Classes Begin+Sailing+Common Swear Word!

Hello All,

Well I started classes this week! So far I have had:

1) Intro. to computers, which is basically the biggest waste of time ever, information that the entire 21 and under population is privy to. It's a class that teaches to entire Office suite. An easy A and GPA booster.

2) Marine Survival-A class that teaches basic personal survival and lifesaving techniques at sea. The class teaches us to effectively row and maneuver a vessel under oars, launching and recovery of lifeboats, and the operation of life rafts (including turning them over in the pool.) The class is pass/fail, easy A and an awesome time. Half lecture/half lab. No homework.

3) Industrial Equip. and Safety- Another easy A, this class describes the safety equipment on board the training ship and how to properly use them. BORING... No homework.

4) Marine Transportation- My major class is probably the most exciting class to boot. It is an intro into the maritime industry and describes all the different aspects. He assigns only 5 essays over the semester, all of which MUST be no longer than a page double-spaced...wow. This is an awesome class! Little homework.

5) Ship Structure- Coming in as a harder class, we go through the characteristics of ships, how they are built, how they perform, and how they hold up against stress. Going over all types of ships this class is a lot of reading and note taking. Only 4 exams and no homework.

6) Naval Science for the Merchant Marine Officer- This class is taught by active duty LT. Old ham USN. It is all lecture with 6 quizzes and 3 tests. An introduction to the organization of the U.S. Navy (including the Naval Control of Shipping Organization), with a discussion of the Merchant Marine Naval Reserve commission in order to provide a sound basis for liaisons between the U.S. Navy and the merchant marines. The concept of sea power is analyzed, with emphasis on the merchant marine-Navy interface in common sea power objectives. Underway replenishment and convoy operations are introduced. LONG AND BORING!!! But an easy A!

7) Still haven't taken Marlinspike class but that is next Monday and I will tell you about it then.

Ever wondered where the word SHIT came from? Well my MT instructor told us today. Way back when...they used to dry out and bundle up cow manure/bird/horse/whatever manure and ship it cargo to other places who aren't so lucky to have these necessities. When the cargo is bundled up and put in a ship there is no smell, because it's dry. However, old wooden ships tend to do what?...Leak. And when you get dry manure wet it starts to smell like what??...SHIT.

So they started to write on the crates/bundles. Store High In Transit or S.H.I.T. in order to avoid a smelly ship.

Well that's all for today, tomorrow i'm off to San Francisco for a 3 day regatta on the city front, sailing with 12 other guys should be a fun time.

Cheers!