Familliar Sights and Strange Sounds

Well currently we are back in US waters off the coast of good ol' Catalina, and well, home. Sure, we're only 2 hours away form the Port of Long Beach, but we wont be heading home until Monday morning. The USTS Golden Bear will be making up its lost liberty day. So I am heading home a day early. This is gonna be great, however sitting here drifting off of coast of home is making the hours drag on. When we get back on the 29th, unfortunately the show isnt all over at that point in time. WE have to get back at midnight and then do the official change over the next morning, and that will be the end of cruise.

Today a very interesting thing happened at quarters. We heard what seemed like two repetitive explosions and the whole helo deck shook and it felt as if something smacked into the back of my neck. Now the rumor going around the ship are that either it was a sonic boom from a plane from the nearby Naval Air Base at Miramar or artillery shells from San Clamenete Island. Some people were even talking about Naval war games, but the ship can sometimes be like a big water cooler.

All strange sounds aside, I'll be home in a few days.

See ya around and,

Stay Frosty,

Steven Robert Schiesser

More Photos!!!

This cruise must make life such a beach...
Few knew of Superman's sidekick "Sailor Boy", because he had to always arrive by 500 ft boat, which needless to say made his appearances limited.

This is what they call a building or as they say in Mexico "edificio". Some may go as far as to call it a "iglesia, casa de dios" but lets not get to crazy.

Another caption-less photo from our roaming adventurer. I am gonna go out on a limb and say this is a beach in Mexico.

I call this drink the "Dirty Sea Seamen" add one part sailor boy, two halves of underdeveloped mustacio, shake (don't stir) and allow to settle for two months on the Golden Bear. Umbrella is not optional. (No terms were meant to be taken in explicit manner, eww)

I am gonna lean towards the "mustache" and less the "age" part for why the high schools were "weirded out" at the local clubs in Puerto Vallarta....

Captions provide by: John (I hope you have enjoyed my attempts at witty comments)
Photos: By Stevie & friends

It's the end of the world, as I know it and I feel fine?

Some thing that is very interesting about living a lifestyle that is so very focused and different from that of what you have had before and one that is drastically different from the rest of the world, you aren't really sure how you exactly you are going to adjust to the way you used to live. Even when it has only been a short time of living like this, you still begin to wonder how living like this will have changed you, or if it even will; you wonder if you will snap back into normal life, or if even 2 short (well not that short) months on the sea have left a lasting impression. I think I really started to think about this when we were riding on the bus in Ecuador. For the last 2 months I have gotten used to going from one country to another, spending a little time sailing the ocean, but in a few days, everything will be back to normal and this life that I have been living will be all gone away. As I get closer to returning from this little journey of mine, I have begun not only counting the days, but other things like classes, meals and watches. I am very excited to return back to Newport and see everyone but I will definitely miss the traveling, but I have plenty of time to continue that, so I really. When I look back at the places I have been, I feel truly blessed. With Mexico sinking below the horizon my current country count is at a nice 11 countries.

But how about some change of pace, so we picked up our new Commandant of Cadets (in Mexico (haha that sounds really funny) and he is a retired Marine Corps Colonel. He seems pretty legit, he is wearing his desert digital camouflage with the blacked out birds (the insignia for Colonel), but instead of the name tape over the right pocket saying U.S. MARINES it says CAL MARITIME. He addressed us at quarters today and when he walked up and the Captain gave him the megaphone, I totally guessed he would not use it and just talk and have everyone be able to hear him, which is exactly what he did. He said he would be learning from us more in the next year than we would be learning from him and that he looks forward to working with us, which is basically the end of the Casual Maritime Academy.

We also got word passed on to us that due to our rapid exit stage left from Puerto Vallarta, we possibly could be getting into Long Beach a day earlier than planned. Now this is a possibility, and it is still being discussed with "the highest authorities" But I will keep y'all update as to the sit. rep.* of that.

Feel free to still email me even though I only have 3 classes, 1 essay, 1 final, 164 pages of Clive Cussler's Navigator, 1 security watch, 16.5 meals (I don't count continental breakfast as real meals) 12 hours in the gym and exactly 6 days 10 minutes (2050zulu) until I am off the USTS Golden Bear.

Stay frosty,

Something Really Snappy

* That is Situation Report for those of you who haven't seen Generation Kill.

Sun Sand and... Storms?

Well we are just heading out of the last port of the trip and now we are steaming the last 7 days home. Currently we are ripping through the water at a speed of 18 knots, a day earlier, for reasons I will get to soon enough.

But first the tale of a Man, a city and a Walmart.

Day 1:
After completing a slingshot maneuver with our anchor in order to get into our berth at the cruise ship terminal, we arrived in probably the most American Port of the trip (you know besides San Fransisco and Long Beach. Through some very foggy pair Oakleys, the beautiful American embassy of Walmart could be seen across the road. The first day was spent walking around the boardwalk or "malecon" of southern PV. We went from restaurant to beach bar enjoying the beach and staying out of the rain. The majority of my time spent in PV was spent relaxing, as in 2 weeks once Ive been home, my life will be shifting back into high gear at Career Orientation Training for Midshipmen (CORTRAMID) in San Diego. After we roamed around south PV finishing up some final souvenir shopping and such, we walked the 2.5 miles (or 4.02KM) to the Ship... in the rain... why ever would we do this you ask. The phrases "its not that far" and "we've got times I believe are the main culprits to said brainless idea. Anyway after a thoroughly wetting experience we hung around the ship for a while, then called it a night.

