Morning everyone. Congrats to all of you that make TBTV on your 200th!!!!

Good morning

LMAO!

Wow, 1 hour is not alot of time to hotwire a boat, get it to the ramp and put it on a trailer not necessarily designed for that perticular boat and haul it away. Not that it can't be done but I would think they would have moved the boat to a new location to pull it out.....less chance of getting caught.

Did his trailer get stolen as well or was it just the boat.

I agree with Stacey, get references and seeing that he is a CYA instructor he should have a big list of them, and don't just interview the female references explain your situation to a few of the male references and ask them if they would feel comfortable with their spouse or girlfriend sailing with this guy without them. Also, find out who he has worked for or been afilliated with and check with them to get their opinion.

Morning all. Sorry to hear about the coconut Stacey.

Very cool Stacey, congrats! You guys do a great job.

Tomm, what I was getting at is that if instalation for either product costs the manufacturer the same amount and your swim platform requires 16 square feet of product we can surmize that the real teak costs $8.12 per square foot more than flexiteak just for the product. Without knowing the cost of instalation for each of the products it is not possible to determine if the $130.00 is a fair number or not.

With all that said......$130.00 extra for wood instead of plastic seems like a bargain to me.

Morning all

Do you know what the difference works out to per square foot, and what is the cost per square foot for instalation for each. Need more input to form an opinion...lol

Its either that or the CIA is secretly working on a salt water bomb and they erased everything......I guess they are the men in black though.lol

Hey Laurie, how was the summers boating?

When I read the article in Tomm's post I noticed the date as well and tried to follow the story but found nothing further. There was a video on u tube.

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/sexypirate-1.jpg[/IMG] 23-29 September 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 23 to 29 September 2008.

Suspicious crafts

28.09.2008: 0210 LT: Posn: 13:30.4N – 048:31.8E, Gulf of Aden. Three suspicious boats increased speed and chased a bulk carrier steaming. Master increased speed and carried out evasive manoeuvres. After chasing the ship for about one hour, the suspicious boats stopped chasing and altered towards another ship proceeding in the reciprocal direction. Coalition naval forces were informed.

Recently reported incidents

23.09.2008: 1751 LT: Tema port: Ghana. Robbers boarded a container ship at anchor. Robbers took hostage one crewmember and stole ship’s stores. Robbers fled when master alerted the authorities.

20.09.2008: 0100 LT: Posn: 6.6 nm Off Lagos breakwater, Nigeria. Two robbers armed with knives boarded a tanker at anchor conducting STS operations. Duty A/B noticed the robbers on the poop deck. He shouted at them and informed the D/O. Robbers caught the A/B, threatened him with a knife and took his personal belongings. Alarm raised, ship's whistle sounded and crew mustered. On hearing the alarm, the robbers escaped. A/B received minor injuries.

26.09.2008: 0920 UTC: Posn: 13:32N - 048:26E, Gulf of Aden. Armed pirates fired upon a chemical tanker underway. The tanker sent mayday messages via VHF channel. The pirates boarded and hijacked the tanker. Further details awaited.

25.09.2008: 1600 LT: Posn: 02:01N - 050:4E, East coast Somalia. Armed pirates boarded and hijacked a RO-RO cargo ship underway. Further details awaited.

24.09.2008: 0325 LT: Posn: 06:02.45S – 106:54.61E, Tg. Priok, Jakarta, Indonesia. Three pirates armed with knives boarded a container ship at anchor via the stern. Alert watchman notified to duty officer who raised ship’s alarm and whistle. Pirates immediately jumped overboard and escaped. The incident was reported to Tg. Priok port control but no response.

23.09.2008: 0050 LT: Dar es Salaam anchorage, Tanzania. Approximately six robbers boarded a container ship. Alarm raised, and crew mustered. On seeing crew alertness robbers jumped into a waiting boat and escaped.

19.09.2008: 1349 LT: Posn: 13:13.6N - 049:31.4E: Gulf of Aden. Twelve pirates, in three speedboats, armed with automatic guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers chased a container ship. Vessel increased speed, evasive manoeuvres taken and fire hoses directed at the speedboat. Pirates approached vessel on stbd bow and tried to board. Later, they aborted the attempt and moved away.

I think Ken nailed that one....the video ended just as the guy started shooting straight down.

My cell phone takes pictures.....and I can barely make that function properly. I can't imagine trying to navigate with it...lol

Ahhh....breakfast is back. Good morning everyone!

Thats amazing....your boat would never run out of fuel.

Morning everyone. Rick, are you just in for a quick coffee or are you working on getting your land legs back for the winter season.

Pretty cool Ken, I'm sure you will do well in Vegas. You are definately going to be closer to that ice dive....

Yipee!!!!

Good morning all

Roofies.....I think it has something to do with the people that put new shingles on your house. LMAO

Good morning Joe, Ken, David, and all the happy boaters out there

Good morning

Just checked Kens post here and it made me realise that I said good morning 11 hours ago which means I have been at work for more than 11 hours.......wow, my life sucks when I'm not on holidays..LOL good night all....

Tom...ya gotta love a crew that wins a gun & gernade fight with a firehose. About the painfull sound gun idea.....I heard Britany Spears wanted too much money for the rights to her music. Pretty cool info Tomm...Have a great day on the water

Rough couple of weeks.....

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/kendra3.jpg[/IMG] 16-22 September 2008

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

19.09.2008: 2145 LT: Posn: 10:16.3N - 064:34.3W, 2 nm north of Guanta port, Venezuela. Five robbers boarded a general cargo ship at anchor. They broke into the forecastle store and stole ship's stores and property. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Robbers escaped with stole items. Duty crew directed search light at the robber's boat, saw the name of the boat and informed port control. Coast guard came on board the vessel to take statements and later searched for the boat. Two hours later, the boat was found with the stolen items. Master went to police station to give statement and now waiting for court hearing in few months to receive the stolen items.

21.09.2008: 0310 UTC: Posn: 02:30.0N - 051:59.5E, 250 nm off Somali coast, Somalia. Four pirates in three speedboats boarded a bulk carrier underway. They took hostage 19 crewmembers and hijacked the ship. Owners are unable to contact the ship.

