Malta

(Excerpts from Ship's Librarian, Rich Delbango)

Malta - Day 3

On Sunday I took the shortest of the excursions arranged by the Ship. We started out at the Malta Quarry Museum. Every building on Malta is built from the yellow, natively quarried limestone. This museum, set in a depleted quarry, told the history of the process. We headed south to the southern cliffs of Malta and the Blue Grotto. This was as beautiful as the grotto in Gozo was. Absolutely gorgeous! We finished with a trip to a local fishing village and its colorful and fragrant fish market. I went back to the ship torest up for the last night in Malta. Monday it’s back to sea.

Malta - Day 2

Saturday was more restful for me. I took a trip, also arranged by the College to the Blue Lagoon on the tiny island of Comino. We travelled by an excursion boat filled mostly with young Europeans in Malta for an English immersion summer program. We arrived at the Blue Lagoon and were greeted by a spectacular sight of the clearest, bluest water that I have ever seen. Surrounding it was a rugged, rocky hillside with no sandy beach, just rocks all the way to the water. Perched on these rocks were thousands of daytrippers that you had to practically climb over to get to the water. After finding my own little perch, I cautiously climbed down the rocks to the water. It was spectacular, clean and cool. I stayed in for hours. I swam away from the crowds into several hidden caves. One of these caves opened out into the open sea. It was amazing. I didn’t want to get out.

Malta - Day 1

We docked in the magnificent harbor of the capital, Valleta, about 08:00 on Friday July 9. The entrance into the harbor is breathtaking as you sail past the ancient fortresses at the mouth of the harbor. We docked at the Pinto dock which was a prime location, right at the foot of the city wall, easy to get to the City. The only problem is the City is at the top of the wall and the wall is 100’ – 150’ high!

I wasn’t going to tackle the City on the first day. . I was scheduled to go on a tour of Gozo, the western island. The vans left at 09:30 for the 40 minute trip across the island of Malta to the ferry. The ferry to the island took another 20 minutes. The scenery on both legs of the journey was spectacular. We drove through rolling hills of gold dotted by small towns all built of their yellow sandstone.We were met by a bus on Gozo to continue our journey. The first stop was the ancient ruin of the Ggantija temples. These are among the ancient structures of the prehistoric residents of Gozo that are 1000 years older than the pyramids in Egypt. They are the oldest standing, human structures in the world. They are believed to be temples to the Mother goddess (Mother Nature) because the outline of the temple has the shape of the small Mother deity idols found in many primitive cultures.

We moved on to see the capital of Gozo Victoria Rabat. This is a small, crowded city topped off by The Citadel, a castle at the top of the highest point in the city. After a laborious climb up to the Citadel, we had a more laborious one inside of it up to the tops of its walls. After the climb down and some time for shopping in the City it was off to a great lunch at one of Gozo’s finest hotels.After lunch we heads southwest to the sea and the amazingly beautiful cliffs at a spot called the Azure Lagoon. Here we were taken by boatmen in small, colorfully painted boats through grottos gut naturally through the cliffs by the sea. Out in the open sea, we entered several other caves and saw the Azure window, a rock formation framing a fantastic view of the sea.

Off Malta

(Excerpt from Ship's Librarian, Rich Delbango)

We've been anchored since last night about 13 miles off the coast of Malta, right near two oil platforms. We're pulling into Valleta harbor tomorrow morning about 08:00. I heard there are some webcams of the harbor. Look for us. We should be docked very close to the city because it appears that the harbor is the center of the city. We're at, what I'm told, is one of the deepest anchorages in the world. We are surrounded by ships, mostly empty tankers, that are parked here awaiting orders.

I've got some tours lined up for next 3 days if they all run. The Regiment Office arranged a nice selection. It looks as if you could spend a couple weeks here to see all the sights Malta has to offer. It seems like a very interesting place. There are pre-historic ruins, Roman ruins, fortresses, huge cliffs, quaint fishing villages, Medieval and Renaissance palaces, and churches. LOTS of churches. I think they have one for every 1,000 inhabitants of this country. From the travel video I ran last night, Valetta looks a lot like Venice without the canals.

Link to webcam at Grand Harbour, Valletta http://www.visitmalta.com/webcam1

(Excerpts from Ship's Librarian, Rich Delbango)

July 6th, Malta Bound
The Mediterranean is beautiful. Calm and peaceful. It's been sunny for the last four days and getting hot. It's going to be scorching in Malta. Meanwhile we're just sailing along.

The Regiment Office is arranging some tours for us. They should be good..There is plenty to do and see on these islands.

