Farewell Address of President Donald J. Trump

We Need Less Virtue Signaling

From Clarice Feldman;

There is no collective guilt or collective innocence.  All Americans of every race are privileged by a system designed to procure and secure equal rights for all. It is a system based on a refutation of collective guilt or innocence. We are individuals united only when we acknowledge that each of us is responsible for our own conduct. Period. Whites and blacks. We all matter and are all entitled to the great privilege of liberty.

Read the whole thing.

Alexander Hamilton’s Instructions

This is from Alexander Hamilton’s instructions to the captains of the Revenue Cutter Service which is the predecessor of the US Coast Guard. I think this is timeless advice.

”They will always keep in mind that their countrymen are freemen, and, as such, are impatient of everything that bears the least mark of a domineering spirit. They will, therefore, refrain, with the most guarded circumspection, from whatever has the semblance of haughtiness, rudeness, or insult.”

Bananas

Irish Democracy

I've seen a lot of discussion about the perspective of this photo. Regardless of angle or telephoto or distance; there were a lot of people out on the beach Saturday. In Virginia the Governor said we were only allowed to be on the beach to fish or get exercise. No swimming, no sitting, no sunbathing, no surfing. I think that's the takeaway from the picture. These people looked at the situation and told Richmond to "pack sand".  We will be responsible for ourselves.

It will be interesting to see what Northam's reaction will be during his press conference today. Does he chastise people like he did earlier last month or does he not acknowledge that it happened? Stay tuned.

Letter to the Virginia Press

I have been very impressed with the Coronavirus in One State series written by Powerline’s Scott Johnson. It has made me search for the same diligence in the Virginia press. Unfortunately, I haven’t found it. I finally ended up writing two of the reporters at The Daily Press/Virginian Pilot (they are both owned by the same company) asking them about it. Here’s what I wrote;

Dear [Reporters],

I am writing you since you are listed on the byline for the last two reports in The Daily Press covering reported COVID19 deaths in the Commonwealth. I am concerned with a lack of granularity in the information that’s being reported. We have the number of deaths. Twelve reported today and 15 yesterday. What I haven’t seen reported is the demographics of who is dying. We don’t know if those who have died are terminally ill patients or 20-year-olds struck down in their prime. Below is an excerpt from a report today by Scott Johnson of Powerline. He’s been covering the response in Minnesota.

“[Minnesota] reported 20 new deaths that they attributed to the virus, bringing the total to 578. Sixteen of the 20 new deaths occurred among residents of long-term care facilities [LTC], bringing the total of LTC deaths attributed to the virus to 464 and keeping the share of all such deaths at slightly in excess of 80 percent. The median age of all decedents remains 83.

“The state authorities do not regularly update us on the share of deaths attributable to residents of long-term facilities and those with significant underlying conditions. When asked recently, Infectious Diseases Division Director Kris Ehresmann provided the answer to two decimal places: 99.24 percent…” https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/05/coronavirus-in-one-state-36.php

This is the level of detail that I wish we had in Virginia.

1. How many of the new deaths occurred in LTC facilities? 
2. The median age of those who have died.
3. Deaths attributable to LTC residents and those with significant underlying conditions.

I went on the Virginia Department of Health website today and tried to get those three numbers. The best that I can do is find the number of deaths associated with outbreaks in LTC. I have to assume that all the LTC deaths occurred in an outbreak. If so, then 57% of all deaths occurred in LTC (503 out of 880). I cannot determine median age. The VDH only breaks the ages down by decades. Using that information, it comes out to 75% of all deaths occurred in those 70 and older.

The third statistic is not available at all. Last week, I emailed the VDH and asked about it. Lauren Yerkes told me that they do not have information on underlying conditions. Why don’t they have that information? I feel that it is vital for that to be reported. 

We are currently experiencing an economic shutdown mandated by Richmond. We are under a stay at home order until early June. We need to know the full picture of whom this virus is the greatest threat. We need to hear Richmond justify exactly why this is necessary. We need more than just vague apocalyptic predictions used to scare us into complying. We need the press to ask the uncomfortable questions to our elected leaders who are imposing these restrictions.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Letter to My State Senator

 I decided to write a letter to my state senator and delegate.  I mailed it yesterday so obviously, no reply has been received.  If I do get a reply, I'll be sure to post it.