20.09.2008: 0030 LT: Posn: 06:41.1S - 039:26.2E, Dar es Salaam anchorage, Tanzania. 16 pirates, in a 15-meter long boat, armed with knives boarded a container ship awaiting pilot. The pirates gained access to the ship via the forecastle deck. They took hostage three duty crew and tied them up. The pirates broke into three containers and stole cargo. D/O sent another crew to check the status of the three duty crewmembers who were not responding. The crew noticed the pirates and informed D/O who raised the alarm. All crew mustered and searched the forecastle. Pirates jumped overboard and escaped with crew personal belongings, ship's stores and property.

20.09.2008: 1700 UTC: Posn: 02:37N - 051:25E, 250 nm Off Somali coast, Somalia. Three pirates armed with machine guns and RPG in a white coloured fast boat chased and fired upon a tanker underway. Master increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres, sent distress message, raised alarm, crew mustered and activated fire hoses. Pirates aborted the attempted boarding after 30 minutes.

18.09.2008: 0250 UTC: Posn: 02:22.22N - 050:55.26E, 250 nm off Mogadishu, Somalia. Five armed pirates in a speedboat attacked a bulk carrier underway. They took hostage 25 crewmembers and hijacked the ship.

18.09.2008: 0618 UTC: Posn: 14:13.0N - 049:59.0E, Gulf of Aden. About eight pirates armed with guns boarded a bulk carrier drifting for engine problems. Pirates took hostage 25crewmembers and hijacked the ship.

18.09.2008: 0630 UTC: Posn: 13:54N - 049:31E, 40 nm se of Al Mukalla, Gulf of Aden. Two white hull boats with several persons onboard approached aggressively a chemical tanker underway with intend to board. Master raised alarm, increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres and contacted coalition forces. SSAS activated and crew mustered. The boats keep on following and at 0700 UTC, the boats aborted the attempt.

18.09.2008: 0045 UTC: Posn: 06:40S - 039:35E, 18 nm Off Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Six pirates boarded a product tanker drifting. They broke forward store and stole ship's stores. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Pirates jumped overboard and escaped with stolen stores in a waiting small craft.

15.09.2008: 10:47 UTC: Posn: 13:33N – 049:09E, Gulf of Aden. About 15-armed pirates boarded and hijacked a chemical tanker underway. The vessel enroute to Mumbai, India, was carrying chemical products. 22 crewmembers have been taken hostage. Pirates have sailed the vessel into Somali waters. Further information awaited.

13.09.2008: 0440 UTC: Posn: 13:32.5N - 048:47.5E, Gulf of Aden. Speed boats chased a chemical tanker underway with intend to board. Master increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres to prevent boarding, altered course southward to rendezvous with a coalition warship. Speedboats approached as close as two cables before aborting the attempt.

03.09.2008: 1436 UTC: Posn: 13:36.9N – 049:12.2E, Gulf of Aden. Two speedboats with five armed pirates, in each, attempted to board a bulk carrier underway. Master activated SSAS alert, increased speed, altered course and mustered crew. Pirates open fire on the ship. Master informed a coalition war ship who immediately responded and came to assist. On sighting the warship, the pirates moved away. The warship escorted the ship.

Ok, I got the first one on the list....only 245 volunteers to go

I was able to add an event without any problems at all. I really like the feature and will add more events when I can spare the time to research dates etc.

Good morning all.

LMAO Ken

here's a new dive flag for you [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/DiveFlag.jpg[/IMG]

We already had our first snow on September 6....fortunately I was not here to enjoy it....bring on global warming!

LMAO

I can do that....the last time I submited a caption to CTC I started getting all the caption replys directed to my inbox. I do not even look at the thing anymore just incase the e-mails start again.

Good morning everyone!

Hey Stacey, you have to check off a box saying if you are a listener, podcaster, or both in order to vote so......the answer must be yes. Thanks for the links Ken....great idea

Can't win if you aren't around to play....I'll try and kick some ass in November lol Congrats Phillip

Morning all

I like it and would use it.

Good morning all

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/sergeantkitten.jpg[/IMG]

9-15 September 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 9 to 15 September 2008.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

08.09.2008: 0500 LT: Tincan Island container terminal - berth no. 4, Lagos, Nigeria. Duty AB, onboard a container ship detected a suspicious boat. Upon checking, he discovered one robber had already boarded. There were six more persons in the boat. Crew alerted and they rushed towards the robber. When robber realized he had been detected, he jumped overboard and escaped with the others in the boat.

14.09.2008: 1435 UTC: Posn: 13:38.87N – 048:59.00E: Gulf of Aden. Duty officer onboard a bulk carrier noticed a mother vessel (red colour) releasing speed boats, which approached the vessel. Six pirates in the speedboat opened fire on the vessel. Master contacted the coalition warships but no response. Anti piracy measures were enforced, the speedboats followed for about 10 minutes and later aborted.

13.09.2008: 0500 UTC: 02:10N - 054:37E Off Somalia. Three white coloured speed boats, possibly, from a mother ship, fired on and tried to close onto a fishing vessel underway. The master increased speed and moved away.

13.09.2008: 0300 LT: Posn: 09:57.75N - 076:15.79E, Warf no.Q4, Cochin Port, India. Two robbers armed with knives boarded a general cargo ship moored to buoys. They broke pad locks of forward store. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Upon hearing the alarm, robbers escaped empty handed in a wooden boat with eight accomplices. Port control and coast guard informed.

12.09.2008: 1513 UTC: Posn: 13:24N - 048:20E, Gulf of Aden. Eight pirates, in a skiff, chased a general cargo ship underway. They fired upon the ship and attempted to board. Master contacted the coalition warships. A helicopter intervened and the pirates aborted the attempt.

10.09.2008: 0657 UTC: Posn: 13:09.6N-047:57.0E: Gulf of Aden. Pirates boarded and hijacked a bulk carrier underway. 21 crew taken hostage. Further reports awaited.

10.09.2008: 0343 UTC: Posn: 12:39.4N – 048:23E: Gulf of Aden. One speedboat chased and fired on a bulk carrier underway. The vessel took evasive actions and contacted the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre for assistance. Duty officer at the Centre informed the coalition navy. Coalition navy sent a warship and a helicopter that flew over the speedboat and interrupted the attack. The pirates aborted the attack. The vessel continued her passage to destination port. No damage to vessel and no injury to crew.

