What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?

Yesterday my compatriots and I were treated to a tour of the School of Maritime and Energy. Students at this school are either learning about solar panels and electrical systems (Energy) or about sailing ships. Big ships, not sailboats.

The school, which is in the nearby town of Delfzijl, is right on the harbor.

The school of maritime (above) and Delfzijl Harbor.

We spent most of our time in the maritime side, as that was something the Americans (from Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and Fresno, CA) were totally unfamiliar with.

Students in maritime study welding and metal working, since if something breaks on a ship at sea, you can't just run out to the nearest Menard's. They have a variety of engines in one room that they practice taking apart and putting back together to become proficient in engine repairs. Here's one of them:

The school also has several ship simulators that allow students to practice various real-life scenarios. Most are just 2-3 large screens above a panel of controls, but they have one with 360-degree screens that feels very real. We stood in that one as some students tried to bring their ship in to Sydney harbor.

Greetings from Sydney!

The students were doing quite well until the instructor suddenly changed the size of the ship and kicked up a storm. (The storm seemed fair, since that can happen, but ships do not just change size randomly--correct me if I'm wrong, Dave--so that just seemed like a dirty trick.) Ultimately we crashed into that bridge next to the opera house. Bummer, but it was easily the most exciting boat ride I've ever had.

Students in maritime, like all students (as far as I can tell), must do internships. One student told us that he was to spend 5 months on a freighter for his internship, but due to a series of misfortunes, the ship ended up being at sea for 6 months. Also, while at sea, students have to complete papers and other projects and submit them online. And they must be proficient in English, since everything on a ship is labelled in English and that is the language used internationally to communicate with harbors and other ships. The curriculum includes swimming, rowing, and water rescue as well. The maritime students we met were the most enthusiastic about their chosen school/profession, and it was easy to see why.

I have seen sheep used in place of lawn mowers at several businesses here. Here are a couple of harbor sheep taking a break to watch us walk out to the water rescue platform.