The journey's end

The sailors have returned home from the sea. We arrived back at Fort Schuyler right on time this morning at 10:00. Captain Smith, with the guidance of the pilots and the tugs, brought us back home to the spot we left what seems like so long ago. The day was perfect, warm and sunny. The trip through the harbor and up the river was beautiful.

The only thing to mar the day was a fire on the Throgs Neck Bridge that prevented many loved ones from getting to the Fort on time or at all. My sons, Scott and Ryan had to turn around and head home because the traffic on the Queens side made it impossible to get to the Bronx on time.

After docking, I had to supervise the transfer of 50 boxes of materials that had to return to the shore library. Thanks to the hard working cadets, I did not have to do the lifting myself. My lifting was reserved for getting all of my belongings out of my cabin and to the end of the dock where my girlfriend Pat waited patiently to give me a ride home. By the time I left the Fort about 4:30 pm, the TS Empire State was a ghost ship. Many cadets and most officers had gone home or off to some relaxation. It certainly was no longer the crowded, noisy, lively ship it was just hours before, until next year.

I'd like to say "Thank you" to all my readers for letting me share this unique and wonderful experience with you all.

I will be posting pictures of the trip here after I return from the American Library Association Convention in Chicago next week. You see, I'm not done travelling yet. Stay tuned.

The last leg

Friday morning we will be making the last leg of the voyage. The trip
through the harbor and up the river will be impressive. All cadets and
officers will be dressed in their formal uniforms. The ship, freshly
cleaned and painted, will be sparkling. We will enter the harbor under
the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, blowing the Ship's horn as we do. Like so
many other voyagers from the past, we will be welcomed to the harbor by
the Great Lady, the Statue of Liberty. We will pass Ellis Island where
so many of our ancestors entered this country. We will sail past the
Battery and Manhattan's formidable skyline and enter the East River. As
we traverse under each of the 7 East River crossings from the Brooklyn to
the Whitestone, we will again blow the horn. Well wishers will wave at us
from the River's promenades. Finally, after the Whitestone Bridge, we
will round the point and the College will be in sight. There will be
hundreds of people there to greet their loved ones returning from the sea..
Banners and flags will be everywhere. The College's band will play us in
as we dock. Fireboats will spray us a watery salute. The tugs will ease
us to the dock, the lines will be cast and attached and the mighty ship
and her crew will be home.

Officer Appreciation Dinner

Tonight the food service crew prepared the annual end of cruise Officer
Appreciation Dinner for us. It was wonderful; prime rib, giant lobster
tails and crab cakes and a huge chocolate layer cake. It makes up for the
four nights of meatloaf dinners. All in all, the food has been excellent..
It's going to be hard to get back to my usual fare although I am going to
head right to White Castle and the Corona Lemon Ice King on Friday night.
I've had an unfulfilled hankering for both since a week into the cruise..

Smooth sailing

As the cruise comes to an end, I can't help but note the fantastic weather
that we had for the entire voyage. Except for about 30 hours off Portugal
while heading to Iceland, the seas have been remarkably calm. There was
very little rolling which obviously held seasickness down to a minimum.
We had some morning fog for a couple of days off the north coast of
Scotland heading to Belfast and a full day of rain and fog that ruined our
last Sunday at sea. Otherwise there was lots of sunshine almost every day
(and nights in the Arctic).

I've heard about storms and rough seas on previous cruises. All I can say
is that we have been blessed on this one. I just hope I haven't jinxed us
for the last two days

1000 miles to home

As I write this (Monday July 6 @ 10:30am) we are about 1000 miles north
east of New York. After yesterday's Independence Day/Sunday at sea
washout, the weather today is gorgeous. Go figure!

It is the last day I am keeping the Library open. For the next several
days I will be packing up all of the items that have to return to shore
and writing my final report of the voyage.

From what I've gathered, the plan is for us to reach Montauk sometime
Thursday and anchor to await Admiral Craine, the College's President, and
make the ship presentable for the return celebration. We will then move
on, sailing south of Long Island to the mouth of NY harbor and anchoring
again early Friday morning off Staten Island. There, we will be met by
the new Chancellor of the State University of NY and some other
dignitaries who will accompany us into the harbor and up the East River
for the final leg of the voyage, our grand journey home.

Best laid plans

As I said in my last post, the idea was to combine the 4th of July
celebration with the last Sunday at Sea and celebrate on the 5th. The 4th
was absolutely beautiful as everyone had to work a full day. Today, the
5th, is crap. Rainy, windy and cloudy.

The Barbeque for both lunch and dinner has been cancelled, but we're going
to get the burgers, steaks and franks anyway cooked in the galley. It's
just not the same. Hope everyone ashore had a good holiday.

4th of July, Atlantic Ocean

Happy Independence Day to all. Unfortunately for me it's just another
full day at work 10:00am to 10:30pm. They decided that since tomorrow is
our last Sunday at Sea that we would postpone the celebration until then.
Sundays at sea are short work days for me (only 8 1/2 hours instead of 10
hours) and most others anyway. We will have our last sea barbecue then;
steaks, burgers, franks, corn, salads, etc. and maybe lobster tails. mmmm..

I hope everyone at home is enjoying their holiday weekend.

Yes Sir

I still can't get used to having students call me "Sir" all of the time.
Though not as strict as Marine Corps basic training, the cadets are
supposed to be deferential to officers as part of a paramilitary
lifestyle. They're supposed to step out of our way and address us
formally. This is quite a change from working with the students at a
Community College. Not that there aren't a few wise guys in the bunch,
but there aren't many.

Exam Time

It's almost the end of the voyage and that means the end of classes and
final exams. The cadets have been studying diligently in the library, in
the classrooms, in the mess and on the deck (when the weather permits);
anywhere they can find space to lay out their books and notes. They are
also scrambling to finish assignments, some due now and some that were due
weeks ago. The Library has been busy all day but especially so in the
evenings. They don't want to leave, but I can't stay open all night.
I've got to get some sleep. Everyone is under pressure to do well. You
can feel tension in the air. After investing two months in the Summer Sea
Term, no one wants to screw up in the last few days.

Eight more days to go!

