Emily: Albania and Butrinti

Well, finally I have some Internet!

Since Morgan's last post, we have arrived in Sarande, Albania.  We got into their port late afternoon Sunday, July 20th.  Before we were able to dock at their navy base we did pass through customs.  This involved us giving them our passports and a list of our personal electronics.  After this we were able to dock within the naval area.

Sarande Port.  Emily Kovacs

We spent the rest of Sunday and the following day walking the area and meeting some of our newest members to the ship; Will, Lauren and Derrick.  While exploring the city we got to meet some of the locals: trash cows and what I call the navy goats, who live on the property.

Cow Eating Trash.  Emily Kovacs

Goats on Navy Base. Morgan Bode Go Pro.

We are still waiting on our AUV to join us on the Hercules.  They have been having a hard time with the shipping and it had gotten lost in transit along the way.  Hopefully we will be getting it within the next few days.  Without the AUV, we have had time to learn more about the ancient cultures that inhabited the region.  For this we went to Butrint National Park, which is just outside Sarande.  Our guide was Kayla, who is a very good friend of RPM in Albania.  She has worked at Butrint for several years, so she knows the in's and outs of the site. In 1992, Butrint became a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The park currently covers 86 square km.  It is an amazing site to behold!

This is a map they include in the brochure of all the site locations within the park.
http://butrint.com/explore_1_0.php

Over thousands of years, Butrint has had different civilizations live within it.  The buildings represent cultures spanning over 2,000 years.  Including, "Hellenistic temple buildings of the 4th century BC to the Ottoman defenses created in the early 19th century." (Philanthropic Collaborative and the Butrint Foundation.)  There is a museum within a medieval castle at the top of the hill.  Inside it broke down the history starting all the way back to Neolithic times!  Since then, theaters, churches, castles and walls have been built upon each other.

Sanctuary of Asclepius.  Includes the amphitheater.  Emily Kovacs.

We also learned about the aqua duct that used to be present and go throughout the area.  I was very excited to learn some of the Roman history in relation to Julius Caesar and his adopted son Octavian Caesar.  They were present figures in Butrint which was a affluent area at the time.

Ampitheater within the Sanctuary.  Morgan Bode. Go Pro.

Our small group was very lucky to hear a thorough explanation of the "lion's Gate" from Kayla.  Morgan was able to record her talk which we've posted on our Youtube page.  So check it out and learn a little!  http://youtu.be/NUiMJRJ0Eas

I loved wandering through Butrint.  Being able to touch and climb up these ancient buildings will defiantly be one of the biggest highlights of this internship.  We were all in awe of the beauty of Butrint.

Representing FKCC in Albania! Courtesy of Jack Seubert.

Morgan will be posting next!

shihemi me vone!

Morgan: The crossing 7/20

           As of this very moment at 9:56 am, we are crossing the Adriatic Sea for Albania. 

The picture of the GPS above was taken earlier this morning. According to Captain, we have 70 miles to go, cruising speed of 10 knots, heading E bearing 080. Water temp: cold. Wind 12.9 knots, with more swells than waves, which we hope will go down. If captains calculations are correct and we don't have to change anything due to weather, we should arrive into Sarande by 17:00. 

Morgan: Messina Straight

5 am my brain decided to wake me, and that was okay because we were finally half way to Albania, and passing through the Messina Straights. I went to the bow and slowly through the fog or clouds you  could see faint little images of small fishing boats ahead. The sun was just rising and everybody was still sleeping. I ran down to my cabin and grabbed my GoPro and DSLR and got some sweet shots.

First shot. Pictured here shows the divide between Sicily (right) and Italy (left).

Morgan Bode GoPro

Second shot. A reverse view of Italy in the background. 

Morgan Bode GoPro

 

We approached the fisherman soon after. I tried to get a close up shot of what they were up to, and the gear they had, or perhaps something they have caught already..

 

 

Third shot. A mate gets his net ready while the other scopes out the fish on the surface. This guy was just as interested in me as I was with him.

Morgan Bode Cannon DSLR

 

 

I decided to make my way to the bridge, and the Captain waived me to come inside.

 

 

Fourth shot. Pictured is Captain Przemyslaw Bak

, left, and Matt,  right. Captain had just received a radio call to stand down to a ship taking us over on the port side.

Morgan Bode GoPro

 

Fifth Shot.

This glorious cargo ship slowly starting to overtake us starboard to port side.

Morgan Bode GoPro

 

 

 

Sixth Shot. A small Pilot vessel trails behind UASC cargo ship, most likely retrieving its pilot for the port from UASC.

