Pics from Malta

Here.'s some pictures of Malta. I've been very busy taking tours since Igot to here that I haven't written anything. I'll do a post before I leave. I promise.

Malta – an Overview

For those of you who don't know a thing about Malta, here's some excerpts
from the fact sheet I prepared for the ship.

Malta is an independent, island country located south of Sicily and
northeast of Tunisia in the Mediterranean. The small country has a long
and important history due to its location in the narrow strait between
Europe and Africa. The nation is made up of 3 islands; Gozo, Comino and
Malta. These islands were settled around 4000 B.C. by Sicilians,
Carthaginians and Phoenicians who are the antecedents of the present day
Maltese. Besides these settlers, Malta has been ruled over the millennia
by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Normans, the Aragonese, the Arabs, the
Knights of St. John, the French and finally the British before becoming an
independent nation in 1964. It is a land that has absorbed many cultures
into one of its own.

It is a member of the European Union. English and Malti are the two
official languages of the country.

Malta is a VERY Catholic country, claiming to be one of the oldest
Christian societies in the world. They were converted by the Apostle Paul
who was shipwrecked on the island of Malta in 60 AD on his way to Rome to
face trial before Caesar. For a small country Malta has a lot of churches,
313 on Malta and 46 on Gozo. These churches, ranging from small country
churches to large, ornate cathedrals, are among the main tourist
attractions here. .

The Knights of St. John (also known as the Knights Hospitaliers) were very
influential to Malta's history. Many of the sights around the island
concern them. They were the world's first multi-national organization and
it still exists today. Originally an order of monks who tended to the sick
and wounded on pilgrimages from Europe to the Holy Land, they became a
rich and powerful military organization. The Holy Roman Emperor gave
Malta to the Knights in the 16th century and they owned it until Napoleon
expelled them in 1798.

When Napoleon was defeated, the British took over and ruled until 1964.
Malta was the long time the headquarters of the British Mediterranean
fleet and is rich in British naval history.

Valleta is the capital of the country. It was founded in 1565 by the
Knights who had successfully defended Malta, and subsequently southern
Europe, from the invading Turks. After the siege, using monies given to
them by grateful European monarchs, the Knights moved their capital from
the fortress of Mdina in the center of the island, to the new city
constructed on the north.

There are other small cities located close to Valleta. To the southeast
are the Three Cities of Vitoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. In Senglea you
can find the 5000 year old Tarxien Temple, which along with the other
temples in the southeast, are the oldest standing buildings in the world.

The walled fortress of Mdina and the surrounding town of Rabat are the
most interesting sites of the central and southwest part of the Island.
The southwest coast is beautiful and rugged with high cliffs and grottoes..
Here you will also find the magnificent old ruins of prehistoric temples,
built 1,000 years before the pyramids of Egypt. There are also many
quaint fishing villages that seem to have been passed-by by the 21st
century.

The outer islands of Gozo and Comino are reachable by ferry or excursion
boat. They are much quieter than Malta, with fewer amenities. On Comino
is the Blue Lagoon (not to be mistaken with the one in Iceland). It is
considered to be the most beautiful swimming and diving area in Malta.
Gozo is quiet and picturesque with small villages and scenic farmlands.

Anchored off Malta

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 got here yesterday evening because we had no radar and they wanted to
get in ASAP and not go sailing around. 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.

I will take lots of pictures and post some as soon as I can get internet
access beyond the Ship's quirky (we were down again 19 hours), text-only
e-mail that I've been using for these postings.

Craving to get on Land

On the other two cruises I did it was usually about a week between ports.
This stretch of 13 days seems almost too much to bear, especially with the
constant noise on board. It seems worse than usual this year. Maybe I'm
getting less tolerant as I get older. They start hammering and scraping
on the steel right outside my cabin every morning about 08:30. They're
removing years of paint, right down to the bare steel. Imagine having
metal garbage can over your head and someone is banging on it incessantly..
That's sort of what it's like. So much for skipping breakfast and trying
to sleep in.

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.

We do have one problem. The radar is out due to a blown bearing. It's OK
because it so nice and clear. Visibility from the bridge is excellent.
Because of this problem, we're going to take a more direct route to Malta
than originally planned. We're going to skip going through the Straits of
Messina and get to Malta early to anchor and start repairing the system.
Docking and leave is still planned for Friday.

The Regiment Office is arranging some tours for us. They should be good..
There is plenty to do and see on these islands. We usually get a better
deal through the Ship than going it alone onshore. It will be good to
get off the ship. I'm ready for it now.

4th of July, Empire State

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.

Since it's Sunday, I have half the day off. I don't open until 18:00
(6pm) on Sundays. Mostly it is to show the evening movies. Only the most
motivated cadets come down to do work. That means I've got the morning
and afternoon off to sleep late, relax and enjoy the BBQ. Between
feasting, I sat on the deck soaking up the Mediterranean sun and reading.

When I got to the library in the evening I was greeted by a blast of warm
air. The library is ungodly hot again as the result of the fuel tank heat
since our re-fill in Gibraltar. It's already up to 85 degrees. The deck
feels like it is 100. I hope the heat dissipates fast or the next four
days are going to be hell.

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..
Nothing is more frustrating to me than being surrounded by water on a hot
summer day and not being able to jump in. Maybe I'll volunteer to replace
the dummy we use in for the man-overboard drill.

Fueling Up

I love the smell of ship's fuel in the morning. That's exactly what I
woke up to today. We anchored last night, after I went to bed, only yards
from the town of Gibraltar. So close and yet so far to the town because
we're not docking. We're only here to bunker up. I'd love to get off and
take a walk on dry land. I won't get to visit my little monkey friends
from last year on "the Rock".

After dropping anchor about 02:00, the bunker barge (really a small tanker
ship) 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.

I dread the fueling process because the tank that holds much of the ship's
fuel is directly below my library. Ship's oil is not like gasoline. It
is thick and viscous. In order for it to flow properly it has to be
heated up to about 150 degrees. When in our tanks, the heat has to go
somewhere and that is directly into the library. It gets to the point
sometimes where the library's air conditioning cannot overcome it. If it
gets unbearably hot, I have no choice but to close the library for health
reasons.

The pumping process lasted about six hours, concluding around 10:00.
During that time smoking was forbidden on the ship. The smokers on board
must have been having nicotine fits by then.

We're out to sea again heading east. 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. The winches were extremely noisy as is the
constant din of scraping for paint prep. They sure keep them busy. I
guess that's good because it keeps them out of trouble.

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.