July 4th, Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day everyone. What a difference this year's 4th is from last. Last year we were heading home at this time. This year we still have over a month to go. Last year it poured on our celebration. This year the weather has been gorgeous. The best thing is that this year it luckily corresponded with our Sunday at Sea and that means relaxation for most of us and barbecue for all.

There were no classes today. The only cadets working were those on watch or with extra duty jobs. The hardest working people on board today were the Chartwell's Food Service people who toiled all day getting the barbecue set up and cooking for over 500 hungry sailors. Thanks to Henry and his crew who did such a great job as usual. Burgers, franks and chicken for lunch; steaks and shrimp for dinner. Between meals, we had some fireworks as cadets shot off some expired flares and smoke marker grenades. Not the Macy's fireworks, but it would have to do.

We are somewhere in the mid-Mediterranean Sea, heading east. We will probably sail between Corsica and Sardinia to do maneuvers before heading to Malta. Everyone is getting anxious to get to land, especially to swim.

July 2nd, Refueling
We anchored last night, after I went to bed, only yards from the town of Gibraltar. After dropping anchor about 02:00, the bunker barge (really a small tankership) arrived. They tied up alongside, hooked up their giant fuel hose to us and began pumping over 1,000 tons of low sulphur ships oil into our tanks. I don't know what the gallon count is, but it is a heck of a lot.

The weather is warm and hazy, with some light intermittent drizzle. The Mediterranean is calm. Since we have a week to get to Malta, it is going to be a slow, meandering journey...Meanwhile, the cadets are keeping busy drilling and painting the ship. Last night they were practicing lowering the lifeboats right outside the Officer's Mess at dinner time.

In the Mediterranean Sea

(excerpts from Ship's Librarian, Rich Delbango)
Saturday, June 26
We left Dublin shortly after midnight this morning and we're now making headway south to the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow will be the first Sunday at Sea of the 2nd cruise. If the weather permits, they'll be a barbecue for all on the sun deck. Because it is the beginning of the 2nd part of the term and classes just began today, most cadets will have classes for at least part of the day. Next week there should be no classes for our second Sunday which also happens to be the 4th of July. Irregardless, I still have to work because thelibrary is open every day we are at sea, holiday or not.

Sunday, June 27
We hit some rough water, not the worst I've ever seen, but uncomfortable..The ship rolled all night. Anything not tied down rolled back and forthon the decks, including me in my bunk.

.....I was happy to see that things had calmed down enough for our Sunday at Sea barbecue which was already going on out on the sun deck. I wound up having burgers and hot dogs for breakfast. Yum! The day was gorgeous, sunny in the mid 70s.

Monday, June 28
It has been a real quiet day. The seas were calm and the sun was strong. Everyone is settling in to the 2nd half of the cruise. We're in the Atlantic, off the northern coast of Spain I think. It's hard to tell because the interactive map with the Seawave e-mail system dosn't seem to be working this year and my hand held GPS seems to be on the fritz too. I can always go up to the map room and ask where we are, but it's a long way up from where I'm stationed (8 decks).

We're cruising fairly slowly, below 10 knots. We'll probably make it to the mouth of the Mediterranean by Wednesday and anchor by Gibraltar to take on fuel on Thursday. Since we're not docking at Gibraltar, I'm going to have to see if I can use my binoculars to spot any of my little monkey friends on the top of the rock.

Ms. Kenney

Ms. Kenney aboard the Empire State VI

June 25
Anne Kenney, the internationally known chief academic and administrative officer of the Cornell library system who is also an innovator and expert in digital library development and management went aboard the Empire State VI for a tour of SUNY Maritime College’s training ship. She was given a complete tour of the ship spending the most time in the ship’s library with the ship’s librarian Richard Delbango where they discussed many maritime trade topics. Ms. Kenney was also given a descriptive account of the unique hands-on training that SUNY Maritime provides through their training ship. It was a pleasure to have her aboard.

Sea Change

(Excerpts from the ship's librarian Richard Delbango)

June 24

The old Empire State VI looked in good shape, no worse for the wear of the last 6 week journey. We were greeted by rousing cheers by the cadets that were leaving and couldn't wait to go home. The transition was slow as those who were departing had to vacate their spaces before we could move in. I met with Joe, my predecessor who showed me all of the improvements he made to the Library since May 10. He helped me get my stored bags from the library up to my newly repaired cabin and I helped him get his stuff out for the flight home and then he was off.

June17

Since my last post, I found out that the ports we will be traveling to on the second cohort are Malta and Brest, France While Malta looks beautiful, I have learned that, due to destruction from bombing in WWII, Brest is a very modern, industrial looking city with little old world charm.