Day 2:
Well Day 2 was our class day, so me and the other Globostars from my major got onto the bus expecting another day full of churches and museums, which is a nice change of pace from what students usually want to do. We get off the bus on the malecon, a little confused and our teachers tell us we are free to do whatever we want until 1900. We had a "cultural day" so after checking out some churches on our own, we walked down as far as the PV coast line would take us, being hustled every 3 minutes by different street... er beach vendors? Anywho, once we got to the end of the beach we grabbed some sand and layed down under one of the countless umbrellas along the shore. After spending a good deal time, we headed back to check in with our teachers and then were released for the rest of the night. After that we grabbed some food on a upper story establishment which had a great view of the beach... and then it started to rain.... After waiting out the storm, we headed to a fine place called Senor Frogs. Now Senor Frogs is a club designed for young people, especially young Americans, so the place was packed with freshly graduated high school kids. It was quite amusing (and depressing)to see the CMA kids try to mingle with those former high schoolers, and see those high school kids get weirded out by these older mustached gentlemen who are just so eager to talk to them (you would be too after being on a boat for 2 months) Well, after rotating through several different similar establishments we headed home, this time in a cab. It was a good day and we all were making big plans for the next day, something we had even held ourselves back for, inorder to go all out the last day.

Day 3:
This day was by far the best day that has happ...
TODAY'S ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN CANCELED TO DUE AN EARLY DEPARTURE MADE IN ORDER TO AVOID TROPICAL STORM ANDRES:

"Tropical Storm Andres brushes Mexico; 1 killed

By NATALIA PARRA, Associated Press Writer Natalia Parra, Associated Press Writer

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Tropical Storm Andres flooded homes and knocked down trees along Mexico's Pacific coast, killing at least one person as it headed toward a likely hurricane-force scrape with land on Tuesday.

Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the strip of coast from just south of Manzanillo to near Puerto Vallarta. To the south, the storm dumped heavy rains on Acapulco, where flooding forced about 200 people to evacuate their homes on Monday.

A fisherman drowned when choppy currents overturned his boat in a lagoon Monday in Tecpan de Galeana, between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, a state police report said. The sun peeked through cloudy skies in Acapulco on Tuesday, but the government closed all schools..."

Its annoying as ever, but these be the ways of the sea.

Stay Frosty,

Sometimes Rain Sucks

(Runnin from a Hurricane... sounds like a good song name... some should write a song like that... I would listen to it.)

"Sometimes I wonder if the people back at home will ever truly understand what's happened here..."

These words inscribed in an over head of a bunk truly speak to just some of the odd things that go on while on board the good ol' TSGB. Now I'm not really sure how to explain it, because in order to explain it I would have to understand why it happens. But there is this strange phenomenon of habits people pick up while on cruise. Cadets start smoking a lot more cigarettes and dipping tobacco, some of who before cruise had never done anything like this. And its actually kind of sad to see people getting addicted to some of these things and then realize they don't have a way of getting anymore of said substance since we are on a bloody ship. It's both sad and amusing to watch at the same time. I have heard so many times, "Oh I just am doing this for cruise." I guess it speaks to just how much life is different when on a ship.

Speaking about life being different, me and one of my good friends were sitting around yesterday (as we have done many other times) and we came to a rather odd realization. Being on the ship is like being on prison for several reasons. 1. We all wear the same color (some prisons even wear khaki) 2. Nutrition is questionable 3. We have forced labor 4. We're stuck in one confined area 5. We take classes so that we are better off when we get out 6. We all are counting down to the day we get to leave

Oh yes well since I am getting closer and closer to getting home, please email me and let me know if you desire my presence at some point in time while I am home between June 30th and August 8th, before I go to training in San Diego for a month.

Hope every one has a great day

Sailors Really Sing

" A capital ship on an Ocean trip, watched the hallowing winds go by
No winds that blew dismayed this crew, nor troubled the captains mind.
The man at the wheel was made to feel contempt for the wildest blow,
Though it often appeared when the gale had cleared that he'd hidden in his bunk below.
Well roll you and roll I roam and I will go,
I'll Stay no more on Latin shores so let the music roll,
I'm off on the morning train I'll cross the raging main
I'm off to the sea it's the place for me and there I'm gonna stay."

More Pictures of Stevie

Division 3 PRIDE

Action Shot!!!

The unlikely team: Sea scouts from the Tiki-Too, the Renegades and Chaser

Plumber's Nightmare


We all can't be models, its ok...

I don't know what has gotten into me...

but I have just been in very blogging mood these past few days. Maybe its the fact that some things have actually been happening, maybe its my desire to make you read alot about my life, because in 13 days 14 1/2 hours (at 0530 ZULU) my life will become non-blogging worthy, or maybe it is because I am avoiding studying for my midterm tomorrow... I'm going to guess its a little of all of them.

