FTV 1/14/2012 Fueling Up

Did you know that everything you do takes energy? Even while you are sitting still, your body is using energy to breath, to keep your blood circulating and to control many different processes, like digestion, and waste removal. It is not only living things that need energy everything that moves or changes in any way need energy to move.

For a ship machines like motors and engines need energy to move. The need for energy is so great because almost everything that happens on Earth involves energy, Energy resources can be put into two categories, either renewable or non renewable. Resources that are nonrenewable are used faster than they can be replaced.

Renewable energy resources are those that can be replaced quickly after they are used. Fossil fuels which include coal, oil and natural gas are the most common examples of nonrenewable energy resources. Fossil Fuels are made from materials that began forming about 500 million years ago. As plants and animals died, their remains settled on the ground and at the bottom of bodies of water.

Overtime, these remains formed layer after layer. Eventually, all of these layers were buried deep enough, that they the earth’s mass heat and pressure turned into chemicals compounds known as hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are substances formed from carbon and hydrogen chains. Hydrocarbons can be solids, liquids or gases. The liquid form of these hydrocarbons is petroleum, or crude oil. The crude oil is a thick liquid that is usually dark brown or black.

Oil is formed mainly of by small organisms like plankton and algae, when these organisms die their remains settle to the bottom of the sea and over a period of millions of years, the heat and pressure of the earth turn them into to liquid oil. Once oil is taken from the well, it is sent to an oil refinery to separate it in several useful products such as gasoline, diesel, and heating oil.

Crude oil currently provides about 90% of the energy used for transportation around the world. The T.S. Kennedy uses a special form of diesel oil called Diesel Fuel Marine. When we were anchored in South Carolina a large fuel barge tied up along our side and delivered 8,500 barrels of this fuel. Here is some information that you can use to solve the challenges below:

1 Barrel of oil = 42 gallons
1 mile = 1.15 nautical miles
To travel 1 nautical mile 1 barrel of oil is used.


Learn how to make Unit Conversions like a Scientist.


Practice solving conversions problems


Here is the Challenge of the day

Position Report 1/14/12

DATE 1/14
TIME 0700 LT, 1200 GMT
LAT 21-45N
LON 77-01W
C 113
S 14K
RPM 70
DEPTH 2200 METERS
WIND E FORCE 4
SKY 1/8
PRES 1020
AIR 75/70
SEA 76
9 NM NE OF CAYO SABINAL, CUBA

FTV 1/13/2012 A Whale of a Tale

Now that we have safely passed the protected waters of the Atlantic Right Whale we
were able to pick up some speed as we head south from South Carolina after a fuel stop.

The right whale got its name because it was the “right” whale to hunt. It is a slow
swimmer and spends most of its time in easily reached coastal waters. When it dies, its
thick layer of fat keeps it floating at the surface. About half of the recorded deaths have
resulted from collisions with ships or entanglements in fishing gear. Also the whales
absorb mercury and other toxins from all of the rivers that flow into the Atlantic

Scientists can identify the whales’ likely locations through the year, as a result they
have been able to work cooperatively with government and the shipping and fishing
industries. In 2000, the U.S. began to require that every ship alert the Coast Guard
when it comes into a habitat. More recently, the U.S. and Canadian governments
designated three habitats as “areas to be avoided” by ships when the whales are there.

We passed through the North Atlantic habitat which lies within fifty miles of the East
Coast of the United States and the Canada Maritimes. These waters have heavy traffic
by the shipping and fishing industries, which have been blamed for the slow recovery
rate of endangered right whale populations.At the center of the new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is a life-sized model of one of the largest creatures that ever lived, the North Atlantic right whale. More than a representation of a species, it is a faithful portrait of an individual whale, a female named Phoenix. Born in 1987, Phoenix is still plying the waters between Florida and Nova Scotia. Like the mythical phoenix, she has risen from an ordeal: in 1997, she became entangled in commercial fishing gear—a common cause of death for right whales—and carried pieces of a heavy line with her for more than a year. She has two scars from the incident, on the lip and the tail, which the model includes in exact detail.

Phoenix is officially known as #1705 in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, a database maintained by the New England Aquarium. The four-digit number represents a bit of hopeful thinking about the future. Though an international treaty gave protected status to the world’s three species of right whales in 1935, the North Atlantic whales are today on the brink of extinction: there are fewer than four hundred of them.

