The BBQ last night went very well and the morale for everyone was at an all-time high. The meal consisted of ribs, BBQ chicken, corn bread, grilled veggies, and an ice cream sundae bar! This made everyone’s night. To top it off at around 1720 Captain Pecota addressed the cadets. He let everyone know that Hawaiian authorities, with whom Cal Maritime has been working for months, have granted us permission to have a port call in Hawaii. This means that everyone on board who's been vaccinated will be able to go ashore. Not surprisingly, everyone was excited about this and we now look forward to being on land after several weeks at sea.

This morning we were met with a light rain. The air is humid and heavy, we are officially in tropical weather. We are currently 350 nautical miels from land and everyone is eager to be the first one to see it. We should be in Hawaii by June 17th.

Up on the patio deck some of the deckies were working to clear a drain and wash the soot off from the overhead. It builds up over the years and needs to be cleaned off. It is also likely left over from the 2020 fire season. It went from a nasty dark grey to white in a matter of minutes.

Some of the engineers were preparing to take a washer/dryer unit down to lower berthing. This task was difficult to do since they had to traverse a passageway, go down a flight of stairs and make a tight turn to get into the laundry space down in the berthing.  Some of the engineers were also seen in the machine shop fabricating a new part for a pump. Since we’re at sea, new parts have to be made every once in a while until we can get a new one in port.

Cadet unhooking washer

Cadet Lay unhooking the washer from the dryer.

Cadets taking washer to lower berthing

Cadets Zemple, Lay, Frangineas after taking the washer down to lower berthing.

Cadet cleaning drain

Cadet Lewis strapped in after clearing a drain on the patio deck.

Cadet with rods

Cadet Rosenblad holding two rods as they set with JB Weld.

When lunch was over there was still a lot of work to be done around the ship. Deck cadets on "day work" duty prepared surfaces to be painted and engine cadets fixed what needed to be fixed. Everyone was busy on the ship.

Cadet Zempel with thumbs up
Cadet Zempel

A quote that sums up cruise well so far is: “Take the ups with the downs--let’s hope there are more ups than ups than downs,” according to Cadet Zemple.

With spirts high we are eager to move forward with our journey. We are only a few days away from seeing Hawaii and a little over two weeks from having set foot on land. The tropical air is amazing and we can’t wait to see land again.

 

ABOUT CAL MARITIME
Established in 1929, California State University Maritime Academy is the only degree-granting maritime academy on the West Coast. Located in Vallejo, California, the campus offers undergraduate degrees that prepare students for careers in engineering, transportation, international relations, business, and global logistics. Cal Maritime also offers a master’s degree in Transportation and Engineering Management, as well as a number of extended learning programs and courses.