09.09.2008: 0200 LT: Vung Tau anchorage Vietnam. Duty AB, onboard a container ship at anchor, noticed one robber attempting to board via the anchor chain. Crew alerted. On seeing the alert crew, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped in a waiting boat.

08.09.2008: Posn: 12:45.48N - 046:05.3E: Gulf of Aden. About ten speedboats chased a tanker underway. Master took evasive manoeuvres and contacted the coalition naval forces for help. A coalition aircraft arrived at location. The speedboats aborted the attack.

08.09.2008: 0400 UTC: Posn: 12:54.2N - 046:04.2E: Gulf of Aden. Two high-speed boats crossed the bow of a container ship underway at a distance of one nm and then turned towards the ship. Master altered course in a threatening way to hit the speedboats. As the boats got closer, the master observed that the persons onboard were carrying guns. Later the boats aborted the attempt.

07.09.2008: 2030 LT: Off Tioman Island, Malaysia. About 15 pirates armed with long knives boarded and hijacked a tug towing a barge. The tug / barge were enroute to Thailand from Singapore in ballast. The pirates landed the seven Indonesian crewmembers on Tioman Island. The seven-crew members lodged a police report on the island. The tug / barge are still missing.

06.09.2008: 0240 LT: Tanjung Bara anchorage, Indonesia. Robbers boarded a bulk carrier at anchor, via the forecastle and stole ship's stores. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Robbers escaped.

Good morning everyone!

Good morning everyone!

I'll second that!!!

A fine line indeed Joe.

Good morning Ken, David, Joe, & everyone else out there.

I flushed the engine with fresh water at night and we were running on fresh water for many hours within 6 hours of leaving the ocean, so everything should be ok but when we go next year I will install one of the nutrasalt systems. We winterize the fresh water system so the head works but we use the boat all winter and have a heater on it....there is something very attractive about being out on the water in a snow storm with white mountains surrounding you.

By the end of our trip we had cruised to, closely past, or around almost every Island within the Gulf Islands between Nanaimo and Sidney and logged over 550 miles. Our trip ended with 5 rounds of golf on 4 different courses in BC and Alberta......but there is no need to go into the gory details of that....LOL

One thing worth mention was the tides and currents....they are anything but subtle. Since we spent so many nights in Port of Nanaimo, our day trips were always against the current leaving in the morning and then against the current returning in the evening. We got to know Dodd Narrows a little better than we likely wanted to going through at every time except slack tide and often it was like trying to climb a small waterfall for our little boat. Gabriola Passage was another thing, we went through the first time near the peak of the flood tide and again about 5 hours later as the tide was going out. I checked the current tables and it was no worse than what we had been through at Dodd Narrows and for a change we were going with the current. I have no idea how many feet we dropped from the start to the finish of that channel but the only thing that I can think to compare it to is white water rafting.......slack tide is a very good time to go through Gabriola Passage. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_1688.jpg[/IMG] Gabriola Passage near slack tide....looks pretty unassuming.....I would have gotten a pic the second time through but I was too busy trying not to crap myself

We woke up at Fulford Harbour one morning and decided that we should visit Sidney since it seemed to be the only place not fogged in at the time. Sidney is a real cool place to visit and a great place to ogle nice 70+ ft yachts. Leaving the Harbour at Sidney we picked up something in the cooling water intake because just as we entered the Coal Island passage an alarm went off and I had to shut down the engine because it had reached 190 and it normally runs at 170. Fortunately the tide was on its way out so we just drifted away from the rocks and back out of danger. Although this scared the crap out of both of us and there were some rather panicked moments, it turned out to be nothing other than an obstruction that was released as soon as the engine was shut down and we learned a valuable lesson without any severe consequences. The lesson we learned was that in an emergency situation you may not have a minute or two to clear all the crap off the engine hatch that you have decided to stow there since you only need to check it once or twice a day at start up and refuelling. I also learned that it is also very convenient to have an electronic chart plotter as I was frantically zooming in to see if there were any cables below us in case I had to drop anchor to keep us in a safe spot, something I feel would have been much more of a guessing game with paper charts. Once I checked the engine and determined there was nothing visibly wrong I had Lorraine raise the drive and I checked the intake for obstructions and found nothing so I had her start the engine, it seemed to be taking water in and spitting it back out so I had her lower the drive back down and the engine immediately went back to its normal operating temp. We cruised in circles for about ten minutes under heavy load 2,500 rpm and not on plane and the temp stayed at 170 so we determined that it was simply an obstruction and carried on through the passage without any problems. We did however have to pass through Swartz Bay and Shutte Pass immediately after coming through Coal and the thought of having the same problem in front of one of the ferries had me much more nervous than I let on to Lorraine; but all was good and once we were into Swanson Channel I cracked a beer which is not something that I would normally do......but it sure seemed like a good idea at the time.

From there we cruised to South Pender Island, where we caught Dungeness and Rock crab. Saturna Island was kind of a must see because of the winery so we anchored there off of Saturna beach. Back to Nanaimo to drop the kids off and a quick overnight at Port of Nanaimo and we were off to Saltspring Island again, but this time to Fulford Harbour where we met some really cool people in a sailboat called Moonbeam. Since we are on the subject we also met a family in a rather small cruiser from Portland, we came across them in Nanaimo, Ganges, and at the Saturna Island Winery restaurant. They were in a 22 ft cuddy and although they had done the same trip every year for many, they were just like us; they just couldn’t spend enough time out cruising. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2217.jpg[/IMG] Filet & Release anchored off Saturna Beach

[IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2240.jpg[/IMG] Leaving Fulford Harbour with Moonbeam in the background

We spent one full day just anchored and fishing for cod, we caught 9 worth mentioning including a real nice rock cod about 2 ft long....all catch & release. This was the very first time Lorraine had caught a fish on the ocean and it was a rock cod about 14 inches long, she also caught a few small ling cod. The boat did live up to its name though, the last day we picked up Mike and a friend of his to go fishing out at Thrasher Rock off the east shore of Gabriola Island and caught 2 decent ling cod and a rock cod that we kept. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_1657.jpg[/IMG] Lorraines little Rock Cod

[IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2252.jpg[/IMG] One we kept

[IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2250.jpg[/IMG] A real tasty Ling Cod

[IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2224.jpg[/IMG] Amber, Lorraine, & Mike

Saturday morning we were back on the road by about 10:00 and arrived at Horseshoe Bay at about 3:30 and caught the 5:00 ferry over to Nanaimo......we will not be doing that again. The ferry was fine and we had no issues other than the cost, $225.10 each direction. We took the ferry because we had to be back for a golf tournament and did not want to get caught having to make the 35 mile crossing in really poor conditions just in case the last few days of the trip turned crappy. It turned out that the weather was very good on the way there and back so it was a bit of a waste because even at w.o.t. in our boat I would have only burned about $150.00 in gas for the round trip and got there quicker.....but such is life. We were finally in the ocean at the public ramp by the ferry terminal in Nanaimo and a quick trip over to the Port of Nanaimo where we tied up for the night......off to the pub. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2238.jpg[/IMG] Tied up at Port of Nanaimo

Instead of boring anyone willing to read this with our daily itinerary I will give you a summary of where we went along with a few highlights. My oldest son lives in Nanaimo so we kind of called the Port of Nanaimo home and stayed there 5 nights in total. We also stayed at Saltspring Island which is kind of central ground for the Gulf Islands for 4 nights. We stayed at both Ganges and Fulford harbour on Saltspring Island. We are not the kind of people that could possibly make an itinerary prior to going on a trip like this and stick to it, so it was kind of wake up and have a look at the cruising guide and the sky to see where the clouds were and off we would go. The first couple of days we had my son Mike and his girlfriend stay on the boat with us when we cruised to Ganges harbour, where we stayed and caught Dungeness crab. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2214.jpg[/IMG] Supper

At 10:00 am Friday we were on our way and 10 hours later we arrived at Captains Village Marina on Shuswap Lake....not quite the Pacific Ocean. I have made the trip to the coast many times and it is an easy 10 hours without a trailer so I figured 11 would be about right with one. Wrong.....I guess I needed to factor in the fact that I normally never travel between Friday and Sunday so I forgot to add about 25% for weekend traffic plus when you are pulling a large trailer you do not have access to every gas station and not all lanes at the ones you can get to. The gas thing was annoying because I could only get about 300 km between fills and the longest wait in line for gas was 35 minutes. The reason for the line up at the gas stations is because the BC government made it a law that you must pay for fuel before filling your tank, which would not be a problem if all gas stations had new pumps with credit card readers and they were in good working order and everyone had a credit card. The reality is that only about half the gas stations we visited had the card readers and only about half of them worked. So to get gas in BC this is the procedure you must follow if the card reader does not work....stop at the pump and try your card, once you determine that the card reader does not work you go stand in line to pay, and if you are paying by credit or debit card you can only pre pay a maximum of $75.00 at some stations and $100.00 at others so you go out and put in the $75.00 or $100.00 worth of gas then go stand in line to get your receipt and prepay for the rest of the fill up then go back and fill the vehicle completely then back to the line for your receipt......absolutely F@(&!^# brilliant!!!!

On a good note we ended up staying on the Shuswap over night on the way there and on the way back which gave us a chance to have a beer with friends. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2256.jpg[/IMG] All ready to go

This report of our trip was inspired by Mark Hancheroff’s story of his family trip to Poulsbo. I really enjoyed reading Marks story and hope that others will post stories of their own trips

Our journey really started at Lancer Marine in Cranbrook BC where we had a few things added to the boat in order to make the trip a bit more comfortable and safer. We started by having a Lowrance GPS/Fishfinder and marine radio installed, we also had ordered a 16½ lb bruce anchor with 300 ft of rhode (100 ft of chain with 200 ft of rope), a Force 10 barbecue, and an inflatable to get us from the boat to the pubs. We picked up the boat on Friday August 12 and headed for Kootenay Lake for 3 days on the water to sort out what we would need to have with us on our trip to the Gulf Islands. A few things were obvious, 6 fishing rods and 2 nets is excessive baggage on an express cruiser and 1 cabinet dedicated to cleaning supplies is fine if you never leave port. We spent all 3 nights anchored at Sawmill Cove and each following morning after a barbecued breakfast we would head into Nelson to pick up a few trinkets that we felt would make a longer stay on the boat easier. The weekend went without any problems and 6 hours of asphalt later we were back at the farm with boat in tow and only 4 more sleeps until we made the 11 hour trek to the west coast.....well at least we thought it would be 11 hours. We spent the rest of our spare time that week making sure the boat was fully stocked and everything was stowed in the most efficient way possible. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_2206.jpg[/IMG] Some of the changes were the wire mesh organizers and a towel rack and a ratcheting paper towel rack (towel won't unroll on it's own)

wow....

Good morning everyone! Congrats Grandpaw Joe & Grandmaw Katie ;-) I survived the earthquake....LMAO...didn't even know about it. Back to work for me I guess. I'll try to get some pics up this week. Hope everyone has made it through the storm season unscathed so far.

Morning all...

LMAO.....did anyone read the report?

Good morning everyone!

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/pirate-2.jpg[/IMG] 12-18 August 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 12 to 18 August 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

13.08.2008:01.30 LT: Outer Anchorage, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Duty watchman onboard a refrigerated cargo ship spotted two robbers hiding behind a 40’ container. They had stolen ship’s stores from the paint locker and lowered them into a waiting boat. As soon as they realised they had been spotted they jumped into the water and escaped in the waiting boat.

13.08.2008: 0005 UTC: 12:00.8S – 077:12.1W: Callao anchorage, Peru. Duty crew noticed robbers boarding the ship. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Robbers overpowered duty crew and tied him up. Robbers stole ship’s properties and escaped. Local authorities informed.

12.08.2008: 1348 UTC: 13:12.02N – 050:07.48E: Gulf of Aden. A general cargo ship underway was attacked and hijacked by pirates. The ship sent an SSAS alert distress. The pirates sailed the ship into Somali territorial waters and anchored her. Pirates are demanding a ransom for the safe release of the 28 crewmembers and ship. Negotiations are in progress.

