mystery train of events

A few years ago, when I lived in New York's Upper West Side, I became friends with a guy who lived a few blocks away in a beautiful brownstone apartment. We had met by way of a girlfriend of mine who worked at Penguin Books. She had gone to college with Carl and had introduced us because we were both mad fans of noir/pulp crime fiction. Carl was a writer of extraordinary poetry and I dabbled in fiction and screen plays but really we just hung out on the Upper West Side (at a time and in a zeitgeist immortalised in Seinfeld
re-runs. Seinfeld is, to me, a documentary series.)
We hung out, went to the odd shows together and then finally, after the big breakup with Janet and various levels of crisis, we drifted apart. The last time I spoke to him back then he was contemplating quitting the city and pursuing an old passion--driving diesel locomotives for the railroad--a choice which was so totally true to the personality I knew and also so anachronistic and challenging that it had to be right.
Over the years I heard vague whispers that he had done so and was now running big trains for the various US railroad companies. Hauling coal across the prairies, that kind of thing.
Recently, through the kind offices of Google, we met up again. He's now working as an instructor/evaluator for the railroads--conducting workshops for aspiring locomotive engineers in out-of-the-way rural areas and run-down industrial towns and cities. I was filled with envy and admiration when I heard that information--how cool to drive around the beautiful U S and A, the byways and blue highways, and pull into a town and run a locomotive clinic. I can hear Johnny Cash clearing his throat as I type.

Anyway, he has a blog, of course, (from which I stole the lovely photo above). Meet the man.

are we there yet?

Well merde happens, but this is definitely at the extreme end of things. Three-man crew from South Africa not to be found, the catamaran up on the sand on the Oregon coast. Coasties say they found an Epirb locked in a closet that, had it been able to float free, might have brought aid and succour to these poor mariners.
LATER:
A Voyage 440 enroute from Cape Town to Seattle capsized off the Oregon coast in the storm we received here in the past 48 hrs. So far the delivery crew is missing. Does anyone know who the delivery crew was? The boat's name was Cat Shot..
Washed ashore, dismasted and the cabin gone. From the TV picture's last night night it appeared that a halyard was wrapped around the starboard sail drive.
Winds were over 100 Knots and 40' seas in the area off shore from where she washed ashore (Lincoln City, Oregon). From the Voyage Owners' Assoc.

Then again there's the (some say) Hylas someone dragged across the reef at Cane Garden Bay and which has become a prime snorkelling venue for the venturesome tourist. Some say it was being helmed by the owner who saw the lights of CGB and blasted on in. Others that it was a charter boat with a paid captain (I hesitate to use the word "professional"). All agree it's about 60 feet (so really 45-50?), some say named Sea Wolf. The paid captain version I heard involved a delivery and the suggestion that the captain took off and hasn't been seen since.
In any case it seems he steamed right over the reef at CGB, tore off the keel and set her down in 20 feet or so of good water. I'll go take a picture later.
I hear that the locals removed a good portion of salvageable materials.

If it was a Hylas, the new models are 46, 49 and 54 feet with a 66 foot pilot house model soon to come. The 54 (Cruising World boat of the year) sells for about $700,000 fully spec'd.
LATER: Turns out it was a delivery crew taking a boat (under cloudy circumstances) to Antigua. Lost instruments, went in to CGB and made an error. Captain took off in the dinghy, leaving crew stranded on boat. Keel fell off, crew took to liferaft and made it ashore only to get rounded up by local police for illegal entry. They're still in the caboose, the captain's sipping rum at CGB. Boat seems to have been towed away.
All this a result of several conversations, so let's call it informed rumour.
It's amazing the crazy stuff that happens here in Lotarot.

when quitting's not an option

....think on this. Keep the holidays merry, don't let 'em get scary.
More here.

every day I'm hustlin'

When the cruise ships pull in to the pier and the fat wobbling passengers waddle off to their destinies in the perfume shops, a donkey stands by ready for photographic duty.

row v wade

Spotted in Charlotte Amalie. (click to view)

we don't need no........

well, it's a wall.

world's greatest diving instructor

Jenny Paton is her name and she's totally amazing.
(I found this photo in my camera--I think Lisa snapped it).
Why is she so amazing?--well, she's incredibly patient, amused and amusing, clear and concise in her instructions, loves her work and has a remarkable sense of humour. All the girls have girl-crushes on her, and the guys, well....if only she were better looking she'd be more popular.

jah jah

For a long time Rasta dress and demeanour were looked on unfavourably in Lotarot. Rastas from other islands were turned away at the ports of entry. Lately, though, it has become more acceptable, as it's moved into the mainstream as a belief system encouraging vegetarianism, abstinence (from alcohol, anyway) and cleanliness in thought and action. The indication of its reduction to a fashion statement is shown here--reduced to a stick-on decal on an SUV.

flashback

Driving around Lotarot you can suddenly be presented with a view right out of the 18th century. These beautiful ships are functionally as modern as an Airbus but in form as ancient as the Black Pearl.

zen what happens?