Dear Senator,

I am writing to you about my concerns on the emergency powers given to the Governor of Virginia as spelled out in §44-146.7 of the Code of Virginia.  While I recognize the need for emergency powers, I feel that there needs to be a check on them.  Some would argue that the courts are that check.  Historically, they have been loath to intervene during an emergency.  That may be a pragmatic attitude when the stated emergency is of a short duration and limited to a small geographic area. That is not the case now.  We have an unprecedented emergency order that all but shuts down the economic activity across the Commonwealth. 

I have read the code section cited by the Governor.  My intention was to try and find the limiting principles in the law.  I did not see any.  I was shocked to see that there is no time limit set for an emergency declaration.  I was also dismayed to see that the General Assembly has no role.  This is a terrible combination: 

1. A law that gives the governor broadly defined powers with no time limit. 
2. A legislature cut out of the process beyond simply being notified. 
3. A judiciary that can only act when petitioned by a legal filing.

It is clear that the General Assembly will need to confront the unprecedented exercise and growth of executive authority as defined in the Emergency Services and Disaster Law.  I respectfully would like to submit to you that a time limit be placed on all emergency declarations.  If the Governor wishes to extend the order, he must take it to the General Assembly for approval by a super-majority.  A super-majority may seem like a high bar but if the emergency is such that an extension is crucial, then it is a reasonable standard.  It would also give a higher chance of being a bipartisan agreement.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.   This is a crucial debate about future emergency responses, civil liberties, the general power of government, and checks on that power.  I would like to hear your thoughts on this issue.

UPDATE: I did receive a reply.

Real Life

I have noticed in the past several weeks the surprise by some at what it takes to run our day-to-day lives. The stunning obliviousness as to how the things that we depend on are made and transported to us. “We must shut down the interstate rest areas,” some central planner exclaimed. Only to be shocked by the fact that truck drivers have to use the bathroom. I’m sure that planner, if he had ever been to a rest area, looked at the semis parked there with a type of resignation that he must mingle with the hoi polloi in a sub-standard bathroom since there wasn’t an exit nearby. It never occurring to him that every item he packed for his trip had originally traveled in a semi to get to him.
This same blindness infects the discussion of what is an essential business. “We must have protein,” the planners decide. The packing plants need to remain open. But just like they have no idea of what it takes to create a pencil, they have no idea of what’s essential beyond the slaughterhouse itself. The packing plant is essential, it must be cleaned. Are the companies that sell the water hoses, mops, rags, etc. essential as well?
I’d like to think that this is a relatively new phenomenon but as King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Who can argue with the wisdom of Solomon? The Polish author Stanislaw Lem saw it as well. I just finished reading Hospital of the Transfiguration. It was written by Lem in the 1940’s and is set in 1943 Poland. I’d like to share the following passage with you. This is the set up; Stefan is a young doctor who was out for a walk when a bad storm rolled in. He was offered shelter at an electrical substation by the manager, Woch. While there, he watched Woch and his team expertly manage a crisis in the grid caused by the storm.

Of all the people who used to come to [Stefan’s] father’s workshop when he was a child, it was the workers who interested him most-the machinists, locksmiths, and electricians who made various parts to order. He had been intimidated by them-they were so different from everyone he knew. They were always patient, listening to his father with silent attention, looking at the blueprints carefully, almost respectfully. But beneath the cautious politeness lay something closed and hard.
Stefan noticed that although his father liked to go on and on at the dinner table about people he had met, he never mentioned the workers as if they, in contrast to the lawyers, engineers, and merchants, had no personality. Stefan had the illusion then that their life -“real life,” as he called it-was shrouded in mystery. For some time he racked his brains over the puzzle of that “real life,” before finally concluding that the idea was foolish.
Now, lying awake in the darkness, the memory surfaced. There had been some sense in that boyish dreaming after all: there was a real life for people like Woch!
Where Uncle Ksawery propounded atheism, … his father invented, and Stefan read philosophy and talked … for months on end to recognize “real life”-that life was out there maintaining their world, shouldering it like Atlas, as inconspicuous as the ground beneath their feet. But no, he was mythologizing, because something like a mutual exchange of services went on: Anzelm knew about architecture, … he and Ksawery treated the sick. Stefan suddenly realized that nothing would really change if all of them disappeared. Whereas without Woch and others like him, the world could not go on.
He rolled over, and some obscure impulse made him turn on the nightstand lamp. It was nothing, of course, but the light struck him as a symbol, a sign that Woch was on the job. The yellow light filling the impersonal room was somehow soothing; it ensured freedom for all tasks and thought. As long as it shined, it was possible to fantasize about worlds beyond the existing one.
… he noticed an open book on the table-Lord Jim, which he had been reading. He flicked the switch and darkness surrounded him again. In a quick leap of association, he wondered whether Woch would ever read that book, but the idea was so ludicrous that he smiled in the gloom. Woch would never pick up such a book; he had no need to sail the oceans with Lord Jim. He would look on Conrad with contempt for solving on paper problems that he himself solved in reality.