06.08.2008: 0400 LT: 00:10:19N-117:36:12E: Bontang anchorage, Indonesia. Duty crew onboard a LPG tanker saw robbers stealing ship’s equipment. Alarm raised and crew alerted. On seeing crew alertness, robber escaped into a waiting boat. Ship’s stores and equipment stolen.

Very cool Mark....sounds like you guys had a blast. I take it you will be venturing out and exploring more of the Puget Sound since the maiden voyage went so well. I will be cruising the Gulf Islands starting this coming Saturday with my wife. Our adventure starts in our farmyard in Alberta where we are currently getting everything ready for 10 days on the water, (funny how the boat seems so big when trying to maneuver it in cramped quarters and so small when you are trying to fit 10 days worth of supplies on it) the next step will be Friday morning when we start the 11 hour drive through the mountains.

;-)

lmao...Joe if that is prop guy I think I'm starting to like him...that was damn funny.

Did everyone sleep late?

Check the spelling Frank....not admin....I suspect

Rick, how well does it follow towing behind "Almost There" & how fast can you tow them. Been thinking about buying one....

LMAO

Good morning everyone & happy birthday Joe

Ok....I'm 0 for 3 tries, there must be an isue with hotmail I do not know how to fix.

Good morning all....one more sleep and I'm back at the lake.

Catch ya tomorrow...I've had enough work for today, time to go home.

Maybe a little bit...lol hey were'd that go....

LMAO...ken you have the bug bad....as long as you aren't practicing for dive #100 you should only get a warning LOL

Feels like it nothing once you are in the water though

That be ice diving....looks like fun don't it ;-) Incase you are wondering...the triangular hole they cut into the ice is because that is about the only shape that does not naturaly form in ice, so if you loose your teather you simply lay on the bottom and look for the triangular light source.

yup...as you get more comfortable in the water you will require less weight and as you are becoming more comfortable it is better to have a bit more weight than necessary because if you have problems you will become very boyant when you are just learning. Having to add a little extra air to the bc to compensate for an extra pound or two of weight is better than poping to the surface like a cork.

I think I will just go have a beer and I'm sure the computer faries will have everything fixed by morning. [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/farie.jpg[/IMG]

I tried again and nothing....I have a hotmail account, could that be an issue or is it that I am using Porthill Idaho as my location, Zip 83853 (closest to my Canadian location)

I'm same status as Ken...no confirmation e-mail

Sure like to know the whole story behind that.

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/emotyarr9gn.gif[/IMG] 5-11 August 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 5 to 11 August 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

08.08.2008: 0345 UTC: 13:11.99N – 049:56.39E: Gulf of Aden. Seven pirates, in two speedboats, armed with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers chased and fired on a bulk carrier underway. The Master contacted the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre for assistance. Duty officer at the Piracy Reporting Centre advised master to enforce anti piracy measures to prevent boarding of vessel and informed him that the coalition navy and other relevant authorities would be contacted to render assistance to the vessel. The coalition navy dispatched one warship to assist the vessel. The constant manoeuvring of the vessel prevented the boarding of the pirates. On seeing the coalition warship, the pirate boats aborted their attempt and moved away. Vessel resumed voyage. All crew safe. No damage to ship. An unexploded grenade was found on the bridge wing. Master and crew were advised not to go near the grenade and were informed that the coalition navy would send a team to dispose it.

06.08.2008:2330 LT: Belawan port, Indonesia. Robbers boarded a product tanker at anchor by climbing the anchor chain. They opened the forecastle store and tried to steal ship’s stores. Duty crew noticed them. Alarm raised, crew alerted and mustered as per company procedures. Sensing crew alertness, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped. No injuries to crew and nothing stolen.

04.08.2008: 0300 LT: off Bosasso, Somalia. Pirates attacked and hijacked a tug underway. They took the crew hostage and sailed the tug into Somali coastal waters. Further details awaited.

Good morning everyone.

I have to toss my two cents in as well...Ken you kick ass even when you aren't kicking ass...LMAO

Hey Tom...dry suit is the prefered method but I got my certification in a 12 mill wet suit in Lake Minewanka at 4,900 ft (Banf National Park) while there was still ice on it....I do not recomend ever doing this, I was so cold I bit through the mouth piece. LOL Ken...It's pretty cool.....walking upside down on the ice....hard not to laugh though, if you loose your footing or ballance you fall up in slow motion. Tomm.....you are really missing out on a part of the ocean that most people never have the opportunity to experience. One more thing Ken....divers tradition = 100th logable dive must be done nude......you might want to get that out of the way before you do any diving in Canada, we generaly book a vacation in the Caribbean.

LOL...once you have run out of cool things to see in the warm water you'll have to come up north & I'll take you ice diving....if you go in without any weight or fins you can walk around upside down on the underside of the ice. I'll race you across the lake...winner drinks for free.LOL

Sounds like a fuel starvation problem to me, I assume it has carbs. I will be back at the computer in about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, I'll check for you on skype...easier to diagnose talking than typing.

Yeah no kidding.....wish I could find more than just the commercial stuff, I know we are missing out on all the small stuff but I don't know where to locate it.

Gulf of Aden 7 August 2008 To all ships transiting the Gulf of Aden

Please be advised that intelligence sources revealed that there are now two suspicious trawlers in the Gulf of Aden believed to be pirate mother vessels looking to attack ships with the intent to hijack.

The description of the suspected trawlers - long white, Russian made stern trawlers with names "BURUM OCEAN or ARENA or ATHENA". One of the trawlers is believed to be operating at approximately 60 NM NE of Bossasso, Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.

All ships are strongly advised to maintain a strict 24 hours visual and radar watch while transiting these waters and report any attacks or suspicious boats including the trawlers named above to the 24 hour IMB PRC.

Must be driving you nutts having all the gear and not quite certified yet. When do you get to go out and get it all wet?

Good morning everyone!

Very cool Leonard....The fact that we even have access to these questions is awesome....frusterating...but awesome. lol

LOL...I guess it's a preference thing, I found JD Power to be rather vague and felt it was more of a cheering section for individual builders. The reason I like the boat test user generated reviews is that you get the boat owners opinion, good or bad, in their own words, and on a number of topics that are not always flattering for a builder such as their dealership network.