Expresso Love

I am in love, with the expresso machine in the Officer's Mess. It is so
easy to use that I'm drinking them all day. Got to have something to stay
awake for all the hours I keep the Library open. Singles, doubles,
lattes, I love them all. It is amazing, so easy to use. No need to fill
up with water since it's connected to the water pipe. No measuring. Just
pop in a pre-filled Seattle's Best disc, load it up and press the button.
To steam milk, just put it in the pot and turn a knob. We even have
vanilla and hazelnut syrups to add. If I've got to feed this addiction at
Starbucks when I return, I will be broke.

Heading Home

We left Belfast around 17:00 Sunday evening. That was late for a port
departure for us, but we had to have a high tide to leave. The tugs
hooked up and pulled us out backwards out of the Victoria Channel and then
turned us around. As we pulled out, we got a clear view of the now
dormant dry dock where the Titanic was built. Steaming ahead, we entered
the North Channel, rounded the Ards Peninsula and headed south into the
Irish Sea toward the Atlantic and home. By Monday evening, we had past the
southern tip of Ireland and left behind our last view of land until we see
Sandy Hook. No more ports for us but home.

Everyone is busy finishing up their work. Finals will begin this week
for the cadets' classes. Projects are due. Things have to be packed up
around the ship. Grades have to be submitted. Final cleaning and repairs
have to be done to make us presentable. There is no down time until July
10th. We can rest when we get back to the Bronx.

Walking Around Belfast

Belfast was a good walking city, very compact and organized. Unlike Sao
Miguel and Gibraltar, they actually had wide sidewalks and pedestrian
malls. This made walking fairly safe, except for the darn traffic moving
in the wrong direction. Three days isn't enough time to get used to cars
coming at you on the left side of the road.

The busses from the Ship left us in the heart of Belfast, right by the
City Hall and there was plenty to see and do in the immediate area. Most
of the shopping is within several blocks of the City center. There are
two really nice malls right there, Victoria Square and the Castle Court
and several smaller arcades. Most of the shopping district is either new
construction or beautiful restored Victorian buildings. The area has been
re-invigorated since the Peace of 1998 made the area safe again. For
almost 30 years it was an armed camp with roadblocks that wouldn't allow
traffic into the zone and pedestrian checkpoints. Unfortunately, the
re-construction process is continuing and there are lots of what they term
"diversions" (detours) that I had to maneuver around.

Other things I saw nearby were the Albert Clock Tower which is listing to
one side after 120 years like the Tower of Pisa, The St. Anne's Cathedral,
the Linen Hall Library and the Big Wheel Ferris wheel next to the City
Hall that I had to ride.

Outside the City center, in the working-class residential areas of the
west, are the former battle zones of Belfast's religious conflict. Here
are the Peace Walls. These are huge murals painted on the sides of row
houses commemorating events and personalities of what they call "the
Troubles". There are dozens of them. It was a horrible time for the
people of Belfast and it pervades the psyche of the whole population who
lived through it. The murals are mostly in the areas known as Shankill
(the Protestant area) and the Falls (the Catholic zone). I was able to
only get to the Shankill.

In the north part of the Shankill district is the 164 year old Crumlin
Road Prison, now closed but open to the public for tours. It was an
active prison until 1996. I took the tour and it was awesome, especially
the execution room where they hung 13 men over the years.

The north and south of the City are the more upscale residential areas. I
spent a bit of time exploring the north. Here are nice single family
homes and garden apartment complexes with beautifully landscaped grounds.

I was able to see a lot in three days. It was a great port to just roam
around.

The Giant’s Causeway

On Friday several cadets and I took the Giant's Causeway tour to the north
coast of the County Antrim. This was an 8 ½ hour tour of the beautiful
northern region. Only 13 of us chose to go that day. It was unfortunate
for those who didn't come along because we saw some of the most astounding
scenery of any of the ports of this cruise.

We traveled through peaceful, green farm country passing quaint cottages
and farmhouses. Reaching the coast, we traveled though the seaside
villages of Portstewart and Portrush and stopped at the ruins of Dunlucie
Castle on a cliff overlooking the sea. This castle was the ancestral
home of the McDonnell clan, the chiefs of Antrim and my Mother's family..
The day was clear and warm and we could see all the way over to Scotland
from the site.

Traveling further west, we came to the Giant's Causeway itself. The
causeway is a natural formation of regularly shaped basalt columns formed
60 million years ago by volcanic activity. They extend out into the sea.
The weathered tops are so regular in shape that they look like floor tiles
making up a walkway to the ocean. The legend is that it was created by
the giant, Finn McCool so he could walk to Scotland to battle another
giant.

After exploring the Causeway for an hour we had a traditional meal of
Irish stew for lunch. Our bellies full, we moved on to the adventurous
part of the trip, crossing the rope bridge or Carrick-a-rede. The rope
bridge was first built centuries ago by fisherman so they could reach
their fishing spot on a small, rocky island 70 feet offshore. It hangs
precipitously 80 feet above the sea. Walking across on the narrow
planking was a harrowing experience to say the least. The bridge shook
and swayed while crossing it and some of us managed the crossing better
than others. My method was just not to look down. After walking around
the tiny island on the other side with cliffs dropping straight down to
the sea, we had to make a return crossing to the mainland. It was just as
thrilling.

Heading back to Belfast, we took the Antrim coast road passing through the
spectacular Glens of Antrim and the lovely seaside towns of Ballycastle,
Cushendall, Larne and Carrickfergus. Returning back to the ship that
evening, we were exhausted yet invigorated by the beautiful Irish sights
we had experienced.

Belfast

We pulled into Belfast harbor on Wednesday about 22:00. Darkness actually
fell while most of us were still awake for the first time in weeks. We
anchored in the harbor and really appreciated the dark because it allowed
us to view the City lit up in all its glory. There had been a
magnificent sunset over Belfast, and then it just started to glow in the
clear night.

We thought we were going to dock about 2:00, but didn't actually dock
until about 8:00. We finally got off the ship by 11:15 raring to go.

Once again, because of the distance from the docks to the city center, the
College arranged busses for us. They run once an hour to the town and
back. This is a real convenience because it is about 3 miles from the
Ship to the downtown through a large industrial dock area.

The bus leaves us in a very busy district with plenty to do. There is
some great shopping in small stores and two really nice malls
re-engineered from old Victorian buildings. There are plenty of places to
eat and drink. There is even a huge Ferris wheel right next to the City
Hall! Thursday's weather was fantastic, sunny and warm. It was a great
day to enjoy a great city.

