Underway to Belfast
Time: 2305
Lat: N 49 56.4’
Long: W003 32.9’
Good Evening,
We gained an hour last night to sync up with Belfast, Ireland. Capt. MacArthur changed our course to go down through the English Channel and then up to Ireland rather than the planned route up and over Scotland. We left Kiel a couple of hours late, waiting on the installation of some emergency communication equipment. Time factors and some weather concerns pushed our arrival date to Belfast a day later. We will still spend four days in Belfast and arrive in Castine on the 19-20th as projected. We are on Day 56, leaving only eighteen days left! I have learned a lot and am so happy to have had the experience, but with the arrival date coming up, I have been looking forward to being home.
In training, we did some charting practice with Capt. Slazas. We were given (lat/longs) and used tools to plot the waypoints on the chart. Then using two bearings taken from a vessel, we triangulated our position. Then later that evening, I saw a junior friend on her way up to the Cadet Nav. Lab to work on plotting for her project. So, I poured some hot chocolate and went up to help. I plotted a waypoint after seeing the process the juniors take, which is understandably more involved. Next semester I start taking navigation courses where I will do plenty of chart work.
Yesterday, I wandered into a group of juniors untangling a line for a kite. After about an hour of untangling, they got it flying.
Stay tuned as we make our way to Belfast,
Odegaard Fields
Latest 2024 Summer TSSOM Cruise
- Day 2: Stores, Stores and More Stores…Today, on Tuesday, May 7th, Alpha company was on utility. Usually, this means that cadets spend a few hours cleaning before getting a day of much-needed rest. This was not the case today because TSSOM was taking on supplies, which we call stores. Stores were met with mixed anticipation in the Alpha berthing because although […]
- Day 1: Drills, Drills, and More Drills…Today, May 6th, marked our second day on the ship and our official start of the cruise. The TSSOM is docked in Castine, preparing to set sail. We began with a morning muster followed by thorough cleaning and maintenance tasks. The highlight of our day was conducting three drills. First, an abandon ship drill where […]
- Cruise Departure and LivestreamThe TSSOM will depart Castine Harbor on May 8, 2024, with the lines beginning to be taken between 11:15 and 11:30 am. Please join us in wishing all aboard a safe and successful training cruise either in person or via the livestream. The event will begin at 10:30 am with remarks from leadership. The livestream […]
- Day 0: Cruise 2024 Has Started!Alpha Company Report: Today, Sunday, May 5th, 2024, marked the start of the 2024 TSSOM Training Cruise. Alpha company began boarding at 0800, starting with check-in with LCDR Gualtieri and LT Willette. They were the first to move into their respective berthing spaces and commenced watch at 1000, which they will maintain until 0800 on […]
- 2024 Cruise Ports AnnouncedThe 2024 ports have been announced and include: Port Everglades, Florida; St. Thomas, USVI; Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Oporto (Leixoes), Portugal; Newfoundland, Canada; Portland, Maine. Review dates on the Port Information page.