Morgan Bode Cannon DSLR

 

 

Stay tuned to see some sites of Albania and any other seamanship, AUV and sonar technology we will be learning very soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan: Departure 7/18

(posted 12 hours behind, due to lack of internet connection)

Today we are saying bon voyage to the lovely city of Trapani, Sicily. After a few days at port, studying the first few chapters of our text, learning about side and sector scan sonar and a little sightseeing, we are all eager to get another leg of this journey going!!

The Captain and I went over our float plan. Once we leave Porto de Trapani, we sail up the north side of Sicily, untill we reach the Messina Straights. We will cruise through a small waterway and head east/northeast. As we pass the heel of Italia (Italy) we will continue on our coarse straight to Abania. Here we will visit Saranda, Vlorë, 100 nautical miles from Saranda and Sazan, which is to the west of Vlorë. However, we may stay in Albania longer than anticipated, due to our AUV having to be repaired prior to this trip and shipped. Hopefully we will be meeting the AUV soon after we arrive in Albania.

A rough detail of our travel plan.  Courtesy Emily Kovacs

Underway, we will study the software programs for operating the AUV, while we take missions, which collect data using side scan sonar. Then we will look at our results of the sonar survey. If we find any targets, they become targets of interest and then we either send a diver down to check it out or an ROV. An AUV stands for autonomous underwater vechicle, and is basically an unmanned vessel used to survey underwater sites for natural objects such as bottom composition, rocks, and other organics and unnatural objects such as vechicles, trash, pipelines, oil rigs and shipwrecks. An ROV stands for Remotely Opporated Vechicle , a robot that is opperated by someone on the ship and is used to decend to depths a diver may not be able to go to. ROV's can take real time images of the target of interest.

Emily: Fire Fighting Skills & Mount Erice

Buonasera!

Good evening from Sicily!

We have had quite the productive day!  We started off the morning with learning how to fight fires aboard the ship.  We were taught how to put on proper fire fighting gear.  Morgan got to be the model for the gear.

Richard helping Morgan apply gear.  Courtesy Jack Seubert

Morgan donning fire fighting gear.  Courtesy Jack Seubert

After learning about the gear, we moved on to learning how to use the fire hoses on board.  We have two options for putting out fires: the main source is through a fire pump system where the main hose is attached to.  The second is using a back up pump that is gas generated.  We then each took turns trying both methods.  I was amazed at the force the main house put out.

Emily using the main fire hose.  Emily Kovacs

Back up fire pump.  Emily Kovacs

After learning about how to fight fires aboard the ship, we had the early afternoon off to work on field journal entries and run errands.

Our afternoon was spent roaming around Mt. Erice with another one of our fellow interns Kelsey Martinsen.  Mount Erice sits at 751 m above sea level. At the top of the mountain there is a town and castle.  This mountain top has been inhabited for over a thousand years.  Today it is a well known tourist attraction and scientific astronomy site.  It is accessible by taxi or cable cars, which we chose as our transportation. 

Cable cars going up Mt. Erice.  Emily Kovacs

Heading up.  View of Trapani.  Emily Kovacs

We spent the afternoon strolling through the town and visiting the different landmarks.  We visited the Norman Castle and took in the gorgeous views of Sicily!

Strolling into Erice with Morgan, Kelsey, and Jack.  Emily Kovacs

Norman Castle, Erice.  Emily Kovacs

Panoramic Northeast view of Sicily from Erice.  Emily Kovacs

As of right now, we will be leaving for Albania tomorrow afternoon.  Our route will take us from the Mediterranean Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, then cut through the Messina Straights, on to the Ionian Sea and finally making our way into the Adriatic Sea.  

We will probably be out of WiFi signal once leaving Trapani's port.  We will keep you posted on our whereabouts as soon as we are able to!

Speech with you soon!

FKCC at the top of Mt. Erice.  Courtesy of Jack Seubert

Introduction: Who, What, Why?

Introduction: Who, What, Why?

Florida Keys Community College (FKCC) selected two students for a 5 week study abroad internship surveying the sea floor in Southern Europe. Survey areas include sites off of  Sicily, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Emily Kovacs and Morgan Bode  are students enrolled in FKCC's Associates of Science Marine Environmental Technology Program (MET). This internship is  designed to reinforce courses in the MET program including Marine Biology, Basic Seamanship, Marine Data Collection and Oceanography, to name a few. The field internship is aboard the RPM Nautical Foundation's R/V Hercules. Tasks for the interns to learn and partake include, seafloor mapping of undersea archaeological sites, operation and study of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) and remote operated vehicles (ROV), side scan and sector scan sonar, keeping a web blog and writing a technical report.  Most importantly, the students will gain practical experience collecting data! The team includes the two interns, the Director of the MET program, Jack Seubert, and the crew of R/V Hercules.