I am are going on two of the scheduled tours over the next few days.
Friday I'm taking an all day tour of the Giant's Causeway and the north
coast and Saturday a 3 hour bus tour of Belfast. Saturday is also the
Carnival in town. All in all, it's going to be a busy port.

Passing Scotland

We passed the Shetland Islands Monday evening and someone started the
rumor that you could see the Shetland ponies on the shore. Even if they
were, we weren't that close. During the night, we hit the Prime Meridian
(0°) and headed south, then back west toward Belfast. In the morning the
ship was shrouded in dense fog and we could see nothing. About 11:00 the
fog lifted and we saw land on both sides of the ship. We were passing
through Pentland Firth, a fairly narrow channel with the Scottish
highlands to our port side and the Orkney Islands to the starboard. We're
going to continue southwest past Scotland and the Outer Hebrides and down
to the North Channel of the Irish Sea to the Irish island, arriving
Wednesday night/ Thursday morning ready for our last liberty.

Commuting

It takes me a whole 5 minutes to commute to the Library from my cabin,
barring a traffic jam of cadets lined up for chow in the Mess. I walk
down a hallway on my deck to the main interior ladderwell. I proceed down
10 flights of stairs to the Mess deck. I then go through the mess to the
Port ladderwell and down 4 more flights. It's a total of 98 stairs, down
7 decks. When I'm done or take a break, it's the same in reverse, only
harder uphill. I do this at least 6 times a day. It's a long way back up
to the bathroom.

The stairs in the ladderwell are a real interesting challenge when the
ship is rocking. You have to time your steps just right so you don't go
flying up or down the stairs. When the weather is right, I can change up
my commute by going down part of the way on the outside ladders. Same
distance, different view. All in all, most days it's less challenging
than driving down Old Country Road, and I don't have to worry about
parking.

The mist

I showed the Steven King movie "The Mist" last night. Scary as hell.
When I awoke this morning I heard the Ship's horn blowing. Looking out my
window, I saw we were completely shrouded in fog. Coincidence?

We are somewhere slightly north of the Shetland Islands, way east of
Ireland. As I said earlier, we have time to kill because the trip to
Ireland from Iceland was much closer than our original itinerary to
Germany planned for. The Captain is taking us over to the coast of Norway
and then navigating back west through the myriad of islands north of the
British Isles. I just hope this fog clears before we get to Belfast and
any horrible creatures from the mist devour us.

King Neptune and the Bluenoses

A mysterious scroll appeared in a bottle found on deck Friday evening. It
was a summons from one Davey Jones for all onboard to appear on deck
Sunday afternoon before the presence of King Neptune and his court. The
summons said the King would induct all who have crossed into his icy realm
into the Order of the Bluenose if they proved worthy. Amazed, no one knew
what to make of it, so they posted the scroll for all to see.

On Sunday at 13:00 everyone on the ship gathered in anticipation around
the aft hatch. Rising from the sea came the royal procession and
magnificent it was. There was the King's burly Sergeant at Arms with a
squad of the King's police, the Kings Barber, Davey Jones, the beautiful
but terrifying Sea Hag and, in all his glory out of the mist, was King
Neptune himself.

The King demanded certain sailors to come and kneel before him and to
answer the questions of the Sea Hag. Those failing to do so were made
slaves. They were bound, shaved and then forced to crawl through the
belly of the King's pet polar bear. Those making it through then had to
be cleansed by the sea to make them true seamen. After their cleansing
they were declared worthy to toast the King and partake in a feast
prepared by his cooks. Finally, the King's fools painted the noses of all
who survived, blue.

When the slaves had completed their trials, all of the crew who had never
previously been honored, were asked to endure the same. Many rose to the
occasion. With all those brave enough to step foreword finished, the King
bade us all farewell and disappeared back into the sea leaving everyone
with the question; "Did that really just happen?" Then they looked around
at all the blue noses of their fellow sailors and knew it did.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.

Sounds of the sea

WRRRRRR…CLANK…BRRRIIIIINNNNGGG….BANG….CHUNK….ZZZZZZ
This is just a sample of the cacophony of sounds of ship life aboard the
Training Ship Empire State VI. The ship is no luxury cruise liner, rather
it is a mature (old), working vessel. TSES is a small city that must
function 24 hours a day both at sea and in port, to support and protect
the lives of almost 700 people in some very tough conditions. There is
the constant humming of the steam turbines that power the ship that
vibrate through the steel bulkheads, the constant whooshing of the
ventilation system that sounds like the interior of a jet plane, doors
opening and closing, people walking and talking in the corridors, etc.
Those are just the regular sounds. Then there are the grinding, banging,
slamming, tapping noises of repair and maintenance. Those, thankfully,
are confined to the day hours, but they can make trying to take a nap
difficult. When I mentioned to someone that I was bringing my "Sound
Machine" on board to mask noises with synthesized ocean sounds to help me
sleep, they said"but you're going to be surrounded by the sound of the
ocean". I told them that the ocean is the last thing I'd possibly hear
in my cabin. It is so sealed and the sounds of the ship's machinery so
overpowering that there is little chance of hearing the sea when inside.
If I do hear it it's too late, it means the ship's going down.

In the Realm of the Polar Bear

This morning sometime I crossed the Arctic Circle for the 2nd time in my
life and entered "the Realm of the Polar Bear" or what is scientifically
called The Frigid Zone. I haven't seen any Polar Bear yet, or for that
matter, the icebergs they float on.

The dictionary defines the Circle as "an imaginary line drawn parallel to
the equator, at 23 degrees 28' S(outh) of the North Pole". It is the
futhest northern limit of the circumpolar sun. We are traversing the
upper coast of Iceland, heading west into the Norwegian Sea.

Frigid zone is an apt name. It is chilly out there today, probably in the
upper 30's. Unfortunately, the ship hasn't adjusted to the rapid drop in
temperature and my cabin was freezing last night. I slept under 3
blankets wearing flannel pjs, socks, gloves and a wool cap! All while
bright sunshine poured into the room past the edges of my window shade.
It was sunny all night long.

