Day 14 LAND HO!!!

Ahoy!

Today at around 1600 we came into Japanese waters and entered the tagasaru(?) straits. Huge mountains and a ton of ships and ferries are seen! There is a distinct smell, maybe just the smell of land but definatley not normal. The air is hazy and yellowish green with pollution. The water is deep green and there is trash everywhere. The channel is 15 miles across so the land is somewhat distant as we are in the dead center of the channel. Dozens of jumping dolphins within yards of our ship were seen as well, welcoming us to the Far East. It is nice to see land again and the ship is loud with excitement. We arrive in Busan, S. Korea on Friday at 0700! It is ~700 miles to Korea from where we are so we will be in a big sea for a few more days. Today was our last classroom day and was spent on more Rules of the Road and then we backboarded some people. In the afternoon we learned how to calculate ETA in different timezones and how to convert to GMT and back into Zone Time. Tomorrow we move into line handling and knots. I wish I could post picture but can't exceed the limit of 200k :( I hope to see more ships and more land and stuff in the coming days and will keep you all updated as often as possible.

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 13: At Sea

Hello!

We finally got a solid day of sunshine today! It was great to sit on the fantail of the ship and enjoy some Vitamin D for awhile, it's still a bit cold but hopefully once we get inland it will warm up. We are just a few days away from Busan, South Korea, our next port. We are due to arrive on Friday at 0700 (Thursday in the US) and my division will be released for liberty at 0800...I cannot wait to see what S. Korea is like and experience a new culture! Today was spent doing more classwork, in the morning we went over First Aid and back boarding, boring stuff seeing as I have done it a million times but good to refresh on. In the afternoon we did more chart work with dead reckoning and plotting. I am learning a lot of new tricks and tips for chart use and am excited to put these skills to use on board the family boat this summer. Tomorrow is the last classroom day and then we move to practical training which includes line handling, knots, splicing and creating our own canvas sea bag. The food today was sub par, and we had a thanksgiving dinner tonight (for no apparent reason) after dinner I was able to get to the gym and it felt great! I got to talk to Krysta for a good 30 minutes today and it was nice to catch up, I also talked to Mom and Dad for a short time (my calling card was running low) it was great to hear their voice and weird to be in such a different time zone as they are. We switch back yet another hour tonight so we will be 7 hours behind and a day ahead of Pacific time. We are expecting to see land tomorrow as we follow the Japan coast south to make our entrance towards S. Korea.

Till Next Time,

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 10, 11 and 12: At Sea

Hello,

What a crazy past few days it has been out here on the high seas. I started classroom rotation on day 10 and have been enjoying it. In the mornings we go over rules of the road and communications and then in the afternoon we go up to the navigation lab and learn chart plotting. Chart plotting has been a blast and learning all the tricks to using the triangles and compass have been fun. It's been 08-1600 days and has been nice to relax after class. I went to sleep at 1900 the past two nights and am still tired, something about being out here with the rolling makes me sleep forever. We had our first man-overboard drill today, and my position was lookout on the bridge, so whenever someone goes over myself and 5 other cadets are lookouts on the bridge wings. I guess we are a week out until Korea which means like 4-5 days until we see land, everyone is excited and ready to get off the ship. The food is getting worse, they have fallen into the chicken and rice mode and that is never a good thing. Updates have been slacking because I have been falling asleep so early. Nothing interesting for the next few days, two more days of classroom and then it's on to practical training. We are currently 18 hours ahead of Pacific time. Love you all!

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 8 and 9: At Sea

Hello,

Today was my last watch! Finally...at least for another 15 days. Tomorrow we move into the classroom rotation, we learn Rules of the Road and Navigation as well as other shipboard and maritime classes. We have morning session from 0800-1130 and then afternoon session from 1300-1530. I am excited to get back into a sleep schedule as well as a workout schedule. Early this morning, at 0300 in fact, we crossed the international date line. I am now 5 hours behind and 1 day ahead of Pacific Std Time. Tonight we go back another hour which means some more sleep. After watch today I was able to do some much needed laundry as well as kick back and watch a movie with some friends. The weather was really calm today, 4knots of wind and calm seas with overcast skies. We are moving into a low pressure system which is supposed to produce 30 knot winds and 11-15 foot seas, should be fun! After that storm however we are suppose to finally get some sun as we finish the final 1100 mile stretch to South Korea.

Till tomorrow!

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 7 and 8: At Sea

Ahoy!

Well what a few days this has been! If you are following our ship on google maps you may have notced we are passing through a couple of BIG storms. LAst nights storm sent stuff flying all around the ship. People have been getting hurt by slamming doors on fingers and falls on the deck. I got to talk to Mom yesterday on Mothers Day which was awesome to hear her voice and the rest of the family, I bought a calling card and should be able to call home more often, via the ships satellite. I have been on watch, the mid-watch (0000-0400, 1200-1600) I have 2 more days of watch left and then I go into professional training which should be fun and then I can sleep again. Not a whole lot of new stuff going on onboard, everyone is getting xcited to go to Korea and Japan and can't wait to visit Guam and Saipan. Tensions are increasing on the ship especially now since we have been rocking pretty bad. Hopfully I will have more to talk about in a couple of days. If you would like to e-mail me, janderson@csum.edu

Love,

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 6: At Sea

Hello,

Well this morning at 0000 I started watch rotation. My first watch was security rounds of the ship, we made rounds every hour to check for fire/flooding/fornication. It was a long 4 hours but the "mom" on board cooked us a snack at 0400 which was awesome! I slept after watch till like nine and then went to the gym until lunch. After lunch I started watch again and stood the helm watch. The helm was intimidating, steering a 500 foot ship for the first time is kinda nerve wracking but nonetheless easier than driving a small boat. The helm switches with the bow lookout after 90 minutes and the runner in between is incharge of the coffee/everything else that needs attention. In the bridge there are 1 licensed watch officer and 2 seniors. All in all a really long day and I go back at 2400 tonight to do it all again. Wish me luck and pray that my little sleep time is refreshing.

Love,

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy

Day 5: At Sea

Ahoy!

Well today was a long work day! After getting 13 hours of sleep myself and one other senior tackled a huge painting job in what is known as the horseshoe. The rooms in the aft of the ship near the steering gear have a green deck leading to them, we had to chip, sand, scrub, and paint two coats on the decks all in one day. It was a long day but it felt good to actually get to work hard the whole day rather than standing around. I start watch rotation tonight, currently it is 2310 and I start watch at 2400. For the next five days I will stand the 1200-1600 and 2400-0400; it should be a fun new experience and I won't be getting a ton of sleep but that's okay. We had some sun breaks today which was nice and the seas have been super calm. We are chasing a low pressure system so in the next day or two the seas are suppose to get worse, up to 15 feet. Being up at this latitude sucks cause it is always cloudy or raining (kinda like home) I can't wait to be in Guam and the tropical weather. Well I am off to watch wish me luck.

Love,

V/R,

CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy