cadet blogs

Summer, Snow and Sailing

(Athletics, Class of 2014) Permanent link All Posts

Hey guys, its me again! I have been super busy recently with sports and academics, and I am getting pumped up for the summer, but even though my mind is thinking about summer, I am finding that New England is not. Two weeks ago, I walked outside in a t-shirt and shorts, thinking that spring had arrived and the weather was cooperating with temperatures in the upper fifties and sixties. Three days later it snowed, and I am back to wearing a fleece under my parka! I liked the snow a few months ago, but now it is time for spring, warmth and leaves on trees, etc. It might be a while before the weather remembers that the first official day of spring was a week ago and catches up with the calendar.

One awesome part of spring, despite the cold, is that the spring sailing season started! I crew for the dinghy team and have really enjoyed getting back on the water after three months of no sailing. We have only been back to practice for three weeks now, and I have already competed in two regattas. The whole team has really hit the ground running, and we have already had some substantial victories on the water! The Coast Guard Academy took sixth out of sixteen at the regatta I competed in this past weekend, and at the other regatta in Boston, our top boat took second in A division. This is panning out to be an exciting season and I am personally excited to watch the team push each other and give our best for the next few weeks of this short season.

In other news, the fourth class recently found out their summer assignments, and as we all get ready to go out to the fleet in a few short weeks, I can’t help but be a little nervous. I am moving from being a complete follower who is told where to look and how to eat, to a contributing member of a crew. I know that I will make my fair share of mistakes and learn many lessons, and I couldn’t be more excited about shipboard life and port calls. I am sure I will take away from this summer many life long memories and friendships, and I can’t wait to get started. But, while I can’t wait to be done with finals and get to my cutter, I am definitely nervous about the unknown. Questions such as: What will I be doing? Where will I be going and even, am I ready for the responsibility? are running through my mind. All in all though, I would leave yesterday to get on a Coast Guard cutter and start supporting the mission. This is what I am at the Academy to prepare for, and I couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to try it out.

Thanks guys for reading and please feel free to write me with any questions! I am super excited to welcome the class of 2015 in only a few months, and if there are any questions about Swab Summer, I would love to help answer them.

More about Jessica.

Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/15/2012 11:55 AM