Day 16: Liberty
Today was our first day of real port liberty, and where better to spend it than right at home in Castine! After so much time at anchorage our favorite trash compactor, WALL-E, was struggling to keep up and we were starting to fill up the ship’s recycling center so it was time to begin hauling it off. Alpha and Delta Companies craned and carried out 40 yards of trash just in time to take on more stores, with some more to go tomorrow.
Everyone had fun taking the rest of the day off spending time all over Castine, at the backshore, in Witherle Woods, and some of us were even fortunate enough to have dinner at home. A bus went out to Bangor, allowing people to stop by Walmart to stock up on snacks, or go out for a bite to eat somewhere else but the ship’s mess deck.
It was nice to be able to get out and touch grass for a while, it’s much more forgiving than the steel of the ship. With any luck the new lifeboat parts should be here today or tomorrow, and we should be underway for New York City in a couple days. Every day brings a new twist and new adventure.






Latest 2025 Summer TSSOM Cruise
- A Day in Belfast IrelandHello! Belfast Ireland is unique in that all of the second class Maine students came here our freshman cruise, and while I thought that would be a negative… I was so wrong! I thought I had exhausted things to do freshman year, and I was wrong again. I had heard about some people doing a […]
- Stronger Ties FormedCadets aboard the TS Kennedy spent the past 10 days underway, sailing between New York City and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Students enjoyed calm seas for most of the leg but were stuck under overcast skies, much to the chagrin of the upper-class deck cadets who are actively trying to complete their celestial navigation project. This […]
- Running Smooth in Belfast: A Cruise Check-In from the Cadet Chief EngineerI’m Jacob Nowalsky, the cruise Lead Engine Cadet from Maine, and Maine’s Cadet Chief Engineer. Things have been going pretty well onboard! After being in port in Galveston, everyone was excited to finally get to sea, and now that we’re wrapping up our 2nd leg and are here in Belfast, people are fully into the […]
- Switching to the Engine RoomOur second leg of our Summer Sea Term 2025 cruise has been really fun! During this leg to Belfast from New York, we saw a lot of whales, flying fish, and other marine life. We also recently just hit our halfway point, which means Maine Maritime cadets switched deck/engine focuses on cruise. From 5 May […]
- From Celestial Navigation to Food Grinding: Embracing Every RoleAs we’ve embarked on our journey aboard the Kennedy, it’s been a great experience watching everyone settle into shipboard life. As a junior, I’ve been focusing on celestial navigation, taking on senior-level watches, and experiencing significant personal growth as a leader. These experiences have helped unite the Maine and Texas communities on board. A few […]
- From Hesitation to Hands-On Learning: Life at Sea on the KennedyMy experiences on the Training Ship Kennedy have been phenomenal so far. I came onto the ship with adverse thoughts, with the ship being from the 1960s, and cruising with another maritime academy. However, the Kennedy proved me wrong! I have met a lot of new people with different experiences and shared different aspects that […]