Farewell to Iceland

We left Reykjavik harbor this morning about 9:00, saying goodbye to that
beautiful country and heading north to cross the Arctic circle. All of
Iceland is slightly below the circle, so for the crew to join the "Order
of the Bluenose", we have to take a northern detour to get to our next
destination; Belfast, Northern Ireland. We have plenty of time because
our original itinerary called for us to go to Kiel, Germany on the Baltic
coast. Belfast is much closer so the Captain plans to steam around the
Norwegian and North Seas, past the Faroe, Ornkey, Shetland and Hebrides
islands and the coast of Norway. It is the journey that is important for
these cadets, not the destinations.

The last destination though, was spectacular. On Monday, I went on the 8
hour "Golden Circle" tour to the east of Reykjavik. This guided tour took
us out to the stark countryside to see some of the natural wonders of this
country. We drove through treeless, rocky plains that streched on forever
to distant walls of soaring mountains.

Our first stop was a gorge that is actually the splitting point of the
American and European tectonic plates. Near the gorge was the
Parlimentary Plain, where the ancient Icelandic tribes met to form a
nation. Heading further east, we stopped at the Goldfloss waterfall, not
as big as Niagra, but impressive just the same. Our final stop was the
town of Geyser and guess what they had there? GEYSERS, and a great lunch..
The only thing I'm sorry I didn't get to see was a glacier up
close, although I did see one in the distance.

Tuesday was white water rafting day. It was cold and windy and everyone
got wet, some more tham others. I didn't realize that the guides' goal
was not to keep us in the rafts, but to get everyone in the water at some
point. Brrrr. At least they gave us hot soup and coffee to warm us up
when done.

Captain Smith decided to stay in Reykjevik an extra day that will be
deducted from our next port. It was a good decision because the 17th was
their Independence Day and it was quite a party. They closed off the
whole town to cars and there were thousands of people in the streets.
There were booths and rides and music. They started after midnight the
night before and were still going strong when I left at 10:30 PM. Bjork
was a no-show, but it seemed that every other Icelander was there. The
only thing missing in their Independence Day from ours was fireworks.
They wouldn't have been any good since there was no darkness. They save
their firework displays for New Years when it is dark all day.

It's back to work today until we dock in Belfast next Thursday.

Insomnia

Anyone ever see the movie "Insomnia" where Al Pacino goes nuts because he's up in the Arctic and the sun never goes down? Well it's true. It's almost 10pm here in Reykjavik and it looks like 1 in the afternoon. I've had to draw the shades tight to get some sleep, but the sun still leaks in around the edges all night long.

Sorry for the formatting problems

I just looked at the blogs I sent from the ship's e-mail and saw the
formatting was screwy. Sorry if they are hard to read, must be the nature
of the beast. Just enjoy the content.

Creature from the Blue Lagoon

We docked in Iceland at 8:00 today sailing in past some fantastic scenery. At 10:00 we were on our way to The Blue Lagoon. The Lagoon is a man made hot pool fed by the runoff from the geothermal power station. It is huge and absolutely beautiful. It was about an hours drive from our dock through some of the most stark countryside you have ever seen. Huge fields of black volcanic stone with green lichens growing on them, surrounded by volcanic hills. After a mandatory shower, we entered the lagoon area and were totally amaze. The water looked like blue milk. We jumped in and were instantly relaxed by the steaming hot water. We had to partake in the ritual of smearing ourselves with pure white silica mud that was supposed to be good for our skin. Everyone looked like ghosts covered with this stuff. There were steam and sauna baths as well as a bar right in the pool. A total relaxation experience. Even though it was about 45 degrees outside, no one cared. We stayed about 2 hours and were amazed by the experience. On the bus back, almost everyone fell asleep. As I said: total relaxation.

Entering the land of the midnight sun

The seas calmed down last night. I guess our sacrifice to the sea gods
worked. He was only a small cadet, no one will miss him (just kidding).
We are about 200 hundred miles south east of Iceland and will be there
sometime tomorrow, June 14. We've already entered the "land of the
midnight sun". Last night the sun went down after midnight and rose this
morning at about 3:30! The days will get even longer the further north we
travel and the closer we get to the summer solstice. It was freaky
getting out of the Library after my shift ended at 23:00 and the sky was
still bright. I'm glad I have blackout shades in the cabin because I
don't sleep well when it's light.

They are arranging tours of Iceland for us. There's going to be a trip to
the Blue Lagoon which is the world's largest hot tub. It is a
geothermally fed pool that can hold about 1,000 people. There is also
supposed to be a whole Iceland tour to take us to the glaciers, geysers
and waterfalls that the country is noted for. Another tour is a
whitewater rafting expedition. There will also be plenty to see in the
city of Reykjavik within walking distance of our dock. As usual, I will
have the whole time off because the Library is closed while in port.

Rumor is we are staying in Iceland an extra day because the 17th, the day
we were going to leave, is their Independence Day. It is supposed to be
one big party. If so, we will lob a day off our next port which has
changed from Kiel, Germany which was originally scheduled to Belfast,
Northern Ireland instead.

I can't believe the voyage is half over. 2 more ports to go and we're
heading home. We lost some of the crew and cadets along the way and added
others. Some were planned, some were not. No one fell overboard or
anything like that, they flew back home. I'm already planning the closing
of the Library several days before we arrive back in order to pack up the
ton of stuff up that has to go back ashore. Tempus fugit.

Rockin' and Rollin'

So much for the calm seas we had for our first 3 weeks out. The ocean
turned a little rough as we reached the northern coast of Portugal and the
weather has been cloudy and rainy ever since. Nothing too bad. Just
enough to make life interesting. You try to secure everything, but
something always escapes and rolls across the deck.

The Empire State VI is a top-heavy ship. It is designed as a cargo ship
with holds that are supposed to be full. In its current incarnation, they
are not. And so we roll side to side. Some of the cadets and crew are
seasick, but Most are OK. I'm doing all right so far.

Sleeping is fun when the rolling begins. A gentle roll is rather
relaxing, like being rocked in a cradle. But there comes a point when
things start to get uncomfortable. You try to sprawl out as flat as
possible to keep from rolling between the wall and bed rail. The scheme
doesn't always work so you grip the mattress to hold on. Without fail,
when a big swell hits, something will go crashing across the room waking
you out of whatever stage of sleep you are in.

Meals can be a chore. The tables are bolted to the floor with a rubber
mat on top and lips that can be raised to keep the food from winding up in
your lap. The chairs are another story. They are not fixed. Today when
a swell hit, I found myself 3 feet away from my bowl of cream of wheat
before I could get my next spoonful.

