Norfolk, Virginia

Early this morning the Training Ship Kennedy awoke to a gloomy fog in the 
harbor of Norfolk, Virginia. We will spend the day here to supply the ship
 with fuel for our entire voyage.  However, before we can enter the harbor
 we must first pick up the harbor pilot.  A harbor pilot is an individual
 who is an expert on navigating through their local area such as the harbor
 of Norfolk, Virginia. As they travel through their area they act as an
 advisor to Captain Bushy, providing him with local knowledge. It is 
essential for any ship requiring a pilot to pick up the pilot before 
entering. In our situation today, after the pilot has boarded, he will
 navigate the ship to its “bunkering” location safely. You may be wondering 
how a ship picks up a pilot while underway. This is accomplished by having
 the pilot boat pull alongside the Kennedy where the pilot will climb a
ladder to get on board. 

Prior to arriving at our “bunkering” location the deckies manned their 
anchoring stations and prepared to drop anchor. After properly anchoring
 it was now time to bunker. This is a time consuming process and will keep 
us from departing the harbor until late this evening.

DEFINITIONS OF THE DAY:

Bunkering - The process of adding fuel to the ship’s fuel tanks. On the Kennedy, a barge ties up alongside our ship and transfers fuel to the ship.
                    

Science Wednesday:

After a few days of being surrounded by nothing but the deep blue ocean one can’t help but wonder what is going on under those waves.  Covering seventy-one percent of the Earth’s surface, the ocean provides us with an abundant variety of creatures. Each of these creatures occupies a unique position on the food web, or trophic web, which is composed of producers, consumers, and decomposers. For an environment to remain healthy, the food chain must remain unbroken. If one link in the chain is broken, all creatures on the chain may be endangered.  Learn more about these marine food webs try these activities:
Sea Connections
Sea Connections lesson plan 
Aquatic Food Webs