Trapani, Sicily

August 21, 2010







Trapani, Sicily

The R/V Hercules usually docks right along the seawall in the port of Trapani, just across the street from the heart of the old city which makes it exceedingly convenient for the crew of the vessel and me (while I was staying aboard) to access the city and all it has to offer.





Jeff at Maggie's



Most days the vessel would spend the day conducting ROV operations offshore and then return to port in the evening; offering us the opportunity to spend the evening and night in the city. The crew often visits a nearby bar that is known simply as “Maggie’s” after the name of the friendly proprietor Maggie, though I never noticed any actual signage with an official name. The bar is one of many that are scattered throughout the beautiful cobblestone streets of the old city along with café’s, restaurants, gelato stands and shops.

Maggie's

Howard & friend





Trapani is located on the West coast of Sicily, the city is an important port and has been for literally centuries. Trapani was founded by the Elymians as the port for the nearby mountain city of Erice on Mount Erice. Trapani has a rich historical significance, having at various times been under the control of Carthage, Rome, Byzantine, Vandals, and Arabs. It played a role in the Crusades and has been one of the most important Mediterranean ports for thousands of years, explaining why we are so busy seeking sunken ships in the area.







The city was heavily damaged during major Allied bombardments during WWII as Sicily was a major area of conflict during the war. In spite of all the conflict, many significant historical buildings can be found throughout the old city. Among them are the 14th century Church of Sant’Agostino, the 15th century Church of Santa Maria di Gesu, The 14th century Basilica of Maria Santissma Annunziata, Triton’s Fountain, Casa Ciambra, and The Cathedral (built in 1421).





All of these amazing historic buildings are intermixed with contemporary shopping with stores like Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes, and United Colors of Benetton. The streets are narrow and full of both foot traffic and small cars which dash about at crazy speeds with little regard to pedestrians.







The crew of the Hercules spend a lot of time after long days at sea patronizing bars such as Maggie’s or at the wonderful cigar bar, tavern & restaurant Ai Lumi, which is a favorite of both residents and visitors alike. I must say that I really enjoyed hanging out in the evening’s with the crew and exploring the city.






Ai Lumi website

Suddenly Trapani

August 20, 2010

R/V Hercules





Suddenly Trapani

I had been back in Key West all of about 36 hours and was at my second day back at work when I got a call from the crew of the R/V Hercules that is currently working in the port city of Trapani in Sicily, Italy. They were having a major problem with the dynamic positioning system that allows the vessel to remain in place during ROV (Remote Operating Vehicle) operations while checking out targets for shipwrecks. The broken part needed to get to Sicily from the manufacturer in Houston, Texas as quickly as possible.

Thrustmaster of Texas

The part



Unfortunately Fedex & DHL would take 5 days or more and with the daily cost of operations for the Hercules so high, it was actually going to be more cost effective to hand-deliver the items from Houston to Sicily. Various options were discussed including having me flying to Houston to get the parts then meeting someone on the East Coast who had flown in from Sicily to meet me and they could hand carry them to Sicly.







That plan was scrapped in favor of a plan to have me fly to Houston to pick up the parts then carrying them myself to Trapani. I had all of three hours before finding out I was leaving before taking the 5:30 flight to Atlanta and on to Houston where I arrived at 11:00 PM got a hotel and taking a taxi first thing in the morning to Thrustmaster of Texas to pick up the parts then returning to the airport for a noon flight back to Atlanta where I connected on an overnight to Milan where I made a connection to Trapani.







Thirty six hours of traveling (18 in the air) later I was stepping out of a cab at the Porto Trapani and onto our research vessel Hercules.



Capt. Edwin

It was a crazy couple of days, but it was great to be able to meet the crew, some are based in Malta and I have never met despite dealing with them on an almost daily basis. Trapani is a beautiful city and the Hercules is docked in the main port right in the old city.

Chef Elliot



Mike

My first day here, the Hercules was out conducting ROV operations and checking targets for potential wrecks. It was cool to see how everything works, it really is a spectacular set-up and even without the broken dynamic positioning in operation, they were still able to search. The coolest thing is that I got to witness the discovery of a sunken airplane that is most likely from WWII.

Airplane Wreckage





Phil- Chief Engineer

It was an exhausting couple of days, but the good news is now that I am here in Trapani, I am going to stay a few extra days to check out the operation and hopefully get to experience a little Sicilian culture as well.

Phil & Derek

Midsummer Night’s Dream

August 17, 2010



Tara & MJ



Midsummer Night’s Dream

We drove from Lyons to a hotel near the Denver airport late Sunday and were up bright and early for our flight back to Key West via Atlanta. We had a pleasant surprise as we had automatically been bumped to an earlier connection and now were to arrive at 5:30 PM. This seemed like a good opportunity to be able to attend the Monday evening event in Key West that I was certain we were going to have to miss The Midsummer’s Night Dream party at The Key West Botanical Garden.





The event had been scheduled for the previous Monday in which case we certainly would have missed it, but as fate would have it, torrential rain hit Key West causing it to be postponed for a week and that combined with our new earlier arrival gave us the window to make it. At least I made it, Kathy was too exhausted and happy to be home to want to head right back out.







Our house, pets and plants were all in excellent shape, thanks to the assistance of our friend Carolyn who stayed at our house and our neighbors Daisy, Angela & Cookie who always keep an eye on things for us while we are away; we want to thank them all for their tremendous help in watching over our home.

Carla & George



The midsummer’s night dream party is the brainchild of Michael Shields and has grown over the past five years into one of the premier Key West arts events. Moving last year for the first time to the beautiful Key West Botanical Gardens from its previous location at the home of Joyce Stahl, the party brings together many of the most creative people in Key West for a night of celebrating the arts in all forms.





Visual artists, musical performances, poetry readings, dance, theatre and many other types of artists come together to celebrate our artistic community and enjoy a wonderful evening soiree. Many people dress up and the mood is festive and fun.



Rick

We always see a bunch of friends there and get a chance to have a few drinks and enjoy the performances. I was especially happy to see Mook J performing a few rap songs, I can’t recall the last time I heard decent rap in Key West and it was great to hear, Mook is a multifaceted talent as he is also one of Key West’s leading actors.





I didn’t stay too late, happy to be home and tired as well from our travels, but a shout out to Michael Shields and all the people and sponsors who brought us such a cool event. Hope that our schedule allows us both to be there next year.