Captain's Log

May 1, 2006

United States Training Ship Golden Bear

Departure from Vallejo took place on schedule and in very nice weather, albeit, on a sad note.  As the ship turned away from the dock, it gave what is expected to be a final salute to an ill shipmate, Professor Mark Sekelick.

The first day underway went quite smoothly with urgent training and organization taking top priority even on a Sunday (at sea, Sunday is just another day).  Emergency fire and abandon ship drills were held to make sure everyone on board knew what to do in case of an emergency on the first night.  The man overboard crew was trained and exercised in the duties so we are ready for any events.

As a message to all friends and parents, our email system is taking a little extra time to get into operation.  We are having some interface problems with the shore station that receives the mail and are currently working to resolve all issues.  We hope to be in operation by Tuesday, but I will keep you informed in the Captain’s Log.

Today, May first we awoke just south of Point San Luis Obispo having sailed about 220 miles south of San Francisco sea buoy.  We have about another 1500 miles to go until arrival into Mexico and will be progressing at about 10 knots to conserve fuel.

All classes and day work start in earnest today so the students are finding themselves very busy.  No one seems to be missing meals so it looks like we have a healthy ship.  While we awoke to sun this morning, it has turned into a day of high overcast with hazy visibility.  The sea has been behind the ship since we departed San Francisco and should be that way for several days. 

Cadets stand ready to leave Vallejo.

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