Do these activities to learn to identify whales like scientists do.
Here are the pictures to help you solve the whale activity
Learn some amazing whale facts 

Capian's Blog 1/13/12

DATE 1/13
TIME 0700 LT, 1200 GMT
LAT 26-13N
LON 79-57W
C 188
S 11K
RPM 70
DEPTH 145 FATH
WIND NW FORCE 3
SKY 7/8
PRES 1019
AIR 69/65
SEA 70
10 NM NE OF FT. LAUDERDALE

'Rich man's weather'! When I first started going to sea the sailors would call particularly good weather that name. I don't know where it came from, but is certainly can be descriptive. We have enjoyed it since sailing Buzzards Bay. I sure hope there are no paybacks or repercussions connected to it, but I'll take it. I know everyone aboard will too. Yesterday afternoon the southwesterly wind died down, the sun came out, and the cadets and crew were out on deck enjoying it. I saw the first 'sunbather', and the traditional gallon jug of sunscreen was lashed to the rail on the Helo Deck.

This morning, as I look west at the Hotels lining the coastline of Miami, it is 75 degrees, light wind, slight seas and partly cloudy. It really is pleasant. Plan, plan, plan and then plan again. That is the rule we apply to the sea term. This year we went back to a three divisional rotation for cadets. When we had four division we did three port calls (four days each) and cadets were universally following a two day cycle of assignments between training, watch, maintenance and alternate. Under the three division rotation, we call at four ports (three days each) and cadets see only training, watch and maintenance. The upper classes follow a four day rotation while the Fourth Class do a two-day rotation- solely because they must complete five training elements as opposed to the upper class that have two.

So, our planning involves many short term supervisory deviations from the traditional four divisions- and not without some hiccups. But, the team led by the Commandant of Cadets, with the training coordinators, have coped and adapted by the day. Everyone is getting where they are supposed to be, but with effort. Perhaps in another three or four days all the changes will become automatic, and I know they will, and we'll be in balance once again. Today we'll leave the continental USA, head southeast toward Cuba, and follow the Old Bahama Channel into the Caribbean. More tomorrow.

Captain's Blog 1/12/12

We have come and gone from Charleston, SC, and I missed a day of the log. I was called yesterday afternoon by my administrative assistant in Buzzards Bay, she asking Where is the Captain's Log. Well I responded, I've been busy, but I don't think anyone will miss it because at least 97% of the ship's complement are out on deck talking on the cell phone! It is really amazing how the human being in us wants to get in touch with loved ones and friends so quickly, even after just three days at sea, but it is nature, and not too much anyone can do about it. But we do impose regulations about telephone use – you may not use the phone while on watch, nor when on maintenance duty. Otherwise, it's progress! So, we arrived in Charleston yesterday at 0630, and anchored at 0936. The bunker barge was alongside shortly after 1100, and the bunkering began at Noon. The Chief Engineer and the First Assistant Engineer, along with their assistant engineers and cadets, successfully loaded 9,100 barrels of fuel, finishing up at 1836.

During the day we also accepted a launch delivery of some stores we needed, and sent three technicians and our Maritime Administration Marine Surveyor Jeff Brown home. The installation and tuning of the new boiler combustion control was successful, so it was time for them to depart. We thank them for the hard work, and look forward to smokeless stacks and significant fuel savings.
We left anchorage last evening, vying for position before two post-Panamax containerships. And with all their size, 1000 feet long and 150 beam, they were pushing this little steamer. We had to swing out of the channel to let the pilot off due to pretty strong winds, but getting back into it was problematic because of one of the big box boats. Finally they inched ahead of us and we were able to get back in line, all of us honoring the mandatory right whale speed reduction zone. This environmental protection initiative extends out 20 miles from the port's entrance, thusly requiring our outboard transit time to take nearly two times than otherwise. But we finally cleared it at 2230, and were at sea speed and on our way to Panama at 2236
.
This morning we have a force six Southwesterly wind which is creating some jerky motion of the KENNEDY. Not a large roll, nor deep pitching, just quick little motions between the two. But the skies are clear and the temperature is up as we steam against the Gulf Stream. Speaking of environmental protection, in about thirty minutes we will cross into the Special Area for Trash Dumping- Caribbean Sea. In this area absolutely nothing but food waste is discharged into the sea. That is when our trash compactor starts earning its keep. More tomorrow, I promise!

FTV 1/12/2012 Stranded along the Coast

As we leave our seacoast home we meet the border between two worlds-the land and the marine. From the coast we can observe marine animals that inhabit the shoreline and tidepools. We can observe how the ocean's currents, waves, and winds sculpt the shoreline, alternately carrying off and depositing sand. From the air, you can actually see the waves create a perfectly scalloped beach on Nantucket Island. Not only do these forces shape the land, they affect the living populations.

