Sloooooooowwwww Sailing

The Captain is really killing time to keep us from getting to Gibraltar
too early. During the rough swells the other day, we were zigzagging to
hit them at the optimum angle to avoid rolling. That used up time. When
the seas calmed, we cut speed down to about 6 knots. At first, I thought
we had stopped. In one of my rare excursions out of the library into the
daylight, I saw other ships passing us in the same direction like we were
standing still.

We're still cruising at a leisurely pace which is much more fuel efficient
anyway. Like driving a car with heavy foot on the accelerator will use up
more gas, cruising at a higher speed will burn more oil. Saving fuel is a
good thing. You can't just find oil floating on the top of the ocean.
Oops, I guess you can nowadays. Anyway, we're still scheduled to get it
in the old fashioned way, from a bunkering barge. You can just imagine
how much a tank full costs for this baby. We'll find out tomorrow in
Gibraltar when we fill up. I hope Capt. Smith has enough of a limit on the
credit card.

As for now, we're in no hurry. We're right on schedule. Once again I
have to remember that this cruise is for the cadets and for them, it is
all about the journey not the destination.

The Needle Gun

Above the cacophony of shipboard life, one noise reigns supreme, that of
the needle gun. Like the sound of a woodpecker on steroids, the chirping
needle gun resonates daily through the steel of the ship. It creates a
sound that passes right through earplugs, pillows, etc. directly into
one's brain.

The gun is a pneumatically powered chipper fed by compressed air through a
spider web of hoses strewn across the decks. These hoses are a hazard in
their own right. Cadets on extra duty use these devices to chip away at
the constantly encroaching rust that will eventually eat the entire ship
if not removed and painted over. Chipping starts around 09:00 and
continues most of the day. There are usually a half dozen of these
devices being used simultaneously. The sound can be heard throughout the
ship, there is no escape. Not even the library is safe from this racket
and we're decks below the work, under the water line. Thank God I brought
plenty of aspirins along.

Just Another Day at Sea

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.

My Contact Information at Sea

Because of the lack of full internet capability on the ship I cannot read
any comments left for me on this blog while I am at sea. My updates at
sea are all done by the ship's text only e-mail. That is why I can't put
any pictures up until I get web access in port. E-mail is how anyone can
get in touch with me. My ship's e-mail address is:

rdelbango.tses@seawave.net

The Angry Sea

My last entry ended with a crash. It only got worse as the night went on..
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 forth
on the decks, including me in my bunk.

It was not a good night to sleep. Usually the gentle rolling of the waves
rocks me to sleep. Last night I did all I could to stay in bed. I had a
bed rail so I wouldn't fall on the floor, but it didn't stop me from
rolling around between the rail and the wall. I tried everything
including stuffing extra pillows and a comforter between me and the rail
to limit my space. Nothing really worked because even if I didn't move
the noise of all the items sliding around in and out of my cabin were a
constant annoyance. Even the clothes in my closet made noise all night as
they slid on their hangers from port to starboard, back and forth. I
didn't get to sleep until dawn when the sea calmed down a bit.

Luckilly, it was Sunday and I had no morning duty hours. I slept from
dawn until noon. When I woke, 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.

I was glad to hear that no one got hurt in the overnight. Usually when
things get rough someone winds up falling out of their bunk or gets
otherwise banged up. Nothing this time.

I relaxed the rest of the afternoon, had more of the burnt animal flesh
for dinner (steak this time), topped it off with an ice cream sundae and
cup of coffee then headed to work for the evening. All in all, a good
day.

Out to Sea

We left Dublin shortly after midnight this morning and we're now making
headway south to the Mediterranean. I'm getting acclimated to my first
full day of work since the library was closed in port.

I spent my first 3 days walking the streets of Dublin as I had no long
stretch of time to do any trips outside the city. Yesterday, I stayed on
board to give a tour of the ship to Anne Kenney, the Dean of Libraries at
Cornell University, who was here for a conference and was interested in
how this unusual library works.

This being the 3rd time I've been to Dublin, I had already seen most of
the important sites in town. I spent most of my time shopping for
supplies I could not bring over on the airplane such as shampoo and shave
cream in larger than the 3oz. sizes allowed on a flight. Three ounces of
these products is hardly enough to last for a 6 week voyage.

