Guardians of the Coast

Weather is calm and clear. Beautiful day in fact.

Happy Finals Eve! The students are diligently working with their sight
tables as they furiously cram for the beginning of finals which starts
tomorrow. These tests will carry through Sunday, and Monday shall be an
off day for them. They get an extra hour of studying tonight since we
‘retard’ (I still hate that term), the clocks back one hour.

Tomorrow at about 5pm (oh sorry 1700), we pass through the Straits of
Gibraltar – for me it will be a farewell to the Mediterranean, although
many aboard will be seeing these waters again.

Aside from the normal bustle aboard today, I saw a most curious sight as a
swift ship with a gun neared us. Could it be Barbary Pirates? Somebody
reminded me that if you happen to see them fire, remember to duck! Other
cadets were of course facetiously talking about what we should do if they
attempt to board us. Alas, it was only the Spanish Coast Guard. They
were checking us out. I can assure you that I personally am not up to any
malicious or foul deeds as these defenders of the Spanish shores crossed
our wake. The ship itself, was some sort of cutter that had guns mounted
on it.
In any event, they were checking out a tanker that was anchored near us.
When they were done, they passed by and gave us a wave. Everybody waved
back. So much for the guardians of the Costa de Espana. But I know they
were secretly trembling in fear at the glory of our… noisy needle guns.

Since everybody seems to enjoy learning about various marine pedagogical
methods, I learned a new one today that demonstrates the power of
leverage, winches, and angle. Captain Kien, one of our instructors had
the students engage in an odd tug-o-war with him. They fastened a rope
onto a beam, and then the Kien had several cadets hold the rope taut with
instructions not to let him move the rope. This they did, and then Kien
simply went over and with two fingers pulled the rope to the sideways so
that they were pulled by a much lesser force. I think we can bestow the
Archimedes award for this lesson, although I still think plugging leaks
with your body and finding mannequins in the dark to be more fun.

As for goings on in the library, I have now become the Library Cop and
have been hunting down those malefactors who think they can hold onto
their books indefinitely. We all know that those people who borrow books,
and do not return them are actually hindering the education and enjoyment
of others. It is every person’s civic duty to pay their taxes, serve on
juries, and return their library books. So a word out there for anybody
who likes to flout democracy… we are watching you.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe