Yesterday was my last day of engine training. We learned about various measuring tools, and about basic electrical wiring by building an extension cord. We learned more about electricity in class yesterday afternoon, as well as about various instrumentation. On Tuesday my group was in lab the entire day, working with black iron pipe and …

Yesterday was my first day of Engine training. My group spent the morning in the classroom reviewing boiler operations and the systems within the engine room that we need to know for our exam on Febrary 4th. In the afternoon, we were doing labs. We have a list of activities we need to complete during …

Yesterday was our last day in port in Panama, and what a time it was! The past four days have been incredible. The weather alone has been a nice treat, and we’ve had tons of fun in and around Panama City. I spent a lot of time in a part of town known as the …

It’s about 2315 as I’m writing this, and we’re currently passing through the part of the Panama Canal known as “The Cut” – the man-made portion after the Gatun Lake. We finished going through the Gatun locks around 2100 and have been steaming along ever since. We couldn’t have asked for better weather! The temperature …

We spent today anchored in the waiting area right outside the entrance to the canal. We’ve been in the company of about 30 ships of all shapes and sizes, from ROROs to small sailboats. I was mistaken in my post yesterday regarding the schedule for going through the canal. We are weighing anchor between 1630 …

This afternoon we arrived at the Panama Canal. We have to wait until tomorrow night to go through, so we’re going to be hovering outside until then. We’re doing anchoring and turning drills right now, so even though we’ve arrived at our destination, the ship is still moving. Tomorrow maintenance should be easier since the …

Today we have Sunday at Sea, when we get some well-earned R&R. There are no musters, except for the divisions on watch and maintenance. Watch division continues on its regular schedule, and maintenance division has maintenance in the morning and the rest of the day off. Lunch and dinner are both cook-outs on the helo …

Greetings from somewhere in the Caribbean Sea! I’m on Mass Maritime’s annual training cruise aboard the T.S. Enterprise, and we’re currently steaming through the Caribbean on our way to Panama. On board, when we’re not busy with maintenance or training, we spend a lot of time watching movies. I keep my movies on a Western …

Today we’ve had much larger waves than the past few days. The ship has done quite a bit of rolling, and we’re starting to understand much better why the tables in the mess deck have slide guards on the edges! I’ve been in MSEP training since Thursday, and today was the last day. The chairs …

Today was the first day of the new division rotation. On board the ship, each division has a general duty assignment that changes every three days.. On any given day there’s a division on watch, a division on maintenance, a division in training (license), and an alternate division, which right now means we’re doing the …