Captain's Log

6/4/2007

The weather for this leg of the voyage has turned to excellent.  Although the temperature is warm, the sky is clear and the sea calm.  At night, it seems like every star in the sky is out.  The chief mate and bos’n are extremely happy as this is great weather for painting.  I am not sure that the cadets share their interest.   

The mood on the ship is still somber, but sharing and working on ways to remember their classmate has helped for some.  Arrangements in Vietnam are moving well with the help of  the Vietnam Government, the U. S. Consulate General, and Assist America.  All of our thoughts and our hearts are with the family in Washington State.   

Tomorrow we will transit over  the north end of the Philippines Islands through the Babuyon Channel.  It is close to the mainland and several islands, but no pirate activity is currently being reported.  We will enter about 1000 in the morning and exit around 1400.  We will maintain maximum speed in this area and make sure that we clear in daylight hours.   

We have experienced a lot of ship traffic headed south to Australia, Singapore, and North to Hong Kong.  Also a fair amount of fishing boat activity has been encountered. 

While in Vietnam, it was very hot and humid, which triggered the use of multiple showers by many every day.  Because the piped water in Vietnam is not drinkable, we had to rely on the ship’s tanks, which handled the load but which were low upon departure.  With some quick work on the part of our engineers, both evaporators were put online at full capacity and we are now over half full. 

We change clocks one hour tonight toward west coast time.  We are finally heading home. 

Captain John Keever