I am okay but

No injuries, but the nice third mate had me bringing in a line with out
telling me that the other end of the line was attatched to a tug boat. The
tug of course did not want to cooperate.

I am okay, but I am still not sure if the third mate will survive the night.
An hour has passed, yet my anger still vibrates throughout my body. Almost
exactly how I received a broken hand in Cameroon last time I was here.

We are underway again. Heading to Cape Verde Islands. There we will drop
off our militrary escort, refuel and head to Philly.

Jesse

Delany Acers

Okay, I should have the weekend correct this time :)

Beth and John, congratulations on keeping the farm in the family for the
past 60 years.

I hope the celebration goes off with out a hitch and everyone has a really
good time. I am thinking of all of you and of course I wish very much I was
with you all.

Father, Havnagootime Vishenuverhere

AKA
Jess

Party Crew - 2

Okay... I was one week off on the party note. You try to sail across the
Atlantic and advance your watch 1 hour 6 times in 9 days then set your watch
back 1 hour on the 11th day.

I am lucky I know what month it is. You'd think living in the 90's we would
have a better way to deal with these time changes :)

Any way, we are still headed to Cameroon with 12 Navy soldiers and several
.50 Cal guns mounted around the ship. Bring on the Pirates!!!!

So next weekend you all have a great time at John and Beths party.

Jesse

Rota, Spain

We arrived at the pilot station at 08:00. We were hoping to be docked by
08:00 but that was not in the cards. Eventually we were at the dock with
the gangway down by 10:00. I was one of the lucky few who would have a
chance to go ashore here in Rota.

Before leaving the ship I made arrangements with Melody (a fellow AB) to
meet at the Castillo De La Luna at noon. I ran down the gangway and once on
the dock decided I wanted to get some business done while on the base. I
struck out towards the Navy Federal Credit Union. At least I thought I was
headed that way.

There is a lot of road in the Navy base at Rota. Turns out I was walking
the wrong direction, so I had to turn around and back track. I managed to
walk about 3 miles the wrong way. After I backtracked 3 miles I had to walk
another 4 miles to get to the NFCU. So 10 miles later on a fairly hot day I
arrived at the credit union and opened an account. I have been told NFCU is
perhaps the best CU around especially when it comes to any type of loan.
They are also quite solvent. Since WAMU went tits up, and Chase seems to
suck so far I wanted a different option and being a Merchant Marine I
qualify for an account there.

Anyway turns out I could have called a cab...AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Okay, I was running a little behind schedule, but I did not get breakfast so
I had to eat something ASAP and change some money into Euros. I grabbed a
slice of pizza on the base; it was good, but so disappointing to not be
eating Spanish food. I just didn't have the time. I found a Spanish bank
on the base and turned $125.00 American Dollars into 80 Euros in a flash.
Talk about a week dollar...

I grabbed a cab and after some attempts at communication the driver took me
to Castillo de la Luna. I arrived around 12:30 and was happy to see Melody
had not given up. She was having a beer under an umbrella in the shade of
the castle. We each had a couple beers and I just relaxed there for awhile,
enjoying the view as people walked by on the cobblestone pathways between a
very old church and the castle.

The castle was smaller than I expected and we were not allowed to go in the
upper levels. Everything available to read was in Spanish so I learned
nothing about the place, but Melody took pictures of all the writing on the
walls and promised to have it all translated for me later. Her dad is
Mexican so it should not be a problem. The church next door had a very cool
steeple and bell tower. It appeared to be the tallest structure in town.

All the streets in the old town were very narrow, exactly like you've seen
in the movies.
People were often on their balconies cooling off in the light breeze.
Melody and I tried to find some stores for souvenirs, but I only came away
with 2 refrigerator magnates. With no luck shopping we hit up a local
establishment for drinks outside. After about 4 drinks I had to return to
the ship. I had a great time though and would like to return.

Party Crew !!!!

To all of you attending the party at Delany Acers. P A R T Y O N!!!!!!!

Wish I could be there. Right now we are sailing past Morocco on our way to
Cameroon.

Please have a great time, party safely and don't burn down my place ;)

Derek, if they burn it down you got my rental policy right ? :)

I would like to know how the party went, so please email me. Did anyone get
drunk and try to ride Shrek? (the neighbors horsey)

Okay every one. Eat, Drink and see Mary !!!

Jesse

Update

Well, it looks like I may be able to get off the ship in Rota, Spain. It
will be a close call however. We recently got a cargo list of what we are
picking up. Turns out we only have about 35 pieces of cargo. This will
only take a couple hours to load, then we sail.

Right now it looks as if we will be tied up to the dock in Rota by 8 am.
This is good for me since I am off work at 8am. As long as customes clears
the ship quickly I should be able to go ashore.

The whole crew was dissapointed to learn that our stay would be so short. I
am hoping my luck holds out, I will be one of only 2 or 3 people that will
be off at the right times to go ashore.

The same problem will arise in Cameroon. As far as we know, we will unload
our cargo there and not pick anything up, so in and out real fast there as
well. I have no great desire to see Cameroon again so hopefully someone
else gets a chance to go ashore there.

Our return port in the USA will be the east coast, but the port keeps
changing, so that is still up in the air. Currently it appears we will be
home close to the 17th of Sept., but we will know better after we leave
Cameroon.

Hope all is well back home.

Jesse

Music

4-16-84 Shakedown Street

Very Good.