Getting the TS Kennedy Ready
It’s raining today in Galveston, where the TS Kennedy is tied to the pier. Currently, the ship is buzzing with Maine cadets as they begin to find their way around. Texas A&M cadets are still ashore in their academic semester, so MMA 2/C and 4/C are working hard to prepare the vessel for the next 2.5 months.
Two years ago, I wrote the Cruise blog on my 4/C cruise, as we sailed to Philadelphia, the Azores, Vigo, Kiel, Belfast, and then back to Castine. The role of a freshman on Summer Sea Term is primarily to learn how to be safe on vessels, understand the basic systems and principles onboard, and to function as a member of a crew working toward a common goal. The role of the upperclassmen is to mentor the underclassmen while additionally building on the skills learned over the last three years.
There are four rotations that cadets move through during Summer Sea Term (SST): Class/Training, Watch, Utility, and Maintenance. Today, Delta Co. is Utility company, and we decided that the gym, yoga room, and laundry room needed some serious attention. The gym and laundry rooms are important to keeping a level of happiness for many people onboard, so we spent the morning mopping, wiping, scrubbing, and gathering trash to make those spaces functional and clean. The training ships spend most of their time without cadets living onboard, so they require full effort to bring them back up to speed.
Travel day on the 5th was difficult with elements outside our control, but students were incredibly patient, and I am very proud of the attitude Maine cadets have brought to this unique challenge. I find often, when I feel like students are best poised to complain or find an issue, they have already risen to the occasion. I am really looking forward to the next couple of months and the growth and challenge they will bring because I am confident we will be ready.



Odegaard Fields
Deck Training Officer
Regimental Commander
Latest 2025 Summer TSSOM Cruise
- A Day in Belfast IrelandHello! Belfast Ireland is unique in that all of the second class Maine students came here our freshman cruise, and while I thought that would be a negative… I was so wrong! I thought I had exhausted things to do freshman year, and I was wrong again. I had heard about some people doing a […]
- Stronger Ties FormedCadets aboard the TS Kennedy spent the past 10 days underway, sailing between New York City and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Students enjoyed calm seas for most of the leg but were stuck under overcast skies, much to the chagrin of the upper-class deck cadets who are actively trying to complete their celestial navigation project. This […]
- Running Smooth in Belfast: A Cruise Check-In from the Cadet Chief EngineerI’m Jacob Nowalsky, the cruise Lead Engine Cadet from Maine, and Maine’s Cadet Chief Engineer. Things have been going pretty well onboard! After being in port in Galveston, everyone was excited to finally get to sea, and now that we’re wrapping up our 2nd leg and are here in Belfast, people are fully into the […]
- Switching to the Engine RoomOur second leg of our Summer Sea Term 2025 cruise has been really fun! During this leg to Belfast from New York, we saw a lot of whales, flying fish, and other marine life. We also recently just hit our halfway point, which means Maine Maritime cadets switched deck/engine focuses on cruise. From 5 May […]
- From Celestial Navigation to Food Grinding: Embracing Every RoleAs we’ve embarked on our journey aboard the Kennedy, it’s been a great experience watching everyone settle into shipboard life. As a junior, I’ve been focusing on celestial navigation, taking on senior-level watches, and experiencing significant personal growth as a leader. These experiences have helped unite the Maine and Texas communities on board. A few […]
- From Hesitation to Hands-On Learning: Life at Sea on the KennedyMy experiences on the Training Ship Kennedy have been phenomenal so far. I came onto the ship with adverse thoughts, with the ship being from the 1960s, and cruising with another maritime academy. However, the Kennedy proved me wrong! I have met a lot of new people with different experiences and shared different aspects that […]