| SHIP'S
LOG
It's a clear Mediterranean day.
Small seas, slight winds, and a great day for topside maintenance. There
are students flying on staging and bos'n chairs everywhere. Paint is
being applied in good healthy coats on the bulkheads as well as on
the students.
Slowly but steadily our ship is regaining
her old luster.
In the world of training, the 2nd class
engineers are preparing for their flashlight exams. Basically, this
consists of entering the engine room and meeting up with an
instructor, and explaining any piece of equipment that finds itself
in the beam of the instructor's flashlight. It is not an easy
evolution but one which must be passed. This is one of the best ways
to determine if the lessons that were taught were truly understood
by the students. In a way, it is a reality check not only for the
students but also for the professors.
Fourth class D company learned the proper
way to enter a confined space as well as how to extract a victim
from such a space. They tested a forward ballast tank, went through
the entire entry checklist, and entered one of the vessel's largest
ballast tanks. There was a lot to learn and appreciate not
only in the dangers associated with entering such a space but also
to see the internal structure of the ship. They seemed quite
impressed by the size of the tank.
The shipped passed south of Sicily today as
we continue our homeward bound voyage.
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