Darker than Black

With all the slings and arrows being launched and endured lately, I keep thinking about this quote.

“Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out. Is one's first feeling, 'Thank God, even they aren't quite so bad as that,' or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible? If it is the second then it is, I am afraid, the first step in a process which, if followed to the end, will make us into devils. You see, one is beginning to wish that black was a little blacker. If we give that wish its head, later on we shall wish to see grey as black, and then to see white itself as black. Finally we shall insist on seeing everything -- God and our friends and ourselves included -- as bad, and not be able to stop doing it: we shall be fixed for ever in a universe of pure hatred.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Parbunkells

It's an interesting word that one person wants to keep all to herself.

Coast Guards in the South China Sea

The risk of conflict in the South and East China Sea is substantial.  China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines all have competing claims over territory and jurisdiction.  With the exception of China, all the aforementioned nations have based their claims on their shoreline.  China, as evidenced by the “nine-dash line”, has based its claims on historical events.  Because of the relative weakness of the claims, China feels the need to increase efforts to protect their claims.   To meet this need in the maritime domain, China merged five of its maritime law enforcement agencies into one agency.  This reorganized China Coast Guard was called an “iron fist” by Chinese officials.  This is keeping to Sun Tzu’s advice that the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. To keep from fighting, China intends to use this new, centrally controlled, paramilitary maritime agency to assert her authority and jurisdiction in the waters that are in dispute.

In April 2012, the Philippine Navy attempted to arrest a group of Chinese fishermen who were operating in a disputed area.  Despite the buildup of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Chinese warships were not sent to respond.  Instead, unarmed cutters were the first vessels to arrive followed soon after by fisheries law enforcement vessels.  The Philippine Navy warships were replaced by a coast guard ship.  That ship eventually withdrew as well claiming the need to prepare for typhoon season.  The Chinese vessels remained and no Chinese nationals were arrested.  China had asserted her sovereignty with unarmed vessels and a potentially violent confrontation was averted.

The East and South China Seas are emerging as a contested space between China and her neighbors, specifically, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea.  This is in mostly due to the area being a prime fishing grounds as well as the potential for large hydrocarbon reserves.  In light of this, China’s naval attention appears to be turning more to defense of territorial claims.  A few days into the aforementioned standoff with the Philippines, Chinese Major General Luo Yuan argued in a party publication for a stronger Chinese coast guard.  Luo argued that the disparate maritime law enforcement agencies were perceived as weak by China’s regional competitors.  This perception, led directly to the Philippines attempt to arrest the Chinese fishermen.  It was also emboldening the Vietnamese to assert their claims as well.  He asserted that because of this, China’s national dignity was being “violated”.

In March of 2013, China announced the merger of several maritime law enforcement agencies into one China Coast Guard (CCG) under the auspices of the new National Ocean Administration.  These agencies, commonly called the “Five Dragons”, were the Public Security Ministry Coast Guard, Maritime Safety Administration, Marine Surveillance, Fisheries Law Enforcement Command, and the Customs Administration.  The Chinese felt that a maritime law enforcement agency was a better way to defuse crises and prevent possible conflicts with their neighbors.  They viewed the Japanese and South Korean coast guards as strong and well-equipped agencies that could effectively assert their respective countries’ claims.   China realized that the Five Dragons were not able to provide a unified maritime force in what has become an ever increasingly complex situation.  The US Coast Guard (USCG) was viewed by Chinese defense officials as the most powerful in the world.  Judging by the agencies that were merged; it would appear that the USCG was a model for the new CCG.   A senior PLAN official called the merger the creation of an “iron fist” for China.  Immediately after four vessels received their new coast guard livery, they were dispatched to the East China Sea to patrol waters off of disputed islands.  In August 2013, CCG vessels patrolling the Senkaku Islands drove off Japanese fishing vessels that were being escorted by the Japanese Coast Guard.