One site I did go to this time was the old Jameson's whiskey distillery in
town. Although the working distillery moved to the country almost 40
years ago, the company keeps a presence in the City to celebrate their 250
year old history in Dublin. The tour was pricey (13.50 Euro) for what is
essentially advertising for their product, but it was enjoyable just the
same. The highlight of the tour was a complimentary sample of their fine
beverage which was unfortunate for me since I no longer imbibe. It didn't
go to waste. I was able to easily to dispose of my sample to one of my
companions who was glad to have a second.

I didn't spend all my time shopping for essentials. I indulged myself and
bought some fine (and extremely overpriced) Cuban cigars which still are
not allowed in the States. The cigar shop was called 'The Dependable Cigar
Emporium" on Grafton Street, the City's shopping mecca. The shop had a
real old world gentleman's club (the old meaning of the term, not a strip
club) feel to it. If any federal Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms agents are
reading this, the cigars will be long gone by the time we approach the
shores of the U.S.

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 the
library is open every day we are at sea, holiday or not. BOO hoo! My
rest comes when we're in port and that's still 12 days or so away.

OOPS! Got to go. We just hit a big wave and a whole shelf of books came
crashing down. I've got to put them all back. It was lucky that no one
was standing nearby. All in a days work in a ship's library.

Greetings from Dublin

I made it through the long flight here, made even longer by the fact that Maritime had us arrive at JFK airport 3 hours early. No one was there to assist us with ticketing, gate, etc., but we figured it out anyway. There were about 200 of us on board, mostly 2nd and 3rd class cadets and all were well behaved especially so because it was an alcohol free flight. The flight finally took off about 7:30 EST and re arrived in Dublin at 1:15 EST on Wednesday morning. The organization was better on this end with busses waiting to take us to the ship.

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. Except for the fact that my room was a mess from the construction and I had no blanket, pillow, towels or toilet paper, I was able to settle in. It is the same cabin I've had on all of my cruises and it felt like home despite everything.

After resting a while, I headed into Dublin for some sightseeing. Not having been here in 7 years, I found the City to be a changed place. The economic boom of the last 10 years was evident in all the new construction and a new light rail system through the city. The cadets, as usual when we come here, had taken over the Temple Bar area of the City, Dublin's famous drinking district. All seemed on their best behavior, a credit to Maritime discipline. I activated my cell phone, did some shopping then headed back to the ship to sleep off my jet lag.

Tomorrow I am meeting an honored guest to the ship, Anne Kenney the Dean of Libraries at Cornell University and an acquaintance of the Maritime Library Director, who is in town for a conference. The ship will depart Friday night (really Saturday morning) at 12:15 because a cruise ship is coming into our dock and forcing us to vacate 8 hours earlier than scheduled. Then it is on to Malta, a 12 day journey away. I look forward to smooth sailing.

Getting Ready

I hope you all like the new design layout, I thought a change would be nice. I've been busy getting ready for the cruise. I will be flying out to meet the ship in Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday, June 22 along with several hundred cadets, crew and faculty who will be replacing many on board the ship. As I said in an earlier post, the cruise will be split into 2 separate parts this year with the 2nd and 3rd class cadets split into two cohorts. The 1st class cadets have to do the whole 3 months of the cruise.

The first cohort has already been to Spain and Greece and, according to my predecessor Joe's blog, has had a fabulous time. The sites at both ports have been spectacular. The Mediterranean portion of the cruise has kept them in sight of land most of the time which is definitely a treat compared to seeing nothing but huge expanses of sea for days on end.

Joe has learned much about the pleasures and pitfalls of life on a ship and while adapting well, seems to be eager to return home. The biggest problem he has had is that he had to vacate his cabin due to a pipe leak in the ceiling and had to move from the quieter Cabin Deck to more utilitarian quarters on the busier Main Deck. Since I was supposed to inherit his cabin, I am hoping that the repairs are completed by the time I arrive so I can return to my original quarters.

I still have to do my final packing. Luckily, I was able to place the bulk of my luggage aboard the Empire State VI before it left. I discovered afterward that only carry-on luggage will be allowed aboard my flight. It is difficult to fit six weeks worth of clothing and supplies into a carry-on bag.

Since my last post, I found out that the ports we will be travelling to on the second cohort are Malta and Brest, France While Malta looks beautiful(see above left), I have learned that, due to destruction from bombing in WWII, Brest is is a very modern, industrial looking city with little old world charm(see above right). I hope they have some good tours planned there out to the more scenic and historical regions.

I'll see you all next week from Dublin.