Dublin

Dublin Castle

Dublin

(Excerpts from the ship’s librarian: Photos by Joseph Williams)

June 22
Dublin, of course, is a very lovely city so in the limited amount of time

I have I've been trying to make the most of it.

Dublin

To The Bay of Biscay

June 19

(Excerpts from the Ship’s librarian: Photo by Joseph Williams)

As we emerged from the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic, a change has overtaken the water. Where once the smooth seas of the Mediterranean lay beneath us, it has been replaced by the slow and steady rocking of the Atlantic. The water looks different visually as well – it is somewhat grayer. But, on the good side I did see a dolphin or a small whale today peaking up with its dorsal fin. It was just a passing glance and I didn’t see it after the first look.
We are now about 80 miles off the coast of Portugal and moving at roughly full steam north to the Bay of Biscay and then the waters of Great Britain

Balearic Isles

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian: Graphic by worldpress.com)

June16
We are finally pulling out from the Balearic Islands today and our course is set for the Straits of Gibraltar. We can expect to be there within a couple of days, and then out to the Atlantic, and then the cool waters of the Irish Sea.

At Sea En Route To Dublin

Students using ship's library

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian: Photos by Joseph Williams)

June 11

Ships naturally need to communicate. In the old days, they used to use flags (this was after they discovered that burning smoke signals on a wooden ship was not a good idea). Flags, however, have become obsolete and are now used mostly as decoration. Radio communication predominates, but also heavily used are lights and sound.


June 14

At the time of this writing we are passing through the strait between Sardinia and Corsica again following back our tracks toward Gibraltar. Weather and seas have been pretty calm; like they have been through most of the Mediterranean.

Williamson Circles

Tower of Winds: Greece

(Excerpts from the ship's librarian: Photo by Joe Williams)

June 9:
I found out today is that one cannot simply stop a ship like a car. In order to stop a ship, you need to have about 2 miles (or more depending on your speed). So if something comes up in your way, you can’t simply hit the brakes so to speak. Rather, you need to maneuver the ship around the obstacle. That is why among other reasons you need to have watches, and you need to keep ships at a safe distance. The larger the vessel, the harder it is to stop it. And how do you stop it? By reversing the engines, yet you can imagine how much power it would take to stop something as big as an oil tanker. Now, imagine this situation and somebody goes overboard. The best you can do is throw them one of those life rings and execute a circle (called a Williamson circle). The person in the water has to wait until the ship can complete the circle and hopefully they can fish you out.

QQML Conference 2010

Constantia Constantinou, the Stephen B. Luce Library Director and Department Chair attended the International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, (QQML 2010), in Chania, Greece. Constantia presented two papers “Improving Student Academic Performance through Library Instruction” and “Measuring Library User Expectations with User Satisfaction” and chaired the session on Information and Learning. Over 50 countries were represented at the QQML 2010 conference.

Grecian Isles

Joe being ferried to Andros

(Excerpts from the Ship's librarian June 5 -7
Photos by Joseph Williams)

June 5
Today was an enjoyable day at Andros, the northernmost island of the Cyclades.We zoomed over the water and arrived at the dock where groups of SUNY Maritime people began to outpopulate the native Androsians. The town has a population of 1,500 and you have to figure about 600 of us went for the day trip.

The town of Andros itself is small, but terraced along a mountainside. The pastel-colored architecture is just plain awesome to look at and has many narrow streets.

Street in Andros

June 6

After we arrived in Athens, I took leave early in the day and went into the city by myself using the metro. The walk to the subway was rather long, but I think it was closer than Malaga. I landed at the Monastratiki stop and looked up to see the famed Acropolis of Athens.

Scene In Athens

Joe at the Acropolis in Athens

June 7

Today, I visited the island of Aegina in the morning

where I saw the Temple of Aphaia, which are very well-preserved Doric ruins..

Aegina

Temple of Aphaia in Aegina

At Sea

Students Plugging a leak aboard the ship

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, May 27 - June 2: Photos by Joseph Williams)

May 27:
Midnight on The Bridge:
While on the bridge, I was first introduced to the technical navigationaland GPS equipment they have. While their GPS equipment does not providevocal directions such as, “Turn starboard at the next reef.” The system is incredibly intricate where the navigators lay in waypoints. In the training ship, they also use paper charts to plot the ship’s course. They use triple backup systems since this is an educational voyage, and safety is paramount.
By the morning, we had left the island of Majorca behind and now we are sitting and recalibrating the compasses in front of the island of Minorca..