I spotted a 2006 Searay on Craigs List for $4,900.00........sounded too good to be true and I was 99.99% sure it was a scam...but I couldn't help myself and had to inquire.

Here's the response I got.....note that they only need my full name and address to rip me off (I mean sell me the boat) and it must be important because in a 6 line message 2 lines are dedicated to ensuring that I don't forget to supply them with the correct information. LMFAO

Re: 2006 Sea Ray 280DA - $4900 From: Florela Monson (monsonflo1@yahoo.com) Sent:August 7, 2008 10:18:01 PM Reply-to:monsonflo1@yahoo.com

To: Scott Walker (XXXXXXXX@hotmail.com)

Hello, You made the right choice! My 2006 Sea Ray 280DA is in great shape,no engine problems,damages or hidden defects. Im a single mother with 2 children because i divorced with my husband and after the divorce i own this boat,i dont need it and thats why im selling it so cheap. The price is $4,900. We will use eBay`s protection program for our safety. I just need your full name and address so i can open a case. (with no further obligation or fees). Have a nice day! P.S : Please don't forget to send your full name and shipping address if you are interested to buy.

I really like the idea of the First Mate Quiz ( terms ) and Captain Quiz ( 6pack ). The 5 books you speak of....where can these be purchased? I am sure that reading these books would be a big help on the 6pack questions.....right now some of the questions are so foreign to me that when the right answer is displayed it makes about as much sense to me as "three plus two equals orange".

Good morning Ken, Joe, David, and everyone else out there

it is definately less fun than it was before....some of the questions are so complicated that you barely have time to read the question before time is up. I used to play when I needed a break from work, not so much anymore though.....some of the questions piss me off more than being at work does.

http://www.boattest.com/rateboat/listeval.aspx

Having a simple method of allerting the author of a false marker that it needs to be moved would be nice

The Ramones could do no wrong

Good morning everyone!

Higher end clock [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/Clock.jpg[/IMG]

I gave this one a bit of thought...I listen to Country, Blues, Jazz, Punk, and Garage mostly so my profile music would probably need to change daily.....and I likely need therapy.....LOL If I had to pick just one I think this would have to be my all time fave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OePZOB7cXc&feature=related

Good idea Darrin....how about temporary tattoos as well [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/AssTattoo.jpg[/IMG]

And rum... [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/BoatersRum.jpg[/IMG]

Oh....and put me down for a dozen golf balls......although hitting a golf ball with an anchor logo on it over a water hazard is bound to piss the golf gods off.

Beer insulator holder thing...what ever they are called

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/59ea.jpg[/IMG] 29 July-4 August 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 29 July to 4 August 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

31.07.2008: 2015 LT: 10:16.36N - 107:02.85E, Vung Tau Anchorage, Vietnam. Robbers boarded a chemical tanker at anchor. D/O raised alarm and crew rushed to forecastle. Upon seeing crew alertness, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped with ship's stores in a small boat.

25.07.2008: 2130 LT: Go Dau, Vietnam. Two robbers armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier. They broke open the padlocks to the forward store. Duty crew noticed the open stores and raised the alarm. Hearing the alarm, the robbers escaped in a waiting boat. Authorities and local agents informed.

And don't forget a good dive knife... [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/DiveKnife.jpg[/IMG] this is mine, 128 layers of hand forged 304 & 316 stainless steel

Cool!!!....I have almost worn my hat out.

Hey Ken, good to hear you are getting certified. PADI is definately the way to go, recognized world wide. Here's my 2 cents on gear ....buy the best set of regs you can afford, if you cheap out on your regs and can't breath a $1500.00 bcd will do nothing to help you. ....when buying a bcd it is real nice if you can test a few before buying them, it's a real comfort thing. I personally prefer the integrated weight style. One thing you should stay away from is an overly technical unit, these can be almost imposible for a beginner to use. ....Fins are real important, we all don't have the perfect kick and buying the wrong ones will give you leg cramps in current, best if you can try a few types before buying. ...Mask & snorkle, kind of fall into the same category as fins because you will use these items way more than all the other gear so get good quality and comfortable stuff. ....Wet suit....I will not dive or snorkle without a full wet suit, boots, gloves, and hood for two reasons. I don't like jellyfish rash and you have a far better chance of getting bent if you are cold or even a bit uncomfortable and unless you are diving in body temp water you will cool down a bit especially waiting to come up. ....Dive computer....little more than an expensive toy and not necessary....with that said I use one and love it, I dive cold water as well so the wrist models are not for me, they fall off when you have the 12mm cold water gloves on over a 12mm suit and you go down to 80 ft. ....Compass, I use mine all the time so I have a good easy to read model on a retractable teather with my dive computer, forces you to glance at your air supply when taking a bearing on something. ....Nitrox, love the stuff, you don't get dry mouth and you are not as tired after a day of diving.

Congrats, Tim and Andrea....a brand new boater.

Good morning everyone.....bright sunny day here as well

Done work and headded to the lake.....catch ya all next Wednesday or so...

Had a chance to go through the redesigned mapping feature.....huge improvement, makes for very enjoyable browsing and you can IM someone that has been to a destination you are going to with questions about anchorage etc.....very cool.

I think I need to study celestial navigation

Just got another one

Athwartship?

1 A member or dimension running from port to starboard. 2 None of the above Don't Know The Answer or Press "N" on your keyboard

There seems to be a leak in the marine quiz, I have gotten 2 questions today where you only had 2 choices, one being the correct answer and the other "none of the above". The other 3 choices are not there and when I choose the answer it comes back as incorrect and the correct answer is displayed as a question mark. Also it has taken over 20 seconds for some of my responses to register and one actually timed out...don't know if it's related as some days this seems to be a bit of an issue but I have never been timed out before.

