Don't worry, me either until this trip... Anchoring at Pangai, Tonga was a little bit of a nail biting experience. The water is incredibly clear and the reef system is very intricate. Making the evolution a little more difficult, there was a storm front that blew through the entire day with lots of fog and rain. As I stood watch on the bridge, Kyle looked at me and told me to come out on the bridge wing. He saw two whales breaching, but I didn’t see a thing! What a bummer... oh well, I’ll keep my eyes peeled around the ship. Apparently in Tonga from June to September is the humpback whale calving season, the archipelago’s only real tourist attraction. There are about 150 or so whales that come to these waters every year. I finally ... read more

Outside of Apia (and beyond) I finally get off the ship when it’s still AM! So, Dave, the Navigator (2nd Mate), calls me last night to see if I’m still interested in sharing a taxi to go explore and I say, “of course”. I work a bit in the morning, just trying to get the guys off the ship to enjoy the island a bit. Why are we working on the 4th of July again? So after I get ridiculously antsy, Dave is finally ready to leave... we get outside the gate and I greet a taxi driver with a “talofa” (Hello!). We start asking about the going rate to have a taxi take us around for the day and he tells us he knows the perfect guy. We wait for 5 minutes and Misa ... read more

NOOOOoooo... this doesn't mean I'm mad a Jeremy. Roger and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific is the only exposure to what kind of adventure I'm in for with Pacific Partnership 2009. I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair is a song from that movie. :) What were you guys thinking?!? We anchored outside of Apia, Samoa on June 30th. What began as a fuzzy little speck of land transformed itself into a island with lots of green and even more waves and blue reef. But, before I get into that, here’s some things about the transit to Samoa: Pacific Partnership 2009 is now in full effect, with numerous temporary riders on board, from many different disciplines, it’s time to see if we can work together! We have Navy Construction Batallions (Seabees), dentists, doctors, veterinarians, ... read more

It's a totally unfortunate event when people can't appreciate a town for being a town. Of course any time a sailor (either civilian or military) pulls into port a little "unwinding" needs to be done, I just can't fathom the need to drink myself to pain every day though. I didn't even find it fun in college! Oh well, I suppose that some people need escapism or some such term. Where's a psychiatrist when you need one? With that being said, I felt the need to really explore things. I course, I'd prefer to go with someone, but everyone has other things to do and who am I that I can't go by myself? So... backpack in tow, I walk off for adventure and water. I haven't been to the West yet... sounds like a ... read more

So I rarely know where to begin when I start out a blog, yet I usually have such grand intentions while I'm out to describe every little detail that I can. I will try to walk myself through the night... you just had to be there I suppose. Getting off the ship fairly early just about every day, I venture into town, walking distance from the base. It's probably about 3/4 of a mile or so to get to the Ginza, or shopping area and it's easy enough to branch out from there. The easiest shortcut takes us through a nice park with a soccer field, a small USO annex and across the Albuquerque Bridge. From there, the Arcade (or Ginza) is only a few blocks away. For my first night out, I tagged along ... read more