After departing Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Tuesday, we made our way up the coast of Africa and through the Straight of Gibraltar during lunch yesterday. Many people came out on deck to get pictures of Morocco on our starboard side and Spain on our port. Passing through the Pillars of Hercules gave the deck majors a chance to practice navigating in a heavily trafficked area and stunning views for everyone else. As I write this we just crossed over the prime meridian and into the Eastern Hemisphere toward Palma de Mallorca.

Bellow decks, life continues on. There is always work to be done between watch, maintenance, and utility projects. Today I was on training with Bravo company. Training for 4/C is engine-based in the mornings and deck in the afternoons. After taking a quick quiz, my group headed down to the 4 deck classroom for a lab on copper piping. Working in pairs we practiced measuring, cutting, flaring, swaging, and soldering to create a pipe system that we tested with compressed air. In the afternoon, we donned hard hats and headed up to the 05 aft deck to practice crane operations. Everyone got a turn to operate and direct the crane using hand signals we have been studying. Then it was down to the 3 deck classroom for instruction in watertight integrity and finally a chalk test of a watertight door.

Port briefs for Mallorca will be happening tonight and tomorrow. Everyone is required to attend these sessions in order to get liberty. Alpha company will be on watch as we dock on Monday, with Delta company handling the lines.

4/C Bethany Ives, Bravo Company