Wow....that adds a whole new level of difficulty to the quiz.....looks like my record for longest streak should stand for a while...LOL

Morning everyone....congrats on the new job Bruce. Good to hear from you Sabin...you too WD

Here's a neighbour story....At our lake property the water and sewer are privately owned by the marina and service the 30 some houses in the area. Apparently our neighbour had not paid his bill so the water was shut off and after 2 weeks passed the owner of the utility drove over to see why this dude had not contacted them yet. This is where I come into the picture, "Pat" the owner of the utility phoned me at work in Alberta to make sure I had not given my neighbour permission to hook into our water because there was a big grey hose coming from our house and running over to my neighbours and he was watering the lawn. Of course the answer was NO so Pat unhooked the hose and left the guy a note stating that if he hooked into our water again the police would be notified and charges would be laid. So my kid goes there on the following weekend to find the grey hose hooked up again, he disconnected it and tossed it into the guy’s yard. The next morning it was hooked up again and as usual no one was home so he tossed the hose into the front yard again, that evening my kid was at the other neighbours having a few beers and when he arrived back that night about midnight the hose was hooked up again, fortunately the dude was home so my kid went over and had a little "chat" with him....problem solved. We have not had any problem since and the guy must have paid his bill because he waters his lawn every day for about 3 hours during the hottest part of the day (just to be an a-hole I'm sure) since we pay a flat rate not by consumption.

LMAO...eh

I would have been real pissed as well....first thing that comes to mind is shine the spotlight in their faces until they get agitated and move in front of someone else......and if I did have bottle rockets with me I'd be aiming for the cockpit.

Good morning everyone!

LMAO @ Ken

Lovin the clock bruce

Lmao...I'll have to try that.

Still morning here bruce...but I'm sure it's five o'clock some where [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/5.gif[/IMG]

Wow!!!...looks like a busy 90 days. Good timing though, boating season will be over for most in the north and this place will get real busy again by then. Don't imagine the marine weather forecast will work by postal code...eh.

Morning everyone

Good to have you back...did you get the spider cracks fixed on ebb tide?

Good morning Ken, Joe, and all you other happy boaters out there.

Hope I'm never cured either.

LMAO!!!!

Kind of makes you want to laugh while banging your head against a wall...don't it

The Tax Poem

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass.

Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid.

Put these words Upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom...'

When he's gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax.

LOL...I've met the other one.

Good Morning all

Cool!!!!!

Wow...busy week!!!

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/thpirate2.gif[/IMG] 15-22 July 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 15 to 22 July 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

16.07.2008: 0028 UTC: 04:40.37N - 007:06.23E, Bonny River Anchorage, Nigeria. Eight armed and two unarmed militants boarded a bulk carrier at anchor, via a barge that was alongside. They incapacitated the local security guards and entered the accommodation. They manhandled the crew and damaged the accommodation. Militants stole crew personal belongings, ship's cash and property. No injuries to crew. SSAS activated.

13.07.2008: 2040 LT: Posn: 18:34N – 072:24W, Port Au Prince Anchorage, Haiti. Duty AB, on a general cargo ship at anchor, noticed six robbers on the forecastle stealing ship’s stores. Master informed, alarm raised and crew mustered. On seeing alert crew the robbers jumped overboard and escaped. Two junks noticed moving away from the ship. Port control informed of incident.

05.07.2008: 1900 LT: 10:45N - 063:00W, 8 nm off Puerto Santos, Venezuela. Six pirates armed with guns and knives in a pirogue fishing boat, one dressed in military uniform and two with facemasks approached a yacht underway. The skipper rammed into the fishing boat but the pirates managed to board the yacht. They tied the two-crew members and pointed guns to their heads. They shot and stabbed the skipper’s dog. The pirates stole equipment, property, and left. One crew injured.

20.07.2008: 0011 UTC: 13:16.99N - 050:03.47E, SE of Al Mukalla, Gulf of Aden. Pirates boarded a bulk carrier underway. The ship activated SSAS and sent voice message to the coalition forces indicating pirates on board. The owners are unable to contact the ship and suspect all communication equipments have been damaged. There are 21 crew onboard the ship. Further details are awaited.

20.07.2008: 0155 LT: One nm from buoy no.2, Belawan anchorage, Indonesia. Duty watchman onboard a bulk carrier at anchor, noticed robbers trying to open the watertight door to the forecastle store. He immediately reported to OOW who in turn raised the alarm and crew mustered. Upon seeing crew alertness, robbers jumped overboard with empty handed and escaped in a waiting boat with one accomplice.

18.07.2008: 0720 UTC: 12:47.5N - 051:02.0E, Gulf of Aden. Heavily armed pirates, in two, six-meter long yellow craft, attempted to board a container ship underway from the aft. Master took evasive manoeuvres, raised alarm and crew mustered with pressurised fire hoses. Upon seeing crew alertness, pirates aborted the attempt.

15.07.2008: 1030 LT: 13:31N - 049:11E, 44 nm Off Yemen, Gulf of Aden. D/O onboard a chemical tanker underway noticed about 10 - 12 pirates in two blue and white coloured speedboats at a distance of 2.5 nm. The speedboats suddenly approached the tanker and fired upon her. D/O raised alarm, sounded whistle and crew mustered. Pirates noticed crew alertness and reduced their speed and aborted the attempted boarding

13.07.2008: 0250 LT: Manila Quarantine Anchorage: Philippines. Shore security guard noticed four robbers on the forecastle of a LPG tanker armed with knives and pipes, while the crew was busy preparing to receive bunkers. The robbers attempted to assault the shore guard who alerted the crew. On seeing the alert crew approaching, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped in two waiting boats. The boats had around 12 more robbers in them. No one injured. Ship’s equipment stolen.

That would be kind of handy

Morning everyone!

Good morning everyone...have a good trip Darrin. Wow Rya, pulling in a 500 lb shark sounds like a blast.

Happy Birthday Captain Connie!!!

From the Dear Walter advice column

Dear Walter:

I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt.

I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor lady. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years.

When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.

Can you please help?

Sincerely,

Sheila

Dear Sheila:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber.

I hope this helps.

Walter

Bees wax on the end of a branch, if it is too hot there for straight bees wax burn a piece of scrap 2x4 and scrape the ash off and mix it with the bees wax, that will give it better grip when warm.

Good morning all...Congrats Frank!!!

LMAO!!

Wow...twice in the 3 years!!!! I would be contemplating a new career, maybe something safer like King or Dungeness crab fishing

Is this what you are looking for http://www.alltackle.com/ruppreelhangers.htm

Hylton William Hines, what's your opinion on Nigeria?

