An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 23 know the midshipmen and learn about their training. During their training, they have the opportunity to get a degree in subjects ranging from philosophy and law, to nuclear engineer- ing, while training for one of the four main branches of the US Navy: surface fleet, submarines, Marine Corps or aviation. The approach into Baltimore was our first time as a team navi- gating beyond Chesapeake Bay, but we relaxed into the roles we had practised for. As we came into the harbour the spare hands manned the rails to render honours to Fort McHenry. (It's a US Navy tradition to render honours to specific forts and memorials and we would see and take part in this throughout the passages ahead.) The journey from Baltimore to Philadelphia took 11 hours and brought us through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and up the Delaware River. When we arrived, we docked at Penn's Landing, where we were surprised to find a memorial to the victims of the Irish famine right beside where we were docking for three nights. The next leg of the journey took us from Philadelphia to New York City, a two-day passage involving travelling at night. While on night watch, we had to be vigilant for lights and sound signals as well as carefully observing radar and electronic navigation systems. Our last watch of the leg began as we arrived in New York, which was particularly spectacular as we watched the city skyline grow on the horizon and saw its iconic landmarks coming into view. Coming into New York we rendered honours to Fort Tompkins, the Statue of Liberty, and the 9/11 memorial before docking on Pier 86 on the Hudson River, home to USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier-turned-museum. While docked the YPs were open for tours, and despite the bil- lions of dollars' worth of the Intrepid beside us the public took a huge interest in the YPs and the training the midshipmen were doing. After three days giving tours and preparing for our passage to Boston, ahead of us was the major challenge of navigating out of New York. Diligently following our navigation plan we success- fully got through Hell Gate, an extremely narrow tidal channel and busy traffic lane, before heading up the Long Island Sound to carry out fleet exercises. These exercises involved the YPs manoeuvring in different formations at different speeds and distances, followed by man- overboard drills, after which we continued to our anchorage. The exercises were very interesting to participate in as we had learned about them during training. The next day we were underway again, steaming up the East Coast, passing Atlantic City, until we anchored at night at the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal. The next morning, we made our way through the canal and were in Boston by afternoon. Arriving in Boston, we manned the rails as we passed the crowds gathering for Sail Boston, a maritime festival that we would be participating in with other naval vessels and tall ships from around the world. The following morning, we departed Boston Harbour to join the Parade of Sail and took up our position in the parade outside the bay. Visibility was poor and the high concentration of traffic proved to be a challenge to navigation. Re-entering Boston with the parade, the four YPs took up a diamond-shape formation, while the crews manned the rails. The Parade of Sail involved over 50 ships from 14 countries and included a 183m-long dock landing ship and a flyby from F-16 fighters. The next day we got to visit the other participating ships, which were spread out along the various piers, drawing a massive crowd to the seafront. It was a fantastic experience to visit the various ships and meet their crews. The next morning, we got underway on the longest leg of our journey, from Boston back to Annapolis. After passing through the Long Island Sound the weather grew progressively worse, and the mixture of the YP's top-heavy design and size made for rough sailing. Our passage through the C&D Canal sheltered us from the rough weather for a while and by the time we emerged the worst of it had passed. The remainder of the journey home was much more stable; a relief to the many sick crew on board. On returning to the USNA we did the last of our scrub-down and cleaning of the ship, had our final debrief with the CO of the YP fleet, and parted ways with the crew. Overall, we had a fantastic experience in America; it allowed us to utilise our training, adapt to a new learning environment and learn about how another navy operates, while getting to know its future officers. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 23

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