Well it seems the TSGB is doing its work for the community by not just training mariners to support the 90% of Global trade which travels by ship, but rather to help out your friendly neighborhood meteorologist. Good ol'NOAA (the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) requested our assistance in the deployment of several "ARGOS floats". We have made several deployments that have been occurring on the Golden Bear at specific positions on our route for the past few days. Once in the water, these floats lower themselves to depths of nearly 2,000 meters and then raise back to the surface at regular intervals. Along their vertical journey, they record things like water temperature and salinity at specific depths, all things I know nothing about. Each time they return to the surface, they beam their data to a satellite and then begin another cycle. The cycles continue for a few years until they sink for the last time... into Davey Jones' Locker... yarr... its very technical.

I'm glad I haven't gone crazy yet... well then I guess that other people who haven't been on this ship for the past 2 months will have to be the judge of that.

Oh yeah and we're in the Northern Hemisphere again, surprise! So my toilet spins the other way, the weather will be getting hot as we pass through the hot zone, the water on the ship will be nearly boiling when it comes out of the cold water tap (I get my cold out of the hot one now (no seriously I do, it is really sad)) oh yeah and it seems like the water is a lot bluer, its really odd (I just guess thats because the Northern Hemisphere rocks (I mean our seasons make sense and everything)).

Stay Frosty,

Sailor Reporting Salinity

Sinbad Sunday

Well yesterday was probably the most fun at sea I have had yet to date. Every cruise, the ship shuts down all class and work (except watch) to hold inter-divisional games. The school's Corps of Cadets is split into two Companies. Each Company contains 3 Division. Each company sails on one cruise. This year 1st cruise went to Blue Company. So yesterday all 3 division's competed in an assortment of events in order to win a bag of goodies, but more importantly the right to be the first Division dismissed from cruise, easily one of the most coveted prize able to be offered on cruise.

The events of the games were a mix of different nautical skills that put everyone to the test. There were events such as the lifeboat crank, where the whole division teams together to hoist up one of the lifeboats. Oddly enough this was the one event that left me bruised. I guess it just shows my dedication. There were other events such as plumbers nightmare, which presented a 8 ft of pipe with probably 30 problems and a running fire hose on one end. Whoever could plug the most holes and raise the pressure at the other end of the pipe the highest won. Other events were less amusing such as heaving line and hauser toss where it just involved throwing things. But 2 events in particular, took me back to my days of Sea Scouting events. There was knot tying and Boatswain's Chair. Knot tying is self explanatory, but Bos'n's chair involves tying a french bowline around your self and then being hoisted 20 feet off the deck as fast as possible. Now back in the day (which was a Wednesday) this was my event. But oddly enough the team I was now competing with was filled with other Sea Scouts from teams I used to compete against. Quite an amusing thought indeed. Unfortunately in the end... despite me getting 1st's in all the events I participated in, my division ended up getting, hmm how do I put this: second runner up, 2nd loser, 3rd place and dead last. *Sigh* it was fun none the less and was a good way to start the home stretch of cruise.

Well it is official ladies and gentleman, I will officially submit my "2 week notice" tomorrow. I cant believe 2 months is almost all but gone, but it couldn't be done a day sooner.

Stay Frosty,

Safety Restraint Systems

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures.

ECUADOR! ECUADOR! ECUADOR!

Guayaquil Ecuador... What a place!
We made our 4 hour journey up river from the sea at about 0400, did the customs and security dance as is standard procedure. We had our liberty restricted from the usual midnight restriction to 2000. Despite this severe cut back in time, we without hesitation set off into Guayaquil on the wheels of one of the countless crazy taxis that fly around Latin America. We were lucky enough to be in Ecuador on the day of the big soccer game versus Argentina. So my gangbunch and I sat back and watched. The interesting thing to see was how much of city shut down at the opening of the game. Luckily Ecuador won and the riot that the police were ready for, never came. That was basically all that we could do with our limited time that day. When I arrived back at the ship I hardly knew what to do with myself and all my extra time.

The next day was our educational day. We went and met with the U.S. Consulate in the heart of Guayaquil. This involved people more intelligent than I speaking about things that I am only lucky to have understood. After this we climbed back on the bus and headed over to the Banana Port (we were originally supposed to have gone to a banana plantation, but consulate security deemed it too dangerous). Now this port is run by Dole, and the amount of fruit that went out of that port each day was staggering. They had container upon container, each which held approximately 40,000 bananas. That is alot of bananas. After this and probably the second best pizza I've ever had, we went on a less than glamorous sight seeing tour. Do to some navigational areas we got to see a far less talked about part of Ecuador, we saw the slums of Guayaquil which was an unforgettable site to see. After this we finally found our way to our destination, a local Woman's Co-op. Via our guide's translation, we heard their story of how the co-op rose out of local depression and need. This day as a whole was truly indescribable, one that I will never forget.

The last day was definitely interesting. The morning was filled with Churches, statues and iguanas. But unfortunately it was not a great day for all cadets. One of the cadets I was with had too much to drink, and I decided that it would be best for to take him back to the ship. Unfortunately this took the rest of my day as I spent the rest of my liberty taking care of him, and helping him return to a state in which he could return to the ship.

This port more than others has taught me a great deal.

I will have a tale of the adventures which took place during the Sinbad Games today up tomorrow...

later days,

Steven Robert Schiesser

*insert witty/flashy title here*

Ok well, today I have a few updates and stories, which is exciting because I had something new yesterday too.

