Practice Makes Perfect

Hi Everyone,

My name is Libby Buck and I am a senior cadet that will be reporting for Follow the Voyage 2012. I was born and raised on Cape Cod and graduated from Chatham High and I’m currently studying Marine Safety Environmental Protection at the academy. I also have prior experience of being a freshman on the ship because I was one on Sea Term 2009.

Today was a thrilling day we had two fire boat drills one at 1000 and the other at 1300. This was practice for everyone to make sure they know where to go and what to do in the event of an emergency. All cadets and staff were given billet cards before moving on to the ship. When the general alarm and the ship whistle sounds these cards have what lifeboats each person is assigned to and their duties. This makes sure that everyone understands and is capable of evacuating the ship if there was an emergency. Tomorrow the U.S Coast Guard will come aboard and inspect our fire team and our emergency procedures. The fire team is made up of senior cadets and officers and the Coast Guard will check to make sure they can find and extinguish a fire on the ship. After those practice drills we are definitely ready for the Coast Guard's inspection.

Besides the boat drills the cadets are getting to know what will be their new home for the next 50 days. There are still some questions of where everything is located or what to bring for watch and maintenance but these should be asked since it’s only the first week. Once we get underway, I guarantee that everyone will figure out the ship’s cycle and what they need to do. With this being said I can tell everyone is getting excited to start our voyage.