<p>"Crew of Egyptian ship hit by Hezbollah rocket return to Cairo</p>
<p>"CAIRO: Eleven crew members of an Egyptian merchant ship returned to Cairo on Monday, three days after their cargo vessel was hit by a Hezbollah rocket during an attack on an Israeli warship off the Lebanese capital Beirut. One injured crew member remained in a Syrian hospital.</p>
<p>"The Cambodian-flagged Moonlight, bound for the Syrian port of Tartus with a cargo of cement, was struck by a rocket on Friday and set on fire.</p>
<p>"'Suddenly there was a loud explosion near the fuel tanks which caught fire. The crew members were unable to extinguish it,' ship captain Abdel-Hamid Abdel-Fattah told reporters.</p>
<p>"Mohammed Al-Redi of the Al-Redi Agency that owned the ship said last week that the Moonlight was 35 km off of the Lebanese coast when it was hit, well outside the 3-mile blockade Israel imposed on the Lebanese shoreline.</p>
<p>"Abdel-Fattah said another Egyptian ship, the Al-Marwa, also carrying cement and owned by the same company, rescued the crew and took it to Syria. Both vessels had left the Egyptian port of Damietta on Wednesday."</p>
<p>Thus the reason they practice using Gumby suits, firefighting and use of lifeboats. I think one of my son's favorite classes started with a new way to die on a ship every class for "100 ways to die on a ship." Macabre, yes, but memorable. And don't forget the pirates off E. Africa and the Malaysian straits...</p>
<p>Speaking of which... Did any of you guys see that history channel special on the modern day pirates last sunday night? VERY imfomative. Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up but I learned alot. I'm sure it will repeat sometime soon?</p>
<p>Let sea year begin! And they're off. They're in flight. Showed up at JFK like four hours early just so they could leave KP before someone caught them with a duty of some kind to do. :) Its gonna be a long day. 15 hour travel day. Has a full backpack and is carrying the sextant in his hands. I think he likes the thing. Wouldn't pack it. I think he just wanted to freak out airport security. Had one bag that weighed in at 70 lbs. & they didn't charge him a fee he said. Same with his sea partner. They report to their ship 8am monday morning. His excitement about this ship rolls over us in so many ways & we're so glad we get to share alittle of it. Dad's words of wisdom this morning were "Be responsible with the tools the Bosn lets you use or you'll be thrown overboard. And shut your pie hole cause you learn more when you listen". I just said, "Arrrrrgg" & left it at that.</p>
<p>AND OF COURSE THE CREW WAS RESCUED BY THE US COAST GUARD! There are six 3/c's on board the CGC Rush, which was sent to the scene, for their summer cruise! They've been on the Rush for 12 weeks and went to Korea, Japan, and China before heading to Alaska!</p>
<p>Swab summer question:"What is the Coast Guard?"; "The hard nucleus around which the Navy forms in time of war, sir/mam!" :D</p>
<p>My son is considering requesting A or B split. What exactly is the A Split and what is the B Split? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? I would appreciate insight from current midshipmen, grads and/or parents.</p>
<p>If he is in a sport, his split is determined by the sport. A Split sports are fall sports and B Split are winter sports. I am not sure where spring sports fit in. Since LFWB is a wrestler he is in B split which goes out in the summer for the first part and march for the 2nd part.</p>
<p>I remember when my son was deciding about the splits. One of the points we discussed was the importance to him, large or small, of being home for the holidays. B split, during the first time at sea, is from mid/late July through late October. They return for a trimester that starts the beginning of November. The second time at sea, B split leaves in March and returns in October. He ended up choosing B, and was home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. Whether that was a determining factor for him, who knows...But it was a point that I, as a mom, brought up and wanted him to realize. Just my two cents' contribution....</p>
<p>Ditto Mountaineer Mom's reply, my son went B split also. The summer he did have a chance to be home he ended up going back to school to help with Indoc anyway--they just can't stay away!</p>
<p>Another consideration: There is a ship that goes to the Antarctic, only on A split. If you are B split you can't apply for it. Note that it is very competitive to get on, only 2 cadets can go (although I heard a rumor that maybe 4 will go this year). I've heard it's an awesome trip from one cadet who went!</p>
<p>LFWB got in at Baltimore late last night and was able to get to Washington so we could have lunch before he had to be back on his ship by 3pm.</p>
<p>It was great to see him. He loves being at sea. Great stories and experiences. He has been around the world and learned alot both about being at sea and about himself as well. All good stuff. </p>
<p>Its wild to think that less than a year ago, it was Parents Weekend and he was just being accepted into the Regiment.</p>
<p>Glad you got to see your Mid LFWBDad! Time does go so quickly. Just yesterday, they were Plebes, waiting for Recognition.</p>
<p>It has to be the coolest thing in the world to be awakened at 5am from a phone call from Hong Kong by your young world traveler Midshipman. Hed gone out exploring by himself as his sea partner had to stay on the ship to get his required time in with re-fueling process. Hed shopped for the most unique items to bring home for Xmas presents. Haggled over prices with vendors which he thought fun. Gone to, what he deemed, the most beautiful gardens ever & found a high class eatery on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. Said he had a hard time with their chopsticks that arent like our novelty wooden ones here & after much laughter from surrounding parties, the waiter brought him a fork.</p>
<p>He called from the seamans club, near the ship, where he met back up with some of the crew who were relaxing over a game of pool. I could hear them teasing him about calling home to a girlfriend. He spend several minutes cracking himself up with stories & descriptions of his mates. Hes rather fond of them. And I am as well as they seem to be mentoring him so well. Cant say much for them teaching him the seedier side of life but oh well, Id rather him learn it from them & not me! LOL Sounded like hes beyond in love with Hong Kong & its people.</p>
<p>Funny how you see this amazing transformation take place. Wish I could put it into words that would do it justice. Hes telling of these experiences with such gusto & Im thinking, wow, at 19, hes seeing & doing things that most only dream about. Finally getting to put to use some of the Japanese he speaks on Guam. Seeing Taiwan & its many air polluting mopeds & snorkeling in Honolulu. Freezing his southern blood in Tacoma while being blown away by its harbor. Working at a job he loves. Said hes a bit homesick but I could hear in his voice that hed not come back for a million bucks. Hearing that laugh was a bit overwhelming at 5am but I only teared up once! Im good! He said hes tons of pictures hell be sending when they get back into Tacoma. Ill have to wait about three weeks for them. Cant wait!!</p>
<p>Jamzmom, Your kid took Japanese too? I didn't think they offered it on the east coast. KP10 has 5 years of Japanese behind him. </p>
<p>How many times I heard a phrase that started something like this: Zennendesuga............ I say somethingk because who is certain when my own Japanese book is ehem "somewhere" and I don't exactly remember it.</p>
<p>Naw. He took four years of German here. Self-taught with the Japanese, so hearing it spoken & being able to speak it with actual live bodies is exciting for him. He has his Japanese tapes with him on the ship & is going back over them. Doing each lesson over. He can't converse in full dialog though. Just phrases. He did tell me a funny story about some German sailors in the seaman's club today sitting close to him. They were saying some bad things about his ship's crew & he turned to them & said in German, -more or less- "And you have a nice day too." then grinned. He said they moved to the other side of the room. LOL Kid was eavesdropping apparently where he shouldn't.</p>
<p>This would be the perfect trip for your kid I'm thinking. Goes through Tacoma & to islands where he could understand what they're saying. KP10 might should think on it. I can say, kyojin = lunatic. LOL</p>