I'll start off with the boring stuff. We had another drill today and suddenly 5 1/2 weeks in they decide to show us how to get into our life boats... seems kinda late to me. Well at least it happened before you know, we really needed to know it. Anyways, the drill is not out of the ordinary. It was the pyrotechnic demonstration that the Deck department held afterward that was a change of pace. Now in all honesty it was pretty boring, especially after I taught a class on emergency signals, and probably shot off 100x more signals then they did, it was fun to see that I still sometimes know more than some Marine Transportation majors after being in Sea Scouts. But it was rather frightening and hilarious, the amount of times the "MT's" almost shot each other in the face with rockets and magnesium flares...

In other more relatively exciting news, we received word from our teacher, that we are most likely going to Mexico now, all we have to wait for is U.S. State Departments final clearance, but the captain, I quote, "Feels good about us getting our clearance." So hopefully we get cleared because in all honesty I do not want to be going to San Diego. Not that there is anyting wrong with being in San Diego, just I'm going to be spending July there, so I would much rather pass.

Other than that, I believe food is getting worse day by day. I am finding less and less interest in eating ship food. Can't wait for some Ecuadorian cuisine and then some home cookin.

later days,

SRS

C/C and more

Star Date: 200906080000

MIDN's LOG

21 Days to go, 2 countries and 1 equator crossing and this little adventure will be all but done. Our next stop, for those of you who have been following along, is Guayaquil, Ecuador. In order to get to Guayaquil we actually have to make a 4 hour trip up river (not sure which one) in order to reach the Port. We will be making our attack run on Wednesday and it should be lots of fun.

But why not something that's a change of pace. Today I had what is called C/C duty today. I think it stands for cooking and cleaning duty except that all I did was the cleaning part. I had to wake up at 0530 and worked til 0900 in the garbage room. then went to class (completely slept right through it (we were debating whether drugs should be legalized or not, so I didn't miss a thing)) then for lunch I worked in the scullery from 1100 to 1330. The scullery is where we clean all the dishes, it was surprisingly not that bad and it didn't smell as bad as the garbage room. Then for dinner we worked from 1600 to 2000 had a BBQ on the fantail as is tradition for Sundays here on the TSGB. I spent the time running between the galley and the stern and then sweating up a storm in the scullery (you'll learn some nautical terms, just stay tuned). Due to our hard work and my obviously dashing good looks, Mom, the ship's baker,(who calls us all "Son") has promised us a pie and great big chocolate chip cookies all to ourselves tomorrow. Then for the final act of the day we emptied the garbage room by throwing the paper and food over the side out of nice little hatch in the side of the ship, that is nice and body sized. We compact the plastic and then incinerate it, well the incineration fun saved for more qualified individuals. Altogether today was at times gross, but not to hard, just really long.

I would now like to take this time to thank those who make all these post worth while with their continuing emails of encouragement. In particular, my brother, who despite: midterms, finals (ive been on this boat too long) taking care of my dog, the shingles, looking for a Job, his senior project, and work; he still manages to email me every day or so, for a sanity check. But thank you to all of you who have emailed me, I mention my brother, because he was the brains that made this blog possible. OH! and if you email me and i don email you back that day it means one of two things. My email blocked you because it is over protective, and in that case I will email you as soon as I get Vallejo to unblock you or, I'm in port and thus not on the ship to check it. But again thank you all for emailing me, keep it up! and if you haven't, (Santino Borling) there is no time like the present to start!

Thank you again, take care

remember to spay and neuter your pets

S.R.Schiesser
MIDN 3/c USNR

Chile Pictures

a Day on the Bear

Hello there people on terra firma

So I feel I Should let you in on what exactly it is that I do on a daily basis. First off we have class every morning from 9 to 11, all week long. After class we have lunch then we have "Quarters". Now the purpose of Quarters is for accountability for the cadets, and to make sure nobody has fallen off the ship or something along those lines. Well we get up there at the same time everyday, and then wait around 10 minutes while they talk to the corps officers in a private meeting in front of the formation and then they call us to attention and dismiss us. Yeah thats basically it. We stand around for 10 minutes for less then 1 minute of activity. Then the afternoon differs depending on the week. Either I have a work day or I sit around and basically do nothing. Then around 1600 we have clean sweep down. Each person is assigned to a group that is asssigned an area of the ship to clean. My are is the Fantail of the ship. So each day I report there and clean the same area day after day. I admit, sometimes I have to pretend to be cleaning because it can only get so dirty some days. After all that nonsense, we have chow and then start it all over again.

I hope everyone is doing well, feel free to send me an email anytime!

S

Northward Bound

Well for one thing it was only somewhat chilly in Chile, and that pun is officially done and over with because I might go more insane than 1 month has merited. Speaking of which, with the arrival in Chile last Saturday that brought along the end to the first half of cruise and the beginning of the second. With the beginning of the second cruise we have one particular addition to the faculty on board that is actually rather amusing. During the second half of cruise it is standard procedure to have the schools psychologist come aboard. This is probably the clearest indication of the fact that a good number of the people on this ship are going to go a little nutzo in the next few weeks. But other than that not much else has changed.

