Day 3 – UNDERWAY! A feeling like no other. The last time I set sail, my beloved and be-hated USS MEMPHIS was leaving the yards in Portsmouth, NH bound for her final 3 years of service to the greatest Navy in the world in Groton, CT. The grey paint and cold steel were the same. The sound powered phone circuits, the unique and coarse language of sailors were the same. Chow lines and etiquette, even the ice maker was the same. But this cruise was different. I was the rider, expected to stay out of the crew’s way and focus on the science and data collection. Needless to say, this was a stark contrast to the roughneck camaraderie I shared with the MEMPHIS boys, where we cursed the riders for breathing our air, eating our food,
... read more