Wavy Gravy once asked a Zen Roshi, "What happens after death?"

The Roshi replied, "I don't know."

Wavy protested, "But you're a Zen Master!"

"Yes," the Roshi admitted, "but I'm not a dead Zen Master."

so who is Raymond Hung, Beef Island's mystery millionaire?

In 1993 (U.S. President) Clinton named (Vice-President) Gore to head U.S. export policy for encryption technology in a TOP SECRET order written by National Security advisor Anthony Lake. A 1996 secret memo on a secret meeting of DCIA Deutch, FBI Director Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno states: "The Vice President chairs the senior group that set the Administration's encryption policy; since February 1994 it has been supported by a working group co-chaired by NSC, and OMB, composed of NSA, CIA, FBI, State, Commerce (BXA, NIST), and Justice."

In 1995 Sanford Robertson also had a big financial interest in the U.S. computer security industry. Robertson's investment firm had hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in a Massachusetts based computer company named Security Dynamics Inc. (SDI). Thus, in 1995 Gore had direct control of policy that also affected Robertson financially.

Security Dynamics was able to import computer security hardware manufactured in China. SDI secured Hong Kong electronics maker RJP Industries to produce electronic computer security cards for sale in America. The Chinese manufactured cards are sold to major defense contractors, medical institutions and the U.S. government.

Hong Kong millionaire Raymond Hung also owns RJP. Hung manufactured the security cards in two factories leased directly from the China National Electronics Import/Export Company (CNEIEC), a business owned by the People's Liberation Army. Thus, the computer security cards imported and sold here in the U.S. were built on a Chinese Army assembly line.

Hung also owned a U.S. based company called Quorum International that went bankrupt in 1996. The company left millions in bad debt in Arizona and California. Yet, Hung was able to donate over a million dollars to the Special Olympics, donate a temple to communist China, and have his photo taken with Arnold Schwarzenegger all only days before declaring bankruptcy.

Hung is also reported to have set up dozens of shell "front companies" offshore. These companies allegedly sell cheap Chinese products imported by Hung who declares bankruptcy, citing Chinese taxes on the imports. Hung, of course, splits the "taxes" with the Chinese government, and returns to America to purchase hard assets such as real estate. Despite all this Hung remains un-investigated by the Clinton administration.

Hung's close working relationship with China and the Clinton administration raises another question: Could there be a "secret" back door embedded in imported hardware or software, waiting like a TROJAN HORSE, brought safely inside the secure walls by a paying customer? Could a hidden SNIFFER be hunting down passwords, code keys and sensitive data?
From WorldNetDaily

Dude! My Hero!

I first met Reid Stowe a few years ago in New York. I had been invited to sail with him on the schooner Anne which he was preparing to take around the world on an epic non-stop 1,000 day voyage which would not entail stopping at any harbour, anchorage, or making any landfall whatsoever. "Dude! My hero!"

On that first sail in New York's Hudson River we were barely off the dock when the engine alarms rang and the engine was shut down. Reid had forgotten to open the seacock that controlled the flow of seawater to the engine for cooling purposes. Bummer.
Subsequent exposure to Reid Stowe did nothing to dispel that first impression--he was the type of mariner who was forever getting into minor but quite nerve-wracking situations, a type known in the trade as "Captain Crunch"--usually on account of their abrupt docking maneuvres, but in a larger sense because they are hard on the equipment.

Every time I saw or heard more of him, though, he seemed to be doing things right. Dressed in a suit at the National Arts Club showing his artwork---abstract swirls painted on vast acres of old sails---he made his pitch for substantial donations. His companion, later his wife, Laurence, was a total hottie and gave him extra coolness points that he subsequently had to cash in when she left him after their honeymoon (90 days at sea tracing the shape of a sea turtle in the Southern Atlantic.) You can listen to various radio interviews here. For a while he was the darling of New York magazine, the striver's handbook.

So now he's again ready for the big one. He's been positioning it as a worthwhile preview of the trials and tribulations that a group of humans might go through should they be stuck together on, say, a manned trip to Mars. If only he could dial up 3 years' worth of weightlessness, he might have a point. He wanted a million dollars from NASA to help fund his expedition--this would help him provide live internet hookups from the boat to schoolrooms around the world plus keep him and the party in food and pencil erasers for that time (almost 3 years). Those poor schoolkids could watch him and the party slowly go mad and devour each other. They would be found, like Nathaniel Philbrick's poor sailors, nibbling on fingerbones and jabbering.