Chile:

Day one: Unlike Panama we made the short trip into Puerto Valparaiso while "manning the rails." This involves the majority of the crew dressed in their "Salt and Pepper" uniforms along the side of the ship on all the outside decks. It was quite the show we put on infront of the Chilean Navy who were our neighbors on the pier. The first day was again our work day which was spent scrubbing the sides of the ship. We were released early in the day and thats when the fun truly began. I had one major change in my game plan that really made my port days go by a whole lot smoother. The group I chose to hang out included a native Spanish speaker. I never could've imagined how much easier it would be to have someone whose abilities wit the Spanish language go light years far beyond that of my skill to count to 5 and say yes, no and bueno (oh yeah I learned how to ask where the bathroom is pretty fast too) So we made are way into Valparaiso's sister city, Vina del Mar. We roamed around taking in the sights and avoiding the very large population of stray dogs. The day was spent roaming the city and eating good food. That night we celebrated a friends birthday at one of the local bars in Valpo and then strolled back to the ship early for curfew.

Day two: Well the next day was our site seeing adventure. We were all over the two towns; visiting the house of Pablo Neuardae, the palaces and fortress left behind by the Spanish royalty and of course the beautiful beaches. We did a little shopping and got the experience of dealing with the local street vendors. The buildings of Valparaiso are an array of colors and some of the "artwork" that adorns the walls is considered some of the finest in the whole world. The two cities are not as modern as the Santiago; it was put best as being stuck in 1985... whatever that means.

Day three: Day Three was spent in the city of Santiago. Santiago is the capital of Chile and one of the most amazing cities I've ever been to. The city is the mix of a modern Western city inter-spliced with a city of old Europe. The Shadow of the sky bridge between to of the newer skyscrapers is cast upon the presidential palaces high stone pillars and ornate carvings and statues. It was such an astounding sight to see, and really helped finish off the stay. The purpose for our little visit and two hour drive, was a visit to the world trade center and a briefing with a company called AmCham. Ill spare you the details, so that I don't put you to sleep.

Ill post some emails tomorrow.... er well my today, your tomorrow.

Hold Fast,

SRS

Chilly today, Chile tomorrow

Hello friends and family,

Well tomorrow we will be arriving in good old Valpariso, Chile. I have to admit that the past week or so hows passed by extremely quickly since being in Panama. That is most likely due to the fact that prior to arriving in Panama we were stuck on the ship for close to 3 weeks. After this is should be down hill considering we have close to a weeks equivalent of port days and only 3 weeks on the ship. We actually just finished out the first of two classes we ill be taking while on the ship. After our days in port we will start on our second month underway. But until then its nothing but llama's and beaches.

I will relay the tales of my adventures in Chile as soon as I am able,

take care,

S

May 24 Pic

To accompany the post on 5/24

More Pics

A final Shot before the bear set sail for Valparaiso, Chile.
Me and the Mira Flores Locks

Memorial Day

Well today we had a nice relaxed day due to the holiday. In honor of memorial day, and due to the fact that we are a government owned vessel, we had the honor of flying our colors(flags such as the national ensign) while underway. It is custom not to fly a ship's colors while underway, due to the fact that 1.) no one is around to see it and 2.) the constant use can wear out the flags. But on memorial day it is declared by presidential decree for us to fly our flag, something that is done very gladly. Usually we have BBQ's on Sundays, however this weeks was moved to today in, again you guessed it, honor of memorial day. I will have some photos posted later of the BBQ and the beautiful sunset at sea. ave a great day and email me sometime.

very respectfully,

S.R.Schiesser
MIDN 3/c USNR

"Far from Home We Lie"

Well as we travel further and further south, the heat slowly dissipates and I have begun to wear my jacket once more. Though the weather has gotten rougher, the Bear just seems to roll with the punches. It is a very odd experience seeing as for the past 3 weeks we have been slowly steaming southward and heating up, however since we past the equator all that has changed (as well as the direction of the spin in my toilet (well technically it is a head)) But other than that its pretty much same old same old here on the ocean blue. I am back on a day work rotation so I spend my afternoons for the most part, getting my hands dirty fixing something with whatever random group I get stuck with. It is always rather odd to me how our ship can require 40-50 people to work on something or other both deckside and engine work, 8 hours a day, almost year round. Sometimes I wonder how a normal ship can function without 340 devoted cadets to handle its every need.

I have come to realize something while on cruise. The reason so many stories of sea adventures sound so similar, despite who writes them, is because when aboard a ship you start to think that way. I am speaking of course of that classic writing style that goes something like:" I could see the white crash of the waves in the darkness and hear the wind rush through the rigging, and could feel the boat toss below me." I swear, that is how thoughts have formed in my mind sometimes... It just happens I guess when your on a boat. So I guess its official, I've gone crazy. Right?

"Though we roam the seas, far from home we lie, we will cheer for the good times and this land we fight to defend..."