Sometimes animals that inhabit deeper water are thrown off course. They come close to the shoreline and may actually be found on the beach. They may be injured, sick, or disoriented and soon become cold, hungry, or dehydrated. Such is the case for various species of dolphin, porpoise, seal, whale, and turtle that become stranded along the Atlantic coastline. But there is help for some animals. In many locations, when beached animals are sighted, professionals and volunteers are on the scene. Sick, cold, or injured animals are immediately placed in a rehabilitation program with the intent of getting them well enough to be returned to their natural habitat.

Often the animals are tagged with a transmitter for future tracking. Some of the large marine animals that are regularly tracked along the Atlantic coast are cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sea turtles. Cetaceans are marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises; pinniped refers to seals and walruses. Every acknowledged animal sighting is assigned a number and becomes part of the database for that species. Sea turtles can become stranded along the Atlantic coast. The causes are many, including water pollution, disease, an attack by a predator, or entanglement in fishing gear.

On our northeast Atlantic coast, animals are sometimes found close to the beaches, especially in the winter months. Scientists believe they may be driven toward the shore by the cold Labrador current in Cape Cod Bay, or the northwest winds along Long Island's north shore may pin the turtles against the shore or trap them in bays. These animals become "coldstunned"-chilled to the point where they are unresponsive and unable to eat to get their metabolic rate going.

Coldstunned turtles must be gradually warmed, given warm fluids intravenously, and then force-fed to give them the nutrition they need. When their body temperatures have increased, they are placed in tanks and fed and cared for until they are sufficiently recovered to be released.

Stranding Worksheet

Shoreline Puzzle

Position Report 1/12/12

DATE 1/12
TIME 0700 LT, 1200 GMT
LAT 30-46N
LON 79-29W
C 180
S 12K
RPM 70
DEPTH 410 FATH
WIND W FORCE 6
SKY 2/8
PRES 1011
AIR 63/59
SEA 70
100 NM E OF ST MARY'S RIVER GA/FL LINE

DEPARTURE CHARLESTON
1/11 2236 LT, 1/12 0336 GMT
23 NM SE OF CHARLESTON
694 POB'S
BUNKERS LOADED 9,100 BBLS

Cadet Blog 1/11/12

The T.S. Kennedy is now officially in Charleston, SC. We are currently 'bunkering' in Charleston Harbor. Bunkering is when the ship takes on fuel. For a rough estimate, 1 barrel of fuel equals 1 nautical mile. We will stay here until the ship is all fueled up and is ready to go. Then soon we will be on our way to transit through the Panama Canal.

The cadets are easing into their routine and getting used to living with at the most 80 other people in one hold. Freshmen are beginning to realize why back at school there are so many musters and inspections. At sea musters are important because accountability needs to be known at all times and inspections are to make sure that their holds are clean, since cleanliness helps stop the spread of germs.

It is also a very exciting day because today is the first day we have cell phone service since we left Buzzards Bay. Be expecting some phone calls from your cadets!

Position Report 1/11/12

DATE 1/11
TIME 0630 LT, 1130 GMT (ARRIVAL)
LAT 32-36N
LON 79-33W
C 299
S 9K
RPM 40
DEPTH 10 FATH
WIND LT. AIRS
SKY 8/8
PRES 1011
AIR 62/60
SEA 71
17.5 NM SE OF CHARLESTON, SC
FWE 0900 LT, 1400 GMT

FTV 1/11/2012 Ocean Waves

This picture from the ship’s deck this morning shows the view as far as the eye can see, the ocean water rippled with waves

Wind blowing provides the force or energy to make the rolling movements called waves. The water inside a wave moves around in a circle as seen in the photo above.

When we see the waves at the shoreline the circular motion is squashed, and tips over when it hits the beach. Surf is caused when the waves pile up to a great height before they break, this happens on beaches with a shallow slope. Where do you think the best beaches for surfing would be?

You can learn more about how wave travel by trying this wave simulator activity

Here are the worksheets to complete the assignment: Create Waves 1 Create Waves2 Wave Trials

Try this: Where does the Energy Go activity with your classmates

Thanks to Maryrose Flynn these student activities

FTV 1/11/2012 Communications on Sea and Land

Today, with instant messaging, we can hardly imagine that 150 years ago it might take months for 
word of the outcome of a presidential election to spread.  But Morse's invention tapped into the 
potential the electronic communication that is so prevalent today. On May 24, 1844 the U.S. 
Democratic National Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland. Van Buren seemed the likely choice, but his opponent, James K. Polk, won the nomination. This news was telegraphed immediately to Washington, but 
skeptics refused to believe it. Only after persons arrived by train from Baltimore to confirm the reports were many convinced of the telegraph's value.  Now we've come to  trust electronic communication, and to even take it for granted!  But…did you know that until 1999, International Morse Code, tapped out on a telegraph key, remained the international standard for long-range maritime communication.  



