News From Fort Schuyler

February 25, 2000 - Volume 4, No. 6

WINTER CAREER FAIR - There was a good turnout of employers and students on February 23 at the Winter Career Fair organized by the college Placement Office. A wide range of career options were showcased - shipping companies, unions, land-based firms, engineering companies, insurance firms - and many were represented by Fort Schuyler graduates. The Editor made a quick tour of the event, passing out sample issues of NFFS to alumni company reps, collecting email addresses, and picking up company publications for the Luce Library. Here is an excerpt from a note written by an attendee of the Fair, HARRY ROGERS, Class of 1977: "I sailed for 14 years with AMO, 5 years as captain. I currently work as the Operations Manager for Interocean Ugland Management Corp. (IUM). IUM provided services for over 30 US flag, ocean-going ships, commercially and government owned. IUM employs numerous Maritime College graduates, many in senior shipboard positions... ...The cadets I spoke with were a squared-away bunch with their heads on straight. Most had a good idea of their career path and were actively seeking employment in the industry. Maritime College cadets have acquitted themselves well when sailing (as cadets) on IUM ships. We have had good results with Maritime College graduates and look to hire more." [If your firm wants to recruit at Fort Schuyler, contact the Placement Office at (718) 409-7240 or send email to PAUL BAMONTE, Class of 1989: pbamonte@sunymaritime.edu ]

SALTY WORD TO SAVOR - "Allision," not one of your everyday words, was used several times in a article about the damage the cruise ship MONARCH OF THE SEA caused the Proselyte Reef off St Martin in December 1998. The item, which appeared in the AMOS Report (3:3), stated that the allision damaged the reef and left a 120-foot tear in the ship's hull. The word allision does not appear in a popular desk dictionary, Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1994), nor is it in my computer spell checker. A respected law dictionary, Black's Law Dictionary (1990) defines allision as: "The running of one vessel into or against another, as opposed to a collision, i.e. the running of two vessels against each other. But this distinction is not carefully observed." That's for sure ! For example, the specialized maritime dictionary, The Eric Sullivan Marine Encyclopaedic Dictionary (1999) defines allision as: "The act of striking or collision of a moving vessel against a stationary object." All clear ?

BUT HOLD THE CATSUP! - Members of the Class of 2001 are being offered a unique opportunity to prepare themselves for job interviews and life after graduation. According to the Plan of the Week, "KAF101 (Knife and Fork 101), given by Mrs. SHEILA BROWN and Mrs. BARBARA WEAVER, with Chief Mate CHRIS ZOLA, Second Mate PETER VECCHIO, Third Mate MATT MAHANNA, and Ms. KATE CUNNINGHAM, will be offered in two sessions. The first session will be...in the Carpeted Lounge, the second ... will be a dinner in the Special Events Room." [ KAF101 for these 2/c cadets might be just the right prerequisite for ADM 201, wherein Admiral and Mrs. Brown host 1/c cadets for dinner at the President's House.]

SOME OF THESE MIGHT RING A BELL - More responses to the Bells of ST MARY'S query. Professor ED TASSINARI, Humanities, wrote: "There is an excellent version by a 1950's group, 'Lee Andrews and the Hearts,' done in ballad style." BOB McCLELLAND, Class of 1971, writes :...I have (possibly) the cassette tape of The Bells of ST. MARY'S by the Drifters that JOHN McALLEN referred to. It was given to me by a friend who asked me with a straight face, 'Is this your alma mater ?' It was the worst rendition of any song I have ever heard in my life. I had not had such a laugh in a long time as the laugh I had after listening to this version....I believe I deep-sixed the cassette, but will go through my tapes to see if I still have it if you still want it. " [Yes, I do.]

AMBROSE LIGHT TOWER - This note from LUIS M. LUIS, Class of 1983, who is "writing ...because of the news about the new Ambrose light tower which replaced the old tower that was damaged by a collision from a foreign tanker. ...you do not mention anything about the design of the tower, and I am here to give credit to the designers, Barnett and Casbarian, Inc. from Metaire, Louisiana, my present employer.. (http://www.geocities.com/bci_no ) I was involved ...in the preliminary phases of a court dispute to settle the charges against the ship owner. We modeled the old tower supported by just three of the four legs. One leg had been completely severed in the collision. The old tower had living quarters for a permanent crew in the old days, but the new one I believe does not."

ATTENTION SPRING CLEANERS - The Luce Library is seeking to augment its collection of SNAME Section Papers and Technical Papers, current and retrospective. Please put all those old SNAME publications in a box and ship them to the address below. The Library will fill the gaps in its holdings, add their descriptions to its online web catalog, and sell the duplicates in the next maritime book sale. All for a good cause. (Nota bene - the library does NOT need SNAME Transactions. Those it has in spades.)