By using CCG vessels to enforce their sovereignty claims, the Chinese are able to state that they seek a peaceful path while “firmly safeguarding” their interests.  Using PLAN assets to patrol disputed areas, would give lie to the idea of seeking a peaceful path.  Since the bar of military conflict is now higher than it was during the cold war, all the players in the East and South China Sea must remain focused on preventing the disputes from reaching that threshold.  

China Coast Guard vessels also serve a political goal.  By using law enforcement forces, the impression is made to both domestic and international observers that China is “administering” the disputed areas.  China’s unilateral seasonal fishing ban in the South China Sea may stem from similar motivations.  The ban helps China demonstrate authority over the area.  It is for this reason that prior to the merger, the Fisheries Law Enforcement Command was second only to China Marine Surveillance in asserting maritime sovereignty.  There is no practical reason for such a large area, far from the Chinese coast, having a fishing ban imposed on it.  The purpose though is to get foreign countries to accept that there is a ban giving China de-facto control over the area.  This is the same tactic that’s being used with the recent announcement of an “air defense identification zone” that covers the Senkaku Islands.  Even though “air defense” is in the title, it’s really just an identification zone. That is an administrative function that China is trying to impose just like the fishing ban.  Both tactics have the same goal of giving the impression of authority over the area and making others acquiesce to the demands of the Chinese government.

Some may claim that the use of coast guard vessels is of little importance since they will be of little use in a military conflict.  The PLAN is also developing some impressive capabilities such as a new aircraft carrier, nuclear submarines and several modern surface combatants.  The Chinese have also undertaken an aggressive shipbuilding program to strengthen the new coast guard.  Currently, they plan on building 30 cutters in the next five years.  That is a building program the US Coast Guard would certainly be envious of.  Granted, armed cutters are no match for a modern ship of the line.  That is not what they are for though.  They act as a tripwire for the PLAN.  In the case of a military response to Chinese sovereignty patrols, CCG vessels would at least serve as a delaying force until the PLAN could arrive on scene.  Further, any country that uses its navy to sink CCG vessels would run the risk of international condemnation for the appearance of punching below its weight class.

The creation and buildup of the CCG has spurred other regional powers into action.  The most recent change happened in Vietnam.  In August, 2013, the Vietnamese government announced that that the Vietnam Marine Police (VMP) would be strengthened and renamed the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG).  This is in line with the Vietnamese strategy of using an agency that is arguably not directly linked to the military to address Chinese incursions.  By using the VCG to counter the CCG, Hanoi can be seen as meeting the threat without escalating.

In what should be of interest to the PACOM commander; Hanoi explained that changing the agency name from a marine police to a coast guard was to facilitate collaboration with similar agencies in the Asia-Pacific region.  The USCG is now looking to assign a Lieutenant to the defense attaché office in the U.S. Embassy to Vietnam.  The major duty of the new position is to assist the Vietnamese with their new coast guard.  It makes sense for Vietnam to reach out to the most powerful coast guard in the world to develop theirs.  It also sends a message to the other regions that the U.S. is engaged in the issue and wants to keep it from escalating to a military conflict.

In terms of capabilities and missions, most world navies have more in common with the U.S. Coast Guard than they do with the U.S. Navy.  This holds true in the Asia Pacific region as well.  Since the various states are protecting their claims by using paramilitary forces to enforce their authority at sea, the USCG provides a model that is within the means of those states to emulate.  By focusing on enhancing the capabilities of the regional coast guards vice the navies, the risk of emboldening the Phillippines and Vietnam to challenge China decrease.