Ship showering is always a treat, even in calm water. The stainless steel
stall is smaller than a NYC phonebooth (anybody remember those?) and wraps
around you 3/4 of the way with a curtain at the entrance. To conserve
water, there is a shutoff valve that you are supposed to use to shut off
after wetting up. Then you soap up and turn the valve on again to rinse
off. When the ship is rolling, you are banging off the cold walls with
every roll. Thank God there are hand grips inside to hold on to. And
when you dry off, dressing is no treat either. Try putting pants on when
the floor beneath you is moving back and forth.

The Library this morning was covered with books...on the floor. Even
though we have special shelving and bungie cords across each shelf to
retain the books, it doesn't always work. Picking them up and re-shelving
are all part of the job.

All in all, this is an experience I wouldn't trade for the world.

From tedium to apathy and back again

Who knows where that line comes from? It aptly describes most days at
sea. Ship life can be routine and downright boring between ports. The
endless ocean views are nice to look at once in a while, but can get
tedious quickly. Whale or dolphin watching? Forget about it. I could
look for hours without seeing any. They only seem to pop up when I'm not
looking for them and then quickly disappear. There's no TV, newspapers
and only some shortwave radio to connect me to the outside world, mostly
in languages I can't understand. The world could be blowing up and we
wouldn't know until we docked.

My library is below the water line so I can't see anything for long
periods of time any way. But there is peace in the boredom. It is very
relaxing to just read or contemplate existence (very profound of me,
huh?).

By the way, the line is from the great play/movie (OK TV series), "Mr.
Roberts".

Ship lag

We all know about jet lag that happens when you cross time zones. Well it
also happens on a ship journey, just at a slower pace. We crossed 6 time
zones between NY and Gibraltar. We had to "spring ahead" every day or two
at sea and lose an hour. It's like having daylight savings time begin 6
times in a couple of weeks. You only lose an hour at a time, but you
still feel the loss. Leaving Gibraltar and heading back west, we had to
"fall back" and thankfully re-gained an hour. 25 hour days are nicer than
23 hour ones. More time to sleep.

We still may lose the hour again, and possibly more, depending on what our
final port in Europe will be. Our last destination is still up in the
air. In the end, we all will return to normal when we arrive home, weary
from all of our time traveling.

Back to sea again

We left Gibraltar at 8:00 yesterday morning. Rounding the point, we left
the beautiful calm Mediterranean and headed north in the Atlantic toward
Iceland. We skirted the coast of Portugal close enough to see lights last
night. About 11:00pm the seas started getting a little rough and we
rocked and rolled all night long. A couple of nasty swells sent stuff
rolling around my cabin including me, almost. Thank God I've got a bed
rail to keep me in my bunk.

Our last day in Gibraltar was great. I went back up on to the Rock for a
last time. I hung out with the Ship's doctor all day. It was perfect
weather again. When we got down, we just roamed the town for the rest of
the day even though most of it was closed up for Sunday. I was hanging
with him in a pub with free WiFi access updating this blog, when 2 of the
apes from the top came sauntering down the main street. The little
buggers proceeded to make themselves at home. They climbed up on a
terrace of a small apartment building and made a snack of the flowers in a
window box. The locals said this was an extremely rare event as they
usually stay up on the Rock. I guess they came down to say goodbye to us..

An e-mail posting test

Now that we have e-mail up I hope to be able to post regularly. No
pictures though until I get to port with internet to upload themas the
e-mail is test only.

My e-mail

They finally got the e-mail working on the ship. My e-mail is:

rdelbango.tses@seawave.net

I'm going to try to update the blog from sea, but I tried the other night and the 6 posts I sent didn't show. I hope they won't come as duplicates to the ones I sent today from an internet cafe. If they do appear, forgive me.

Bunkering

Today we are going to bunker here at Gibraltar which is the process of taking on fuel. It is a not like pulling up to the self serve pump at the local Sunoco. It is an involved process to fuel this baby up and it takes a LOT. Since they have to heat the oil up to allow it to be pumped into our tanks and the Library is right above said tanks, I expect the temperature to rise in the Library when I re-open on Monday. I hope it’s not for long or I will have to close again until the temperature reaches acceptable levels.

We leave tomorrow at 8:00am for Iceland

Monkeys of the Rock

I took a cable car to the top of the Rock on Friday, about 1,200 feet up. The view was spectacular, but the most interesting thing up there is the colony of monkeys. The little buggers are everywhere. They are cute, but will try to rob anything you have loose.

We also went to St. Michaels cace near the top. It is a beautiful, large cave with many natural warwter formed features. There is a natural concert hall inside with great acoustics.

The Road to Morocco

I went for a day trip to Morocco yesterday. What a trip it was! After dealing with border crossing into Spain, we took a 2 hour ferry ride across the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier. As soon as we hit you could smell the difference from Gibraltar. FOUL. I, along with 100 cadets, had a guided tour of the city. The city is an ancient crossroads of Asia, Afica and Europe and very international...We went to the Casbah to shop and what an experience. I now know what a Thieves Market means. From the second we stepped off the bus, we were hassled to buy every kind of trinket unimaginable, NON-STOP. The tour took us to a local restaurant where we had a lunch of kabob and coucous accompanied by Moroccan music. Afterwards, our guide took us through the winding streets filled with stalled and street sellers, to a sort of department store where we could shop in relative peace, at a higher cost of course. The trip was about 10 hours in total and we made it back safely in the evening. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll being going back any time soon.

The Rock

6/4/2009

We’ve been in view of “The Rock” for several days doing maneuvers. I’m not speaking about Dwayne Johnson, but rather Gibraltar. Gibraltar is just that, a giant rock rising up from the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea pushed up by the collision of Africa and Europe. It is attached to Spain but owned by the British where they have used it as a naval base to protect their interests for hundreds of years. As such, English is the mother tongue making communication a little easier than in the Azores.

We docked at the main dock at 8:00 Friday. Many times the ship docks miles away from anything and the logistics of getting around can be complicated. This time we are once again lucky because, like Ponta Delgada, we are docked right near the center of town.

Today I’m doing a tour of the rock. There are intricate caves dug into it by generations of defenders. At the top there are huge defensive guns for its protection. And then there are the infamous monkeys who roam the summit. These are the wild Barbary Apes brought here as pets by British Sailors. Supposedly, they are the biggest crime threat on the island. They are notorious for stealing sunglasses, hats, cameras, etc. It’s going to be interesting.

