Cadet Logs From the Spring 2006 Training Voyage

— Cadet David Abbott

05.13.06

I didn't sleep much last night. Most of us didn't sleep much last night.

Today is THE DAY. As Admiral Tanner said at the all hands meeting last night, "The Academy has been preparing for this day since 1973."

Today we began the first training cruise aboard our own Academy vessel, the T/S State of Michigan. I don't think I've ever been more proud than I was this morning as we pulled away from the Academy dock. A lot of cadet, faculty and administration sweat has gone into making this trip a reality.

I moved the last of my belongings out of the beach cottage Friday morning and reported to the ship at about 10 AM. I got to select my room and rack. All of the deck department cadets are on the 01 deck (1 deck up from main), with engineering cadets berthing below on the main deck.

All of us have been working around the clock on the hundreds of tasks necessary to keep things running smoothly. Everybody has worked their tails off to get things up to speed.

Watch assignments for the deck department are based on bunk: A is 12-4, B is 4-8, and C is 8-12. Our watch group is split in two; my sub-group is on work detail during the AM watch and on the bridge for PM watch. The other half of our group works opposite. There is a mate and two senior cadets assigned to our group. Each senior supervises a sub-group.

All of us are starting to settle into our grooves and the initial jittery excitement is subsiding. It is remarkable to see the all of the changes in the cadets since last fall.

This is why we are here. This is what we do.

05.14.06

Happy Mother's Day! Mothers, know that your sailing sons and daughters are thinking of you.

Our whole watch group got to be on the bridge this morning as we navigated up the St. Mary's river. Rivers are a blast; narrow channels and lots of course changes. We pulled into Sault Ste. Marie at about 1300 and we'll head upbound through the Macarthur lock at 1600.

We took on groceries and many cadets have headed into town on liberty until 1600 (DON'T BE LATE!) Many of us are trying to catch up on rest and really get settled into our daily schedules.

We'll arrive in Marquette at 0900 tomorrow and be open for tours. It's fun to interact with the public and see thier entusiasm for the ship and the program.

This trip marks a lot of firsts for me; first time at the wheel of a large ship, first time under the Mackinac bridge, first time through the Soo locks...

I can only imagine what the next 11 days have in store.

05.19.06

What a whirlwind! I think I'm finally settled into my schedule.

The last several days have really flown on by.

The locks were great. We locked up through the Mac while several thousand-footers locked down through the Poe. The footers are HUGE! It’s hard to believe such a large boat is crewed by only 25-30 sailors.

First stop was Marquette. Sadly, authorities were searching for the body of a local man swept off the rocks at a local park during a storm swell. Marquette is a small town and the loss must be felt by many in the community.

We had tours aboard, but I was off watch and spent some time wandering about town with J and B. We stopped off at a wonderful Catholic church, and were able to spend some quiet reflective moments seated in the beautiful sanctuary.

Our next priority was the purchase of insoles; we’re all suffering from foot pain. (Note to self: BUY SOME REALLY COMFORTABLE WORK BOOTS! Don’t skimp on price.)

B headed back to the ship to catch some rest before his watch while J and I headed to a great lounge at the top of the Landmark Inn to get an aerial view of the ship and town.

We returned to the ship via the beach and saw some great rocks and a cool old light house station.

We left Marquette in the evening and made way for Houghton via the Keweenaw passage. The river approach is very sceninc and involves a quite a bit of piloting throught the narrow channel.

I didn't see much of Houghton, as I was really tired and caught up on some much needed rest.

My watch group was on the bridge for the departure from Houghton, and we got to steer the upper section of the river out to Lake Superior. Wheeling in the river involves steering course headings called out by the Mate. Sometimes you steer on compass headings, but a lot of steering is done on landmarks and ranges.

Our course to Duluth was very straight and long. We steered one heading for nearly three hours and the next watch steered the same heading as well. Lake Superior was glassy and smooth, which is very rare from what I've been told.

Arrival in Duluth saw us touring the large coal and ore docks, as many of us will see quite a bit of these ports during the remainder of our sea projects. Several tour groups came aboard and we even did a harbor cruise with a select group of guests. There is obviously a lot of politicking that must occur in order to ensure familiarity with the goals and needs of the Academy.

We had quite a bit of liberty in Duluth and most cadets took the opportunity to get out on the town. I got a chance to visit with a friend from Colorado briefly, and really enjoyed seeing her house and new dog. We spoke quite a bit about home and friends. I enjoyed the chance to be away from the ship and talking about something other than maritime subjects.

And hey, if you get a chance, stop by Pizza Luce if you're ever in Duluth. Good stuff!

We're underway for Port Huron and will be sailing without making port for several days.

05.20.06

Our routine changed today. For the past week, my watch group has been service crew from 0800-1200 and pilothouse crew from 2000-0000. I've really enjoyed the night pilothouse watch; I've watched the sun set over the lake every night while on the wheel or at the window.

The pilothouse is really quiet during our watch. Peaceful, actually. Navigating at night is somewhat meditative. We spend time looking for lights, plotting lat/long fixes from the gps onto the charts, shooting and plotting visual bearings on known lights, monitoring the radar and plotting radar fixes, keeping track of vessel contacts, deriving eta's, etc. We have a lot of different navigational criteria we can use to confirm our position.

Day watch in the pilothouse is a bit more chaotic. The Captain and Admiral usually stop in, as do others, and at times things are a bit loud and crowded.