The soft power image of the USCG should also continue to be used as a means to foster relationships with the CCG.  Historically, the USCG has worked with the legacy services of the CCG in regional exercises as well as fisheries law enforcement.  Both the United States and China actively participate in international efforts to deter the practice of large-scale high seas drift net fishing as encouraged by a 1992 United Nations moratorium. As recently as August 2012, the Coast Guard hosted enforcement officers from the China Fishery Law Enforcement Command on board USCG cutters patrolling in the North Pacific Ocean.  Having foreign law enforcement personnel on board cutters is routine.  This practice should be extended to include more Asian Pacific states with the goal of training their forces to competently enforce their laws as well as to show U.S. commitment to non-escalation in the region.

This Coast Guard to coast guard contact would strengthen the cooperative relationship with China.  This U.S.-China is of more consequence than any other in the region since the repercussions of a Sino-American conflict would be far reaching.

The U.S. has a huge economic stake in ensuring that the China Sea disputes do not escalate into a military conflict.  Each year, $5.3 trillion of cargo pass through the region.  $1.2 trillion of that is U.S. trade.  If a disruption of trade route were to occur, the economic effects would ripple throughout region and the West.

As powers in the East and South China Seas continue to build up their maritime law-enforcement presence and capabilities, the possibility of a major military conflict is low. The potential for a violent clash (accidental or calculated) remains high.  A U.S. decision to carry out military exercises in the disputed waters, though risky and seemingly confrontational, may help prevent Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and other countries from confronting China head on.  The U.S. has never shied away from exercising freedom of navigation worldwide.  It should continue to do so in the disputed areas of the East and South China Seas.  With the regional powers relying on maritime law enforcement agencies to protect their claims, the U.S. should use the same tactic.  Use the U.S. Coast Guard, working with other coast guards to show the U.S. flag while the U.S. Navy stays just on the horizon.  This approach respects Sun Tzu’s advocacy of subduing the enemy without fighting.

Bibliography

Auslin, Micheal. “The Day America Lost Asia.” POLITICO Magazine. Accessed December 2, 2013. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/day-america-lost-asia-100411.html.

Glaser, Bonnie. “Armed Clash in the South China Sea - Council on Foreign Relations.” Council on Foreign Relations, April 2012. http://www.cfr.org/world/armed-clash-south-china-sea/p27883#cid=soc-email-at-none-armed_clash_in_the_south_china-040112.

Grevatt, Jon. Vietnam Reoganises Littoral Forces into New Coast Guard. Bangkok: IHS Janes, August 29, 2013.

Jianhua, Gong. “Need for Unified Coast Guard,” October 19, 2012. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/19/content_15829994.htm.

LeMiere, C, and S Raine. “Water Pollution - South China Sea Dispute Taints the Region.” Jane’s Intelligence Review, January 17, 2013. https://www.opensource.gov/providers/janes/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=+++1537531&Pubabbrev=JIR.

Military Intelligence of the Czech Republic. Daily Bulletin. Prague: Military Intelligence of the Czech Republic, September 11, 2013.

Moss, Trefor. “China’s Other Navies.” Jane’s Defence Weekly, July 5, 2012.

Open Source Center. PRC Maritime Law Enforcers Dispersed in Six Agencies, Mull Consolidation. Open Source Center, 2012.

Perlez, Jane. “Chinese, With Revamped Force, Make Presence Known in East China Sea.” New York Times, July 27, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/world/asia/chinese-with-revamped-force-make-presence-known-in-east-china-sea.html?_r=0.

Smith, Paul. “The Senkaku/Diaoyu Island Controversy.” Naval War College Review no. Spring 2031 (n.d.).

Sun Tzu, and Samuel B Griffith. The Art of War. London; New York: Oxford University Press, 1971.

US Army Asian Studies Detachment. China-Philippines Standoff in Scarborough Shoals Cited as Justification for Unified Chinese Martime Law Enforcement Agency. US Army, 2013.

USCG Public Affairs. “Coast Guard, Chinese Officials Interdict Foreign Vessel for Illegal Fishing :: Office of Law Enforcement.” Accessed December 2, 2013. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/newsroom/stories/12/03_81412uscgdacheng.html.

Zhang, Yunbi. “Antiquated Ideas Source of Abe Strategy -,” October 29, 2013. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-10/29/content_17064686.htm.

