maine maritime academy
Maine Diaries: Chesapeake musings
With less than a week to go, we’re all getting to the
end of our motivation to do, well, anything at all.
Like drinking an ice slushy, or a bottle of Jäger for
that matter, cruise at first is wonderful. But then
it hits--the indelible pain in the head, the constant
throbbing of over-stressed and overworked body parts,
and the unmistakable feeling that this in all aspects
was a completely stupid idea. That isn’t to say we
haven’t all learned. We have all reached a point
where we can say we have gotten something out of our
experiences here on the boat. Read
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Maine Diaries: Thoughts of home
Here we float rocking 20 degrees or more from side to
side in no more then a five-foot swell--I’m convinced
the deck department doesn’t believe in ballasting a
boat—and thinking about when we will return home and
what we will be doing when we get there.
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Maine Diaries: From palm trees to icebergs
I am huddled on the 04 observation deck wearing a
sweatshirt and jacket, and fighting a 30 degree wind
chill. I look across the fogged-in ocean at an
iceberg the size of a small condo, and think of how
lucky we are to be on a Caribbean cruise this
year. Read
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Maine Diaries: Troubled waters
We sit here, 1200 miles from land, riding this large
steel beast that we call a ship across a torrent of
cresting waves and green water. Anyone calling for
the excitement of a good storm, in my mind, clearly
has not spent any great deal of time on the water or
they would know high seas, wind, and rain on any ship
is a pretty poor time. And, quite frankly, I have no
interest in seeing what other people had for
breakfast strewn across the side of our ship.
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Maine Diaries: True calling
Last night as I lay on the aft deck, the true beauty
of a calm night at sea struck me as never before. Not
a breath of wind blew last night as the boat rolled
and heeled with the long ocean swells, probably from
some far off storm we should never see. The sky
glowed and for the first time in more than a month I
felt a striking realization that this is really what
I am supposed to do.
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Maine Diaries: An engine in doubt
We have reached the halfway point here on our little
journey, and suffice it to say we are all pretty
tired. With one port down, we have 15 days at sea
this coming month with 9 port days and two holidays.
And the state in which we find our engine room is
frightening as once again we battle a mechanical
difficulty and attempt to baby our engine in hopes of
making it back to Maine without a need for a very
long and costly tow home. Read
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Maine Diaries: Some trouble in paradise
San Juan, the land god, and the land of homes and
dreams for any weary traveler or a boatload of
sailors with money to burn on expensive booze. And
with the taxi services over-charging anyone seeking a
cheap ride to the beach and with beer costing $4 and
up, we managed to squeeze every dollar we had to
enjoy the most out of San Juan and even more out of
the bars that seemed to beckon all of us for just one
more drink before the boat. Read
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Maine Diaries: The men behind the curtain
It is surprising the disparity one sees between the
two majors here aboard the training ship. On one side
you have deck majors who one day aspire, God forbid,
to become captains of our ocean going ships on which
they will safely lead these great whales across the
world’s deepest oceans from port to port. Thank God
for GPS. Some of those aspiring for their licenses
are still stuck on book two of the riveting “Hooked
on Phonics” series. Read
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Maine Diaries: Just another day in paradise
We have finally reached paradise, and it comes in the
form of unbearable humidity and constant
thunderstorms. Not that it matters much, but we found
some reassurance in the days we spent at sea with the
knowledge that we will one day enter a port where we
may relax and enjoy cruise. Read
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Maine Diaries: Doldrums
Today was a day of rest aboard the TS. Most of us
spent the day lounging, shooting guns, and receiving
third degree burns. One person felt obligated to
sunburn his own name into his back using tape.
Hilarious and entertaining, and demonstrating how
very bored we are.
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Maine Diaries: This is not a test
Maine Diaries: Second first day at sea
A weird sense of satisfaction has occurred now that
this boat is actually going somewhere. Original
suspicions that we were just some type of large float
in a parade have been quashed --there is now an
unusual roll to the ship and, unless we have spent
millions on building a Hollywood backdrop, there is
water out there instead of Searsport.
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Maine Diaries: Unexpected lessons
Today we clean. We have been cleaning for the last
two days. I have been habitually cleaning the same
wall, and I’m sure that at one point I may strike the
outer paint of the ship. But at least I know how to
shine bulkhead steel. And with our engine still
broken and the broken record of the promise that we
will, in fact, leave tomorrow, we will continue to
clean until we are underway or someone attempts to
discover the combustion temperature of our
walls. Read
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Maine Diaries: Living with others
We have all had roommates in our lives, and more
often than not, living with someone can push you over
the edge to the point where most time at home is
spent simply trying to do things to piss each other
off. Such circumstances are found aboard a ship and
on land, and most commonly found in the marriages of
aging Irish couples for some reason. (For all of you
who are politically correct, I’m Irish.)
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Maine Diaries: Progress is made
Welcome to beautiful Searsport. As a result of our
minor engine trouble, I say that loosely of course,
we are proud to arrive at our first port of call only
five miles away from our starting destination.
Ironically, our cruise shirt that commemorates our
trip shows our training ship beached on shore. We
should have been more aware of the bad omen we
clearly created for ourselves. Read
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Maine Diaries: An exercise in futility
Today, it seems, my 17 roommates and I have received
the prodigious title from the commandant staff as
possessing the dirtiest room in 10 years. We have
worked hard over the last four days to achieve this
title, and I am proud to hold this honor high knowing
full well we have earned it. Read
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Maine Diaries: A vandal in their midst
For most of us, there is an unquestioned sense of
security we feel when we return to our homes, our
place of rest. We expect to relax, to unwind from our
long days and to find comfort in the fact we can have
peace of mind for just a few hours before returning
to the outside world. But sometimes we find our homes
invaded, whether it is through theft or vandalism,
and we are left with an unmistakable feeling of being
on edge even when we are safe in our beds. A car
owner might wake in the middle of the night thinking
his car is being stolen once more only to find it was
a neighbor starting his own car. We are instantly
unnerved when our feeling of security is invaded, and
on a ship, where the only true relaxation is the few
hours of sleep we grab between watches, this feeling
is almost necessary to achieve any rest at
all. Read
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Maine Diaries: On the hook
With little to do but simply accept the fact that the
boat is going nowhere, we settle into a routine. Each
day we wake up to the same harbor, only miles away
from our starting point just days ago. For the
deckies, things couldn't be worse. They can only take
the same GPS coordinates so many times before it
strikes them that writing the same number down for
three weeks is a little less than pointless. The
engineers are, on the other hand, happy as a pig in,
well, you know. Read
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Maine Diaries: SNAFU! And back to Castine
Maine Diaries: Pre-departure May 2-May 5
Students reported to the ship on Saturday, May 2. They leave the dock tomorrow for their first port, Key West, Fla. The ship will also be stopping in Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada and Baltimore, Md. They will return to Castine, Me., in late June.
Here are his first posts in the days leading up to the departure. Read More...