Friday, May 4
Some people have asked me if we had any fears about this
trip, since it was a Costa ship, captained by Francesco Schettino, that famously
foundered just off the island of Giglio in January, killing 32 people. We
passed Giglio on our first day, but not surprisingly, we didn’t come very
close.
If you haven’t read the accounts of that accident, you may
not understand the following story, which I found by googling “captain
schettino jokes.” It’s probably in poor taste to joke about such a tragedy, but
I can’t resist repeating this account of a last-minute announcement made by the
captain: “This is Captain Schettino
speaking on behalf of my crew. I’d like to welcome you aboard Costa Concordia
from Rome. We are currently crossing the
Mediterranean Sea by Giglio Island. If you look out of the windows on the
starboard side, you will observe a gaping hole. If you look out of the windows
on the port side, you will observe that the ship is listing badly. If you look
down towards the Mediterranean Sea, you will see a little yellow life raft with
three people in it, waving at you. That’s me, Captain Schettino , the co-pilot,
and my personal attendant. Arrivederci!”
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