. Firefighting, security, man overboard, and abandon ship alarms rang along the decks as the 1C cadets’ leadership and preparations were tested along with the recent training. In the fading light of a cool evening the cadets came loaded down with their personal gear to move aboard.
The engineers are working very hard to get EMPIRE STATE VI ready for Monday. There being out of sight in the machinery spaces makes them less visible than most. But underway they make the power, light, water, and sanitation happen in a blazing hot engine room - 24 hours a day - 7 days a week.
May 7, 2011
A clear sky as the cadets rig out the port accommodation ladder and lower the brow to the pier. Under the leadership of the Third Mate, two teams working block & tackle lower the brow while a third team uses a fork lift to pull it away from the ship's side. Clear orders and close coordination make quick work of a dangerous task. Safety Always. The day continues with cadets bringing down their gear and moving aboard. Being an old corpsman I was drawn to Sickbay like a moth to a flame and stopped to talk with several 1C who were checking in and stowing medical supplies. The Sickbay that is not much bigger than that on USCGC BOUTWELL: a Doctor, a Nurse, a Chief Corpsman with two rated corpsman.
May 8, 2011
The Ship's Library is ready for sea. The Luce Library staff had labored hard over the past four weeks to re-enter every book into the Ship's online catalogue after the old library server failed. A new catalogue system, a new server, a greatly expanded collection of fiction and nonfiction, and newer movies were brought aboard. The Ship's closed circuit entertainment system with its wide screen TVs will show two movies per evening. The cadets also have online Intranet (local) access to select professional publications and country guides on the Library's student PCs. About two dozen students came by during the day to say hello, look over the Ship's Library collection or to check on previously reserved materials.
For some images of the send off, see http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/photoalbums/SSTSendOff/index.html
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