On our sixth day of roll-and-pitch sail
in the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to Guam, we had written almost all the stories
about BRP Alcaraz; except of course the required daily chronicle of the ship’s
journey. I’m afraid we are losing topics but when I had a breaking dawn chat
with some of the crew while we are healing seasickness at the fantail due to
big rolling swells, I realized we still have a lot of things to write about.
What caught my attention and sealed into my imagination was the challenge the
crew received from their counterparts in the US Coast Guard.
I remember a dialogue from the
American movie “The Great Debaters,” delivered by and between the characters
Dr. James Farmer Sr. and his son James Jr. The father said “what is the
greatest weakness of a person,” and the son answered “doubt is the greatest
weakness of a person.” Surely any doubt if the PN sailors can bring Alcaraz to
the Philippines became a challenge and an underlying motivation for the crew to
accomplish the voyage mission. Even retired and active Fil-Ams in the US Navy
lamented that Filipinos can perform multi tasks so whether or not the 88
personnel off BRP Alcaraz can bring the ship to the Philippines is no longer a
concern because they know that each and every PN personnel can make a
difference.
Filipinos are fast learners. With
more than a year of training and interaction with the USGC personnel, the crew
of BRP Alcaraz is more than capable to sail the ship to Philippines. To think
that they themselves took turns in assembling the engine and in conditioning
the other machineries on board.
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