Late Night Watch

Last night I stood watch on the bridge from 0000-0400. Watches are generally uneventful. No alarms, the campus was asleep, and I was all alone on the bridge. As the night rolled on, I could hear a little chatter over the VHF Radio. I don't usually pay too much attention to the radio, most chatter doesn't concern the area that our ship is docked at or concern the safety of our vessel. Except on this particular night, I heard a tanker come in over the radio notifying canal control of its position. I recognized the name of the tanker immediately. I had seen this particular vessel in the canal on a number of occasions throughout the last couple years. The tanker wasn't small by any means, she was 600 ft. long (60ft. longer than the T.S Kennedy). Of course it's not a big ship in comparrison to the massive vessels that sail the seas. For our Cape Cod Canal, she was big. Over the next hour I could hear canal control and the vessel communicate back and forth. Soon I could see the tanker on the horizon. It crept slowly towards the T.S. Kennedy. Soon I heard, "Canal Control, Canal Control. Tanker New England approaching Mass. Maritime Academy." It was like something out of a book. I knew there was a mate up on the bridge of that ship standing a watch. I thought to myself, in just a few years I'll be standing on the bridge of a ship doing the same thing. Maybe not going through the Cape Cod Canal, but somewhere out on the big blue. Slowly she crossed astern and went up the canal eastbound.

Tomorrow MMA will host an Open House for all prospective students. I'll be attending of course to help present the academy and the Marine Transportation Major. I am sure looking forward to ship tours and educating prospective students about the T.S Kennedy.