The following is a true representation of our time in Hawaii and is not exaggerated in any way.
ok, maybe I dramatized the events a little bit.
(Also, give me a break on this one, I had nothing but what was already on my computer and Microsoft clip art.)
No, I’m kidding. I have heard that we have created alarm due to lack of posts. Josie, we are OK!
We only have internet in port, so I have been changing the dates of the posts so you can see when I wrote them. However, I admit I wrote none this week. In my defense, I was working on seaterm project CAD drawings.
I’ll start with the work we have been doing. So, this week I am proud to announce that we have FINISHED THE FUEL SYSTEM TRACING. Yes, that’s right; we are DONE with the purifier room, also known as the hottest part of the engine room. We have completed (rough drafts of) the schematics for the HFO and diesel oil purification/transfer, blend oil, and service to the main engine. After we compared and finalized our drawings we marked the pipes with tape so the engineers will have an easier time with the new systems in the future. Future cadets will also have it significantly easier. You’re welcome, KP.
We have moved on to fresh water, salt water, and fire main. These are super fun because most of their major components are in the lowest level of the engine room, so the pipes are under the deck and to get at them you get to go down in the bilges. We keep confusing the 2nd engineer because he can’t see us under the floor and the LED flashlights look like welding arcs.
Some stuff from the week:
Sunrise
Containers! With our weird Seattle-to-Honolulu trip, most of our cargo got put onto other ships for Oakland. I will never see out this window again.
So, now for the fun part. Our first port of call, Honolulu!
I got called to the bridge for 0715, at which point we were just about to pick up the pilot. I resumed my first cadet job of taking notes in the log book and responding to the pilot’s directions on engine speed. The chief mate also had me run up the American and Matson Co. flags. See, you can use OD skills in real life.
To get to our berth we turned around in the harbor and backed down the channel. If you have never seen a containership execute a 3-point turn, it is very exciting. The Manoa’s sistership, Mahimahi, was in port that day as well.
The way it seems to work is as soon as the gangway is down, everyone who can get off the ship gets out of there as fast as possible. Andy and I packed up our stuff for the day and headed out to the Enterprise center. Luckily, we did not have to resort to a U-Haul as did those before us. However, our rental car was…interesting.
They didn’t actually have the one we signed up for, so they gave us an upgrade to…a silver Prius. But like, an absolutely brand-new, had 1000 miles on it Prius. Also, we got the GPS to find our way around. Turns out it comes with this wonderful Hawaii Tour Guide feature. Every time you approach a “significant” landmark, from any direction, the GPS plays ukulele music and then talks to you about it. Whether you stop there or not. And you can’t. Turn. It. Off. Do you know how much we know about the Dole Pineapple Plantation now? Too much.
We decided our first stop of the day would be the Pearl Harbor memorials and museums. It ended up being a good choice to go early, since at 11 AM they were already handing out the day’s last tickets for the Battleship Arizona memorial. They told us to come back at 3, so we went to the other sites first.
First: USS Bowfin
super tourist
super tourist #2
Some things from around the area:
It’s not the same one, but it still kind of felt like “YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE”
The weather was 100% perfect, as in locals complained about the “cold” and “wind”.
Next: the Battleship Missouri.
Not pictured: tour guide explains to tourist the concepts of beam, LOA, forward, and aft
They also had those observation deck binoculars on stands which allowed us to see clearly the nuclear submarine parked in the harbor. But I decided against taking a picture of it because I like life.
Andy: “I wonder if they do weddings?”
“Maybe we should come back later. I only want the MIGHTIEST Mo Experience”
YOU ARE ON A SHIP
We then went to the Bowfin Submarine Museum and after lunch, the Arizona memorial. No pictures of that, but I’m sure the other tourists there that day would be happy to show you their thousand supercute selfies <3 <3. The best part was when the Navy boat driver threatened to make them wait on the boat if they couldn’t stay seated during the ride.
Other highlights of the day include: this absolute gem of a book
Giant squid, huh, neat
wait
wait
WHAT
I want this as a poster
?????????????
And that concludes our tour of Pearl Harbor.
We decided to drive basically directly across Oahu (because why not?) to visit the beach in Hale’iwa, known by surfers for its shallow water, sharp coral reefs, and big waves, and known by Matson sailors for that time a cadet went surfing and almost died.
No worries, we’re only here to take pictures.
here you can see a dude goin’ for it.
We got there almost right at sunset, so basically awesome picture taking time
These are the waves they’re talking about
the light made these rocks look completely dark, it wasn’t until I emptied my memory card that I discovered the surprise family of neon tourists
NO TO EVERYTHING… EXCEPT CATS.
YES TO CATS.
Yes to baby ducks!
Did you know Hawaii has like 5,000 species of ducks? It is also a prime habitat for my favorite seagull, Larus delawarensis.
I did not take this picture.
Some final pictures, and we headed to dinner.
We then tried to head back to Waikiki, which is the most popular beach/tourist-y area and we figured something interesting would be going on there. However, we got stuck in traffic and then may or may not have gotten lost, I’m not really sure. Anyway, we ended up at the Aloha tower, formerly the tallest building in Hawaii, and a landmark that deck cadets have to write about in the logbook when the ship passes it. Forgot pictures though.
And then, we returned the rental car, got back to the ship (much panic from the taxi driver, who was convinced the terminal was “closed”) and went to sleep. The next day we were supposed to depart at 1100, so we decided not to try and cram any touristy things in, but leave them for next time.
And that’s all! Tomorrow, we’ll be in Seattle, and there will be more to tell.
Love the pics!
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