FOLLOW THE VOYAGE - TS KENNEDY

Monday, February 14, 2011

Captain's Blog 2/14/11

Happy Valentine's Day! That is one of those dates for sailors at sea to reflect specifically on their loved ones - not just family like traditional holidays. I know I always try to buy a card well in advance, and have it all set to send from port that I know will allow it to get there in time. Sometimes, it isn't always possible, so an accomplice is engaged to mail it at just the right time. Kind of like the accomplice that makes sure your wife or husband gets the flowers on anniversaries and birthdays. I never liked that job, because it involves way too much responsibility - what if I forgot?

That reminds me - I have a birthday present waiting in my room to give to a cadet in a day or two. I better check the date!

So the annual dance with the weather begins. Throughout most of the sea term we can expect the weather to remain pretty constant, usually only watching for that highly unusual weather pattern that breaks the routine. But now we are definitely moving toward less predictable weather - or certainly weather that is predictably worse than the last month. We have analyzed weather maps, and tracked a voyage that will bring us further to the west than our planned voyage. This means we will add some miles, but more often than not, we tend to use up extra miles anyway once we get wrapped up in the heavier seas, so we may as well shoot for the smoother route first. We won't know how successful our planning will be until Wednesday.

San Juan is astern of us. It was a very good port for everyone.

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