A British couple was rescued from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by an Italian tanker after spending 40 days lost at sea.
Stuart Armstrong, 51, and his partner Andrea Davison, 48, are heading back to Britain on board the supertanker Indian Point.
Although unhurt, they were tired, exhausted and grateful to be returning home after their six-week ordeal in which they "stared death in the face."
The drama began on Jan. 9, six days after the couple left the Cape Verde Islands off the West Coast of Africa on board their yacht Sara. They were headed for Antigua where they intended to anchor until April.
But, midway through the 2,550-mile journey disaster struck and the rudder on the yacht jammed to starboard. Attempts to fix it were useless.
At this stage the couple, who live on the yacht in Majorca, were in the middle of the Atlantic, 1,200 miles from Antigua, five days sailing time away and out of range for any rescue attempt. "In effect we were sailing round and round in circles as the rudder was stuck all the way over," Armstrong said, speaking from the Indian Point. "We tried to counteract this by putting droves over the side to try and help point the boat towards land but we didn't really have any great success."
"At first we were not too bothered as we had a good supply of dry provisions, the usual things you have on a boat - pasta, kidney beans, biscuits, rice and soya. There was also plenty of water to keep us going, the radio was still working and we had power so there was no need to be too worried."
He continued, "I have crossed the Atlantic seven times and this was Andrea's fourth so we are pretty experienced and for the first few days it was a challenge and a bit of an adventure."
"We alerted the coastguards in Britain and America and we also let our families know. I spent a good few days trying to fix the rudder as well but I just didn't have any luck."
Their first problem was around 10 days or so later when the alternator broke which meant they had no power. "All that we had was a small solar panel which gave us enough to fire up the satellite phone but we had to ration it," he said. "The loss of the alternator also meant that we could not use the desalination unit which turns sea water into drinking water so we also had to start rationing that as well."
The American Coast Guard monitored their position but because of their remote location a rescue attempt was impossible and the couple simply carried on drifting with the current pushing them slowly towards the Caribbean.
During their weeks at sea the couple's yacht was battered by storms but they managed to escape unscathed. However, as they neared the Bermuda triangle after more than a month at sea conditions began to worsen.
#1
"We alerted the coastguards in Britain and America and we also let our families know. I spent a good few days trying to fix the rudder as well but I just didn't have any luck."
The American Coast Guard monitored their position but because of their remote location a rescue attempt was impossible and the couple simply carried on drifting with the current pushing them slowly towards the Caribbean.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Illegal methamphetamine "cooks" are traipsing undetected through an unknown number of motels and hotels with covert drug-making labs -- leaving a toxic mess behind for unsuspecting customers and housekeeping crews.
They are places where drug-makers can go unnoticed, mixing the chemicals needed for the highly addictive stimulant in a matter of hours before slipping out the next morning. The dangerous contaminants can lurk on countertops, carpets and bathtubs, and the sickening smells produced can be masked by tobacco smoke and other scents.
Motels can be an attractive alternative for drug makers seeking to avoid a police bust in their own homes.
Continued on Page 49
Via comments from Lex
Well, I told you folks it was coming to a town near you. "TEA PARTY '09." Let "the man" know that you're mad, and you're not going to take it anymore!! Bring your protest signs and indignant taxpayer attitude with you to the rally at the outside stage at The Cowtown Bar & Grill on Friday, the 27th of February, from 3pm to 7pm, located at 7108 Camp Bowie Blvd Fort Worth, TX 76116 (817) 570-7910
We hope to have a guest speaker there from KLIF radio. The "Desert Son Band" will be performing on the outside stage with their original music and some covers appropriate for the rally. Food and drink will be available for purchase.
I'll be notifying the TV media about the rally, as well.
Please tell everyone you know about the event. The only way for us to be heard, is to spread the word. I'll be putting out flyers, advertising on the internet (like this), and I've already been on the air with JD Wells at KLIF radio, plugging the event. If anyone knows any celebrities that would like to speak, please let me know, and we'll schedule them in. And make sure you read the advice at Instapundit about the speakers ...
Paris: French police arrested six Pakistanis, including one woman, after the killing of a French off-duty policeman late Saturday in the Paris suburb of Courneuve. The policemans service revolver was found near the garbage bins of the building in which the six Pakistanis live.
However, media including newspapers, radio and television citing police sources identified the six arrested people as belonging to the Indo-Pakistani community, a term which has angered the Indian community here.
As a result, The Hindus office in Paris was flooded with angry calls from the Indian community. I take great offence at the use of the term Indo-Pakistani community to describe people who are purely Pakistani nationals, said a caller who identified himself as Naresh. It would be the same if a French or German person arrested in India were to be referred to as belonging to Franco-German or Franco British community simply because the two countries happen to be neighbours. The Indian community is completely separate from the Pakistani community and the two have nothing in common. We belong to different sovereign countries.
A woman caller said: The Pakistanis here are giving us a bad name. They are involved in all kinds of trafficking and it is suspected that this policeman was in some way linked to an extortion racket with those arrested. We should not be lumped with the Pakistanis simply because we come from roughly the same geographical area.
Gilles Poux, Communist Mayor of Courneuve, was quoted as saying: There appeared to be a quarrel between people belonging to the Indo-Pakistani community. Many shops in this busy locality have been bought by members of this community.
Police authorities in France could not be reached and this reporter was sent back and forth between police headquarters in Paris and La Courneuve.
When contacted, the Indian embassy said it would be taking up the matter with the French Interior Ministry.
