I have some Academy friends that are going to the Storis this summer and word is that she will be in drydock yet again. She's on her last legs (built in 42) and I believe that she is supposed to be decommed soon. The CG sure makes ships last!

This past summer, as part of the freshmen indoctrination program, I got to go aboard Eagle for a week in Europe (she was on a foreign PR tour). 140+ feet up is a scary but rewarding sight. This upcoming summer as a sophomore I have the opportunity to sail Eagle for 6 weeks, then I go down to Florida for another 6. Hence why I asked about a few key survival items. I was always prepared for the boonies back home in West Virginia, now I want to be prepared for the unforgiving ocean - before I get aboard a ship.

Inspired by Doug's avaition survival analysis, with his life raft comparisons and all, a buddy and I were playing with the idea of doing a directed study (availible to juniors/seniors at the Academy, so I still have a time to think about it) into marine survival gear. I've seen some shoddy stuff that's "USCG Approved" and we would look into the process that equipment must do to rate our approval. I imagine that we would also put stuff to the test in real life environments and see how it hold up, much like Doug's testing. It's just a thought now but we'll see where it goes.

Were you an Eagle sailor?