Stacey....will there be a highlite reel on Mondays podcast???? [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/stewieparty.gif[/IMG]

Thanks Ken, I find this stuff very interesting. I know quite a few people working offshore oil in the South China Sea and so far two of them have been told that their ships will be moving to Nigeria. The one guy has 2 or 3 more rotations before they go and it is dependant on weather the ship can be refitted to meet the anti piracy requirements or not (he is hoping not). I had a beer with the other guy last night, he just quit his job of 17 years because his next rotation would be in Nigeria, the ship is newer and only needed to have 3 safe rooms added for the crew to lock themselves into if boarded. He told me that a Shell rig got boarded last week drilling 50 miles off shore in Nigeria. He said that he had enough storys to tell the grandkids and didn't need to add kidnaping to the list.

Morning everyone......Darrin I have forewarded that to everyone I know, Canada should participate as well...it's the neighbourly thing to do.

ROTFLMAO!!!!......glad I didn't go swiming

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/ninja-pirate.png[/IMG] 8-14 July 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 8 to 14 July 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

05.07.2008: 0325 LT: Abidjan Anchorage, Ivory Coast. Duty AB onboard a chemical tanker noticed a small boat approaching from aft. AB informed OOW and went to check the other side of the vessel and saw one robber armed with a knife running towards him. OOW raised alarm and alerted crew. Robber stole ship’s equipment and escaped by ship’s messenger line. Port control informed.

11.07.2008: 0655 LT: Posn: 06:02.54S – 106:53.68E, Jakarta Anchorage, Indonesia. Robbers attempted to board a general cargo vessel on four different occasions while the vessel was anchored. On one of the occasions, the robbers succeeded in boarding the vessel. Robbers stole ship’s stores and escaped. Port authorities informed who came onboard to investigate.

06.07.2008: 0945 LT: Posn: 12:34.3N – 043:25.6E, Off Mayyun Island, Gulf of Aden. Blue coloured, wooden boats, with 10 -15 people attempted to close onto a bulk carrier underway. Alarm raised. Crew implemented anti piracy measures. After 10 minutes of trying to get close to the vessel the boats aborted the attempted and moved away.

Does anyone know what this is? [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_1902.jpg[/IMG]

Sometimes the results are not quite what you had hoped for... [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/IMG_1685.jpg[/IMG]

The trip was fantastic!!!...I had no idea the cruising was that good in the Gulf Islands. I guess perfect weather didn't hurt either...lol. We are planning another trip in August. I will get some new pics up soon.

Very cool Ken...I see you are using premade needle bars, how do you like them? I've heard mixed reviews. The Sailor Jerry piece is awesome Bruce...who did the work?

Good morning everyone!

On my way to the pacific ocean...Happy Birthday USA & have a great weekend everyone.....see ya all in a couple weeks.

lol.....how was the b-day Ken?

Have a fun weekend Darrin

Morning everyone.

Yeah....geeze Stacey I'd love to come down and help but ummm.......I gotta wash my truck in case it rains…yeah that’s it.

I'm heading to Vancouver for a week on the water

Morning everyone...Happy Birthday Ken!!!!!

lmao...Bruce, my wife says I can have a girlfriend, as long as she will clean and cook...and stack bales and feed & exercise horses and do laundry and.........I think I'll stick with the marine Quiz

yup!

Weekly Piracy Report [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/piratesmiley.gif[/IMG] 24-30 June 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 24 to 30 June 2008.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Nigeria Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Suspicious crafts

24.06.2008: 1805 LT: 01:26.0N - 104:36.8E, North of Bintan island, Indonesia. Duty AB onboard a LNG tanker reported three small suspicious boats at a distance of about 250 meters on the stbd beam and stbd quarter. Each boat was about 12 meters long, wooden hull, blue in colour and fitted with four large sea horse power engines. The four men in the boats were wearing blue oilskins. Master raised alarm, and anti piracy measures activated. Vessels in the vicinity informed. The boats moved away at 1820 LT heading towards Bintan island.

Recently reported incidents

28.06.2008: 2145 UTC: Takoradi Anchorage, Ghana. One robber, armed with a long knife, attempted to climb onboard a bulk carrier at anchor via the anchor chain. Alert duty watchman saw the robber and informed the duty officer who raised the alarm. On hearing the alarm, the robber jumped into the sea and escaped with two other accomplices waiting in a boat.

30.06.2008: 0200 LT: Berth No. 12, Mombasa, Kenya. Alert crew, onboard a supply vessel at berth, spotted a robber using a rope attached with a hook to gain access to their vessel from the offshore side. As soon as the robber saw the alert crew, he jumped overboard and escaped in a waiting boat.

26.06.2008: 0345 LT: Posn: N.E.A. Anchorage, Yangon, Myanmar. Six robbers in a speedboat tried to come alongside a container ship at anchor.

Alert crew raised alarm and directed the search light towards the boat. Seeing the alert crew the robbers turned away. Ships in the vicinity informed. Earlier the port authority and pilot had warned the master of robbers in the anchorage.

21.06.2008: 0610 LT: Posn: 13:08.7N – 048:03.7E: Gulf of Aden. Two wooden speedboats approached the ship. One boat crossed the vessel’s bow whilst the other remained on the portside. Not suspecting any pirate activity the master sailed between the two boats, which then closed in on the ship. One of the crafts was preparing ladder with hook in order to board. Ship raised the alarm and evasive manoeuvres adopted. The two speedboats aborted their attack and moved away. The vessel continued on her passage

lmao....nice image, looks like she's wearing her little sisters shoes too.

Thanks Ken! I actually had no intention of playing that much but I kept getting pressured by a couple of other players....and I don't do second place....lol

Good Morning everyone, thanks Darrin Happy Canada Day eh.......

The response time thing is strange, every once in a while I will answer a question and it will take 10 or 15 seconds for the server to respond and other times it will bypass the correct answer screen and jump right to the next question and the time is real short to answer, I think it actually makes me answer 2 questions in the time of one.

One more thing........stupid sailing questions!!!!!!!lol

Good morning everyone!

If the north pole melts where will santa live? [IMG]http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg90/Beecool/santa_mooning.gif[/IMG]