Stephane Sellami, a journalist from the Le Parisien newspaper told The Hindu: I agree the term Indo-Pakistani is meaningless and its use is unfortunate. But there seems to be some confusion as to the exact origin of the six arrested persons. Fresh reports indicate that they might be from Sri Lanka. But we have no confirmation yet. The paper has used the term in order to give our readers an idea of the general geographical area to which the suspects belong. But I agree it is not satisfactory and we shall make changes to the copy.
The circumstances of the policemans death remain mysterious and authorities are looking into why the man was in the locality in civilian clothing on his day off while carrying his service revolver.
The arrested persons are not dangerous criminals. They come from the Sri Lankan or Pakistani milieu and often engage in commercial fraud, Frederic Lagache, an official from the Alliance policemens union told AFP.
The term Indo-Pakistani was coined in France by Pakistani restaurant owners wishing to take advantage of the fame of Indian cuisine. That term has now been extended to the entire sub-continental community encompassing Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans, much to the annoyance of Indians who say both the Sri Lankans and the Pakistanis engage in illegal activities, giving them a bad name.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2009 19:02 ||
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However, media -- including newspapers, radio and television -- citing police sources identified the six arrested people as belonging to the "Indo-Pakistani community", a term which has angered the Indian community here.
#2
We'll just call you folks in France "Anglo-French" as there's only a 21 mile (34 Km) separation between you and England. That will make it easier for those of us on this side of the pond and shouldn't create any issues for you folks, correct?
(With many apologies to our British friends)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/23/2009 22:47 Comments ||
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I prefer Franco-Bosch.
Posted by: ed ||
02/23/2009 23:51 Comments ||
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Srinagar, Feb 23 (IANS) Mohammed bin Qasim, a 15-year-old son of a Kashmiri couple, wanted to play cricket but he had to sacrifice his passion as his mother wants him to live for Islam. Youth is always so rebellious ...
Bin Qasim was selected for the Jammu and Kashmir Under-16 team to play in the national-level Vijay Merchant Trophy tournament 2009. The team won their first game against Haryana last month but Bin Qasim had a shock when his maternal uncle asked him to pack up mid-way through the tournament amd return home - because his mother thinks that the boy should live for a "bigger cause". And there's no bigger cause than jihad, unless it's a test match against the Australians ...
His mother is Asiya Andrabi, chief of the hawkish Dukhataran-e-Millat (Daughters of Faith). "We are not born for bat and ball or, for that matter, to mint money," said Andrabi, who is known for her moral policing drives in Kashmir. "I told my son to live his life for a bigger cause," Andrabi told IANS here Sunday. "I want him to blow himself up in a crowd of infidels!"
Andrabi, who fights for setting up an Islamic theocracy in Jammu and Kashmir, its secession from India and merger with Pakistan, said: "Cricket is too small a profession. Cricket can of course give you name, fame and money. But that is not what we are for in this world." Yeah, if you really want to make it big learn how to throw the split-finger fastball and come to America ...
"We have to work for Islam. Propagate the message of the holy Quran and the prophet in its true sense, not the way the world looks at it," she said. The way the world looks at it seems to be more accurate, Mumsy ...
How did the boy react to her decision? "Ah jeez, Mom, not that shit again!"
"My son got emotional. He thought his dreams are shattered. But I told him that you can play cricket as a hobby but don't dedicate your life for it," she said. "He is too young to understand this now. But, Alhamdulillah (all praises are for god), he will appreciate the decision when he grows up," she said. "I coulda been a contendah, Mom! I coulda been big!"
His father Mohammed Qasim Fuktoo, a militant commander, has been in prison since 1994 and is currently lodged in the Srinagar Central Jail. I'm beginning to understand why Mom is nuts ...
Andrabi wants to send Mohammed, a Class 12 student of science stream, to an Islamic seminary for higher studies. So that he can spend all day memorizing the Quran in Arabic and hitting his head on the floor. There's the life, I tells ya ...
"I want him to be an Islamic scholar... Islam needs a second Mohammed bin Qasim. I don't want him to waste his life," said Andrabi, herself a science graduate. Not until he blows himself up in a crowd of infidels, anyways ...
She was referring to Mohammed bin Qasim bin Yusuf Althaqafi, an Arab Muslim general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions - now part of Pakistan - along the Indus river in the eighth century. "We have named our son after the Muslim general and we wish he turns out to be like him," she said. Dead?
Incidentally, Mohammed's father Qasim had also played national-level cricket before joining the separatist movement in Kashmir in the early 1990s. And now he's in prison for the rest of his life. Way to go Pops ...
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2009 12:19 ||
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A little splash of acid in the eyes oughta cure him of this unIslamic little pecadillo, mom.
#2
A Bollywood director is making a movie about Asiya. He got a starlet to play her. She is apparently not amused. Asiya and her acid bottle may be paying both a visit soon.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2009 16:19 Comments ||
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#3
She was referring to Mohammed bin Qasim bin Yusuf Althaqafi, an Arab Muslim general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions - now part of Pakistan - along the Indus river in the eighth century.
Been a long losing streak, eh, moms? And I doubt Junior's gonna get them off the snide...
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A British couple was rescued from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by an Italian tanker after spending 40 days lost at sea.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Illegal methamphetamine "cooks" are traipsing undetected through an unknown number of motels and hotels with covert drug-making labs -- leaving a toxic mess behind for unsuspecting customers and housekeeping crews.