I’m taking a tour over to Morocco on Saturday. The ship is arranging tours for each of the days in port. It’s about a 10 mile ferry ride from Gibraltar and then I’ll have set foot in Africa for the first time. This should be a real adventure. I’d love to get over to Spain too, maybe on Sunday.

More drills

6/3/2009

We arrived at the calm waters off Gibraltar on Tuesday morning June 2 about 6:00, but we won’t anchor until Friday. As I said in an earlier post, the Captain has gotten us out of bad weather approaching the Azores where we were supposed to do more safety drills. We are instead doing them here. We’re going to be doing man-overboard, fire and equipment drills.

It is a tease being so close to land and not being able to go ashore. Many of the people on the ship have cell phones that are European compatible and now we are in range, are using them constantly calling home.

The regimental staff is planning various tours for when we get to land. One I hope to go on is to Morocco, a short ferry ride across the narrow mouth of the Mediterranean to north Africa. I am also considering going into Spain somewhere on the Costa del Sol. There are beautiful beaches and towns there. I’d like to get to Malaga about 50 miles away. There is the Picasso Museum there among some others. I want to see some original flamenco dancing as well.

Man the lifeboats

6/2/2009

We just had another lifeboat/safety drill. By Coast Guard regulations, we have to have one a week and the Captain likes planning them for calm waters. When the alarm sounds, you have to drop everything. You have to get your gear and to go to your assigned lifeboat station wearing a jacket, hat, life vest and carrying ID, a knife and flashlight. The drills usually last ½ hour or so. Today we had an added lesson on how to use a “Gumby Suit”. This is a floatable, thermal protection outfit that helps you stay afloat and avoid hypothermia in case you have to go directly into the water if the ship’s going down and you can’t use the lifeboats. You look like “Gumby” when it is all zipped up, Also demonstrated was a mylar sleeping bag-like device to keep you warm in the lifeboat.

There are 6 lifeboats on board of 2 different kinds with more than enough capacity to hold everyone. The traditional type we all know from movies like “Titanic”. It is open and holds 145 people. The second kind looks like a large orange boot. It is completely enclosed and able to stay afloat in the roughest seas. You may have seen this type recently on the news. It was the type the Somali pirates were killed in during the recent standoff. I’m assigned to the former this cruise, but I think I’d prefer to be in the latter.
It’s a bit disconcerting to think about having to abandon ship, but it is comforting to know that we are well prepared to do so if we had to. Luckily we have no children aboard and relatively few women so my chances of getting on quickly are quite good.

Food, glorious food

6/1/2009

Food, glorious food! They feed us like kings here. I’ll probably look like Henry VIII when I return. There is a contracted food service company called Chartwells who provides all of our meals. There are about 50 food service staff who work about 20 hours a day cooking, baking, serving and cleaning for the other 600 of us. One whole deck is taken up with food storage, kitchens and the Cadet mess. We officers take our meals 3 decks up in the Officer’s mess, a refuge of peace and quiet.

Breakfast begins at 6:15 until 8:00, a little early for me with my late hours. We have custom omelets, eggs, cereals, pancakes, waffles, French toast as well as selection of fresh fruits, cereals rolls and pastries. Lunch is at 11:30 until 13:00 and consists of a hot dish, soup, a salad bar and a selection of cold cuts and salads for sandwiches. Dinner is 17:00 to 19:00 is always some delicious hot dish, pasta, soup and salad bar. Portions are as big or small as you want. They usually bring up pizza and popcorn around 20:00 each night. A refrigerator is left fully stocked in the Officer’s mess galley for crew who are on overnight shifts or anyone else who wants to indulge any time of the day.

Then there are the desserts. Fresh baked pasties and cakes are left out for us 24 hours a day. The ice cream freezer is also available all of the time. I could get used to this life.

Sunday at sea

5/31/2009

Another Sunday at sea and life is good. We’ve been blessed for the whole journey so far with calm seas and sunny warm weather. Today is no exception. I work a shorter day on Sundays; open 9 hours instead of 12-13. The cadets are on a regular class/work day today to make up for the day we lost, but the Sunday barbecue took place as scheduled. We had burgers, franks and sausages for lunch cooked on large grills on the deck. Dinner was steaks, burgers, corn-on-the-cob and baked potatoes with sundaes for dessert. Yum!

With the cadets working and eating all day, the Library was a little slower. Tonight’s showing of “The Transformers” in the lounge next door should be packed.

Back to sea

5/30/2009

We left the Azores at 8:30 am on May 30th heading into what looks like rough seas. We were supposed to cruise slowly around the Azores a couple more days for drills and maneuvers, but now we are going to steam towards the calmer Mediterranean around our next port, Gibraltar, and do them there.

Everyone is exhausted from shore leave. I walked through Ponta Delgada for hours each day, up and down its hilly, narrow streets. I was able to get in as much of the town as possible in 3 days, even with taking the 4 hour tour on Thursday to the west of the Island and the 7 hour tour to the east and north on Friday. The scenery here was amazing to behold. Most of the cadets behaved themselves ashore, but 4 overindulged and will have to face the punishment of confinement to ship for the rest of the cruise. Bummer.

2nd Day in the Azores

I am having a great time exploring Sao Miguel. The ship is docked right in the center of downtown Ponta Delgada. The town is a mix of the modern and the ancient. There is a small mall (where I’m getting free WiFi to post this) as well as many shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. Unfortunately, “civilization” has also intruded; McDonald’s and Burger King are here too!

Yesterday, I walked about 5 miles around the town taking in the sites. Most of the architecture is Mediterranean in style with some contemporary “Euro-Trash” thrown in. The main street, along the water, is a wide boulevard. The older streets, uptown, are extremely narrow and dangerous for pedestrians, with tightly packed 2 & 3 story apartment buildings. It always amazes me how with so much land, people choose to live on top of one another. I visited 2 of the 3 largest churches in town, both over 400 years old. They were beautiful examples of rococo architecture. I ate dinner in a small restaurant, a delicious mixed grill of 5 kinds of fish with potatoes. After dinner I enjoyed a cigar in one of the local parks.

