Massachusetts Maritime Academy - Muster Yearbook (Buzzards Bay, MA)

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Youngie year brought us new miseries, joys, hopes, dreams, and most of all, friendships. With the exception of the cadets who later became known as the attrition factor, we sur- vived messcooking, upper jobs, John Fortune- seeker ' s chow, and the aft heads. On January 20, 1 972 a rumor that our plate steel home was really a ship capable of mobili- ty was proved to be fact, and we set sail for shipyard in Jacksonville. We learned quite a bit about the life of a seafarer in our three week stay, and also became experts in the falsifica- tion of identification so as to gain access to the local night clubs. With our eyes still bulging 28

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. . . while most people in their late teens were sitting on beaches catching rays, one hundred and seventy-two young men were trading in their civilian clothes and hair for a khaki uni- form, seabag, and genuine Grubby-AI jacknife. That day, July 6, 1 971 , is one that will always be remembered by the class of 1 975 as a turn- ing point in our lives. Although no one was really sure what to expect as we embarked upon our four year mission, J. M. Cease soon proved that even our most remote fears would soon become realities, (ref. COMCAD NOTICE 1 -71 ) After signing several forms (the contents of which were discovered three years later), we were each given a duffle bag, mattress, billet number, and twenty push-ups and introduced to our new home known as the USTS Bay State . At that point some decided they like their old homes better, but all the true fish chose to stay. 27

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from the swell shows we saw, and one chief engineer later, we set sail for our next port of call. The run of Barbadoes was quite an experience, and most of us found the run to the heads fun too. Our liberty launch dropped us at what had to be one of the cultural centers of the world. Nelson St. After several hundred rum- cokes and a night at Harry ' s, where our eyeballs bulged once again; we all stocked up on those liquid souvenirs at the duty free store. Funny how none of those gifts ever made it home. Once more the Bay State attained mobility and we set course for St. Thomas. In spite of the many gay inhabitants we met, this island also proved to be an experience. The beach- es and beauty of the port left us all longing to stay, but time and cruise itineraries march on, so we again sober- ed up and sailed, with hopes of return- ing someday.