We straightlined across Lake superior last night on one heading, and then made a course change this morning as we approached the St. Mary's River downbound for the Soo locks. The lockdown through the Poe lock was uneventful, and I caught a nap out in the sun on deck after lunch. The sun felt great. Warmth! I was hot for the first time on the trip; springtime on the Lakes is a bit chilly. I'll take cool temps over sweltering heat any day, though! I can always put on more clothes, and who wants to paint in 95 degree temps?

Our service duties tonight involved cleaning the galley, messes, and companionways (hallways).

I'm still learning a lot of the sailing lingo. All the ex-Navy guys have weird lingo for everything. I suppose every sub-culture creates its own vernacular in order to engender a sense of exclusivity. But sailors really are brothers and there is a lot of loyalty amongst one another, even when personalities might clash. Most will go out of the way to help another.

A storm front has overtaken us today, and we are starting to experience some of the first significant seas of the voyage. The ship has a bit of a roll tonight and it is important to keep one hand for the ship and one hand for yourself. I sense nearly everybody has been looking forward to a bit of weather and a rougher ride.

The lakes will rock me to sleep tonight.

Port Huron May 22nd!

05.21.06

Be careful what you wish for.

We all wanted to see some rough weather and, wow, did we ever take a beating in Lake Huron. A weather report came over the receiver with gale warnings for Superior and Huron starting Saturday afternoon.

The ship had a decent roll going by the time I hit the rack on Saturday night and many of us woke around 3 AM, tossed about our bunks while every unsecured item on the ship crashed about. It was rumored at breakfast that we had our first puker of the trip.

Our watch took the bridge at 8 AM on a course near the western shore of Lake Huron. Our destination required an eastward track across unprotected water, exposed to the waves which had been building on a long fetch ahead of northerly winds. We sailed with following seas on our aft quarter for several hours as we crossed Lake Huron.

I spent some time on the wheel in building seas, and was a bit gung ho at first. The ship wanted to skid a bit and it was difficult for me to keep her on the proper heading.

The swell continued to build as the end of our watch neared and What had started out as a grand time was turning into the tedium of extended sailing in rough seas. We watched the inclinometer on the bridge pass twenty degrees off center on several rolls (40 degree arc!)

Most items on the ship were secured by lunch, with no major damage. I managed to choke down some spaghetti and a Drammamine before heading to my bunk. I felt as if I were on a carnival ride with no off button.

All was calm by evening as we pulled into our dock in Port Huron. And I'm sure every muscle in my body will be sore from trying to maintain an upright position.

I think every single one of us will be perfectly content to sail the rest of the voyage on smooth water.

05.22.06

I became a victim of my own enthusiasm today.

Things started off real well, though.

We left Port Huron this morning, downbound on the St. Clair River. The senior cadets were in the window practicing their piloting while the mate kept an eye on things and offered his expertise when necessary. I spent time going back and forth between window, radar, and charts to get a feel for the courses, turns, and landmarks.

Bright and sunny weather as we cruised down the Detroit river for Lake Erie. We passed through downtown and all the industrial areas. CRAZY to see big steel outfits doing their thing!

We turned around past Detroit river light and headed right back upriver for tonight's anchorage near Belle Island. And that's where I had a REAL good "learning moment."

See, I get really excited about the idea of dropping the anchor. And our watch was going to get to drop the anchor tonight. So I asked the mate if I could drop an anchor and he said "Sure." I got on the brake wheel for the starboard anchor and stood at the ready. The captain came out on the bridge wing and says "Let her rip."

And "YEEEEHAWWW!" I turn the crank and drop some anchor. Only I wasn't supposed to.

You're only supposed to drop one anchor at a time. So they don't get tangled. Or so you can get a good spread to hold position.

Luckily, none of the thousands of possible "bad things" happened. The mate and senior cadet winched the anchor up and found it covered in thick clay. So I got to start up the fire pump and spray down the anchor until it came clean.

Unfortunately, when the mate attempted to snug the anchor against the hull, we found the anchor flukes had flipped. Which means the mate had to lasso the anchor while it swung below. What a cowboy! I'll have to see if he'll enter the roping at Cattlemen's Days back home.

Several of us hauled on the line to keep the anchor from flipping while snugging against the cradle. But now how to get the cinched loop off the fluke? The boat hook came in handy as I was able to snag the knot and loosen it enough to free the line from the anchor.

So a bit of miscommunication and over enthusiasm led to me learning all kinds of stuff about anchor procedures. Which I probably should have learned before I ever took ahold of that dang windlass brake wheel.

05.23.06

Back up the river today and moored again in Port Huron. A group from St. Clair Community College is aboard tonight for a reception and meeting. Tommorow morning will see another local group aboard.

There were quite a few boats in the river system today. Actually, there were LOTS of boats in the system today. We were passed by several.

Otherwise, pretty routine. Not much going on except the usual work details. The lone bit of excitement came when the dust generated by cadtes grinding off floor covering in the laundry room set off a fire alarm.

But the muster went smoothly and the source of the alarm was quickly confirmed.

Liberty expires at noon tomorrow and we won't make port until Traverse City. The weather looks to be clear and the sailing should be smooth.

Most cadets are ready to get out on their sea project boats. I spoke with American Steamship and found out I will be sailing aboard the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. She's a footer (1000') with two variable pitch props. I hope to catch a ride to Duluth with a friend and meet the ship some time after June 1st.

The work is demanding, both physically and mentally. But I've really learned a ton so far and have most definitely chosen the right profession.

That first ice cold PBR is going to taste SO good when we make port in TC!