My dreams of beaching it were dashed by the cool temperatures in the low 70’s. Today I along with 50 cadets and Fr Farrell the chaplain, took a 4 hour tour of the volcanoes in the western part of the island. Passing through dairy farm land, the bus climbed to the summit of the volcano to a vista spot. Inside of the volcano are 2 lakes, one blue and the other green, called “The Twins”. We travelled into the volcano to the lakes and rested at a small town with coffee and Portuguese pastries. Returning to Ponta Delgada, we stopped at a pineapple plantation where some of the cadets, not me, sampled their pineapple liquor.

Tomorrow I’m joining a 7 hour tour of the east coast that includes a visit to a tea plantation, a swim in a hot spring and a lunch steam cooked for us in a geyser. Then it’s back to sea(and back to work) on Saturday heading for Gibraltar.

Sorry for all the posts

Sorry for all the posts at once. The Ship's e-mail system isn't working so I haven't been able to post regularly. I saved them all up. Hope we get it working soon. I'll post my ship e-mail when/if it works.

The Azores

We were able, even with some engine problems, to make up for some of the time lost at Montauk. We reached the Azores, a volcanic archipelago in the east Atlantic, on Tuesday night rather than the morning as scheduled. Unable to dock in the dark, we anchored then docked Wednesday morning at 10:00am.

I sailed around the Azores on my last cruise in 2002, but we didn’t land then. I am looking foreword to actually going ashore this time. The Library is closed while we are in port and I have no other duties, so my time is my own. I expect to make good use of it. I want to go swimming in the beautiful azure (thus Azores) water and soak up the rays on a sandy black beach. Yes, the beaches are BLACK because these beautiful islands are really volcanoes, dormant ones (I hope). Maybe I’ll also get some hiking in up the flower lined trails of the volcanoes. Whatever, I’m determined to enjoy myself.

The island we have come to is called Sao Miguel. The Azores is a Portuguese owned group of islands located approx. 2400 miles east of NY and 950 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal. We docked at Ponta Delgada, the largest town with a population of about 45,000 people. These islands are actually the tops of volcanoes jutting up from the ocean floor. They were uninhabited until discovered and subsequently colonized by the Portuguese in 1427. Fantastic natural beauty.

Accomodations

My cabin is on the Cabin deck, the second highest deck up right below the Bridge Deck where the ship’s controls are. Back in the day when the Empire State VI was a merchant cargo vessel run by the defunct Moore-McCormick lines this deck was for passengers the ship routinely carried along with cargo. That was a common practice then allowing for more economical travel than on a liner. It also allowed people to travel to spots not serviced by liner traffic. Air travel and efficiency of cargo carrying with container ships has pretty much killed this kind of service. As such, the cabins on my deck are more luxurious than the officer’s cabins on the rest of the ship with wooden bunks and dressers.

There are 2 bunks in my cabin that I am sharing it with Tim K. a rep of NOAA (National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Agency). Tim has a dual faceted job on board; he teaches weather at sea and also takes readings that he relays back to NOAA. Tim will only be on for ¾ of the cruise, leaving me to a private room if no one else joins the cruise on its last legs.
I have a large window with a beautiful view of the sea from one angle. Unfortunately, a big orange lifeboat obscures views from the other angles. That’s OK because I’m not in the cabin much spending most of my time 7 decks below in the Library. When I’m not at work, there is a beautiful Officers Lounge right outside my cabin as well as multiple outside decks to relax on and take in the fantastic, infinite ocean views and a night sky filled with more stars than you thought possible. A ladder (stairway) near my room takes me directly to the Officer’s Mess, convenient for mealtime or the snacks available there 24/7. Not luxury, but not bad either

Working

I’ve been working long hours keeping the Library open from 10:00am to at least 10:30 pm with lunch and dinner breaks where I lock the door. I have been able to hire 2 cadets to help me run things, giving me a chance for additional breaks without closing. Breaks are important since there is no head (bathroom) on the deck where the Library is located, or any deck nearby. My cabin (and my head) is 7 decks above with no elevator, just lots of stairs. My legs will be in great shape at this cruise’s end.

The Library patrons consist mainly of pleasure readers and of study groups using the navigation table books that we provide to determine where we are and where we’re going. Even though these tables are on the PCs in the Library, they want to use the books! I don’t have many electronic resources since we have no internet, just some specialized digital sources the land library was able to load on the ship library’s network. The rest is done with books. Remember those? It’s like doing reference in the early 90’s. Reference questions have been minimal, but steady. I do everything here; reference, readers advisory, circulation, cataloging, cleaning, you name it. A real one-man show.

Another duty of mine is as the ship’s Audio Visual person showing 2 movies a night in the Cadet Lounge next to the Library where they can relax after a day’s work. A new video system with a 52” flat screen TV and surround sound was installed days before we left. We have about 350 mostly current DVDs to choose from and the programming is left up to me. The hardest thing is keeping the running times of the 2 films to about 3 ½ hours so I can close as close to 10:30 pm as possible. I also run the occasional educational film for classes held during the day.

A glossary of sea terms

I have to maintain nautical terms for things while on board. Here are some translations:

1st Class cadet = 3rd cruise cadet
2nd Class cadet = 2nd cruise cadet
Aft = rear of ship
Bunk = bed
Bow = front of ship
Bunkering = fueling
Cabin = stateroom
Deck = floor
Fore = front of ship
Galley = kitchen
Head = bathroom
Ladder = stairs
Leg = part of a voyage between ports
Mess = dining area
MUG = Midshipman Under Guidance (1st cruise cadet)
Port = left of ship
Starboard = right of ship
Stern = rear of ship
Steward = room or food service personnel

Underway

After being stuck at Montauk for almost 40 hours to fix the e-mail, it never got fixed so Captain Richard Smith decided to continue our journey without it. That’s the reason for lack of my blog entries from sea so far. So much for my grand plan. I understand that they will attempt to fix it in our first port.

The sail so far has been great. I write this on Sunday May 24, 2009. We’ve traveled over 1,600 miles toward our first port, the Azores. The weather has been fantastic, warm and sunny outdoors with calm or just lightly rolling seas. As I write this we’re waiting for the barbecue grills to heat up for our all-day Memorial Day feast of steaks, burgers, hot dogs, salads and ice cream floats.