What happens when the telephones are all down and we can't get spoken messages through? We turn to radio where morse code is a universal language. Morse Code is used to communicate in lots of other circumstances as well. Ships at sea can communicate with it. Kids can do it for fun. Lost hikers can use it for distress signals.

Morse Code can be transferred by sound or by light. Sound is preferable. It can be done with a flashlight, an airhorn, any object that makes sounds or produces light.

Morse Code is divided into longs and shorts. A long is a long continued sound or burst of light (about 3 seconds) while a short is very quick (1 second). I will denote a short with the . and a long with the _ Between each short or long is a second of silence (darkness).

To learn about electronic communications click here
Make an electronic communications tool

Captain's Blog 1/10/12

This morning we still have overcast skies, 65 degrees and northwesterly wind. Kennedy is riding easy. The forecast is for good weather, but a west to east front may push down over Charleston tomorrow. Maybe some rain, maybe partly cloudy? The boiler control job is completely tuned up. Yesterday the technicians tweaked the components at all speed ranges.

Unbeknownst to most cadets - those not on the bridge or in the engine room – for over an hour the ship operated at 39 nozzles. The nozzles deliver steam to our turbine at various strategic points along the many rows of blades, and in perspective, when we operate at maneuvering speeds when entering or leaving port, we have only 13 nozzles open. When the 13 nozzles - or on the block as the engineers call it - are at maximum steam delivery, we make 68 RPM, and about 15 knots.

The nozzles are opened successively as more speed is required. When we reach 39 nozzles, we're turning nearly 98 RPM and pushing through the water at about 20 knots! Of course you can imagine how much more fuel is required to make that much steam for the extra five knots. Clearly we rarely ever approach that speed, as the fuel budget simply cannot allow it! Tomorrow morning we'll be taking a pilot at 0700, and head into Charleston Harbor, where we'll anchor a few cables from Fort Sumter. Readers may recall that this historic army fort was the site of the first battle of the Civil War on April 12, 1861. Then we'll load 8,500 barrels of fuel for the upcoming voyage. More tomorrow.

FTV 1/10/2012 Communicating like a sailor

Communicating like a sailor

Finding it was likely to overblow, we took in our sprit-sail, and stood by to hand the fore-sail; but making foul weather, we looked the guns were all fast, and handed the mizzen. The boat lay very broad off, so we thought it better spooning before the sea, than trying or hulling. We reefed the fore-sail and set him, we hauled aft the fore-sheet; the helm was hard a weather. The boat wore bravely. We belayed the fore-down haul; but the sail was split, and we hauled down the yard, and got the sail into the boat, and unbound all the things clear of it. It was a very fierce storm; the sea broke strange and dangerous.
--Gulliver's Travels--Jonathan Swift, 1726.

If you're reading Gulliver's Travels or Moby Dick, you could be at a loss as to what the narrators are describing if you don't know basic sailing terminology. Our language is peppered (or rather, salted) with expressions derived from life at sea. Thinking of the sea, you may picture whaling boats off Nantucket or Hawaii, warships during the Civil War, or merchant vessels carrying fertilized soil from the tropics to enrich the gardens of wealthy English farmers. However, much of the sailors' jargon that has entered and endured in our language came from the British navy. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, British naval and merchant ships dominated the oceans, developing their own culture with its own customs, practices, and language.
In these centuries of global exploration and commerce, boys and men, many of them illiterate, went off to sea and spent years away from home under dangerous conditions. Order and discipline were important in minimizing risk as was communication aboard ship, which had to be crystal clear. For example, different pitches of the boatswain's whistle meant different things: a call for attention, dismissal, or "piping" someone aboard. Shouted instructions often did not carry well against the noise of wind and waves, but voice commands to change the direction of sails had to be carried out immediately, whether to avoid collision with other ships in naval battles, to sail through a typhoon, or to stay on course. Also important to the orderly life of a ship was proper naming, accounting for, stowing of, and using gear.

Many terms remain in our language as a colorful legacy of the great sailing eras of history. Weekend sailors on the Chesapeake Bay and competitors in the heat of an America's Cup race use the same terms. And what teacher has not tried to get a classroom "shipshape" or commanded, "Pipe down?"