May28:
Today we saw the first drops of rain in about 2 weeks with apassing shower, and the sea has been remarkably calm. Today, we also passed through the Straits of Bonifacio, which separates the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. I only saw Sardinia, and Corsica was out of sight.

May29:
So last night we passed through the Straits of Bonifucio between Sardinia and Corsica.Tomorrow we will pass through another strait, this one will be the Strait of Messina which was considered perilous in ancient times because of its rocks and whirlpools. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, “The strait was greatly feared by sailors in antiquity, mainly because of the rocks and whirlpools known as Scylla and Charybdis, personified as female monsters in Greek mythology.”




May30:
The ship today went through the Strait of Messina and now we are in theIonian Sea. It was rather dramatic looking, since there is a wall of mountains that suddenly drop into this patch of open water. I took some pictures and it was somewhat hazy out, but I did get good views of MountEtna.

June 2:
We are now in the realm of Odysseus, and much like the “man of twists andturns” the ship is going on its own odyssey through the famed Aegean. We have already passed our anchorage and Andros, and now we are going tobe circling islands. All of the ones I have seen have been very rugged,very mountainous, and many are covered with windmill farms. Generally speaking, everything thus far has been very scenic.
One of the things I have noticed is that our students have an intense curiosity about where we are going – not just for the recreational stuff –but they also want to learn more about the history of the ports andcountries that we are visiting. There is something beautiful about taking two weeks to get to a port since it allows time for curiosity to build.

The Odyssey of “Empire State VI”: En Route to Greece

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, May 24-26)

May 24:

We are back at sea and going nowhere. By that I mean that we have moved the ship about 5-10 miles away from Malaga (very clearly in view) and are at anchor while we do drills (they even lowered the lifeboats today). If we were to just go full steam ahead to Greece, it would probably take us only a couple of days or so to get there. “Empire State VI,” much like Odysseus, is going to take a long and leisurely route before we finally raise the Hellenic lands. This scenic tour of the Mediterranean is going to test the navigation and piloting skills of cadets… particularly when we encounter the Sirens and the Clashing Rocks.

May 25:

Today we fell out of sight of land and are now in the middle of the giant salt puddle known as the Mediterranean Sea. Today nothing really noteworthy happened (we haven’t met any Krakens, Sirens, or seen the Clashing Rocks yet), but I did happen to have my first official meeting with the Captain. The Captain wanted to talk about some of the content to put in my port guide for Greece. There is apparently going to be a three island tour offered, as well as a tour of the Acropolis. All surrounding this will be two receptions. One when we anchor at Andros, and then a huge reception on the ship on the night of the 6th. Alumni and industry leaders will be there. In addition, once we are in Piraeus we will be offering tours of the ship, etc.

May 26:

Allow me an indulgence to express my annoyance at doing concentric circles around lovely islands without any intention of stopping there. Majorca, which is the island we are circling now, is a beautiful island, and, according to one of the officers, is a “really great port.” Of course he thought I was joking when I asked him to pull over the ship so we can get out, even for half a day….Weather has been humid and growing hot. The seas, however, have been especially calm as we do our concentric loops.

Liberty in Malaga

The Empire State VI arrived at its first port, Malaga, on the morning of Friday May 21.
(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, May 21-23)

Friday May 21, Liberty in Malaga: After coming into Malaga, the inspection went well and liberty was granted starting at around 10:30 a.m. One needs a liberty card to leave and exit the vessel. I´m very happy to have my ticket to freedom right here in my pocket. Students have been let out in waves, and no matter where I went today, I kept bumping into some. I did a random walk through the town (very windy and warrenlike) and decided to go to the Alcazaba and the Castille de Gibrafalo. Both of these are Moorish ruins that provide excellent views of the town. I have already been back and forth to the ship, the ship is moored perhaps a mile and a half away from the main city but once you are in the city, everything is in close proximity to each other. That´s it for now. I have to decide what to do for tomorrow. I think I might be doing an outing to one of the towns nearby.















Walk up to the Castille de Gibrafalo.

Saturday May 22, A Day Trip to Ronda: If you ever get a chance to go to Spain, go to Ronda. The scenery alone is gorgeous. Ronda is the largest in a series of fortified towns in the mountains and probably the most awesome in its location being set upon a gorge that is crossed by a cliff. The town itself was about an hour and a half bus ride out of Malaga and it goes straight up into the winding hills. This town is known as the birthplace of modern bullfighting, an inspiration for Hemmingway, and also where Orson Welles had his ashes scattered.