I wish the indoor temperature was as nice. The ship was very inconsistent from deck to deck. The first few days, my cabin was freezing and the Library was like Hades. The Library temperature got so bad that it was driving my patrons away. One step in the Library and they turned around and left. On Friday, when the Library reached 97 degrees, the Chief Mate shut us down until the temperature could be adjusted to safe levels. By Saturday morning conditions had drastically improved. My cabin temperature moderated too. A much more pleasant environment.

On to the Azores.

Departure

The Ship departed from Fort Schuyler in the Bronx at exactly 10:00am on Monday May 18. The departure was spectacular with throngs of loved ones lining the sea wall near the Maritime dock to wish all their sailors Bon Voyage. My daughter Lisa and her boyfriend showed up to see me off but, because of security concerns, I couldn't get off to see them and they couldn't get on to see me. Thank God for cell phones and binoculars.

I had spent the night before on the ship to insure that I would be there. The cabin that I'm sharing for part of the cruise with an agent of NOAA was meat locker COLD.

The tugs that would pull us out under the Throgs Neck Bridge arrived about 9:30 as did a NY Fire Dept. rescue boat with an honorary spraying salute to our departure. By about 10:30, we were underway sailing east through the Long Island Sound. We had to anchor off Montauk Point to dispatch some inspectors and College personnel not doing the cruise. But, we discovered, we would be there a while awaiting a part for the Ship's email system that had to be flown up from Miami to the College, configured at Maritime, driven out to Montauk and delivered to us by launch! Luckily the Captain found a sheltered spot to anchor making for a pleasant night's sleep (in a refrigerator).

First blog@sea! (Kinda)

Hey y'all, this is Scott - Rich's son and guest blogger extraordinaire - reporting in with a quick update! Got a call from the man himself a few minutes ago: The ship launched at 10 this morning, and is currently anchored of the coast of Montauk. Dad's cell phone signal was kinda non-existent at the point I talked to him at, but we still managed to connect the call, so Western civ isn't entirely behind him yet. Soon enough, though, he'll be on his way with this crazy 80 day race around the world or whatever. But seriously folks, wish the man luck. It's not every day you get to take a trip to the furthest corners of the Earth and get paid for it, and I'm sure he has enough books and cigars to keep him entertained for the long oceanic stretches between destinations.

So, Adieu Rich Delbango, we'll see you in two months! Keep your wits about it in the choppy, pirate-heavy waters. And if the swine flu gets us all before you make it to the mainland, at least you'll have been insulated from it!

Bureaucracy

After battling morning traffic to the Bronx, I reported to Fort Schuyler for my first day on the job. When I got there I found out that my government issued TWIC card that I need to be allowed on the docks (and the ship), was sitting in someone's office in the Battery in Manhattan 15 LONG miles away. So, instead of working on preparing the library all day, I had to drive into lower Manhattan, on a rainy workday, to claim my card. GRRRRRRR! Consequently, I now have to squeeze 2 days of prep into a single day. Nobody said this trip was going to be easy, but it will be fun.

Track my voyage

There's a great new web tool that tracks every registered ship on the high seas. It is called Sailwx.info. Click here to track the daily progress of the Empire State VI.

Packing

What do you pack for 7 weeks at sea? I'll be thousands of miles from the nearest Wal*Mart for long stretches of time so I have to bring almost everything with me. Some things are easy to plan on like enough clothes for all types of weather and laundry supplies to clean them. Food is taken care of, but a few snacks are always good to have. And I can't forget a 2 month's supply of cigars.

There are some things you never dream of until the ship is underway. Things like duct tape to keep loose items from banging around as the ship rocks and rolls, and it does plenty of that. Velcro to secure small items. A bed rail to keep from falling out of bed. A comforter and extra pillow to supplement the institutional ones provided. I also have my electronic gadgets like my own GPS to chart the voyage, a short wave radio to hear the news of the world, a digital camera so I can post pics. my MP3 player, my laptop. Plenty of batteries and chargers for all are a necessity.

The ship has a ship's store that sells some small items, but it is better to be prepared. I have to carry a knife and flashlight with me at all times. What other librarian job requires one to carry a knife at work? Maybe one in a bad neighborhood, but I'm sure even there it is frowned upon.

Damn the pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates that is.

The major topic of conversation in my life since I announced my cruise is "aren't you scared of pirates?". I have to educate the listener that the current incidents of piracy are occurring off Somalia, some 10, 000 miles from where I will be sailing. Of course even the Staten Island Ferry is susceptible to piracy, but the chances are mighty slim in the waters that I will be sailing. Unless the current economic crisis drives the Scandinavians back to their viking roots, I think that I will be safe. I am sure though that anti-piracy training will be a new addition to this year's cruise along with the other mandatory safety training exercises.

By the way, the pirate in the pic isn't me as many have commented on. It is Patchy the Pirate, SpongeBob's #1 fan!

Getting ready

5 1/2 weeks to go. Got the itinerary, but it is confidential for security reasons until we arrive at each port. I can say we are going to an island in the Atlantic, an island in the Mediterranian, and 2 northern European countries. We're also going to cross the Arctic circle which will be the 2nd time for me. When you cross the Arctic for the 1st time, you become a member of the Order of the Blue Nose. We should be in the Arctic and Nortern Europe near the summer solstice. It is very disconcerting to have almost 24 hours of daylight. Better than the winter of perpetual darkness.

I'm still waiting for my dock security papers from Homeland Security. This is a new wrinkle this year. The world has changed considerably since 9/11. I'm gathering my supplies and uniforms. Khaki is the color when I'm on duty.

Maritime Summer Sea term 2009 cruise

I have been hired to be the Ship's Librarian for the State University of New York's Maritime College's Summer Sea term. This will be the second time that I have done this. I was the librarian in 2002.

The 7 week session essentially brings the Maritime College to sea to train the students for careers in the maritime industry. The cruise is aboard the the Empire State VI , a 565 ft., 17,000 ton transport ship that will be the home and school for about 500 cadets, faculty, officers and staff for 2 months. On board, the students will learn to operate an ocean-going vessel. Every student has to complete 3 cruises before graduation to satisfy U.S. Coast Guard regulations for licensing.

This year's cruise will begin in mid-May and return in mid-July. The cruise will cover about 10,000 miles and take us to 4 ports in the Atlantic and Europe. It is always an exciting and challenging experience for both the cadets and crew. I will be reporting as regularly as possible on the cruise.

Ship's starting location map