Letter to Prospective Cal Poly at Sea Cadets,

To all Cal Poly students who think you might want to go on Cal Poly at Sea, and definitely should...

I know it's a tough decision because you have heard so many horrible stories about seasickness, bad food, cabin fever, and possibly getting left in a foreign country! To put your mind at ease: yes, some people get seasick, but it goes away in a day; the food on the ship is fine - a 10 compared to the Lighthouse; no, you will not go crazy when stuck on a ship for weeks at a time without seeing land - it's fun!; and finally, it's impossible to be left in a foreign port unless you are too drunk and have no friends to carry you back to the ship - so never go out alone! But honestly, life aboard the TSGB was amazing and this cruise was the best experience of my life!!! From the moment you arrive at CMA for training you can feel the excitement building, as you learn about the famed Oceno EEBD, how to row a lifeboat, how to correctly use a fire hose and extinguisher, and what it's like to have 30 people crammed in a lifeboat being pounded with water and soaking wet. It's a little drawn out because you are there for three days (which could be condensed into one) and all you want to do is get out on the ocean, but it's a great time to meet the CMA guys and get acquainted with the ship.

As soon as you pull away from the dock the fun begins! Everyone is out on the helo deck taking pictures and waiting to pass under the Golden Gate. Then the usual routine begins. Every day while out to sea basically the same thing goes on. My schedule for the day consisted of waking up, going to breakfast, then class, the gym, more class, lunch, quarters, Captain's Hour, more class, lay out on steel beach until dinner, then eat dinner (the mess is where most socializing goes on), then go up and watch the sunset (don't miss the sunsets!). After sunset we hung out on the helo deck for a couple hours and watched the stars rise, then everyone would head inside to grab something to eat from Pirate's Cove and either head to the mess deck to play games or down to the classrooms or lounge to watch a movie. You'll notice that studying really didn't have a time slot in my day because, unless you had a test, most people didn't study all that much. Classes onboard were slightly more difficult than I thought they would be, but hey, you're in the middle of the ocean on a ship - Have fun! Another great part of daily life that I enjoyed was learning about seamanship and all that goes on aboard the ship. Everything from the sewage to the galley stores is covered in the Cruise 195 class, and you even get to go to the bridge and engine room to see what really goes on. Plus, the CMA guys are more than willing to teach you anything you want to know!

OK, so life on the ship is great, but the real fun happens in port! When you come into a new country everyone is so excited we can hardly wait to set foot on land and explore! Most people didn't have set plans for every day, so don't worry about that. Half the fun is the spontaneity of the entire trip and just going with the flow. Maybe you'll go snorkeling or to a zoo, or maybe just shop around and enjoy the local culture. Whatever it is, you're sure to have a blast. Then at night the party begins! In almost every port the people on the ship seem to find each other and take over an entire bar or club. With 100 friends around you, it's impossible not to have a blast! Then, when curfew comes around, everyone heads back to the ship to hang out into all hours of the night! The next day you're going to be really tired, but you can get over it and get out there and do it all again.

This trip was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't imagine not going! I will always remember life on the ship and the fun times we had in port, but I'm most excited about all the friendships I made. Life back in SLO will never be the same because I now have so many friends who have shared this experience with me! Only they know the stories behind all the inside jokes and what truly went on during our cruise to the South Pacific on the TSGB! Go - you won't regret it!!!