Maine Maritime Academy - Tricks End Yearbook (Castine, ME)

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IZIIQST CIQIJISE This is the log of our first cruise. Late on the night of Tuesday, September 1, 1942, some one hundred and ninety midshipmen, the first and second classes of the Maine Maritime Academy, arrived at Pier Sixty-one, New York City, to board the M. S. T. S. Alleghany. We had a long, tiresome train ride that day, and after we stowed Kuhn. all our gear aboard, each one of us climbed wearily into the nearest bunk, some going below to stretch out on the deck of number five hold. The next morning we had our first muster on the boat deck and during this time watched the ship pull away slowly from the pier down the North River, around the bend of Man- hattan Island, up the East River to Fort Schuyler, which was to be our home address for the following three months. We soon organized, stood regular Watches, attended class, did our ship s work and mess duty. It was on this good ship that we stood our first quartermaster watches on the bridge, our fireman and Water tender watches in the engine and fire rooms. We had some really practical seamanship classes, wherein our work took on an entirely new meaning. As engineers we studied the alittle blue bookso' and then put that information into use by tearing down and then putting back together again all the machin- ery of the engine room. Our machine shop was a wonderful aid to training, too. Ship's work was shipis work no matter how We looked at it, but it was during that time that we picked up angles, ideas and knacks of doing our job that would carry on for years. lt was here that we first chipped paint in large quan- tities, painted, holystoned, cleaned boilers, bilges and condensers to such an extent that we thought that we were masters of the art. Mess duty here was the easiest on record. And, speaking of mess, I could go for a plate of Pangello's spaghetti right now with plenty of meat sauce and grated cheese, or another Thanksgiving Day dinner as we enjoyed late in November, but no rowing afterwards, please. M ' an---ew rr 1 By the time we were ready to go back to Castine, we had our own Castine officers. We had become competent watch standers and had increased our understanding of our future positions to the ntl1 degree. After having spent our liberties in New York, we thought that we knew the big city well. We had completed an important period of our training successfully and were ready for whatever lay ahead. A 1 ,.,,. 5 . ,F .M . ,e ,WWF ily' Y .f s algifggggjts, em: 4 .s . W

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broader purposes. flur first is the immediate one of supplying qualified third officers and engineers for the merchant lnarine with thc broad and underlying view in mind, to equip the midshipmcn for a career at sea. A second and perhaps equally important pur- pose is to create a pool of men, so qualified that they are able to be called to active duty in the Navy as commissioned officers. To accomplish this, all the midshipmen are enrolled in the United States Naval Reserve. The subjects embraced in the curriculum are attacked from both the theoretical and practical approaches. For the deck midshipmen, Navi- gation, the science of sailing a ship safely and economically receives chief emphasis. For the engineers, steam is the equivalent. Wltiltz at the Academy, stress is placed on the theoretical background. The practical application is dem- onstrated while cruising. Tl1e subjects as taught at the Academy aim to arrive at a real under- standing, as opposed to teaching merely by rote, with its consequent dependence on IIICIIIOPY instead of intelligence. To obtain this understanding of Navigation, a comprehensive course in Trigonometry, both plane and spherical, ranks next in importance. This course gives the student the proofs of the various navigational formula- and processes. Seamanship, stowage, signalling, sea law, first aid are other subjects covered by the deck force. For the engineers there are Deisel, elec- tricity, machine shop, shop math and also first aid and naval science. The course in Naval Science deserves special notice. This study equips the midshipmeu to attain the rank of Ensign U. S. N. R. ln this course, gunnery, naval customs, drills, and naval regulations are taken up in detail. The entire course of study originally covered three years. However, the emergency has caused it to be shortened to 16 months. The phenom- enal thing in this respect is that nothing of lllllJOI'ltlllC6 has been left out. To finish a three- year course in a year and four months, a tre- mendous amount of study has been necessary. Vacations and leaves have been either cut out altogether or sharply curtailed. The various courses themselves have been shortened and intensified without leaving out any of the essentials. The history of the school itself reads almost like current affairs. lts very lack of ancient tradition and customs has helped us. We have been able to forge ahead, use new methods, and go our own way until today our Academy, both st-holastically and militarily ranks second to none. The Academy was founded upon passage of an enabling act by the State legislature. The passage of this act we owe to the endeavors of Wlr. Ralph Leavitt, who is today President. of the Board of Trustees of the -Xcatlcnty. XVith thc hill passed, Castine was selected as the site for tht- Acadctny. R1-ar Admiral Douglas E. Dismul-:es was chosen as superintendent. That this was a wise choice has been proved innumer- able times. Admiral Dismukes has given lav- ishly of his time, energy and experience to the building of the Academy, lroth materially and spiritually. Following the Admiral's appointlnent, other oflicers were detailed to the Academy as i11- struetors. The first class arrived twenty-eight strong and were quartered at a former hotel, the Pentagoet. XVith the outbreak of war on December 7, 19-flfl, things started to change. The course was cut from three years to sixteen months. Aca- demic subjects were cut out and more emphasis was given to Naval Science. The Eastern State Normal School Buildings were taken over and preparations were made to admit a class of 200 in .luly - our class. In days to come our class will be long remembered by all those connected with it. Two hundred strong at. first, our 1111111- ber has dwindled to one hundred and forty. Those tl1at are left can in all truth point to themselves as the ones that have built the Acad- emy. For, after all, the second class of the Maine Maritime Academy as the first large class was an experiment that turned out admirably. First under their seniors direction and then under their own ratings they labored to redee- orale and beautify the Academy buildings and grounds. At times hard to manage, our class has retained its individuality. However, when- ever the occasion arose for action, we always Cilllltf through with flying colors. The first few days of the summer of 1942 were bewildering and discouraging ones, but we quickly adapted ourselves to new ways of life. Hardest of all was learning how to take orders. ln a very short time, however, things were running smoothly and we were all set for our first cruise. After the cruise we settled down at the Acad- emy for six months of uninterrupted study. Then, theoretically proheient, we set' out for our second cruise, where we received thorough, practical experience in all phases of our work. New hack at the Academy with only weeks to go until graduation, our long-sought-after tical is just ahead. Each member of our class, with tht- confidence bred of thorough training, is ready to go out and do his job .,......