Neptunus Lex Crosses the Bar

I started this blog in 2003. At the time there were few MILBLOGS around. Then one called Neptunus Lex arrived on scene. It was written by an active duty Naval Aviator and senior officer. It soon became one of my daily reads. His writing was exemplary as can be seen is his portrayal of a day at sea on board a carrier, Rhythms. As a fellow native Virginian, his posts about returning to visit the Old Dominion were especially meaningful to me.

I was happy for him when he started flying again. I felt a small connection since the F-21's would occasionally fly over my house on their way home to Newport News. When I saw them, I would wonder if Lex was at the controls. I thought it would be cool to meet him. Alas, that is not to be.

I was waiting my turn at the NAS Oceana barber shop catching up on my blog reading when I saw the post on CDR Salamander. Lex had died doing what he loved the most. It was strange the sadness I felt for someone who I had never met and until recently, never knew his real name.

In his next to last post, he wrote about his chosen vocation;

It’s funny how quickly you can go from “comfort zone” to “wrestling snakes” in this business.

But even snake wrestling beats life in the cube, for me at least. In measured doses.

Fair Winds and Following Seas Captain Carroll LeFon, you will be missed.


The Armorer has a nice tribute and a collection of others.

Hurricane Links

Here are some good links for hurricane information.

http://www.stormpulse.com/atlantic
This is a site that I just found out about this year. It is a very nice graphical display of the storm forecast.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
I am a big fan of Weather Underground (the website, not the radical group). Their chief meteorologist has a blog where he breaks down the storm nicely.

http://www.weather.gov/view/prodsByState.php?state=VA&prodtype=discussion

http://www.wunderground.com/DisplayDisc.asp?DiscussionCode=AKQ&StateCode=VA&SafeCityName=Carrollton
The weather-guessers at the National Weather Service send out their discussions on what they are seeing and how they came up with their forecasts. The audience is other meteorologists so they can get a little technical but there is a lot of good information in there. Both of these links go to the same product but in a different format.



Enjoy and stay dry!

Still Here

To anyone who is still checking on this blog I apologize for the lack of content. I realize that it's been over a year since I wrote but there's been a lot going on that precluded me from writing.

I'll start writing again soon.

M/V Arctic Sea "Disinformation"

Modern Day Piracy is complaining that the press wasn't told that the Maltese and Russians knew where the M/V ARCTIC SEA was located.

It sounds like the only information that was kept from the press was the location of the vessel. I think that was an entirely reasonable thing to do.

Let's put this in another way. Suppose a bus had been hijacked and was taken somewhere. The press gets the word and conjectures about it "disappearing." Meanwhile, the police are using a tracking beacon on the bus that the hijackers don't know exists. Is it wrong for the police to keep the press in the dark about the location of the bus until the situation is resolved?

If it was revealed that the concerned parties knew exactly where the ARCTIC SEA was, would the hijackers have removed the crew? If so, we'd probably still be looking for them. At the least, they would have tried to locate the beacon and secured it.

This wasn't a disinformation campaign against the press. It sounds like the press is upset that someone was able to keep a secret this time.


Hat Tip: Eagle Speak

CNN Gets it Wrong

Today, CNN posted a story about a British couple who had to be rescued in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It's a common enough story but CNN had this line that causes me to write this entry;

Armstrong alerted the U.S. Coast Guard of their problems. However, the Coast Guard told the couple they were too far out to be rescued.

That's hooey! This is what I believe happened. The sailors contacted the Coast Guard to report their situation. When their position was plotted, the Coast Guard realized that they were well out to sea. At that point, the only option for the sailors is to be removed from their boat by another vessel. When they realized that they'd have to leave their boat behind, they decided to wait it out or arrange for a towing vessel. The bill for a tow boat to come that far out probably exceeds the value of the sailboat.

Finally, when the reality of their situation sunk in, they called the Coast Guard and said they'd like to get off. At that point, an AMVER vessel was most likely diverted to take the crew to safety.

The US Coast Guard is responsible for Search and Rescue in a chunk of the Atlantic that extends out to 040 Degrees Longitude. The area is over 4 million square nautical miles. No matter where you are in that chunk of water, the CG will make every effort to assist you.

OPSEC

Be careful what you talk about. You might be in this guy's restaurant.

HT to Storming the Tower of Babel.

Wii Games

I was asking for suggestions on Wii games that a 3 1/2 year old girl would like. My older sister suggested the following games. Any other suggestions?