Happy Memorial Day
your favorite high seas adventurer,

Stevie

The view really speaks for itself


a shot of El Toboga Island


We played out the slaughter of the soccer game below the Bridge of the Americas

Pic 2

Mira Flores Locks

Pic 1

Infront of our neighboring vessels in port 1 US Nuclear Submarine and 1 French Naval Frigate

Post: MAY 17

"Well tomorrow morning we will be arriving in Panama. I’m really looking forward to checking everything out. I am writing today, because I havent written in a while and well that is simply because nothing has happened. I figured you wouldnt want to hear about... "we passed alot more water today, it is still hot, and I still go to class every morning." In fact I know that would get boring. Because it is. But all that shall change come tomorrow. I will write again as soon as I am able, but feel free to drop me a line or two while I am in port. I would love to hear from you. I would also love even more to hear back from those I have emailed. Oh well...


catch you in a few days
MIDN 3+3/4 /C Schieser

Still not really 100% sure if I'm a third class yet... oh well..."


love so much


stev

Panamaha

Well half a week later, slightly sunburned, and with a nice sun glass tan, I am back on the ship headed full steam ahead (we have some time to make up for) for Valparaiso, Chile. For all of you who were wondering, we did not go through the canal. The canal is rather expensive to go through, and seeing as we are going to Chile, there really is no purpose in going through it. But that does not mean that the trip was not more than exciting.

The first day in port was my work day, but I was fortunate enough to receive an assignment to the ceremonial party to welcome the representatives of the Panamanian Maritime Academy. After that we were released for our half-day of liberty. We traveled via taxi to an area called Cosco Viejo. Cosco Viejo was a colonial settlement built in Panama. As we drove towards Cosco Viejo from the city I could see the different signs of the different countries that have come into Panama over the past few hundred years. When we turned off the highway we started in the old American housing complexes of the early 50's 60's 70's and then as we traveled further in, their were the remnants of the French who were there in the early 1900's and then when our journey finally came to and end our cab stopped in a place which resembled what appeared to be a Spanish-Mediterranean town. The rest of the day we spent in Panama City with dinner and a stop at the great American embassy – Hooters, Panama. It was a great day over all and despite it being a half day, it was just as tiring as the other days to come.

Day two was an adventure made in the name of edjumacation. We traveled to the Mira Flores Locks, the first locks in the 3-tiered lock system in the Panama Canal. After a tour of the canal museum, and the necessary required hours of waiting around doing nothing, as is required for all school functions, we headed towards the Panamanian Maritime Academy for a little BBQ and fun. Also at the Academy, the other cadets decided to invite us to a little soccer game. We were expecting them to just have a few random people there to play us, just like we had just thrown together a team to face them. But we were surprised to find the fully geared full UMIP (Universidad Maritima Internacional Panama) soccer team awaiting us. Needless to say our rag tag team of soccer players was no match for the nationally ranked team (a small nation, but still nationally ranked) Fortunately for us we redeemed ourselves from the slaughter of the soccer game, with the victory in a basketball game (it helps having all of Basketball team majoring in Business.) After a day of cultural interactions we headed over to the causeway community. It is a small sea side community on the outskirts of the city. There we arranged for a boat ride the next day and dined on some local food and drink before heading back into the city for the night. My group and I hung out at one of the local casinos, where we acquired a knack for attaining free drinks by simply appearing to be gambling. I can tell you there is not a whole lot of things that are more amusing than a few sailors running around a casino pretending to gamble just to quench their thirst.

The majority of the final day in port was spent on a little island called El Toboga. The island is approximately 20km off of Panama. Myself and a group of 31 CMA cadets and 3 faculty members spent the day on this little island. The island was covered with old colonial buildings and Spanish architecture. The island also had a quiet beach which so many of us found so very relaxing. We found the water warm, the sunshine bright and the calm breeze soothing. It was quite the way to end the last day in port. After we headed back in the late afternoon. We finished the day off with a quiet dinner and more working of the system at the Venetta casino as had been done the previous night.

As I am writing this at approximately 2025 local time, we have just passed the Equator. Though due to a lawsuit in the early 80's, there will be no "shellback" ceremonies, as is customary on other sea going vessels for those who cross the equator for the first time (feel free to Google it). I guess I will just have to wait.

Well that's it for now; let me know if you want to know any details.

later days,

stevie

Land HO!

Well tomorrow morning we will be arriving in Panama. I really looking forward to checking everything out. I am writing today, because I havent written in a while and well that is simply because nothing has happened. I figured you wouldnt want to hear about... "we passed alot more water today, it is still hot, and I still go to class every morning." In fact I know that would get boring. Because it is. But all that shall change come tomorrow. I will write again as soon as I am able, but feel free to drop me a line or two while I am in port. I would love to hear from you. I would also love even more to hear back from those I have emailed. Oh well...

catch you in a few days

MIDN 3+3/4 /C Schieser

Still not really 100% sure if I'm a third class yet... oh well...

Watch...

Well last night… er well early this morning, I had my first watch of this 2 week old cruise. It lasted from 0000 to 0400. It was a security watch, and the point of the security watch is to look for the 3 F's – Fire, Flood, and Fornication. Luckily the second one was the only issue that we had to deal with. One of the fan rooms (a roomed filled with- are you ready?- FANS!- its used to circulate air from the chillers to different parts of the ship) had flooded. Now when I mean flooded I mean there was a significant amount of water on the floor. We removed 100 gallons on my watch alone and hardly made a dent in it. Other than that the watch consisted of roaming the ship closing water-tight doors and wasting time. Our fearless trio of security was lead by a senior who told us many great stories and helped pass the time. Now the lack of sleep that this midnight adventure caused (the same lack of sleep that caused me to delete the first version of this post by accident) is going to make carrying out another watch tonight quite interesting. ( oh yeah, they just changed the watch bill today (after it had been "set in stone" to since the beginning of cruise) and I now have the 0000 – 0400 watch again "tonight" , the night before my first midterm. I will leave out my feelings about this change and the reason for the change.)

