Drills.....and then BBQ

(Excerpts from Ship's Librarian, Rich Delbango)

Sunday, July 18th
We had our last Sunday at Sea in the Mediterranean today and the day was fantastic. It was sunny and warm all day....By the time I got up and out the barbecue had started on the sun deck. Almost everyone had a very restful day. Most of the cadets worked on their sun
tans instead of their studies today. After dinner of steak, potatoes and corn-on-the-cob, I finally reported for work at 18:00, mostly to show the evening's movies.

Next Sunday we'll be in Brest and the next, and last, Sunday at Sea we will be in the mid-Atlantic on the way home.

Adieu to the Mediterranean, it was beautiful.

Saturday, July 17th
We've been spending the last few days steaming around Majorca doing various drills and maintenance during the days. There is lots of activity and its accompanying noise all day around the ship. At night we've been anchoring in Majorca harbor. What a magnificent view of the
bright city we have at night.

The ship has been a beehive of activity. Yesterday was the man overboard drill in which an unwitting cadet was thrown overboard and had to be rescued. Just kidding. We use a dummy made out of old clothes and a life vest. The ship can't just stop. We have to do a figure 8 turn to
come back and get the victim.

Also on deck, some cadets were practicing the valuable art of plugging leaks. They do this on a special jig made of a steel plate with various size holes in it through which is forced sea water from a high pressure fire hose. They shove various objects in until they get the leaks under
control. In the process they also get soaked which may be enjoyable in the hot, Mediterranean sun, but probably not so much if we were sailing in the Arctic.

We're going to steam some more around Majorca this afternoon, then head southwest and west to the Straits of Gibraltar and the open ocean. We should be there by Monday morning ready for the voyage north up the Atlantic coast of Europe to Brest.

Tomorrow is Sunday at Sea, our last in the Med. We're all praying for good weather for the barbecue and day of rest. So far, the weather has been spectacular. Let's hope it holds for one more day.