Freebirdie's Sailin' Blog

22 November 2011 | Seattle
01 August 2011 | Santa Maria di Leuca
03 July 2011 | Greece
15 June 2011 | Gulf of Corinth
05 June 2011 | Athens
28 May 2011 | Poros Greece
25 April 2011 | Symi Island
13 April 2011 | Naxos, Greece
20 February 2011 | Istanbul, Turkey
30 January 2011 | Ephesus
28 January 2011 | Marmaris
16 January 2011 | Selcuk, Turkey
31 December 2010 | Marmaris
24 October 2010 | Cappadocia, Turkey
16 September 2010 | Marmaris Turkey
26 August 2010 | Fethiye, Turkey
19 August 2010 | Marmaris
03 August 2010 | Larnaca Cyprus
01 August 2010 | Mediterranean Sea
30 July 2010 | Ashkelon Marina

VHF

18 April 2010 | Sudan, Africa
Dave n Judy
Yesterday while at anchor here in Khor El Marob, waiting for the wind to die down, we heard a distress call on the VHF Radio. It was about 3 in the afternoon and the ship was hailing everyone in the vicinity that they were "Out Of Control" giving their position! The term for that is "Security, Security, Security". (The term "May Day" is reserved for extreme emergencies). The VHF is our LIFELINE prompting me to write about it's abuse. For our safety and the safety of others we must monitor it 24/7. In all our years at sea there have always been a few ~ Various Horrible Fellows (VHF) who use this crucial tool as a means of moronic entertainment. Now, it seems to have escalated here in this part of the world to a Viciously Heinous Freak-Show! (VHF). Usually these degrading ethnic taunts and crude sexually explicit remarks are saved for after dark. They were so completely unnerving for me when we were crossing pirate alley listening to the numerous attacks while Coalition Force warships tried to contact the over stressed victims. Listening to those sinister voices of these mental midgets made those anxious moments even more stressful. Then yesterday, to have to listen to cat call noises and meowing during those high winds to a vessel radioing for help was just too much for me. If we respond to this nonsense it just amps them up even higher, There is absolutely nothing to be done to curtail the complete misuse of such a vital instrument to help save lives & property. We are completely dumbfounded at the irony of the situation.
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Vessel Name: Freebird
Vessel Make/Model: Grainger MC420 Catamaran
Hailing Port: Seattle
Crew: Dave and Judy Howell
About:
Dave started building Freebird in 1995 in a plastic shed on Camano Island, NW USA and launched her in April of 2001. He retired from the Fire Department in 1999 after 28 years of service. Judy Retired from dentistry in 1995 after 27 years. [...]
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