Ronda´s Gates














Ronda, a town on a cliff















Ronda´s ¨New Bridge¨ spans a deep gorge.

Sunday May 23, A day at the Alhambra: Our destination was the fabled Alhambra, the citadel of the last Moorish kingdom of Spain. Our tour guide was a man named Frederico who was fluent in about four languages. His erudition really impressed the cadets and crew that were on the tour, but even more impressive was the Alhambra itself.















The Alhambra















Frederico our tour guide with rapt cadets and crew
















A ceiling of the Alhambra

Images of a ship at sea

A calm day at sea

Using the Sextant

Joe Williams, Ship's Librarian with the Azores in the background

A Sunday barbeque at sea

Life boat

Cadets learning to tie knots

Raising the Azores

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, May 17)
May 17: In the morning we finally reached the Azores. These dramatic looking, mist-shrouded islands rose pretty much straight from the sea and are dotted with rural communities and bustling towns. Today, on the whole, was a quiet day in terms of activity in the library, probably because everybody wanted to look at the Azores (we stopped the ship here for a while), and also because the heat problems in the library have been continuing. At my request, they have brought fans that will be installed on the walls in the library. This should help with air circulation.

Stormy Seas and Setting Sights on Land

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, May 13-14)
May 13: Right now, we are encountering some fairly heavy turbulence and nobody is allowed to go out on deck. I do not think it is extreme weather, but it’s heavier than it's been since we started sailing. It is very cool to look at however, and any photo I take of the water does not do it justice. The library was very quiet all day due to rough weather. Reports of sick students throughout. This a.m. Captain came with two crew to secure library.

May 14: Ship rolled heavily though most of the day then finally settled by the midevening. We are one week out of Spain and should raise the Azores over the weekend. Reference questions have now begun to turn a bit more toward our first port of call with students asking of things to do in and around the port. Those using the library seem to be here for study.

Ship Departs, May 10th

The Empire State VI departed Fort Schuyler on the morning of Monday, May 10. Follow the journey with periodic updates from the Ship's Librarian.


(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian)



I boarded, climbed to the cabin deck, and then hung around outside as I waved to the little people ashore.


















Tug boats came in, pulled us off the pier, and now we are cruising along the Long Island Sound heading toward Montauk. At Montauk, the cadets and crew will be performing one more quality check before we make the crossing.

The crossing itself should take about 10 days or so with the ship going at an optimal speed to conserve fuel. I can’t imagine how they used to make these crossings in sailboats just relying on wind power – it must have been so much quieter!

Women's History Month

As we close out Women's History Month, Stephen B. Luce Library highlights the history of women's courageous efforts at sea with an exhibit, Courage at Sea: Women Seafarers. This exhibit features some of the women pioneers in seafaring, including a few of SUNY Maritime's own such as the first woman to graduate (in 1974) and the first class of women graduates (class of 1978).

All are invited to view this exhibit online on the Library’s web portal at: http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/exhibitseafaringwomen.htm

Also, visit the Library’s Foyer Exhibit area to view the Courage at Sea: Women Seafarers display and other exhibits and digital presentations.

Black History Month at the Luce Library

In celebration of Black History Month, the Stephen B. Luce Library has created two slide show displays:

"Black Jacks: African American Seafarers”

and

"Leaders & Pioneers"

These slide shows can be viewed on the TV screen in the Library's Foyer. Selected books are also on display in the Library’s Foyer exhibit area.

Want more information on African American Seafarers? Check out the Current Exhibit section of the Library's website where you can find the "Black Jacks" slide show and a bibliography of research sources, including selected Internet sources and books available at the Luce Library.

New Database - Lloyd's List Online

The Stephen B. Luce Library is pleased to announce the addition of Lloyd’s List Online to its array of electronic resources. Lloyd’s List, established in 1734, is the world’s premier source of maritime news and information covering all aspects of the shipping industry, including business of shipping, marine insurance, offshore energy, logistics, global trade and law. Lloyd’s List Online is an essential research tool with a fully searchable data bank of more than one million articles spanning the last 15+ years of industry information. Lloyd’s List Online can be accessed 24/7 from either on or off campus.

Instructions for access (on campus):
1. Go to the Library’s web portal (http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/)
2. Click on “eResources”; then “eJournals”; then “Lloyd’s List”

Off-campus access:
1. Go to the Library’s web portal (http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/)
2. Click on “eResources”; then “eJournals”
3. Enter your Maritime College email ID and password
4. Click on “Lloyd’s List”

Questions? email: library@sunymaritime.edu or call (718) 409-7231