Another day started nice and then the clouds moved in to make it a repeat of yesterday. The ocean color was turquoise, the winds caused it to be choppy, and there were whitecaps. My work list is winding down but new additions keep coming through findings in inspections and PMs as well as passdown from watches and other departments.
I called the other half this morning to say good morning and give me a morale booster to hear her voice. I do spend my spare time letting my mind wander back home thinking of what the wife and kids are doing. Grant it; I am not in combat as my military career ended nearly a decade ago. However, hearing her voice re-enforces my objective on why I am doing this. Acceptance of separation comes slow, especially for her, since she is an immigrant and American culture to her is still foreign and has an appearance of disarray. It will take time to adjust and some ways I think the “Americanization” of her was quick in some aspects. Nevertheless, she is literally an “Island Girl” and they tend to be very strong physically and mentally. The way Michener described Polynesian women in his novels are accurate with some tint of romanticism. They were the reason for the crew mutiny against Captain Bligh on the Bounty.
Finished lunch and went to the graded deck and looked off the starboard side. It does not look friendly out there with huge rainsqualls in the distance and winds from that direction. However, it looks like it may bypass us (I was wrong as it aimed at us). Radio transmissions from boats earlier indicated it being rough like yesterday. This morning the tempo of ops was busy and quick. I usually stay clear of the weather decks when that is happening. I was in the Navy but my excuse for my ignorance in line handling was that I was in Naval Aviation and not part of the surface or submarine fleet. We did not use ropes but chains to tie down aircraft. I will admit I was an unexciting ground maintenance type and my military career was uneventful. No Special Forces tales to tell or many “There I was” stories. Hardly any Naval Aviation movies featured us, the folks that made sure the planes flew. I just did my job and unfortunately, towards the end, I was affected by the drawdown, which created a surplus in my rating, which made promotions were nil. I finished my Navy career in the reserves so that added less excitement to stories.
I just felt something I have not felt in some time. The waves pounding the stern causing the ship to twist and bend and feeling like we were hit with a large sledgehammer. Of course, it is not in the magnitude I felt on the Ka’imimoana during buoy ops during my time there. I always wondered what toll it took on my antennas mounted on the main masts and the flying bridge. We found out years later when the DTS television system went on the blink. Those oscillations on antennas can cause havoc.
Errors in setting up software caused some scheduled maintenance to be postponed. I was wondering where those reminders went. Hurriedly I made task cards, re-entered it into the computer, and got it going again. I made three more cables with nine more to go, did the PMs and inspections before heading to the gym for daily workout. I am going to ask the scientists/divers where they are putting their photos and ask if I can use one or two on the blog.
I went out to the boat deck and saw we had another visitor today. This bird did not look or act sick unlike the one from yesterday. I think it was looking for a ride elsewhere and wanted to stay aboard as a hitchhiker instead. As I approached the bird, it was running away from me and finally flew off over the water to return to the ship. It waited for me to disappear. I would not be surprised if it did ride with us to our next destination.
We are going to be leaving here tonight and steam to Lisianski . We should arrive there by three tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to the break in Midway after that.
I bid you another good night again from Maro Reef.
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