OK, I’m going to admit that part of the reason that I sat down here with the computer now was to check the day and date.  I haven’t been keeping very close track of those sort of things since I got onboard almost three weeks ago back in Falmouth.  Now here we are in Bristol, in a man-made basin, waiting for the tide so that we can lock through to an inner basin right in the middle of the town where we are going to be berthed for the rest of our visit here.
 
I have been meaning to sit down and start this blog since I got onboard, but have been procrastinating.  I am going to break that bad habit soon. 
 
Most of what has been keeping me busy for the last three weeks has been just getting familiar with the locations of all of the engineering supplies onboard.  It is amazing how difficult it can be to find a certain necessary filter or tool.  I have often stopped by the engine room hatch after an hour-long search for some particular item of importance and thought, “Ok, this thing can’t be any more than about 35 feet away from me right now,” before setting off on another floorboard-turning rampage through the bowels of the ship.  Spare parts and other supplies are crammed into almost every available space, and that includes areas in the bilges that are only accessible by lifting sections of the floor and crawling into the space below. 
 
We have six students onboard as part of a college level education program.  If you are reading this I am sure that you know about the Sankofa program from the website.  It has been interesting watching the students get adjusted to life on the ship.  The students are more tired than they are used to being, they are working harder than they are used to working, and they have a whole set of new skills to learn.  It is getting them out of their comfort zones and they are dealing with the new challenges in different ways.  I am very impressed overall by how the students are doing so far.
 
I’m going to end this here, because as I write we are shifting to our new berth.  More to follow…

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