Meet The Götheborg: World’s largest wooden sailing ship docks in Malta today

Oct 14 2022

The Malta Tourism Authority announced it’s support to The Götheborg of Sweden’s first-ever voyage to Malta as part of the ship’s Asian Expedition 2022/2023.

On Friday 14 October 2022 at 12:00hrs, the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, and a replica of an 18th century Swedish East India Company ship, Götheborg of Sweden, will arrive in Valletta. Before mooring, the ship will salute the city with a gun salute which will be answered from Valletta’s Saluting Battery.

The Götheborg is on its way to Asia, and Malta is the 12th stopover on the Asia Expedition 2022/2023. The ship will be in Valletta from 14–18 October, will be moored at Valletta Waterfront and will be open to visitors during the stopover.

The Götheborg is the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, and a replica of an 18th-century Swedish East India Company ship that sank outside Gothenburg in 1745.

The ship is on a two-year-long expedition, the Asia Expedition 2022/2023. Following in the historic footsteps of the original ship from the 18th century, the purpose of the expedition is for people to be able to sail along and experience sailing an 18th-century ship, for people to visit the ship in ports, and to promote trade relations in Europe and Asia. On each sailing, about 50 members of the public can sail along as deckhands. The professional crew consists of about 20 professional sailors, which means that there are between 70–80 people on board for each sailing leg.

The ship will sail in Europe in 2022, stay in Barcelona during the winter, and continue to Asia in March 2023. In September 2023, the ship will reach the expedition’s end destination Shanghai. The Götheborg left Gothenburg on 8 June 2022 and has since visited Helsingborg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London, Bremerhaven, Lisbon, Málaga, Nice and Monaco. The next stop after Valletta is Barcelona, the last stop on this year’s expedition.

“This is the first time that the ship Götheborg visits Malta and Valletta, and we are already overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the city of Valletta. We are looking forward to beautiful days”, said Kristoffer Bennis, Expedition Director at Götheborg of Sweden.

“As an Authority we are extremely proud to give our support to the first-ever visit of the Götheborg of Sweden in Malta and we are also very pleased that Malta and the Grand Harbour were chosen as one of the port of calls in the Mediterranean for this Asia expedition. Having the Götheborg grace the Grand Harbour over the next few days will definitely bring added value to those tourists who will be in Malta on their holidays, while also serve as a new and unique attraction for the locals,” Carlo Micallef, CEO of MTA added.

“The Malta Tourism Authority has been a proactive driving force in the diversification of the local touristic product. This process includes various niches aimed at targeting high quality maritime attractions to the Maltese Islands. Malta’s biggest footprint is its aquatic surroundings and we will sustain this by introducing an activity dimension aimed at creating a more direct and appreciative fashion with the marine environment,” remarked Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo.

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September in Stats: Rainfall, Storms and Heat

Oct 14 2022

September ushered in the first rain showers of the new precipitation year, with the Meteorological Office measuring 59.8 mm of precipitation in Ħal Luqa.

This total was slightly above the 1991-2020 climate norm of 59.2 mm, and was collected over the span of two days on September 22 and 23. Rainfall was accompanied by thunder on these two days, with a third thunderstorm being reported by the Meteorological Office on September 30.

September 22, which accounted for 84 per cent of the month’s total rainfall, was the month’s wettest and gloomiest day. However, having clocked 12.1 hours of sunshine in excess of the monthly norm of 253.1 hours, September was sunnier than expected at this time of year. This can be partly explained by the month’s mean cloud cover of 2.0 oktas, which was lower than the norm of 2.8 oktas.

September was warmer than average, with the month’s mean maximum temperature of 29.5°C exceeding the norm by 0.9°C and the mean minimum temperature surpassing the norm of 21.2°C by 1.5°C. While September’s highest temperature peaked at 32.6°C on the eleventh day, the lowest temperature dipped to 17.0°C as rain showered the islands for the second consecutive day. At 27.9°C, the mean sea surface temperature was higher than the climate norm of 26.1°C.

A mean wind speed of 7.5 knots was maintained in September, making the month slightly windier than the norm. The month’s maximum gust was measured on September 17 at 32 knots, blowing from the Northwest.

Information provided by the Malta International Airport MET Office.

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Photo Source: Erika Kállai (via It-Temp Madwarna FB)

Beat the Garbage Monster: here’s why you should be separating your waste

Oct 14 2022

As the world continues to battle the ongoing climate crisis, waste separation has become more important than ever. Even in Malta, efforts have been made to adopt sustainable waste practices… but we could always do more.

Waste separation efforts have paid off over the past year, with the amount of non-recyclable waste in the recycling bag dropping from 25% to 20%, but we cannot stop here. That is why WasteServ has embarked on another informative campaign, this time focusing on organic waste.

As a matter of fact, WasteServ has noted that 40% of the contents of the country’s black trash bags are made up of organic waste. Naturally, this poses a number of problems.

When organic waste ends up in the wrong bag, we miss a chance to turn that waste into electricity. Last year alone, WasteServ generated enough electricity for 500 homes. Also, black bags end up in the landfill, and any organic waste left in these bags ends up rotting, and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas which has 25 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. Thus, we would be also contributing to climate change.

So, remember all fruit and vegetable peelings, any uneaten food and plate scrapings, bread and pastries, cooked meat including bones, fish, mouldy or expired food without its packaging, non-liquid dairy products, eggs and eggshells, rice, pasta, beans, tea bags and coffee grounds should all go in the white bags. Non-food items which can also be thrown in this bag include napkins soiled with food and very small garden waste like flowers and leaves but no twigs.

If you want to know more about this campaign, you can visit WasteServ’s website. You can also download WasteServ’s handy Waste Separation Guide containing information on what goes in each bag as well as information about all the waste disposal services offered. Just visit wsm.com.mt/guide

Do YOU separate your waste correctly?

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Why is everyone talking about CBD and what are its benefits?

Oct 14 2022

Cannabidiol, more popularly known as CBD, is a chemical which is covered all too often in the media… but how familiar are we with what it actually is?

CBD oil has gained popularity over the past few years, especially for its holding in the world of health and wellness. CBD is well-known for its capabilities in controlling anxiety, relieving pain, stimulating appetite and treating other symptoms. To clarify, the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound which causes the sensation of being high.

On the other hand, CBD is not psychoactive and is often diluted with carrier oils such as coconut oil for eventual use in products such as food, drinks, supplements, skincare products and more. All cannabinoids act as messengers to our body’s receptors and help regulate pain, muscle control and inflammation, with evidence also showing that they can improve sleeping patterns and help with depression or anxiety.

Cannabis was made legal for recreational use in Malta after President George Vella signed the cannabis bill, making it into law back in December, making Malta the first country in the European Union to legalise cannabis for recreational use. From that point on, Malta’s market saw a sharp increase in products such as CBD oil, skin care & topicals, CBD vapes.

They also offer alternative products like cannabigerol (CBG) which helps fight inflammation, pain, nausea and works to slow the proliferation of cancer cells and cannabinol (CBN) which may contribute to one’s immune system and reduce pain. If you’re after these products, brands like Utoya have got you sorted on anything you may need and you can find them on their website https://utoya.eu/ and benefit from 15% off with code MALTADAILY.

This article was written in collaboration with 420.mt.

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