Ahoy!

Vessel successfully arrived in Busan, Korea on July 4th - what a way to spend our national holiday! We hope everyone back at home had a great Independence Day. 

After two weeks at sea, everyone was very eager to get off of the ship upon our arrival - once we cleared customs, it was a race to see who could complete daywork the fastest or head out on liberty. Thankfully, all were patient while we went through the customs and immigration process and issued shore passes. Clearing customs can be time consuming depending on where you are and the type of vessel you are on, so it is good practice for the future. ;)

We ended up having beautiful weather for our arrival - despite dense early morning fog!

During our visit we hosted Rear Admiral Neil Koprowski, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. He presented the vessel with a very nice gift - a wooden statue of Korean Admiral Yi Sun-Sin who was a major figure in Korean history and the inventor of the Turtle Ship.

Cadets, staff, faculty, and crew were able to get off and enjoy the beautiful sights around Busan. Thanks to our port agent, 140 of us went on tours of Haedong Yonggung Temple, a Buddhist temple in Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea. Following the temple, we went to Nurimaru APEC house located in Dongbaek Park, and then Haeundae Beach. 

Princess Hwangok (Mermaid) Statue near Dongbaek Park

Gwangali Beach at sunset

Fair winds and following seas!

~Faye Joelson, Assistant Purser & Jessica Fowler, Purser

Check back often and follow the voyage with our blog series that gives the latest news from Summer Sea Term! TSGB will travel to Honolulu, HI, Busan, South Korea, Yokohama, Japan, and Los Angeles, CA prior to returning to Vallejo on August 5th.

Stay tuned for updates to the Follow the Voyage blog.