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TH If STACK I The stack to us is a symbol. A SYlIllJ0il of long hours of arduous work. Ol' chipping, of scrap- ping, of red leading and painting. But, lnore than that, the stack with its long plume ol' smoke trailing far behind symbolizes '5Anchors Aweighf' goodbyes, new ports - Adventure ahead! The stack is an integral part of most modern ships. its function is to carry olfl' the products of combustion created by the burning fuel oil. As such il is a source of much distress to the fastidious deck officer, for the Engineer living away from the sun has little regard for cleanli- ness above decks. The result - a poor mixture, inferior combustion and the decks laden with soot. The stack is a comparatively modern addition to ships when viewed along the long avenue of history. The first stack, actually not a real stack by the above definition, was the one used in the galley, alieetioliately called g'Charlie Noble. Stacks really appeared with the advent, ol' steam boats about 1800, and soon became a very decorative part of all vessels. About the turn of the 19th century, stacks were quite the mode, with the large liners lol' that dayl having as many as four or five stacks where one would suffice. Even today, the Giants - the '6Queen However, the hey day of the stack is destined to bc over. ln this fast-changing world, Motor ships will soon replace the others. Some ol' these are already on the High Seas, and, stackless, they are indeed a strange sight. We'll miss the stack. Nw Maryw and the HNormandie'7 than necessary. They give great size and help awe the carry more stacks the impression of timid first Voyager. He soon Finds out, however, that these false 'ii , .JI ff. WM. , vi, .. stacks are used for a variety of purposes, namely: Dog Kennels, game rooms, and solariums. 2-265, ug R59 f , .1 ab .N X fr g,qv'6iLQ' r 1' 14, Z 1 game Jae.: ff -' X X f 6 ,2f'2f,!jwl ,. , fpf f ,. 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'17T7 i51lh -i -- -'mm , i is X1 1' as X -19 l , A .- L 'gffiaf ff Q ...LL -.t Q 1 -s 'L.2. ' - ,!'.,.,-i A W, 0 Ml! ffl' Q i 'Y X ., '-...--- mf 4 '.-- , M xv! i In-1 11,1 X :fu 'L .I H A H L. 3. gs, s ki! 3 -sim ff if 1 .19 ,ffff s if Q tltileilttri ' vs V Q : QTL -.ppl-,,s,4 5?sN5fiE'i'2L ' 1 lit, pg' .1 ' g -- The sextant is one of the most important in- struments used in navigation, for it is the means of enabling the navigator to solve the all-important problem of Hwhere am I? . The theory underlying the sextant is that it measures angles. In navigation it is usually used to measure the altitude of heavenly bodies above the horizon, although it has other and varied uses. The evolution of the sextant marches right along with world history. The Astrolobe as used hy the early Greek and Arab astronomers was the first rude sextant. Throughout tl1e cen- turies, the development continued until in 1730 Thomas Godfrey and John Hardey, working separately, constructed the first instrument that bears resemblance to our modern sextant. Nathaniel Bowditch in the early 19th century put the finishing touches on the sextant and with a few ilnprovcments it remains the instru- ment we use today. Right now sextants are virtually priceless, what with the great expansion ol' our shipping, naval and merchantile. Sextants 50 years old and over have been called into service to help do their share for Victory.