Morgan Bode is beginning her third year this fall, at FKCC. This is her first college internship as a MET student. Some key courses she has taken consist of Marine Biology, Marine Data Collection, Oceanography, and Basic Seamanship. These particular courses helped Morgan qualify for this opportunity. She's most passionate about anything involving the ocean, particularly diving, spearfishing, restoration and conservation, coral/ fish ID, underwater photography and now, underwater archaeology. She feels truly blessed to be chosen to board a research vessel and learn hands on how to operate technological instruments such as AUV's and ROV's, and to be introduced to a new possibly alternate technical career, in the marine industry.

Emily Kovacs is in her second semester at FKCC.  She has previous courses from Cleveland Institute of Art and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.  So far she has taken Oceanography, Basic Seamanship, and Basic Research Diving while attending FKCC.  The Basic Research Dive course has peaked her interest marine archaeology immensely.  She recently obtained her NAUI Advanced Diver certification and is working on her AAUS certification.  Through this internship she hopes to combine her interests in art, history, and all the aspects the ocean.  Emily was thrilled to be one of the students chosen for this internship.  She hopes this will further her knowledge of developing marine technologies and her passion for the ocean.

Emily: Traveling and Day 1 Aboard RV Hercules

And so our adventure begins!

Throughout this blog, Morgan and I will be taking turns writing posts during our internship.  We are currently in the port of Trapani, Sicily, aboard the RV Hercules, run by the RPM Nautical Foundation.

This is the first time either one of us has traveled to Europe.  We were both a little nervous about the travel but it went smoothly overall.  Personally my trip over was long, moving in and out of airports for nearly two full days.  I was lucky enough to have a 10 hour layover in Rome, which I used to my advantage.

In three hours I was able to explore Rome and hit all the necessary spots.  I managed to explore the city without the aid of a map, by following the tourist groups.  Being able to see the Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi, The Victorian, and other ruins were an experience of a life time.  And of course, I had to enjoy a slice of delicious pizza and a tiramisu gelato.

The Victorian. Emily Kovacs

Colosseum. Emily Kovacs

It was a relief to finally land in Sicily and board the RV Hercules the following day.

RV Hercules. Emily Kovacs

We were lucky enough to have calm waters to take the ship out and use the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) to search for ancient relics.

We set off towards the Favignana islands off the Western corner of Trapani.  After about an hour, our location was chosen and we got the ROV ready for its mission.

Favignana Island. Courtesy Of Jack Seubert.

Leaving Trapani Port. Emily Kovacs

Matt Polakowski, Cameron Hutchins, and Richard Preparing the ROV. Emily Kovacs

We spent the rest of the day scanning the seafloor looking for targets that may peak interest on the sonar screen.  We rather quickly found an amphora sitting on the bottom of the sea.  It was exhilarating to see this "live" piece of history just sitting there for at least the past 2,000 years!  

Intact Amphora. Courtesy of RPM.

The rest of the day was spent prowling the seabed for more amphora's and other relevant items.  I was amazed how desolate the area is with the exception of a tumbling seaweed ball.  But, there was plenty of life surrounding and attached to the amphora's when we found one.  We saw various organisms such as: sea bass living within the amphora, starfish, bivalves, calcareous tube worms, encrusting red algae, and epilithic algae. 

Broken Amphora with Starfish. Courtesy of RPM.

Broken Amphora with Sea Bass. Courtesy of RPM.

The scarcity of life is due to the intense trawling fishing methods that have been used here for the past 100 years or so.  I found it depressing how empty the seafloor was.  Hopefully it can be brought back in the future.

Since our excursion on the ship on Monday, we have stayed in Trapani's port.  We are waiting for better weather to begin our crossing of the Adriatic Sea.  We will be heading to Albania from Sicily.  In the mean time, Morgan and I will be reading our text book: Basics of Using Side Scan Sonar and Sector Scan Sonar.  As well as begin to write in our field journals.  We will also begin learning how to plan missions and the basic in and outs of using the AOV (Autonomous Operated Vehicle.)  This time in port has allowed us to explore the town and learn more about the culture here.

Trapani Exploring.  Emily Kovacs

I look forward to moving on to a new region and working with the sonar equipment myself.

Morgan will be posting the next blog post, so keep an eye out for her!

Had to dress up! Emily Kovacs

Ciao!