Yet another day at anchor has passed. Today, at Quarters (our morning muster, meeting at 0710 everyday), we heard news regarding Lifeboat #4 from Captain MacArthur. A replacement part has been found in Norway! Further, he explained that if we left on Saturday then we would be able to still make it to the U.S. Virgin Islands on time if we skipped our port call in Port Everglades, Florida. The hope of potentially being able to be back on schedule was palpable throughout the ship today.
While I was disappointed to be missing the port call in my home state of Florida, I understand that this is the shipping industry, and in turn, practice for my future career. Like myself, a lot of us have found the silver lining in our predicament. Many have been saying “at least we are getting sea days,” “at least the engine room isn’t too hot,” or “at least we have cell reception,” and so on.
To increase morale, our Regimental Wedge Morale Officer, 2/C Miles Bracy, is hosting various activities. We are having game nights, ping pong tournaments, movie nights, and more! This is not only keeping attitudes positive, but bringing us together as shipmates.
On this unexpected sunny day, Alpha Company assigned duty day is “Utility.” This means that part of the company cleans the ship, another part works with Sodexo in the messdeck/kitchen/dishpit, and a select few 4/C work as “yeomen.” Yeoman is an administrative position that helps complete various office tasks, including writing the cruise blog!
Bravo Company has been on “maintenance”. On maintenance days, the cadets fix problems that emerge onboard. Charlie Company is currently on its third training day. On training days there is hands-on practice and also various quizzes. Delta Company has been on watch. They monitor the ship’s conditions.
With the day coming to an end, many midshipmen are excited for movie night! We will be watching The Big Lebowski. I have not seen it but have been told that it is a classic. We are looking forward to any more good news regarding Lifeboat 4 and hope to get off anchor soon.
Posted by: 4/C Robbins Crisp, MTO, Alpha
