[Transcript of Letter from Chester W. Nimitz to William Nimitz, May 7, 1903] Page: 1 of 2

                                
May 7, 1903.

Dear Father:-
I am sorry to hear that Aunt Meta's health has been so bad. Do you think that she will last
through the summer?
We have just heard that the cruise will be along the coast and that the Hartford, the Indiana and
the Chesapeake will be our training ships. Besides these ships, there will be a number of torpedo
boats and torpedo boat destroyers. The first classmen will have details of about a week at a time
on the torpedo boats
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while our class and the third class will be assigned to the three ships. We will leave on June 7, -
just how we will go on the ships I do not know, but I heard that we would go on by companies -
that is, one company have one ship a certain length of time, then another company etc.
The three commanding officers are, of the Indiana Comd'r Badjer (our new commandant), of the
Chesapeake, Comd'r Halsey, and of the Hartford, Comd'r Osterhouse. Also heard
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that the fleet would make New London and around there, a base of supplies. The other day I had
my physical exam and everything was all right except my ears. They are treating them though,
that is, washing them out, and in a week or so they will examine them again.
Last Saturday was the day of the boat race with Pennsylvania. Well the weather was so rough
that the Pennsy boat sank about one half of a mile from the finish. The two boats were about
even at that time, and our crew finished the race alone.
We were also to row their freshman crew with our second crew but on account of the water, it
was postponed and as it stands now, both races
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will be rowed on May 16. You remember in my last letter I told you of my promotion to the first
crew. Well, that was only temporary because the regular man was sick. I rowed three days with
the first crew though, and am now a regular second crew man.
On May 9, our first crew races Yale; on the 16th, Pennsylvania, and on the 23d, Georgetown.
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Our second crew races the Pennsy freshmen on the 16th and the Georgetown 2d crew on the 23d.
You see we keep the strictest kind of training and about three or four times a week the first and
second crews have trial races. Well, lately we have been making the first crew hustle. About the
last quarter of a mile, it is something awful, one thinks that the race will never end. But the
minute the race is over I feel all right again.

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