But all is not lost, for there is one soul aboard this who goes the extra mile ( its really more like 500 miles) just to make the late night watch standers smile. She is known as "Mom". Mom is the baker both while at sea and also while at school. She makes all the deserts and calls to all of her "sons" to come get one of her goodies. But she truly shows her true colors by waking up EVERY NIGHT, to bake fresh food for the 0000 and the 0400 watches as they come. She does this every night stormy seas or fair weather. I cannot even begin to describe how great she is, it is really something one must experience.

In other news…. After many boiling days on the route south, the staff has finally okayed the cadets to wear Khaki shorts with our uniforms, which means I can get started on that farmers tan that has been long in hiding since last summer ended.

Peace easy.

SS

P.S. feel free to leave comments; it would be interesting to see what you felt about what I wrote when I get back

is it hot in here or is it just me?

Today, when I ran up the stairs to the 0-4 deck (otherwise known as the helo deck) to line up for daily "quarters" I was hit by heat of the unprotected decks. It was then when I truly realized how south we had really come. Only a few days ago I remember standing on the quarterdeck looking at a pod of humpback whales off the port side talking about the nice cool weather. But I must say that was quite an experience to see. It is sights like those and the sunsets that make being at sea so special.

Other than that not a whole heck of alot has happened. I stand my first watch tomorrow from midnight to 4 am ( it is still considered part of tomorrow even though technically it is on Wednesday (some cadets have yet to figure that out)) During that watch the security of the great TS Golden Bear will lie in my hands, and it will be up to me to fend of the pirates that plague these waters.... (ok so Ive been reading the "Corsair" by Clive Cussler and it might not be that important of a job..) We'll see how it goes

peace easy,

Esteban

(were in Latin American waters... why not?)

Well its not Swine Flu, but it sure felt like it....

A common stomach flu has been ravaging the ship, condemning many Cadets to a 24hr bed rest. Last night I too fell vicitim to this very flu, and let me tell you, it is not a pleasant experience. But I am sure it will pass by tomorrow, and I will be back to doing what I had been doing before, which wasn't much.

The past few days have been interesting even without the Flu. Two days ago I got the chance to work with a team of Engineers on the Port engine, which is probably as big as my house. That same night we had Bingo night... yes bingo night. I didnt have very good luck that night so hopefully that will all improve by the next one. I never knew you could be bad at bingo...

Yesterday word was passed on to us that the ship no longer has State Department clearance to enter Mexico, and as of now, the ship will be reverting to San Diego.... which is a drag seeing as that is where I will be spending all of July. But who knows alot can happen over the next 6 weeks, but I will keep you updated...

later days,

~S

Though We Roam the Seas...

Probably on of the most amazing things that I realized to day is the fact that I was learning about international trade policies while enroute to then Panama Canal on a merchant Vessel (the T.S. Golden Bear is owned by MARAD... (This stands for something that involves Maritime Administration and Department I believe...)) Now if that's not hands on training, I know not what is. It's quite an outstanding feeling when you are sitting in a class room that is not only cruising across the ocean, but also rocking back and forth.

It is good to be on our way again, because though I have a deep love for Catalina Island, circling it just isn't that exciting when you know your on your way to Panama. Last night apparently we had some rough waves, however I would not know, because the rocking motion of the boat just tends to lull me into a deeper and deeper sleep. This is good for my future career.

I must announce that people of my major (well the males at least) are beginning to grow mustaches and I am joining in the effort, so we will see how it goes, I guess it is something to make the days go by faster. I'm sad to say that I have already watched the entire Generation Kill series (I highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of Band of Brothers) as well as the entire Horatio Hornblower series (recommend it to fans of Master and Commander). That is a total of 22 hours of entertainment and it hasn't even been a week. But have no fear I still have all 10 Seasons of Stargate SG-1 and The Lord of the Rings extended editions, and these things called books which I am learning all about... hmm what a novel concept...

Later days....

Very Respectfully,

Cadet 3/c Schiesser
sschiesser@csum.edu

Catalina HO!

Well the past few days have been good under way. Monday morning we passed under what I am told was the Golden Gate Bridge, hard to tell for sure however considering we could barely see it from the helo-deck on top of the ship. The PJ exercise went from being an awesome C-130 HALO Boat drop from high altitude, to the boring task of raising a black Zodiak in and out of the water with our crane. Currently we are off of Santa Catalina Island do maneuvering drills. I have to say it is a pretty odd feeling being so close to Catalina, yet knowing that it isn't our destination. So after we do circles around Catalina for a day or so we'll be off on our way back down southward towards Panama.

Things I've learned so far:
1.) I would've been an engineer if I wasn't a Global Studies major. (they get to fix stuff (deckies break stuff alot))
2.) You can always find fun even in the most annoying jobs.
3.) Never tell a bunch of meat heads and work-out junkies the gym won't be set up for 3 weeks, because then they'll put it together in one night just to spite you...
4.) Getting lost is the best way to figure out and remember how to get places.

