As Maltese travellers headed to Gozo this week, Kristina Chetcuti spent time with a few good men who run the crossing show: the Gozo Channel crew of MV Ta’ Pinu.
The captain and his crew of MV Ta’ Pinu clock in to work at 4 a.m.
The minute we step on to the ship, we are responsible for the safety of our people
They do not mind: they have all worked at sea most of their lives.
All talk about their attraction to the water.
“It’s like a magnet,” says Captain Joseph Vella. He is one of the Master Captains of the Gozo Channel who once skilfully ported the Ta’ Pinu in a Force 11 hurricane.
Given a choice between land and sea, he does not bat an eyelid: “The sea, of course.”
He compares a ship to a human being: “The captain and the bridge are the brain of the ship, the chief engineer and the machines are the heart, the sailors are the body.”
From the bridge of the Ta’ Pinu – which can take up to 900 passengers – it is very easy to see the perils of summer boat traffic.
As the ship is set to enter the port of Mġarr, a speedboat crosses in front of the breakwater.
The captain blasts the horn and eventually the boat speeds away.
“You need a strong heart for this job,” he jokes, as he manoeuvres the ship with two small joysticks on either side – the modern day replacement of the helm.
They undergo rigorous drills on a daily basis – including training on terrorism. “The minute we step on to the ship, we are responsible for the safety of our people,” he says.
All the crewmembers have their own stories of incidents at sea, where they ended up saving people; stories that unfortunately never make it to print.
They are often the point of reference for passengers who suffer from fainting spells and for lost children.
“We get quite a few of those,” says boatswain Tony Grech, 55, who hails from Għajnsielem.
There is even a sailor whose job is specifically to look out for “men overboard” on the back of the bridge, in case someone falls off.
Their main headache is the “garage”. Chief Officer Christopher Testa explains they have to pack cars in like a jigsaw puzzle in 55 degree temperatures, “to try and fit in as many cars as possible and also to stabilise the ship.”
“We have a lot of issues with clients: the more educated, the more they try to assert themselves, refusing to park where we indicate,” says Mr Grech.
There are times when the police have to be called in.
For the crew, the feast of Santa Marija is just a normal working day. Deckhead Joe Grima, of Nadur, says he doesn’t mind working on holidays.
“As long as I get the feast day of Nadur off,” he jokes.
Chief engineer Stephen Falzon, 32, from Xewijka, says there are “no feast days for us, but every day is different”.
“That is why I love this job.”
But the captain has a minor message for the passengers: “We are Mediterranean people – we lose our temper easily. In this heat, I appeal to everyone to keep calm.”