Office of Marine Programs
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett Bay Campus
Narragansett, RI 02882-1197
Phone: 401-874-6211
Fax: 401-874-6486
Email: OMP@gso.uri.edu
USS Monitor
Teacher: Eric Towle
Date: Saterday, July 16, 2006
The first significant event of the day was waking up. I don't say that sarcastically, though I'm known to use sarcasm from time to time.... I found my sea legs! My prayers had been answered! I stood and tried them out and all was good. My sea sickness had passed. Good to go! The day before I had reaffirmed that my 20 years in the Army National Guard was a good move and that the Naval Reserve would have been a bad idea as I struggled with the ups and downs of every sickening wave. Now today I think, maybe the US Navy might have worked out OK too.
The second significant event of the day was easily breakfast! I didn’t eat much yesterday which is not like me. As people get to know me, it doesn't take long for them to figure out I really like to eat. This mornings breakfast was especially good considering my unwilling fast from the day before.
Today I have gotten to know the crew better, pretty cool people. They have started to train me in earnest. They are all pretty relaxed and easy to get along with. Good folks. We had a fire drill this morning and rehearsed all the safety procedures and communications equipment neccessary for an emergency. We then donned the immersion suits. The crew calls them Gumby Suits. Essentially they are very thick drysuits with emergency gear on them. They are designed to keep one alive if you have to jump overboard in icy weather. I now know how the comic Eddie Murphy felt when he wore his Gumby Suit for the SNL skits. It is very ridiculous looking and feeling! You can't help but snicker at each other in these costumes! Anyway....
I think this will be an eye opener for my students when they see just how much of their curriculum is incorporated into the skills used by the crew everyday. It will be cool to further enlighten them!