Mission 1: Successful:- retrieved 2 bags of Costco Trail Mix (hopefully will laugh)
Mission 2: Come up with third mission...

with all due respect,

MDPN* 3/c Schiesser
sschiesser@csum.edu

(*MDPN- acronym for Midshipperson, for Midshipman was found to be not politically correct)

We have lift off... Sorta

At approximately 0800 Vallejo Standard time, the Training Ship Golden Bear departed after sitting dockside for 4 days. The past few days have been filled with Marine Survival Training. On Friday morning we had fire fighting training which involved 1980's videos and spraying some fake ducks with hoses. That afternoon, we practiced our survival skillz by playing coastguard rescue swimmer (I'm like Ashton Cutcher now, just better looking..) with life jackets and an emergency life raft in the school heated pool. This was a blast! we had to do different task such as crawl in and out of the life-raft from the water and climb down into it from a ladder, all while being hosed down with icy water. It was quite the memorable experience, though I question the strength of my skill that I acquired that afternoon in the pool should the need actually arise to use them... I'm sure being an Eagle Scout and a Sea Scout will come in much more use than playing around for an hour an a half in the school pool.

The next day all the non-licensed cadets (like me) were given liberty for our last day in port and I was fortunate enough to have the Dods/Stewart clan from San Jose come up and rescue me. After a wonderful BBQ lunch at Gracies, (where the great Navy Damage Control Expert Chris Dods taught me all I need to know about firefighting in about 2 minutes) we headed off to Costco where they treated me a final supply run. (which I am so very appreciative of and can not express how much I meant to me). After that, we caught some cold stones and an afternoon showing of the latest X-men movie. After the movie and tour of my campus (complete with some hilarious/dirty pictures with Keema the school's bear) the merry band returned me to the ship (which has been quarantined due to the Swine Flu).

But finally today after leaving the beautiful city of Vallejo, we did circles around San Fransisco Bay through Richmond harbor and the Port of Oakland. Tonight there was a a reception for alumni and Faculty on the bear as we are dock along one of the countless piers between the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate. Tomorrow we get underway for Balboa, Panama (via Catalina). It should be a great first real day, filled with Golden Gate Bridge passing, classes, day work, and USAF PJs (that's United States Air Force Pararescue Jumpers for you all "un-cultured" people)

later days...

Very Respectfully,

Cadet 3/c Schiesser
Squad Leader, 1st Squad
GSMA,Division III
Blue Company
California Maritime Academy
sschiesser@csum.edu

First Day

Well considering the fact that its the first day, I thought I should start it off with a blog while I still have internet access and can see the monster that I am creating. It was a good first day of learning how to survive in case the ship catches a sever case of sinkage and life boats become necessary (apparently our seats can not be used as flotation because they gave us all our own life jackets, (I call mine Jed Thornberg)(oh and no oxygen drops from the ceiling))... Tomorrow is all set for a day filled with "fire fighting" and life raft survival training! which means spraying extinguishers at water and playin with inflatables in the pool... but hey i get one credit for 2 days of goofing around so I'm not complaining because not counting the train that the galley food ran on my digestive tract, all and all it was a good day. So after these fun filled upcoming days of "marine survival" I have a workday on Saturday and freedom (well freedom in Vallejo) in the afternoon. I really am anxious to get under way and get out of the sight of land.We leave Sunday morning at 0800 for operations in the Bay and then after we play in the bay for a day we head out under the Golden Gate on Monday morning... can't wait!

Oh and my room that is I guess the biggest change in my life in the past 24 hours:
1.) I have roomates (WTH?) but seriously, they are pretty cool. I am pretty sure I've had 2x the ammount of conversations with my roomate from Fall semester... they are both from my major one is my section leader and the other is in NROTC with me. We'll see how it is after 2 months in a 13 x 8.
2.) I have become a magician. I some how I fit 1 and a half sea bags into the little personal space that I have... it is a complete mystery to me.

Other than that thats all thats really happened in the last day... we'll see how these next days go in Port.

Mission #1: Get Costco sized bag of Trail Mix before leaving for Cruise.


Very Respectfully,

S.R.Schiesser
MIDN 4/c USNR

Farewell and Adieu...

Well for those of you who aren't "in the know" in a few days I will be heading out to Sea for two months aboard the T.S. Golden Bear. If you would like to contact me while I'm, you know, sailin the ocean blue, you can email me at sschiesser@csum.edu. This is pretty much the only way to contact me until I return home on the 30 June. Speaking of that my schedule is as follows:

On ship April 30th
Depart: May 3rd
Circle Catalina Island (don't ask that's just what they said): May 5th - 6th
Balboa, Panama: May 18th - 20th
Valparaíso, Chile: May 30th - June 2nd
Guayaquil, Ecuador: June 10th - 12th
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico(hey that swine flu thing has 2 months): June 22nd - 24th
End Los Angeles: June 30th

So please shoot me a line if:
A. you get bored
B. You want to hear a fun tale of my travels
C. You actually care about my Sanity
D. you want to remind me how good it is back home, you know on land (opposite of C.)
E. you wish to engage me in activities when I am back shore side.

I hope everyone's last few months of school (or just your plane old May and June) are great and hopefully I'll be seeing you soon.

Very Respectfully,

Cadet 3/c Schiesser
Squad Leader, 1st Squad
GSMA,Division III
Blue Company
California Maritime Academy