Use your research tools to complete this activity
Play this game to test your sailoring ability

FTV 1/9/2012 Ocean Gifts

As we sail along and watch the ocean waves, it reminds us daily of how the ocean is the source of many materials, from ores mined from its depths to relaxing mineral salts for a bath. Exquisite mother-of-pearl inlay, decorative shells, and pearl jewelry are found in gift shops worldwide. And whether your tastes run to the exotic, like yellowfin tuna sushi,or the mundane of fast food milkshakes, products from the sea are probably in your diet. Many species of vertebrate and invertebrate marine animals as well as marine algae are important sources of food worldwide.

Examine the foods in your own kitchen and you may find the terms “alginate” and “carrageenan” on the labels.
Carrageenans are compounds extracted from red algae that are used to stabilize and jell foods and pharmaceuticals. Brown algae contain alginates that make foods thicker and creamier and add to shelf life. They are used to prevent ice crystals from forming in ice cream. Alginates and carrageenans are often used in puddings, milkshakes, and ice cream. The commonly used color additive beta-carotene often comes from green algae as well as many vegetables, including carrots. On the grocer’s shelf and in the pharmacy,
in industry and in the arts, the ocean is a resource without equal. However, exploitation of these natural resources carries with it the responsibility to use them wisely and preserve them globally.


This activity will help us realize just how much the ocean contributes to our lives on land.

 Ocean gifts activity pages
Use this activity to learn how we can protect ocean life with sustainable fishing.

Captain's Blog 1/9/12

As we run the east coast, 150 miles off Maryland, the weather continues to surprise us. Although cloudy this morning the temperature has climbed to 46 degrees, and the winds and waves remain slight. Steaming at 60 RPM and making 14.9 knots, this morning we will hand over the speed control of the Kennedy to the engineers as they work with the boiler control technicians to fine tune the components installed last month.

Every day of our voyage has been pre-planned to maximize our goals, and today is the first day of training this sea term. Training is conducted over 24 days, with two exam days – one midway, the other at the end of the trip. For this, as well as other required disciplines aboard, we divide the cadets into three divisions. Training, watch, and maintenance assignments are spread out over four day cycles. This is very confusing to the fourth class cadets, and as many times as we explain it in pre-cruise meetings, nothing prepares them to having to find their training assignment when you are coping with 68 roommates, vying for a shower or sink basin, turning to at cleaning stations and queuing up for breakfast. To assist them, and to make sure we maintain accountability, we have all the cadets muster at a morning formation, and then have the cadet officers from appropriate divisions lead them to where they are supposed to be.

The watch assignments continue 24/7 throughout the sea term and maintenance is conducted from 0800-1630 every day and they both also rotate every four days. Yes, it is confusing, but before too long they become acclimated to reading divisional rotation matrix postings, as well as the plan of the day. I am looking forward to the warmer weather each day as my old bones are getting creaky, and the warmth feels better! More tomorrow.

FTV 1/8/2012 Today's Departure

Well we are ready to set sail, many parents, friends, and well wishers will be on Taylor's Point this morning to see the Kennedy as it departs for its Sea Term 2012 voyage to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the St. Thomas.

During the voyage remember to check the Follow the Voyage blog at www.maritime.edu/seaterm
each day for updates and photos from cadets, ship personnel, and me. Be sure to try some of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities and then share your results and learning on the blog post comments.

Here is a video tour of the T.S. Kennedy that will help you get familiar with the inside of the ship and the importance of the ship to the Cadets Maritime Education.

Captain's Blog 1/8/12

What a great morning! The weather was perfect for an October day so for a January day it bordered on super-natural. I was called at 0500 and told the temperature was 41 degrees, and at 0800 it had climbed to 44. Not too bad for this time of year, especially when I can recall many years when we sailed in snow storms! (BTW, for the record, this is my 27th sea term but I'm still short of the Second Mate, the present record holder). But it was crazy between 0600 and 0730 when we had many escorted guests aboard and maybe another hundred cadets ashore. I was stressed and the disembarkation of the guests coupled with the embarking cadets looked like it was going to stretch into our departure operations. So, for the parents that witnessed my 'take charge actions', I apologize, but we needed to have time to muster the cadets and crew for accountability checks, and be ready to sail by 0820, which is 20 minutes before the predicted high water slack current.

Finally at 0836 we cast off our last mooring lines, telegraphed slow astern to the engine room, and the tug boats pulled us off the dock as the whistle sounded. This was a little ahead of schedule. We enjoyed a weather perfect transit down Buzzards Bay; at 1245 we disembarked a service technician off Narragansett Bay. We are now steaming south at 9 knots through the Right Whale protection zone and at 1800 will be accelerated to 15 knots. Next stop will be Charleston SC for bunkers. More tomorrow.