Originally he wanted a group of people to come with him, but now it's down to him and his new First Mate.
Bon Voyage, Captain.

Oh, in all that time he's barely got the schooner Anne off the damned dock......though in fairness, he did build the ship himself and sail her to the Antarctic where he wintered over one season. So his early years were good, just like Paul McCartney.

doubts about global warming?

Ask your insurers what they think.

prime beef

One of the most controversial aspects of life in Lotarot is the projected development of Beef Island by Hong Kong investor Raymond Hung. The project calls for a hotel and convention centre along with an 18-hole golf course and a marina with 200 slips including docking facilities for super yachts. All of this development is to take place in a fragile ecosystem and in areas already designated as fragile and protected--saltwater ponds and the like. Some folks say that the mangroves here are the finest kayaking in the BVI. To many this projected development is seen as an unmitigated disaster about to unfold in an extraordinarily lovely environment. To others it is a time for a turn at the trough. "Who benefits?" is a good question.
Recently the Hong Kong Stock Exchange released a press statement by Hung and his partners regarding
"the agreement entered into by and among Quorum, InterIsle, Applied Enterprises and Applied
Toys on 11 August 2006 in relation to the joint venture arrangement to develop the property in Beef Island, the British Virgin Islands. The Directors announce that the parties have mutually agreed to postpone
the Closing Date from 30 November 2006 to the expected date of which is no later than 31 January 2007."
The reason for the delay is that:
"Since more time is required by the banks to conduct due diligence on the Project, a formal agreement has not yet been reached between the parties in respect of the Initial Loan."

The full text is here.

LATER:
A town-hall style meeting was held recently on the very subject of the Beef Island Development. "I'm prepared to join any group at anytime to prevent this development from happening," said Keith Flax, a former Legislative Council speaker, as the audience applauded. "I'm one that will stand on the front line."

See report here.

And here

MUCH LATER:
$80 million resort project on Beef Island approved
By ANGELA BURNS-PIPER
Tuesday, February 13th 2007


TORTOLA - Hong Kong investor Raymond Hung has received the government's approval to construct an $80 million golf and country club on Beef Island.

The approval process and negotiations were tough and lengthy, Chief Minister Orlando Smith said during a Monday press briefing at his office. The government was not prepared to simply rush ahead and make mistakes it would later regret, he said.

Smith said his government's development policies are based on two critical principles: that new projects are critical to the long-term strength of the BVI and that projects be conducted according to the strictest standards for environmental protection, community contribution and corporate responsibility.

Hung plans to build a five-star luxury resort hotel and spa; an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course; residential marina with megayacht basin; marina village; low-density residential lots and villas; and a commercial center in Trellis Bay.

His proposal had been opposed by many residents, who voiced their objections during public hearings and in the media.

Smith said the comments received from hundreds of residents were central to the development of his government's position on the project.

"It has taken a long time to get to this day, and an enormous amount of hard work has been done by many people both on the government side and on the developer's side, but both sides were committed to one shared goal: to come up with a development plan that would allow this vital project to go forward, and to do so in a way that keeps the interests of the people of the BVI first," he said.

Residents expressed that environmental protection was paramount, the Smith said. He said that as a result, strong environmental protections are now in place that require the developer to take steps to make sure that an absolute minimal amount of damage is done in the construction and maintenance of the development.

"The people also told us that they did not want this project to be too big. Rather, the people wanted it to be in keeping with the traditions of the BVI of smaller hotels," Smith said. "And so as part of the final agreement, we had the developer slash the number of planned units by more than 10 percent, from 663 to 600, and in terms of the marina, there was in the development plan two marinas proposed - one inner and one outer - and the outer marina has been dropped."

He said that as part of the final agreement, the developer has made a commitment to giving first preference for all major contracts to local companies and to employing local people at all levels of the company.

"And perhaps most significantly, the developer has made a commitment to make an annual contribution of $75,000 to the community college to sponsor training programs for our young people," Smith said.

In his overview of the project at a meeting last year at the East End/Long Look community center, architect Timothy Peck said 55 percent of the Beef Island property will remain green space. Other planned environmental considerations include enhancement of the Hans Creek ecosystem through the retention of the red mangroves; a 190-acre nature preserve on Mount Alma; and a protected marine habitat.

virgin on the ridiculous

Well the neighbourhood is pretty nice but the folks over the way keep on throwing parties and whatnot. Sometimes they attract the attention of the local press.
Oi! Keep it down over there.